recording drums with SM57

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jammindaveb

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i just bought a pro tools LE system (digi 001) and ive only done demos with looped drums so far but i want to record real drums (i mean come on, how can you do rock drums in acid???? anyone????) heres the problem... all i have to work with are seven (yes 7) SM57's (dont worry... im borrowing... i didnt actually go out and buy 7 57's before i bought anything else). i know they're good mics, but how should i put them (and should i even try to use all of them) around a drumset? (5 piece with 2 crashes, ride, hats)

i was told mic the kick, snare, T1, T2, T3, OHL, OHR and that makes seven. but can you use a SM57 as an overhead? and what about phase issues?

and i heard a rumor that tom petty for one album (full moon fever?) use exclusively SM57s on all instruments, vocals, everything. any truth to that rumor?

thanks y'all
 
You ever listened to "Full Moon Fever"? lol. Judging by the sound its possible. 57s as overheads are possible with the right eqing.

the kid
 
Why don't your borrow something other than an SM57? Or rent....
 
Can you explain to me what "Phase Issues" are? I know that they come from using the same mic, but what exactly are they?
 
As I understand it,phasing occurs when the sound waves from a single source hits two mics at differents times in such a manner that the diaphragm of one mic at its peak and the other at it's trough, thus in whole or part cancelling the signal.

Oversimplified of course, just like me.
 
Actually you can do pretty well with the 57's with (possibly) the exception of the bass.

There is a method for picking up good stereo imaging with 2 overheads (worked out by a gent who goes by the name of Recorder Man).

Place the 1st mic directly over the center of the snare - the height of 2 drumsticks.

Then place the 2nd over the right shoulder (for a right handed drummer) the same 2 sticks - be carefull as you do this to make certain that you hold it the same distance from the bass batter as well.

It's rather easy to do this with the use of light string or thread - once you set the mic over the snare - just tape the sting at the certer of both - and tie them together right at the center of the mic cone - then swing them to locate the mic over the drummers shoulder.

Once you record you pan hard left and right with each channel - the snare and bass end up dead center yet the kit pans left and right.

Add a snare mic (the 57 is an excellent snare mic) and a bass mic and you can get a pretty good kit sound.

I've never used a 57 for the bass drum - but give it a shot - placement means a lot. A lot of people like the mic deep inside the drum close to the pad - and pointed away form the snare (once again - don't point mics towards each other). Me - I'm using an Avlex AVS20 for my bass - and my best sound is with it just outside the hole in my outer skin.

Adding mics to the toms (the 57's work well with this) give you the ability to take a little of the overheads out - so you can control the level of brass to drums without going EQ crazy. It also give you excellent stereo control.

Personally - I like to record with no EQ - and adjust things afterwards. I also record dry - you can always add effects afterwards - but whatever you put in is real difficult to take out when you're done.

Phase cancellation problems should not be a big issue as long as you keep you mics facing in the same direction - so mic your toms over the top - (this also helps with the snare to keep as much high hat out of it as possible.

Disclaimer - Although I have had some excellent results using these techniques myself - I am not a pro in the industry - and some of the positions for the mics will be trial and error as you go along.

Set up for your session and record some tracks - play them back and listen to the sounds carefully - figure out what's working and what isn't - make any adjustments small along the way - an inch can make a big difference in what a mike picks up - drastic changes make it hard to figure out where to go next.


Good luck

Rod
 
you can indeed record a 5 pc kit with all 57's and get acceptable demo quality results.
i would try for something other than a 57 in the kick..like a d112.
as far as phase use the 3:1 rule for the oh mics.
 
thanks guys... it took me four hours to tune the drums and get the mics just right. i ended up borrowing some random AKG bass drum mic out of one of those $300 kitpacks (its probably not very good but from what y'all said i figured it was better than a 57). most of that four hours was tuning the drums (they had just sat in a trunk for 2 days or somethin), and getting the kick to sound right. i ended up taking the resonant head off completely and putting the mic about two feet out from the spot where the beater hits the head. thats probably poor technique, but it didnt sound too bad.

ive seen people post mp3s of their results, how do i go about doing that?

thanks y'all for your help!
 
Export them to mp3, then you just need somewhere on the net to put them up. Your ISP might have given you web space so try there first. Otherwise you'll need a web host for your files. Read my post here:

http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?p=1102617#post1102617

There are also plenty of free hosts around, have a look at thefreesite.com for some, or you could try one of the music sites like purevolume.com
 
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