P
pinkieandtherev
New member
OK, I'm still trying to get the drum sounds right for my album. I am hampered by the fact that I have to get everything right in one take (playing AND mixing) as I can only record two tracks at a time (or one track in stereo).
I have 6 XLR channels available, and I have yet to get a good pair of OH mics, so my drum miking setup looks like this:
Kick - Audix F12
Snare - SM57
Left tom - Audix F10 - panned approx 9:00
Mid tom - Audix F10 - panned center
Floor tom - RS 33-3032 - panned approx 3:00
OH - Audix F10, on a stand behind my drum throne, at max height, angled down toward the kit. This is doing surprisingly well at picking up the cymbals. I have to ring the ride a little harder than normal and hit the crash a bit softer, but overall, not bad at all.
In fact, I'm getting decent sounds on everything...EXCEPT the snare.
I've tried putting the 57:
1) above the snare pointed down at the head - this captures the batter head attack well, but no snare-side sound
2) beneath the hi-hats pointed at the side of the snare - this captures the hats well, as well as the ride, but the snare sounds muddy
3) below the snare - captures snare-side sound, but no attack. This is particularly problematic on a few songs in which I use a lot of rimshots.
I have a decent quality 4-channel mixer I can patch in if I need more microphones. Cutting out the close mics on the toms isn't an option because if I try to catch both of them with one mic, I get way too much buzz from the shells. The only way to make them sound good is to get those mics close enough that all they're picking up is the head attack.
I know the consensus around here seems to be that 4 mics properly placed should do it. In the event that you don't have good overheads, more mics to close mic everything may be necessary. Any suggestions as to what I can do to make this snare sound halfway decent? I'm not adverse to the idea of over-and-undering it, but I have no clue what other mic to pair with the 57. I thought about pairing the F10 with it, and going to my original idea of using a pair of 588SD Unisphere B's as overheads.
Oh...nearly forgot, for awhile I added a Behri B-2 LDC as a room mic. Voila, it captured the full snare sound well. The problem is the room, as I mentioned before. I can't figure out how the heck those office panels are supposed to assemble, so I'm stuck with a humongous room right on the highway. The B-2 picks up WAY too much room noise, even in cardioid. I'm gonna see if our pastor still has the plexi drum shield we used to use. Not the greatest, but maybe I can at least keep jake brakes on the highway from bleeding into my drum mix.
I have 6 XLR channels available, and I have yet to get a good pair of OH mics, so my drum miking setup looks like this:
Kick - Audix F12
Snare - SM57
Left tom - Audix F10 - panned approx 9:00
Mid tom - Audix F10 - panned center
Floor tom - RS 33-3032 - panned approx 3:00
OH - Audix F10, on a stand behind my drum throne, at max height, angled down toward the kit. This is doing surprisingly well at picking up the cymbals. I have to ring the ride a little harder than normal and hit the crash a bit softer, but overall, not bad at all.
In fact, I'm getting decent sounds on everything...EXCEPT the snare.
I've tried putting the 57:
1) above the snare pointed down at the head - this captures the batter head attack well, but no snare-side sound
2) beneath the hi-hats pointed at the side of the snare - this captures the hats well, as well as the ride, but the snare sounds muddy
3) below the snare - captures snare-side sound, but no attack. This is particularly problematic on a few songs in which I use a lot of rimshots.
I have a decent quality 4-channel mixer I can patch in if I need more microphones. Cutting out the close mics on the toms isn't an option because if I try to catch both of them with one mic, I get way too much buzz from the shells. The only way to make them sound good is to get those mics close enough that all they're picking up is the head attack.
I know the consensus around here seems to be that 4 mics properly placed should do it. In the event that you don't have good overheads, more mics to close mic everything may be necessary. Any suggestions as to what I can do to make this snare sound halfway decent? I'm not adverse to the idea of over-and-undering it, but I have no clue what other mic to pair with the 57. I thought about pairing the F10 with it, and going to my original idea of using a pair of 588SD Unisphere B's as overheads.
Oh...nearly forgot, for awhile I added a Behri B-2 LDC as a room mic. Voila, it captured the full snare sound well. The problem is the room, as I mentioned before. I can't figure out how the heck those office panels are supposed to assemble, so I'm stuck with a humongous room right on the highway. The B-2 picks up WAY too much room noise, even in cardioid. I'm gonna see if our pastor still has the plexi drum shield we used to use. Not the greatest, but maybe I can at least keep jake brakes on the highway from bleeding into my drum mix.
