More drum experimenting
I played some more with the drum mic setup, and got a sound I’m happier with. Here’s better mix of Don’t Think I Don’t Miss You:
And here’s how the drums sound solo’d:
I miked the kit with a modified Recorderman setup, using 6 mics in total:
- 2 Apex205’s as overheads (marked in the picture below with green arrows.) This is the “recorderman” part of the setup. The other 4 mics just augment the OH signal.
- An SM58 on the snare drum rim (shown in the second picture below)
- An Apex 210 on the kick drum, about 2 feet in front.
- 2 Studio Projects C4’s as stereo room mics, about 15 feet in front of the kit, up high.
The overheads clearly aren’t “over head.” I have them on the same plane as the toms where they pick up a better balance of the toms and cymbals.
Note, too, that I have a red pillow between the high hat and the OH mic in front of the kit, to cut down the hi hat level in that mic. Listening to the drum track now, I realize the hats are almost too quiet. (If you’ve ever miked drums in a room with low ceilings, you’ll appreciate that’s a good problem to have!)
April 26th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Damn, that sounds badass!
April 27th, 2007 at 8:32 am
Thanks Josh
May 12th, 2007 at 11:53 am
[…] I use a modified version of Recorderman for The Morning Rain drum tracks. There are a few pictures, and sound samples […]
August 12th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
experimenting with the recorderman technique, which I think is great - however, I have been asked to record an open mic rock night, which is always louder than a jumbo jet. Will the “overheads” be as effective in this situation?
Cheers
Ed
August 13th, 2007 at 1:18 pm
Ed,
To be honest, I’m not sure because I haven’t tried, but I can’t think of any reason why not. In general, the Recorderman setup will work in place of any other overhead technique. I suppose there’ll be a bit more stage-noise leakage into the rear mic than with a straight over head approach. But you’ll get the benefits (OHs in-phase with close mics, kick and snare centered in the stereo image) regardless of playing level, and that in itself might be worth it.
Really, the only thing I’d be concerned about is errant drum hits on that rear mic. At least if you put the mics up high, in a tradiational setup, they’re mostly out of harm’s way.
March 25th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
It sounds pretty good. The drums do seem to sound like the “weakest link” in the mix, probably mostly because I’m listening most closely to them. They sound pretty roomy. And I might be imagining it, but it seems like the sum of the drums is a bit on the left side of the mix for some reason.
June 30th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Wow that sounds very surprisingly good, I’m working with only 5 mics (3 SM57’s, Rode NT1a (LDC), and a kick mic). So this has given me hope that I can still make it sound great! Love the song too…
January 14th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
hey not bad there fellas. A little limp on the low end, especially the definition of the kick, but I suppose that is based on the sound you want and type of music. Overall, with a well tuned kit the result is pretty pleasing, light and bouncy.
April 3rd, 2009 at 8:13 am
Awesome sound for four mics. It fits in the music very well and sounds nice and even. I would be really worried about getting too much hi-hat with that 57 but I guess not. The hats sound nice and clean. I think this style of drum recording fits the sound of the band really well. Nice work. I’ll definitely give this method a try.