mic'ing a kit

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oz_fenda

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Hi, within the next few weeks I will probably be recording a rock band, although the only microphone at my disposal will be a 57. (also have a couple of extremely cheap 'stick' mics but dont think they will be of much use). I'm not sure how to record the drum kit as I only have one mic, I have heard it is best placed pointing upwards between the snare and kick? any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as this is my first real recording project.

cheers
 
LeeRosario said:
One SM57 for the whole kit?! :eek: :D
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indeed sounds like the impossible task, one mic

I bought two acceptable behringer SDC's for £40

Tight overheads & the 57 near the kick

one mic......... two minimum another 57 placed as a stereo pair left & right of the kick focusing towards the player, in line with the top of the kick & some careful EQing

WOW good luck
Slidey :D
 
if you want your drums to sound like the 1930's, then go ahead with one mic. for the type of music you're doing, I'd say get 2 overhead condensers and use SM 57 on snare and pick up a low fequency bass drum mic.
 
if you're on a tight budget samson makes a 7 piece drum mic kit....and for the price it will get the job done. i used it on a recording i did and friends and other engineers were impressed
 
thanks for the replies, I guess i was being abit optimistic.....im on a tight budget so buying new gear is pretty hard for me, I will try and borrow mics from friends when I need more than one......one other quick question;
The gear I have atm is pretty much a 57 going into a Behringer 1202 FX, going into my pc..... To get any descent signal level I need to have everything on the mixer cranked right up, is this normal? I know a 57 only has a very weak signal but the mixer says it will amplify the signal? I'm not sure if it is relevent but does using the mixer's phantom power have anything to do with it?

sorry for all the questions,
again appreciate the feedback heaps!

cheers :)
 
youe sm57 wont need phantom power, as it is not a condenser, and phantom power only polarizes the diaphragm of a mic, not boost its signal. i'd say if you were going to attempt to single mic a drum kit either do a single overhead, or put the mic three feet out from the kit about snare level. also, you mixer should have preamps with a gain knob(switch?) you should be turning this knob up to get more signal, not the level knob. good luck!
 
i know this may not be what you wanna hear...but if you're really serious about your music and your sound, you are gonna have to suck it up and spend some money. you dont do yourself any justice playin with junk gear. you may say to yourself that what you have will do, but you're selling your talent short thinking that way.....suck it up and save and buy the right gear.
 
I've read that a lot of the Beatles recordings were done with one drum mic. It wasn't a 57, it was a ribbon, some say a beyer 260 and others say it was a Royer, I'm not sure, but one mic seemed to work out ok for those guys.
 
Gamelan said:
I've read that a lot of the Beatles recordings were done with one drum mic. It wasn't a 57, it was a ribbon, some say a beyer 260 and others say it was a Royer, I'm not sure, but one mic seemed to work out ok for those guys.
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That was one mic at ABBEY ROAD!!!! Mono drums were the norm 45 years ago, not today. Just because the Beatles/Stones/Dylan/Beach Boys/etc... did it 40 years ago, doesn't mean it's relevent today. You could just put a boombox in the room with the drums, but you don't want to if you don't have to.
 
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ok, thanks again for the help everyone, really appreciate it! :)
 
Audix makes some good dynamic mics that are nicely priced. I would also look @ audio technica.

In all honesty your budget will always be a factor, unless you are a lottery winner, or a doctory or something. Now is a good time to think "is it better to quit now and run for the hills" or "open up a can of worms and start building an inventory of mics, gear, etc......."
 
Farview said:
That was one mic at ABBEY ROAD!!!! Mono drums were the norm 45 years ago, not today. Just because the Beatles/Stones/Dylan/Beach Boys/etc... did it 40 years ago, doesn't mean it's relevent today. You could just put a boombox in the room with the drums, but you don't want to if you don't have to.
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Obviously, one mic is a "vintage" approach. But in the final mix, mono is still a very common drum sound. At least half of the current music I hear has the drums mixed to mono. I guess it depends on what you are listening to. The point is, it's not impossible to get a functional drum sound with one mic. The bands of the 60's are just an easy example. It all depends on the image you want for the music. If you want it to sound like Weckel, one mic won't do it. If you want it to sound like your drummer with a 57 in a dank room, that might be cool too, depends. If the drums are mixing to mono anyway, one mic with good positioning may be preferable to multiple mics with phase cancellation and multiplied room sound, noise, etc. Buying more stuff sometimes helps, but not necessarily. There's a long long way to go from one 57 to a modern drum sound and a few hundred bucks, even a few thousand, won't do it.
 
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Gamelan said:
Obviously, one mic is a "vintage" approach. But in the final mix, mono is still a very common drum sound. At least half of the current music I hear has the drums mixed to mono. I guess it depends on what you are listening to. The point is, it's not impossible to get a functional drum sound with one mic. The bands of the 60's are just an easy example. It all depends on the image you want for the music. If you want it to sound like Weckel, one mic won't do it. If you want it to sound like your drummer with a 57 in a dank room, that might be cool too, depends. If the drums are mixing to mono anyway, one mic with good positioning may be preferable to multiple mics with phase cancellation and multiplied room sound, noise, etc. Buying more stuff sometimes helps, but not necessarily. There's a long long way to go from one 57 to a modern drum sound and a few hundred bucks, even a few thousand, won't do it.
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True, but I haven't heard anything produced in the last 20 years that didn't at least have stereo overheads. Mixing the rest of the kit in the center is standard practice, but there is always some sort of stereo image.
 
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