Recording Drums

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stargames66

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I recently purchased a MACKIE 1402-VLZ PRO mixing board and a BOSS BR-864 DIGITAL STUDIO. I would like to record live drums as apposed to the digital drums that are on the Boss. How would i got about this using these two componets? Thanks for the help and this site is awesome!!

New guy to recording
 
You need:

1) A good drumset. All the rest cannot make up for a lame one.

2) A good room to record it in. Size does matter, especially for the Bonham kind of huge drum sound

3) At least three mics. There is a thread or two in the archives about three mic techniques for drums. One or two of those can be SM57s (about $100 a pop) the Third should be a condenser mic, but no worries, your Mackie has phantom power.

4) Stands and cables.

Now you didn't say anything about monitors, outboard gear, etc... but that's another issue altogether.

Good Luck! Drums are hard to get just right, but oh so satisfying when you do...
 
A different suggestion for mics (what I use.)

2 oktava mc012 's ($100/pr from guitar center, just wait for a sale)

1 bass drum mic (akg d112, shure beta 52, audix D6, etc. around $200 or ATM25 for $125)

1 sm 57 ($79)


put the bass drum mic in front of the bass drum, put the 57 off the snare, and put the mc012's above the cymbals. Now move them until they sound good (:D This part is where the challenge lies.)

I've also used a matched pair of MXL 603s mics for overheads with good results ($200/pr).

ps-Todzilla is correct with #1 and #2 being very important.
 
Dethska's mic recommendations are solid as well. Watch out for phasing problems with the overheads, though. Monitor those two mics in mono mode and listen carefully for weird swooshing sound. Move mics around to avoid it.

If you can't prevent swooshing by moving mics around, try a coincident pair arrangement, where mics are next to each other, but perpendicular, like an X, above the kit, but pointing at different ends of the kit. This avoids phasing.

Remember that every mic you add to the overall drum micing equation brings new phasing challenges, bleed through challenges and overall sound management issues.

My advice is to use as few mics as you can get away with, but of course, you want a dedicated kick mic.

Good Luck.
 
Sorry, I'd love to. But, I have to finish packing because I leave at 4:00 am to go to the airport. (Going to Maui :D)
 
yes, i guess travel to Hawaii will increase since JakeOwa left:D
 
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