Using only 3 mics

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fireworksgoup

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I have a Tascam 424MKIII so I'm limited to 4 tracks. I know I can assign certain tracks to more than one channel, but I want to try this idea right now:

1 mic for the bass drum.
1 for the snare.
1 overhead.

Before I go further, the search function is not working for me, so I have no way of finding this information out with that method.

I have an SM57 for the snare and I plan on buying a bass drum mic soon. I was thinking about an MXL990 for the overhead.

So if someone could share with me some techniques on placement of the overhead, maybe a different mic to buy, or anything else that would be great. I want to attempt to capture the kit with JUST 3 mics. If this isn't possible to get a decent sound of the entire spectrum whatsoever, then I'll try something different.

As far as my kit is concerned I have a 22" bass drum, 14" snare, 13" tom, 16" floor tom. Off to my right and in between the two toms is my 20" ride, to the left of my rack tom and in between my 14" hi-hats is my 18" crash.

Any help is much appreciate!
 
You can certainly get a most usable sound with a single condensor overhead along with kick & snare mics. You lose the ability to capture a stereo image, but that's about the only drawback.

I used to use just 3 mics, with the condensor hanging straight down over the middle of the kit about 2 stick lengths above the snare.

This was recorded thru an MG mixer, Delta 44 and 3 mics
http://media.recordingproject.com/d...y=1&passcode=32905bd06ebdd838238af5505a0e61d4
 
link doesnt work :(

you could listen to some of my recordings too..

www.soundclick.com/dodo

recorded with 3 mics.. behringer xm1800 on kick and snare, and behringer C-1 overhead.
 
Thanks everyone for the replies. Could someone offer some overhead mic suggestions (what to buy?).

EQing tips would be nice as well.
 
All I can give you is personal experience but the Shure KSM 109's and the Studio Projects C4's sound good. You can also use them on acoustic guitar.

I've also heard that the Studio Projects B1's make good OH's and they're cheaper...bout $100 a piece.

I'm sure there are other better choices but these sound good to me.

my 2c
 
wow your set up (kit) is exactly the same as mine except I use a 22" ride... I only ever use two or three mics on the kit nowdays, a bass drum mic and an overhead, with the occasional snare mic, or stereo overhead depending on the song. I have the Studio Projects B1 that I use as my "airy" overhead, its not agressive and very detailed, thats what I generally use for sparse drum track that require detail etc. I use an ECM8000 as an overhead for a more aggressive drum sound, which is most of the time... I don't usually need a snare mic with the ECM8000. The MXL 990 is a poor man's "Zep II" sounding mic. I love it for aggressive blues stuff where you want a littlebit of lo-fi charachter in there.

If I had to pick one, then I like the ECM8000 the best for MY room, MY kit and MY style of playing, it is not as hi-fi as the B1, but I like its charachter.
 
I recorded some boner-riffic drum tracks a few weeks back with a AT4050 directly over the snare, at the level of the top of the drummer's head, a 57 underneath the snare, and an ATM25.

It worked so well, I ordered a second 4050, so I can try a Glyn Johns setup. The AT set to figure 8 is also spectacular on acoustic guitars, and it makes a super vocal mic. It will inflate your budget temporarilly, but you will be loving this mic for decades after you forget what you paid for it. I got both of mine new on eBay for 399+ shipping, you probably can, too.

If you really can't spend the money, get an SP B-1 (which I have and like) or a Kel HM 1 (which I don't have but gets similar reviews to the B-1).
 
I think I'm going to try this 3 mic method tomorrow and see how it turns out.
 
I think if I was limited to three mics for drums, I'd do an overhead pair and one on kick. Might be a problem if you don't have a pair or similar (same model, at least) mics for the overheads, though.

I've done a fair amount of drum recording experimentation recently, and to me it's essential to have a credible stereo panorama for the kit as a whole, augmented a punchy kick you can process separately. More work to be done, but I'm finding that separate tom and snare mics have a lot of "kit" in them, which blurs the nice stereo image that comes from the OH mics. Currently I'm using six mics: OH pair, kick, snare, hi tom and lo tom.

Alan
 
Y'all know I'm gonna agree with his 990 suggestion. I oughta get kickbacls from MXL for as much as I've gushed about them. Hell, get as many of those as you can and put them anywhere on the kit. For the price to sound ratio, you won't regret it.

Check out http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pageartist.cfm?bandID=110132

Listen to the fart-off BluMetal Groove. That's just one of those puppies....and minimal plugins post-processing.
 
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