Fireal402
Eyeballs! OH MY GOD EYES
I see this topic come up every once in a while, and since I just got a new set for christmas, I'll indulge you on getting a good sound out of them.
Now, the most IMPORTANT thing is that the performer knows how to play. I've seen so many people just hit the drums with their hands, fingers, knuckles, etc. It takes a while to get down the proper technique, but heres the starting point:
The performer will sit crosslegged, with the bayan (large drum) on the left and the dayan (small drum) on the right. Both drums are played with the fingertips, and the palm of the hand is used to get the rising pitch "booouuup" sound out of the bayan.
Micing, unlike performing, is the easy part
. I've found a SD condensor on each drum, pointing down, about 1 foot above, sounds best for the base tone. The gain needs to be pretty high and the room needs to be quiet, as these are not loud drums by any means.
From there, a LD condensor on the bayan does wonders. I use a kickdrum mic stand on the left side, a little higher than the hight of the drum, angled towards the center of the drum, about six inches away. You want to cut the highs a little, and make sure there's no mic distortion (happens with quiet drums).
Panning is a personal preference, and I like the bayan about 45% left and the dayan about 45% right.
Postprocessing is just as important, and a spacious, bright reverb does wonders. Make sure it's as high quality as you can afford, and DON'T overdo it!!! Make it just enough so that you can hear it in the mix, but it doesn't wash out the sound.
I hope this helps someone, and if anyone is interested in pictures or soundclips of how this works, I can do that.
Now, the most IMPORTANT thing is that the performer knows how to play. I've seen so many people just hit the drums with their hands, fingers, knuckles, etc. It takes a while to get down the proper technique, but heres the starting point:
The performer will sit crosslegged, with the bayan (large drum) on the left and the dayan (small drum) on the right. Both drums are played with the fingertips, and the palm of the hand is used to get the rising pitch "booouuup" sound out of the bayan.
Micing, unlike performing, is the easy part
. I've found a SD condensor on each drum, pointing down, about 1 foot above, sounds best for the base tone. The gain needs to be pretty high and the room needs to be quiet, as these are not loud drums by any means.From there, a LD condensor on the bayan does wonders. I use a kickdrum mic stand on the left side, a little higher than the hight of the drum, angled towards the center of the drum, about six inches away. You want to cut the highs a little, and make sure there's no mic distortion (happens with quiet drums).
Panning is a personal preference, and I like the bayan about 45% left and the dayan about 45% right.
Postprocessing is just as important, and a spacious, bright reverb does wonders. Make sure it's as high quality as you can afford, and DON'T overdo it!!! Make it just enough so that you can hear it in the mix, but it doesn't wash out the sound.
I hope this helps someone, and if anyone is interested in pictures or soundclips of how this works, I can do that.
