
RecordingMaster
A Sarcastic Statement
Hey everyone, just looking for your opinions on a few things for an upcoming drum session happening this Saturday starring yours truly. A little background on the project...It has been years since my dad and I jammed - back when i lived at home we'd jam all the time since I was a little kid. Him on guitar and myself on drums. Anyways, since I've gotten into the whole recording side of things more seriously as of the last couple years I thought it might be cool to do a project with him. We're doing Coldshot by SRV, Little Wing by Hendrix and Won't BackDown by Tom Petty. It's all just for fun, but I want to approach this project as my simplified projects - where as I use less mics, less processing, etc. In attempt to create a more organic, classic vibe, rather then the more modern Pro Tools stuff of today.
Here will be the micing setup:
4 pc maple kit, hats, 2 crash ( r and L) and a ride.
2 Pencil condensers on OH's in Recorderman Fashion (never used this one before) > Dual tube pre amp
57 snare top > GAP Pre 73
57 Snare bottom > stock digital pre
57 hi tom > stock digital pre
MD421 MKII on floor tom > stock digital pre
AKG D112 on Kick > Tube pre
Mono ribbon room mic > stock digital pre
So first question, if you had to choose a pre amp for the kick and snare, which would you choose - tube pre on kick and the Neve 1073 clone on snare, or the other way around? I'll be borrowing an extra tube pre this weekend and I've never used it on kick (or snare). Its the cheapo ART Tube MP, but it's a little more character than the shitty stock digital pres on my interface. So which would you start with anyways and why? I know it's aways different but curious what you think.
Next...
I'll be recording drums in a new room I've never used before. It is approx 20x15 and only has 7' ceilings. No matter where the drums go, they likely be set up in a way that my back is to a wall (not a corner and not in dead center of room). On that back wall, I'll have some portable baffles, and good bass traps stacked in each corner behind me. I'll staple up a 2"x2'x4' piece of auralex over the drums on the ceiling to catch some flutters and I'll have a thin carpet under my kit seeing as it is all tile floor and my kit will slide (and a piece of plywood under snare stand). I'll have a small love seat pushed to either side of the kit against the walls to act as another pseudo absorber/trap and stop some wongo reflections from coming into the side of the close mics.
All that being said, where would you first try the drums in the room? I've already walked around and hit a snare and tom tom and to be frank, they sound pretty great anywhere in the room. So that idea is not of much use today. Usually I set up with maybe 3' of space between my back and the wall behind me, on the short wall, so the drums are shooting down the length of the room (like monitor placement), and then I'll have the room mic at the opposite end. However the last time I tried another room like this size, I feel like I was getting some ugliness between the Oh's and the snare. Almost as if the punch was cancelling out. This wasn't a phase thing. Everything was aligned and double/triple checked. I guess I'm just thinking maybe I was at a null point in the room and my ears couldn't hear it but my mics could. So I want to go in more armed this time. I won't have al day to move the kit all around the room and re-adjust all the mics, etc. It's a huge time sucker and a big pain. Just curious what you guys have tried and what usually always works best for you. I like to try new things so that's why I ask.
Lemme know whatchya! Thanks for reading and Cheers!
Here will be the micing setup:
4 pc maple kit, hats, 2 crash ( r and L) and a ride.
2 Pencil condensers on OH's in Recorderman Fashion (never used this one before) > Dual tube pre amp
57 snare top > GAP Pre 73
57 Snare bottom > stock digital pre
57 hi tom > stock digital pre
MD421 MKII on floor tom > stock digital pre
AKG D112 on Kick > Tube pre
Mono ribbon room mic > stock digital pre
So first question, if you had to choose a pre amp for the kick and snare, which would you choose - tube pre on kick and the Neve 1073 clone on snare, or the other way around? I'll be borrowing an extra tube pre this weekend and I've never used it on kick (or snare). Its the cheapo ART Tube MP, but it's a little more character than the shitty stock digital pres on my interface. So which would you start with anyways and why? I know it's aways different but curious what you think.
Next...
I'll be recording drums in a new room I've never used before. It is approx 20x15 and only has 7' ceilings. No matter where the drums go, they likely be set up in a way that my back is to a wall (not a corner and not in dead center of room). On that back wall, I'll have some portable baffles, and good bass traps stacked in each corner behind me. I'll staple up a 2"x2'x4' piece of auralex over the drums on the ceiling to catch some flutters and I'll have a thin carpet under my kit seeing as it is all tile floor and my kit will slide (and a piece of plywood under snare stand). I'll have a small love seat pushed to either side of the kit against the walls to act as another pseudo absorber/trap and stop some wongo reflections from coming into the side of the close mics.
All that being said, where would you first try the drums in the room? I've already walked around and hit a snare and tom tom and to be frank, they sound pretty great anywhere in the room. So that idea is not of much use today. Usually I set up with maybe 3' of space between my back and the wall behind me, on the short wall, so the drums are shooting down the length of the room (like monitor placement), and then I'll have the room mic at the opposite end. However the last time I tried another room like this size, I feel like I was getting some ugliness between the Oh's and the snare. Almost as if the punch was cancelling out. This wasn't a phase thing. Everything was aligned and double/triple checked. I guess I'm just thinking maybe I was at a null point in the room and my ears couldn't hear it but my mics could. So I want to go in more armed this time. I won't have al day to move the kit all around the room and re-adjust all the mics, etc. It's a huge time sucker and a big pain. Just curious what you guys have tried and what usually always works best for you. I like to try new things so that's why I ask.
Lemme know whatchya! Thanks for reading and Cheers!
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