Miking Live Drums (live show) With Our Setup...?

[Robertt8]

ok...well here's the situation...

we've got a mackie 808S with 8 inputs.
4 inputs with vocals
2 inputs with acoustic/electric guitars
1 input is bass through bass amp (depending on venue size)

the one thing we really want to try and add to the live mix would be drums. how the hell do we do this? I've got an SP B1 & C2 I could use as some kind of over heads (would this suck with feedback?) i've got a bass drum mic and an extra sm57 or sm58 we could slap near the snare.

could we get some cheap little 4+ track mixer and run stuff through there and plug that into the remaining 1 or 2 tracks on the PA?

now with all that said...assuming my mixer idea would work, is there a simple drum micing technique where i could only mic the drums with like 2 mics to simplify things? because (and everyone knows) the less you've got to bring to a show, the better.

thanks!
tait

 

[2catstew]

ok, here is my take on your situation.
1 mic, overhead and about 3 foot forward of center. Use a full range mic.
2 mic's, use overhead, equal distance from snare head
3 mic's, ( earthworks has a great set for this) 2 overhead and one in front or in side the kick.
4 mic's, 2 overhead, 1 snare, 1 kick.

If you use a small mixer like a mackie 1202 you can submix down to stereo but if you have a small pa, a mono mix will work just fine.

2catstew
www.2catstudios.com
www.9livesrecords.com
www.2cattunes.com
www.thereturnlive.com
and on and on and on and on. . . .

 

[Gamelan]

could we get some cheap little 4+ track mixer and run stuff through there and plug that into the remaining 1 or 2 tracks on the PA?

That's what I would do. Otherwise, mic the snare and try to get a little residual bass drum in there too. There will be plenty of bleed from cymbals and toms either way.

 

[RezN8]

What are you using for speakers, a pair of the Club V series? I say take the bass out and just use a bass amp. The low end is sure to make it in to the mix through the rest of the mics anyway. Besides, bass takes up a lot of energy and is probally robbing the amp of power needed for the vox and guits.

That leaves you two channels free for drums. One 57 as overhead (center, maybe favor the snare a bit) and use the other in the kick. You're all set, no need for extra mixer. Cheers, Rez