help!

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BlackHawk2029

BlackHawk2029

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ok i need to record my band's drummer. i have 2 cheap nady starpower 9 vocal mics, two cobalt co4's and an MXL 990 condensor at my disposal. what can i do?
 
Cry. Cry your eyeballs out.

990 as an overhead, and one each of the c04's on kick and snare. They look like 57 clones to me, so that should work ok, but not great. Maybe try one of the Nady's as a room mic.

Good luck. You're gonna need it.
 
What other gear are you using?

What kind of mixer, recorder, etc?

How big of a drumkit is it?

offhand, with the info you've given me:

Make sure the kit is tuned really well, and sits out away from the wall a little.

From behind the drummer - put the 990 on a boom stand, and put it directly over the drummer's head, and aim it down,

Before you do anything else.

Have the drummer play, and listen to the track.

If you need more bass drum, rotate the mic more toward the right leg. (assuming the drummer plays the kick with the right leg)

Now, have the drummer play slow in dividual strikes on the toms, and then a few tom rolls - you're just trying to make sure that they toms sound good in the mic - before any kind of EQ'ing or processing takes place.

Then, take a few heavy blankets, and a chair, or something like that, and drape the blankets over the front of the kick drum and the chair.

This forms a little "tunnel" in front of the kick drum.

Stick a mic in the tunnel, and aim it at the kick.

I don't know what the cobalts are and have no idea, so I'd go with a starpower for this purpose.

You could also try a "speaker mic" if you wanted to.




Tim
 
the cobalts are sort of a cheap sm57 clone. the kit is a 4-piece with an evans emad and aquarian regulator on the bass drum, ambassador on snare, remo ebony's on toms with no bottom heads. the kit sounds great alone but with such shitty mics i dunno how its gonna turn out. im using a behringer mixer. i believe it's a 1222fx i dunno the exact model on it i'd have to look at it and it's not here. (it stays in our practice room for the time being) the drummer plays with a double bass pedal so it's both legs but mainly the right. his cymbal setup is all zildjian zbt's i believe. a 20" ride 16" crash 14" hats and 14" hi-hats. He also has a "trashformer" but i dont have any clue what size it is.
 
Zbt's

TELL HIM TO GET SOME REAL CYMBALS!!!!
They sound like SHIT!!!!
Live and recorded!
Sorry, :cool:
It's just a Fact.
 
oh trust me i know..... i know....... but it's all we can afford. his dad's goin thru a lot and just had back surgery. my sister's fiance just got diagnosed with MS so we're trying to help them out a bit. we're all sorta poor at the moment.
 
ok i have about 100 dollars to use. i think i want to get a kick mic. suggestions?
 
Is he using two(2) bass drums or a double bass pedal and one bass drum?

I would def. take your time with this, since you dont have a lot of quality equipment, mic placement may be the only thing that can make it sound crap or decent.

TRy,TRy,try, try,and try again with different mics on different drums and in different areas.

What kind of roomare you gonna record it?
 
this is probably going to be done in our practice area.it's a basement..... concrete walls.... carpeted floors. a few couches on the other side and some carpet hung on the wall behind the kit. it's one bass drum and a double pedal. if anyone has suggestions for a kick mic or an overhead mic or two for 100-150 bux lemme know i need to get some new stuff.
 
Sorry

BlackHawk2029 said:
oh trust me i know..... i know....... but it's all we can afford. his dad's goin thru a lot and just had back surgery. my sister's fiance just got diagnosed with MS so we're trying to help them out a bit. we're all sorta poor at the moment.

Hey,
I'm sorry I didn't mean any offense! :o
(I'm not sure if you can drumagogg the cymbals or not.)
I would say use the Room to your Advantage.
Take a few recordings samples and go with the best one.
As for Mics....Get a used D112 and a Descent Room mic(Ok, fair to descent)
Dont worry about close micing. ;)
Use a two track approach.
Hope this Helps.
 
what do you guys think of behringer c2's? i think im going to get a pair of ECM8000's but if the C2's are any good i might just get a pair of those. and Bdrum i actually told my drummer your comment about getting real cymbals..... and i think he liked the idea.. he ordered a 16" A custom crash.... thx for bein a good influence. My mixer is getting an upgrade..... got rid of that 1222 in favor of a bigger 2222. currently planning to borrow a kick mic and use cobalt co4's to mic bottom and top of snare, plus two overheads..... good idea? and does anyone have a used kick mic they are willing to sell rather inexpensively? im looking to expand my collection.
 
D112

Check out E-bay for a B52 or a D112.
They should be around $100.
 
well

hey you can try out the way led zeppelin mic-ed their drums, with the triangle of condensers, seemes to work great for them
 
If I was you, I would set up the two 57 clones as overheads. (Using the triangle method, more on this later). And either buy a second hand kick mic, or borrow one. You could also possibly use your condensor as a room mic. (I do that every once and awhile with a real cheap ldc I have).

Ok, this is basically "the triangle method". I didn't come up with this, so don't give me the credit.

You're going to want to put your left over head directly over the snare. (Pointing straight down at the snare). Mine is about 2.5 - 3 drumsticks over the snare.

Then you can put your other over head mic somewhere over the drummers right shoulder. This mic should be at the same height as the other overhead, and it should also be pointed at the snare.

Now find the center of the bass drum. (Looking at it from the top, like you'd like at it if you were sitting behind the kit).

And easy way to do this, is where the toms mount to the bass. (If your toms mount to the bass drum). . . . . . . Find that spot, and then find the center.

Ok now you want to make an eqaulateral (sp?) triangle out of the 2 overheads and the center of the kick drum itself. So basically you're set up will be like this.....

mic one is X" away from mic two
mic one is X" away from the center of the kick
mic two is X" away from mic one
mic two is X" away from the center of the kick

(Mine are set up like 20 something inches..... I just kind of "close enough" -ed it though).

Once you get thoose mics set up, just rig up some kind of bass tunnel, on the front of your bass drum. (I basically have a sleeping bag rigged up.... It's cheap but it works). And figure out a good placement for you kick mic. (That will really depend on what kind of sound you're going for.)

Badda - bing - badda - boom. You're in business. I'm getting great recording using this method. (Well great for me anyways).

I'm wanting to experiment with doing this with a room mic in the loop, and doing it with an extra mic on the snare. (not that the snare isn't plenty loud using this method, I just basically like to be able to eq the snare separately from the rest of the kit).

Lemme know how it works out. :D
 
im just afraid of getting to weak a sound from his kit...... this is for a harder type of band.... screamo.....
 
I think you could easily get away with what you have. Screamo with double bass, no need for a bass mic(if you want a more clicky sound). Id use the 2 nadys on toms, one co4 on snare and 1 in kick. Have it aimed at the beaters and about 2" away. Have the MXL condenser as close to the center of the the kit as possible. Emm for cymbals, check out the Stagg DH series. They are about the same price or cheaper than the ZBTs but are so much better in my opinion. I sold my ZBTs for a full set of them and have been commented on them quite a few times, only complaints are the hats and ride. But that's probably my fault. In an attemp to save money i bought 12" hats and 19" crash/ride. If you/your drummer can, go check them out at a music/drum store. Their crashes are great!
 
I play death metal, and it works fine for me. . . . . . It's no where near weak sounding.
 
jazzmasterwill i checked out that myspace page.... is that how u miced ur kit? cuz it sounds nice! i just need a lil bitta bass drum in it lol.....
 
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