Harsh cymbals

  • Thread starter Thread starter mrhotapples
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I use LDC'c as OH's all the time. C414's, AT 4033's, GT55's, etc. The M177's as OH mics isn't the problem. It's most likely the cymbals and/or the room.
 
chessrock said:
Get a set of Custom K Darks / Dark & Crisp ... and listen to the cymbal nasties go away pretty quick
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+1 also Custom K Fast Crash. thinner and darker are better suited and what may sound too thin for live is probably good for recording.
 
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I'm doing a drum recording today, so I'll see if just getting the mics higher will help.
 
mrhotapples said:
Does anyone have any tips for setting up spaced pair overheads with LDCs to soften cymbals? I usually set them up equidistant from the snare about a foot off the cymbals, pointed straight down, but when a drummer really smashes a brighter cymbal, it comes out harsh and ear-tearing. It doesn't sound like distortion, and I can help it with EQ, but I'm wondering how everyone goes about using this technique and any knowledge they may be able to impart.
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All I can say is, 1 foot above the cymbals? wow! Mine are like 5 feet off, and I wish they were higher, but I don't have one of those fancy weighted boom stands.
 
I record drums with M179's in cardioid, and never find harshness to be a problem. I usually end up putting them out in front of the set, almost more like room mics than overheads. Although the cymbals and drummer I usually record never seem to get harsh, so I don't have to deal with that.
 
I tracked some drum this past weekend and made sure to get my OH mics a bit higher above the kit. It didn't really help.

I thought though, out of all the things I record, I always try and let the mic run straight through and usually end up with signals from -24 to -20db, which is where I've theorized my firepod is going to operate best at for most things. If the signal is really quiet, then I get it up to around -24db for an average.

EXCEPT for overheads. They're usually around -12db. This is twice as loud as the rest of the sources usually are, so I always turn my OHs down -12b as a default.

The next time I track, i'll engage the pad on the m177s and set up the gain so that they're averaging around where everything else is and see if maybe I'm just pushing past the sweet spot of my firepod.

At any rate, it makes more sense since my OHs are ALWAYS too loud in comparison to my close mics until I bring their levels down.
 
I know this is an old thread, but I'm doing exams and avoiding work, so i thought I'd add my 2 cents. The drummer might be hard to persuade, but maybe try a few inches of tape on the underside of the cymbals?
 
"Very true. The one investment that will go the furthest towards the goal of smoothening out the sound of the cymbals on the drum kit ... is the purchase of some smooth-sounding cymbals. Just like with anything else ... garbage in is garbage out X 3."

Chessrock, you are SOOO right. As a drummer:

Pick out your hats, know them, love them. Once you have that, TAKE THEM TO THE STORE and demo your rides. Your hats and rides have to "match". From there you demo out at least one crash etc. Picking out cymbols is a big deal as a drummer, more so than I would have known 15 years ago. I am lucky to have found a good setup.

There is a school of thought on mic'ing drums with technique of OH mics equal distance from the snare. Search youtube, there is a good video.
 
Mic position is essential, experiment, I always mic up my O/H a good 3-3 1/2 foot and close mic my hats toms and snare.
 
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