recording drums for dummies

  • Thread starter Thread starter getchoo
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getchoo

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Okay, kinda starting from scratch here so I've got some probably very obvious questions to ask.

I recently bought a 4-track digital recorder (Zoom MRS-4) and I've been using it to record guitar, vocals, bass and piano. Now I'm wanting to have a go at recording drums, and cos it's just a 4-track I'm assuming this isn't really gonna be that possible.

Then I was thinking, if I got a mixer, would I be able to record all the drum mics, level them out, and then record them directly to one track of my 4-track recorder? That is probably a really obvious YES or NO, but I thought I'd better ask. If i can do this, what kind of lead would I need? Also, any suggestions on good BUT not so expensive mixers and drum mics?

Any help anyone can give here would be most appreciated. THANKS.
 
There are a bunch of threads on here already covering this numerous times... and they probably have an answer on here better than I could give.

But in a nutshell:

If you're doing a bare-bones recording (and it sounds like you are if you're going to record a set of drums onto one track) you're not going to need a bunch of things.

Make sure your drummer can and does tune up his kit. It will save you a possible head ache in the long run.

3 mics should do the trick for you:

1. a Shure SM57 for your snare.

2. a good kick mic... I use the AKG D112... it's a standard. Another good kick mic is the Audix D6.

3. a good Omni directional mic for your overhead. Although not my first choice, a SM58 might be OK for this type of recording. I personally would choose to go through a mic known as a condensor... they may sound a little "flat" to your ears... but I feel they handle cymbolware much more honestly.

* Because you're doing bare-bones, I'm gong to leave out compressors. I'm assuming this recording is for sketchpad-style work.

Run all 3 mics into your mixer. pan them all to one side. For this illustration, let's say you're panning them all to the LEFT.

Then take the LEFT output of your mixer and plug it into your choice of inputs on your recorder.

That should do it for you.

***Afterthought****

You might want to try this same approach with your piano: using 2-3 mics. The piano is such a difficult instrument to record that I personally think it rivals the drums.

Good luck.
C
 
Thanks a lot, thats really helpful.

I was thinking of having a go at doing the piano differently, and that sounds like a good idea.

Cheers mate.
 
If you have 4 channels, I would recommend this mic set-up:
- snare (dynamic mic)
- kick (dynamic mic)
- overheads (2 matched small diaphragm condenser mics - stereo)

Note: large diaphragm condenser mics (for overheads) may respond better to the lower frequencies of the toms, but they also might not accent the shimmer of the cymbals like the small diaphragm mics do. Study up on miking techniques for drums and you'll do fine either way.
 
jeff5xo said:
Check this thread out. I think it will help you. Good luck!

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=39030
Click to expand...

I do that all the time. I have a set up very similar to yours.

I mic up my drums (using the 3 mic method) and I run the main output of my mixer into the input of my 8 track recorded.

On my mixer I have to run a mic cable out from the main.

And my 8 track only has 1/4" inputs. (Like you could plug a guitar into).

The XLR to 1/4" adapter might has cost 5 or 10 dollars. (So you won't break the bank).

I check the mixer first and make sure nothing is peaking (when the drummer is play the loudest he's going to play).

Then I check the input level on the recorder and make sure it's not clipping.

Ba-da-bing-ba-da-boom I've recorded my drums on one track of my 8 track.

***********Another fun trick*****************

Note: This will only work if you can record two tracks at the same time on your 4 track. If you can do this, then you can

Do everything I mention above and run a snare mic into the mixer crank up the monitor level on the snare mic but don't worry about the main level.

Cut down the monitor level on the other 3 mics (so they're at 0).

No run a line out of the monitor output into your recorder.

Make sure it's not clipping and everything.

Now you have nothing but snare on one track and if you just want to hear more snare, you can turn up just the snare.

This trick will also work with just kick. Or whatever combo you choose.

*********** Yet another fun trick **********

Note: This will only work if you can export single tracks onto your computer.

Download kristal. (it's free, here's the link) http://www.kreatives.org/kristal/index.php?section=download

Export all of your tracks on to your computer. Save them all with names like vocal.wav and backingvocal.wav and make sure you remember what's what.

No open each track on a seperate track of kristal. (kristal can handle up to 16 tracks).

And you can actually use kristal to somewhat "master". You could do your final mix on there and you can add reverb, compression, delay etc. And I think even more plug-ins are available for free.

***************As far as cheap mics go************

Don't buy a CAD mic drum package. I payed 100 bucks for mine and feel pretty cheated. You'd be much better off spending money on separate mics. A Shure SM57 is a must for me. I've recording the bass drum, the snare, and guitar cabinets with it and gotten really good results.

******************************************************

Alright man, I hope this helped. :D
 
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