the adventure continues

[rightbrainnow]

I posted this in drums and percussion....but i guess its more of a recording technique...

so im still on the adventure of learning how to record drums. ive searched the forum and googled to learn about phase correction on drums. I know what phase is, and i know how to elimate it on electric guitar with two mics...but is it even possible to fully eliminate it on drums? I have two o/h's, a kick, and a snare. Isnt it just kidna factual that the sound on my hi hat is going to reach my left o/h before it does my right?..and to elimate that signal interference...how does one reposition a mic? Arent all the mics out of phase with eachother? its not really possible to get the good "stereo image" while having every mic equal distance from every source of a sound. This problem seems like common sense to me, but most my searches lead to people talking about phase correction within a single tom, or just a snare...yes that i understand, but with a 4 mich set up or even the infamous "3 mic setup" everyone talks about it seems physically impossible. do i not get it?

 

[jonnyc]

I think you're problem is you're thinking way too much. Yes a drum kit has a lot of mics, and yes you may get a little phasing, but if you get your overheads right and in phase with each other, and every other drum has just one mic, you shouldn't have any noticable problems when the final product is completed. Just worry about making each close mic'd drum sound as good as possible and make sure there isn't phasing between the two overheads. Also tune you're drums good. I hired a pro to tune my drums and the difference is astounding. You letting the science part of this ART beat you. Remeber it's a blend of both, there are rules but like art sometimes you just ignore them.

 

[surfmaster]

also, phase cancellation does not happen when two mikes are just at a different distance from a source, its when the sound waves produced hit at a certain point so that in one mic, there is a through, and in the other, a crest. so as long as your mics are at an equal intergers distance away from the source, theoretically, you should be all set. but this is almost impossible to hear. i usually have no problems myself if i just do an xy overhead setup or that two sticks away from deal. really, dont worry about it. all you've got to know is to flip the phase on any mic that is pointing at another mic (say your kick drum mic if you have it pointed up at the beater) good luck though! hard work on drum micing is very rewarding.

 

[Bulls Hit]

If your recording on seperate tracks, it's real easy to see if you're getting too much phasing, i.e. leading to cancellation. If the snare is peaking on the snare track and troughing at the same spot on the overheads, then either just flip the phase on the snare track or slide it along until the peaks line up