Micing a Cymbal Swell

[BillC15]

I have one MXL 2003 condenser and one sm57 (actually I have 2 sm57s so if you think I could so something with the other as well...) and I need to mic a cymbal swell. I'm trying to get nice big wide balanced stereo sound, so what are some suggestions for mic placement? I've been experimenting with variable distances for each mic above the cymbal with not too great results (maybe I need to mic under for one?) What are your ideas?

 

[Muyukiguki]

If it were me, I would use both sm57s in a recorderman setup (if you don't know what that is, use the search function on this forum, it's a great micing technique for overheads!) and set the MXL 2003 out in front of the drum set about 6-10 feet. Pan one 57 hard right, the other far left, and leave the condenser in the middle. Add eq, reverb, and compression to taste!

 

[Ronan]

A cymbal swell is a fairly mono event. Why are you trying to do it stereo?

 

[BillC15]

Well, it will sound bigger and more epic if it's in stereo. And I would use the recorderman technique, but I'm only micing a single crash. I've already recorded it with an sm57 closely under and the MXL over and it sounds a bit better, but are there any other ideas?

 

[MessianicDreams]

Try this:

get a nice sound using the MXL, and double track it. Pan one hard L and the other hard R.

 

[BeniRose]

Just record it in mono with the MXL and then throw a Stereo Sample Delay on there with the right channel like 200 samples behind and the left at 0, it will thicken the hell out of it, trust me. I highly recommend using the MXL over the 57 if you want any detail in it.

 

[Gherkin]

I agree with recording it mono, and maybe double tracking it a panning hard L/R.

Does the cymbal sound good in the room?

A bad sounding cymbal is just that - bad sounding. There isn't a lot you can do about that...

Also, using soft mallets, on opposite sides of the cymbal will help. Hitting with both in the same place generally sounds pretty bad.