Tips for reducing bleed when recording drums?

[wishtheend]

I'm about to start recording my band here pretty soon. I'm going to be running 8 mics into the firepod, probley in this set up

1 Kick (internal, about 6" from beater)
2 Snare (about 4" inches above rim, pointed slightly off center, away from hats)
3 Hi-Tom (all toms about about 3" above rim pointed towards center of head)
4 Mid-Tom
5 Low-Tom
6 Highhat
7 Overhead Left
8 Overhead Right

I'm thinking I might exchange one of the toms or highat for another kick so I can have one internal and one external. But here's my question. I'm going to be doing metal, so the drum panning is a big thing. I know to get the overheads to basically give a nice stereo image of the whole kit, but when I start feeding in some of the toms, it seems the mics will pick up other nearby hits, making panning a pain. So, any tips on the best way to isolate each mic, or how to place them better?

I've seen things like

and wonder if that might be a good solution as well.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Cloneboy Studio]

Gate or edit the tom mics so they only sound when they are being played.

Generally you don't even need to do that most of the time, unless you are working with someone that has 6-7 toms or the bleed is out of control.

 

[Han]

You should use mics which are very rejective and have a nice off axis response.

Bleed into the tom mics is best to edit away as Cloneboy says, hi hat bleed into the snare mic can be a big problem.

Try to make it work before it gets recorded, a less loud hi hat, or a number of coins in the bell of the lower hat cymbal can work. A Beyer M201 will sound better than the SM57 for it's more rejective (hyper cardioid) and it has a nicer off axis response.

The SM57 can give you a great snare sound tho, but the drummer must have much control over the hats.

You can edit toms away, but remember that the OH's will be a major part of the overall tom sound (and snare as well).

 

[bigtoe]

"You should use mics which are very rejective..."

you can make your mic a little more so by placing foam around the mic up to and even a little past the capsule/grill.

it works well...that auralex idea looks good too...though i'd just buy foam and mimic the placement of it in the picture... i'm gonna try that.

Mike

 

[Farview]

Put the mics closer to the drums. Gate or erase the tom tracks between tom hits.

Bleed is ambiance you don't like
ambiance is bleed you do like

 

[MadAudio]

Internal kick micing often works better live than in the studio. You may want to try placing the mic an inch or two outside the kick.

 

[foreverain4]

one mistake people make in using a uni directional microphone, is that they think they have 100% rejection in the back of the mic. this is not true. you have the most rejection at 45 degrees to the rear of the mic. look at the pattern, there is a small lobe at 180 degrees...

 

[reshp1]

one mistake people make in using a uni directional microphone, is that they think they have 100% rejection in the back of the mic. this is not true. you have the most rejection at 45 degrees to the rear of the mic. look at the pattern, there is a small lobe at 180 degrees...

Depends on the pattern. Cardiod is null at 180 degrees. Hypercardiod does have that little tail in the picture. Those graphs are also only accurate at one frequency.

 

[wishtheend]

Depends on the pattern. Cardiod is null at 180 degrees. Hypercardiod does have that little tail in the picture. Those graphs are also only accurate at one frequency.

Well, would doing something like pictures in the first post help with shielding anything behind the mic?

 

[Farview]

It would only work on high end. You also have to be careful not to block any vents on the side of the mic. Blocking those vents will change the pattern of the mic.