They must have done it with Bonaham for a reason

[VTgreen81]

that's what I said after I heard it. A few days ago we recorded a jam hoping to find some seeds for new songs in it somewhere. So we mic'd the guitar cab, ran the bass DI and put just two mics on the drums, a D112 on the kick and an LDC as an overhead. Last night we listened back thru, and I was amazed. Those two mics gave me a much bigger, fatter, rounder sound than I get with 5 mics. I thought this kinda defies logic but Bonaham must have used this mic'ing technique for a reason. Why? Was I getting some minor Phase cancellation with more mic's?

 

[Track Rat]

I've found that backing away from a source with the mics lets it "develope" and sound bigger. Most of the drum sound for me is in the overhead(s) anyway. The tight mics I only use to reinforce the overheads. Plus it's possible you might of had some phse cancellation too.

 

[HangDawg]

that's what I said after I heard it. A few days ago we recorded a jam hoping to find some seeds for new songs in it somewhere. So we mic'd the guitar cab, ran the bass DI and put just two mics on the drums, a D112 on the kick and an LDC as an overhead. Last night we listened back thru, and I was amazed. Those two mics gave me a much bigger, fatter, rounder sound than I get with 5 mics. I thought this kinda defies logic but Bonaham must have used this mic'ing technique for a reason. Why? Was I getting some minor Phase cancellation with more mic's?

I've been doing the same thing but with an added snare mic. It's really suprising how good it sounds.

On a side note, I just bought the audix D6. What an awesome mic. It's almost impossible to get an unuseable sound with it.

 

[mrface2112]

<<Was I getting some minor Phase cancellation with more mic's>>

assuming your kick mic and overhead mic were in the same place as you normally put them (when you've got more mics hung), that would be my guess. the more mics you hang, the more phase cancellation you're going to get. it's inevitable.

a good rule of tumb is the fewer mics on drums the better. i'm a pretty HUGE fan of a mono overhead, kick mic and snare mic. sometimes you can put a couple room mics out about 6ft from the kit, about waist-height (think on level with the snare drum) and they will *really* "meaty up" your drum sound.

as trackrat said, most of my drum sound is from the overheads, and drums usually sound best when they've been given some time and room for the sound to develop before hitting the mics. the physics, with regards to the sounds emitted by drums, is quite complex. i'd FAR rather have the option to distance-mic a drumkit than having to rely on close mics. but you've literally gotta have the room (very tall ceilings) for that, and i don't.

i've thought about cozying up to the church down the street from me to see if they'd let me record drums in there, but i'd prolly get struck down by lightning even setting foot in there.


cheers,
wade

 

[mikeh]

Most sound needs room to develop. You need to move air!!!!.

The best drums (assuming a well tuned kit, etc) come from room mics. Naturally, close mic'ing can help dial in a specific drum (ie: kick mic & snare mic).

However - to make this work, you need a good sounding room. Moving air in a crap sounding room will likely result in recorded crap.