Recording drums in the practice space: weigh in!

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Get Down Moses

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So my band is taking the plunge, and we're self-producing our first full length album (since no one ELSE seems to want produce it, hmmmm...) Anyways, I wanted to post a list of mics available to me for tracking drums, and see what everyone thinks is the best way to mic up the ol' skins.

The drums: decently tuned, kick, snare, hats, rack tom, floor tom, crash and ride.

The Drummer: decent smelling, slightly hard hitting fellow with some finesse.

The Music:
Poppy rockin' reggae-ishness
myspace.com/getdownmoses

The mics:

1x SM57
1x SM58
2x Senn. e609
1x Blue Kickball
2x Oktava 219 (un-modded)
2x MXL 990
1x MXL 991
1x Audio Technica 2020
1x Pacific Pro Audio R-1 ribbon

The tape machine:
Digi 003 rack, 4 mic pres and 4 line-ins; a small Mackie mixer will be feeding the line-ins.

The Room:
18ftx24ft, tall ceiling, sounds fair-to-live, cluttered with 3 bands' equipment and empty beer bottles.

So! Given the above parameters, which 8 mics would you use to capture drums, and how would you place 'em? Remember there's only 8 inputs.

:eek:BONUS QUESTION: Using the same stuff, how would you mic up a Leslie 147?

Thanks to anyone who takes time to respond!!:D
 
Are you able to track the drums without having other instruments/amps making noise at the same time?

For the Leslie, which we've got in my band, we've always just put a dynamic (like the sm57) on the top speaker, and a dynamic (like a beta52 kick mic to capture lows) on the bottom speaker.

As far as drums go, I've been amazed with the recorderman mic set-up (it's described in other threads... or google it). It requires 2 of the same small diaphragm condenser mics for overheads, a kick mic, and go ahead and throw the sm57 on the snare... and mix to taste (possibly shooting for the same level of snare sound from the 57 as you do from the overheads for a nice balance).
 
I don't know enough about your mics but if it were me, I'd set up in either the Glyn Johns or the Recorderman method. I use a blend of the 2 with an added snare mic.

We tracked a 3 pc band (drums bass guitar) in a smaller treated room and the results were pretty damn good. I was surprised.

I used a pair of SP B1's (LCD's) as drum OH's, a beta 52 on kick and an Audix I5 on snare.
Ran DI + a miced cab on bass (for options in the mix)
Ran a 57 on the guitar cab.

We turned the guitar cab and the bass cab down (not alot but enough to cut back on bleed) and just turned em up at the input on the pres going into my board.

Experiment around. You'll get it.

Peace ...........Kel
 
SNARE TOP = 1x SM57
KICK = 1x Blue Kickball
Possible snare bottom = Senn. e609 or use on toms and ribbon on snare bottom.
Overheads = 2x Oktava 219 in "RecorderMan" Fassion
Toms = 2x MXL 990
Room = 1x Audio Technica 2020 4-6ft out in front of kit waist height

Possible another Room = 1x MXL 991
snare bottom / room = Pacific Pro Audio R-1 ribbon
SM58 back on the shelf or snare bottom. :)

Thats what I think would be the most useful setup for these mics

You may find you dont even need to bottom mic snare. In which case it might be good to use the other channel for a room mic.

Experiment a little bit.

-josh
 
As a side note....and it does take some time....but

After I've got the drums tracked, I'll go into the snare mic track and erase everything that's not a snare. I'll do the same for toms if I've got them miked up too. Kick doesn't seem to need it cuz it's fairly isolated. The OH's I pretty much leave alone.

I realize you can do this by gating but it's almost as much of a pain in the ass to set the gate as it is to erase. For me anyway.

It really helps to add some punch and clarity in the drums.

Just a thought.

Kel
 
The only advice I ever feel qualified to give on recording drums is: Try the MXL 991 on the snare.

I can't get a decent sound out of my overheads. My kick sounds like shit.
My broke ass drummer won't spring for new heads and barely knows how to tune them.
His snare is a metal piece of shit that sounds like he is beating an empty cookie tin.
But somehow some way I use that 991 that sounds positively shitty on everything else I have tried it on and that shitty snare cracks like a bastard.
It sounds better recorded than it does in the room. WTF?



Anyway, I'm a total newb and you should probably ignore everything I say but it never hurts to try does it?:D
 
I know what ya mean about sounding better recorded than in the room.
So does mine and I don't know if that's a good thing. :D

What the hell tho, if it sounds good it is good, right?
 
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