Three-mic technique examples

[RezN8]

Hey crew- it's been some time since I posted but wanted to share this with anyone interested.

After discussions with a colleague, I posted some examples of different mic techniques on youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/evinger

Both mono and stereo examples are available. So grab your headphones and give a listen. Let me know which one you think is "best".

FYI- I wasn't exactly playing my best here, I'm pretty rusty. Seems the more time I spend as a sound engineer, the more my actual playing suffers. So I was just trying to hear in the headphones what I was playing and how it sounded. I had the flu and was getting stir crazy, so I did this to keep myself from going mad. I guess I was too late.

 

[RezN8]

No Subkick

Someone just PM'd me and asked what kind of subkick I was using for these demos. I wasn't using a subkick at all and I didn't build a tunnel either.

I'm just using a dual-element bass drum mic from Audio Technica:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/AE2500

I didn't stick the mic inside the bass drum through the soundhole. I just found a "sweetspot" about an inch and a half from the center of the reso head. Made a huge difference.

 

[PhilGood]

FYI- I wasn't exactly playing my best here, I'm pretty rusty. Seems the more time I spend as a sound engineer, the more my actual playing suffers. So I was just trying to hear in the headphones what I was playing and how it sounded. I had the flu and was getting stir crazy, so I did this to keep myself from going mad. I guess I was too late.

That seems to be the story of my life. Why is it the drummer always ends up as an engineer? And playing always suffers as a result!

And BTW, drummers make some damn fine engineers!

 

[PhilGood]

It seems the Glyn John method has the most depth and dimension. Fat and full and nice with a good image.

The Mono - XY overheads (coincident pair) test is the opposite, with absolutely no dimension or depth at all. Pretty lifeless to tell the truth.

 

[RAMI]

I seems the Glyn John method has the most depth and dimension. Fat and full and nice with a good image.

I agree. I swore by the Recorderman method until I tried the Glyn Johns, which I now use all the time.

 

[tmix]

I liked the first set up stereo 1.2 the best, had some nice depth.
Maybe it had some reverb contributing to that depth.
Other than that the Glyn Johns was good also.
I have been using that as well myself.
I add a second kick mic for the beater because I have a wimpy kick foot, so I get a little more punch that way.

by the way, even rusty, you play well!

 

[RezN8]

I liked the first set up stereo 1.2 the best, had some nice depth.
Maybe it had some reverb contributing to that depth.
Other than that the Glyn Johns was good also.
I have been using that as well myself.
I add a second kick mic for the beater because I have a wimpy kick foot, so I get a little more punch that way.

by the way, even rusty, you play well!

Thanks tmix- I like the stereo 1.2 the best as well. It's close to an ORTF set up on that one. It does have a little more verb on it but even without it I seem to get more depth with ORTF. I use a stereo mic bar on one mic stand to save space, and place it above my head, facing more toward the toms than the cymbals.

You should definitely practice building your weak bass drum foot up as much as you can. Steve Smith mentioned in an article a long time ago that drummers should play from the bottom up. I think it's good advice and I try to follow that as much as I can.

Also when I'm actaully laying tracks, especially with a minimal mic set up, to listen carefully in the headphones to see what it sounds like. Then if one tom is too quiet compared to the rest, I'll try to hit that one harder then the rest to compensate. Bohnam gets the credit for that one.

Thanks again for all who took the time to check out the vids! I'm really trying to get Youtube tracks to sound as good or better than the video and this is why I started the whole experiment.

Cheers, Rez