Yet another drum mic'ing thread..sorry

[Kinslayer]

Another Drum Mic'ing thread...sorry but I just spent 500 for new cables, another mic and new stands and I'm upset it's not working like I thought it would but for anything worthwhile, you gotta do work, right?

For my mics I have 8 xlr inputs but the mics I have are as follows:

The Audix Fusion Drum Mic set
- 3 f10s
- 1 f12
- 2 f15

1 Audix i5
2 Shure sm58s
1 Shure58 beta
1 Shure ksm27

I also have an sm57 but only temporarily because my friend left it here. =D.

My set up as of now is:

f10 for the high tom (only tom besides the floor tom)
f10 for the hi-hat
f12 for the floor tom
the 2 f15s for overheads
ksm27 for the bass drum
audix i5 or sm57 (haven't decided yet) for the snare top (nothing for the bottom)
58 beta for a room mic

I hope this is the best combo but I don't know with the sound I'm getting....sounds real messy with the cymbals. I'm thinking if this is a good set-up it's just too much general high end or the hi-hat/OH/room mics are too loud in general.

Thanks for your help.

 

[santiu]

Don't just throw all the mics on the set, and then start to adjust. Too many variables to control at once. Here's my suggestion. Start with your two overheads. Play with position and orientation until you are happy with the sound and stereo spread of the kit. You want to have a nice solid, balanced sound from your OHs. Pretend like they are the only mics you have. Next bring in the bass drum mic. Again find a nice position and orientation for the mic. Bring it up in the mix, make sure it's working well with the overheads. From there on, you'll need to listen, and see what you think needs more reinforcement. Add mics to those items as needed. More mics doesn't equal better sound. Room mic is the last one to add in. Make sure it's far enough away (even consider putting it in the next room over).

 

[santiu]

Also, what's your room like? Consider some acoustic treatment. IMO, it's the biggest bang for the buck difference in recording quality, especially with drums.

 

[Kinslayer]

It's all already treated. It's not that big of a room...like 10x 20'. Thanks for that advice. I'll be working on it tomorrow with my friend so hopefully that would help everything out.

 

[Dogbreath]

I agree with Santiu...

Room acoustics and treatment were a big deal when it came to getting a good drum sound for me. And in my mixes as a whole. Everything came together better and faster.

When I'm tracking drums...I'll start with the OH's first. I spend most of my drum micing time on the OH's. I get everything sounding good there first. Stereo spread, kick centered, snare centered...

Then I'll bring in my kick (and subkick) til they fill out the OH's the way I want them to. Next I bring up my snare mic but just enough to fill it out. I get good results from the 57 and the I5. Both good mics for snare.

When I mic my toms (which I do only sometimes) they get the same treatment. I bring em up in the mix just enough to fill out the OH's.

btw...check out the Glyn Johns or Recorderman methods for drum micing. Simple and both sound good.

Good luck man.........

 

[Dogbreath]

(sorry dude...I'm a slow typer...)

 

[Kinslayer]

Thanks to both of you! My friend just left and I follows what you guys said. It's working so well that I think I might be in love...with the mics not you guys, sorry. Everything sounds better than I could have hoped for when I tested this stuff originally 2 days ago.

BEAST!!!

I'm going to start recording now and hopefully making some cash to pay off what I did.

Thank you both so much for stating the obvious thing to do because I would have never thought to do it. =D

 

[Kinslayer]

Repost sorry