pre-amp/compressor mic question.

[Funky_]

I have 8 mics. I have a 2 channel pre-amp and 2 channel compressor.

Which 2 drum mics are the best to use with the pre amp and compression?

My idea is the kick and snare.

But do the kick and snare really need the most quality and compression compared to lets say a pair of OHs?

Metal music by the way.

Thanks.

Funky

 

[The Green Hornet]

Yo Funky of Funk:

Well, man, just hook up your mics, record, then listen. No like? Change mics and positions and inputs and balances. Record some more. Listen. Evaluate.

Then, do it again, and again, and again--use all the mics and change one from left to right to right and then left and listen. Raise one mic up and put one mic down--listen.

Make sure to make notes and when you get the right positions and mic placements and the sounds make you happy. You've just made progress.

Green Hornet

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

Personally I'd put the pre's on the overheads. Kick usually doesn't need a high grade preamp (if you're limited) because... let's face it, people don't want to hear infinite detail on the kick, and the close mic snare is mostly all bang and not as much tone as the OH mics.

 

[mattamatta]

I might personally put them on the kick and snare, because I consider them to be much more important in the mix than the overheads. I dont have any "good" outboard pre's, so I've never compared the difference in practice, but in theory, I'd put all the other drums after kick and snare in order of importance, and set up my tracking accordingly.

 

[HWB]

And after spending many hours getting it "perfect" someone else will say they would do it another way. And after changing it again you'll get another opinion. Then after the recording is released, only a very small percentage of the listeners will care or even be able to hear what you think they would hear. However, we still put ourselves through the agony of making drums sound "perfect."

 

[HWB]

I know, I know, its the small percentage that we do it for. Or is it ourselves we do it for?

 

[Funky_]

Heh.

I guess I mess around with the mics.

 

[mattamatta]

I think we do it for ourselves mainly. A great drum recording wont help anybody sell more records than a good drum recording, but since drums can be one of the most challenging things to make a great recording of, achieving that perfect sound you were looking for can be quite rewarding...

Or so I've read =) I've never actually recorded what I would consider a great drum recording... the best I've gotten is decent, and all the while my gear (or lack thereof) limits the way I do it. But someday I will have more inputs. Then more mics. Then I can put any combination of them anywhere on the drumset and I will achieve oneness with the console!

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

I might personally put them on the kick and snare, because I consider them to be much more important in the mix than the overheads.

If you use overheads only to catch cymbals sure, but if you are using the overheads to capture the entire sound of the kit it is WAY more important.

I've never heard a close mic'd snare sound half as good as the snare sounds in the overheads. The snare mic only adds TO the overheads. Pretty much the same thing on the kick drum.

The largest impact you can make on your drum sound is the overheads... cymbals, top end of the kick, toms, high hat, snare... everything ends up here. Plus it gives the most realistic sound.