Recording Conga's and percussion tomorrow.

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ambi

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Tomorrow im going to record some conga drums and some percussion for a bunch of my tracks.
I don't know exactly what hes bringing for percussion, but he said

"I have congas and timbales and claves and a tambourine and cymbals and stuff. I'm not sure if I want to bring everything though."

For the congas im planning on putting a Shure beta 52 under it for the body, and my APEX 410 condensor (large diaphram condensor mic) above it.

but for the percussion what would you recomend? just point the condensor at it from about 3 feet away and play with it until it sounds good?

I also have a shure sm58 on hand...

thanks for the help in advance.
 
I just point two 57s at the percussion I'm playing to get a stereo track. Pretty close though. A condenser from a small distance might work out nicely. Some stuff isn't that powerful though, like a tambourine or shakers if your multitracking. So you might want a close mic too, that 58 would probably work, for the quieter stuff. :D
 
For congas and timbale you may want to close mic (much like a drum kit) with dynamic mics (like your SM58) and then use a condensor overhead for ambiance and to pick up the small hand percussion.

Although I have on occasion used a bottom mic on congas, in a mix you really need the attack more than the resonance. You may want to start with only micing the heads of the congas and only add a mic to the bottom if you really think you need it.
 
thanks for the responses guys you have NO idea how much it helps.

After i post this im going to work, and after work he'll be here, so i'll post this and then see if you guys have replied anymore when i get home.. thanks again!

barometer - Hmm yea thats a good point the percussion may be fairly quiet... I'll try both mics and see which gives me a better sound. But the condensor is a lot more sensitive so it may make more sense if its REALLY quiet, but we'll see. I'll try close micing with the sm58 and have the condensor a few feet away pointing at it (thats what i did with my friends drum kit the other day). HAha, i may use as many mics for the conga as i did with my friends whole kit... But what if i run into phase problems using 3 mics so close... how can i tell? Im still iffy how to tell whem im having phase problems. If i listen back to what i recorded and it DOES have phase problems, i may just assume it was bad mic positioning and redo it. Its not gonna be a stereo recording... well it is, but im gonna have to merge the tracks after (unless i don't use the kick mic). I could pan the close miced shure left, and the further away condensor right, but then i wouldn't beable to get any shure beta 52 action...

Mikeh - Yea thats a good idea about the close micing with the overhead. But remember, i only have two seperate channel's to record to. BUT, i could do like i did with the drum kit, have the close miced shure, and the further away condensor in one track, and the beta 52 kick mic on another, that way i can control the bass. So, more attack then resonance? That makes sense, kind of like a snare drum, i don't want it to sound dead and far away in some huge hall, like if i put a condensor 10 feet away, but i'd want a close miced, upfront strong sound... ok got that part i think. The reason why i think i would need the beta 52 kick mic on the bottom is that the congas and percussion are going to be the only drum track on this song, so i think i'd need to body of the it to take a bit of the place of a kick drum...?
 
Cool, I agree with mike about the conga. I usually don't mike anything underneath, just a couple on the head for a stereo track. But even one mic on the head should be fine. I'm no expert on the phase thing either. I just try to get my mics positioned so none of their cones cross, make sense? So I tend to agree with his suggestion as well, the condenser above, or maybe out in front of the percussionist and two close mics to get stereo, just like a kit without the kick. Of course that depends on his setup and if your tracking lots of different instruments at once. Good luck :D
 
yea im just recording the congas by them self
and i can only record 2 seperate tracks at the same time, so i could do a stereo track with the 58 and condensor

so you don't think i'd need the kick mic to get the body of it?
i have a bassline to go with the congas, but no other drums, you don't think it will be lacking body?
 
Depends on the depth of the sound of the conga and the music. :cool:
 
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