overhead positioning options

T

thecugga

New member
Hi, im not too sure what would give me the best results with overhead placement.

i will have a 57 on the snare, d112 or d6 on kick, and two sp b1's as overheads. the b1's will be the only thing miking the cymbals and toms.

i have seen several ways to position sdc's as overheads, but never how to position ldc's as overheads.

what would be the best way to position my b1's to best capture both cymbals AND toms???

also, i will be recording mostly metal drums, so if there are any tips on things you would do differently when recording metal drums please let me know as well...

thanks!
 
I've had the best success with the overheads basically right above the drummers head in an x-y pattern. This tends to limit the cymbal wash somewhat and give you more drum sound. You'll probably just have to play around with it a bit and see what works for your drummer/your room.
 
A more unconventional setup that I started using in live recordings, but have also used in-studio when I wanted to accentuate the tom-to-cymbal ratio was to move the overheads down to the front. I usually do this live with an X-Y pair of 57s, but I see no obvious reason why it couldn't work with the LDCs also.

The idea is basically to place the X-Y pair in front of the kit, pointing back towards the drummer. The elevation of the mics is usually about halfway between the top of the toms and the bottom of the lowest cymbal. The vertical angle of the capsules is usually parallel with the ground, but if the drimmer's style is to beat the cymbals until they're bloody, then I might tilt the mics slightly downwards.

I know a lot of people have disagreed with me for breaking the "overhead convention", but I have gotten great results from this when necessity has mothered the invention.

G.
 
I have good results with the B1's in a DIN placement, (20 cm apart, 90 deg angle) or in an ORTF placement (17 cm apart, 110 deg angle) closer to the kit.
 
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