Drum Mic technique.

off.the.walls

So recently i expanded to 16 inputs on pro tools this is my new set up


1…sub kick
2…kick mic
3…snare top
4…snare bottom
5…hats top
6…hats bottom
7…oh right
8… oh left.
9…tom 1
10..tom1 bottom
11..tom2 top
12..tom2 bottom
13..floortom
14..Guitar DI from cab head
15..Bass DI
16..talkback.

So what i would like to ask is does anyone know if its a good idea to mic hats top and bottom, whats the best position to get the most boom and attack out of a kick and it micing toms top and bottom a good idea?

Cheers
ev

fitz

Wouldn't bother with more than one hat mic, or with more than one tom mic for the rack toms. Floor tom, yes, if you want, but it's not essential. If your room is any use, you should throw up some room mics.

Squidgy Black

Mic'ing the bottom of toms and hi-hats is just a waste of time and space.

You seem to be over-complicating it, you don't have to use all 16 inputs.

For the most attack and boom from a kick, you need a decent kick mic preferably inside the drum or as close to the skin as possible.

Just a quick side note, I'd suggest maybe mic'ing the guitar cab as well as the DI, nice variety of sounds.

i57dwun4yb1pt8

is this a home setup ?

can you do it with kick and two overheads ?

what you are doing is crazy IMO -( and yes - i have done it )

unless you are looking for maximum control
but you are better off using samples if so,

the bleed , the phase , the routing , alone are a nightmare.

fair play for attempting it , but i think it will end up driving you mad .


i would concentrate on getting a great snare tom and cymbal balance in the overheads , and bringing in the kick mic to reinforce it.

i would look to eq in some low end in the overheads for toms and snare
and use some parallel compression to beef it up a bit .

if you find you still need more THEN i would add tom mics or a snare mic

put some tiles or round rocks under the snare to send the snare wire tone up into the overheads- avoiding a bottom mic.

i would only add a hi hat mic and a ride mic if the drummer was wimpy or the hats / ride were too low in the overheads - the drummer should be able to balance this first though.

may be a add some room mics once you get familiar with the 3 mic set up


but best of luck :pac:;)

PaulBrewer

A lot of the time in 'regular' rock stuff turning up the hi-hat is the last of your worries - in fact, the opposite.

A lot of my mixes have the hats coming from the overheads only, though sometimes I drop the hats in (and out again) to emphasize a part.

As has been mentioned above I'd be more interested in having some ambience mics involved.

A typical setup wouldn't normally have under tom mics either, but that is of course, up to you.

There's also a school of thought that suggests that recorded sub rarely makes the mix offering nothing that a nice wad of 60Hz-ish eq on the main mic might add, with the added benefit that that EQ boost would be more in phase than with a second mic.

I've often found I'd prefer a 'regular' mic on a front head to add a bit of tonal 'length' to a kick if needs be.


Really the important thing to remember is 'does it sound good' - worrying about a 'correct' way of doing things can sometimes be a distraction in search of that goal.

studiorat

Forget about 2 hi-hat mic's. There is some in the live sound world who mic them from underneath. May try it some day.

As for Mic'ing under toms, I do it sometimes. But I'll buss the two onto one track before going into ProTools. I'd be more interested in capturing more ambience microphones though. I always have my comedy mic position just to try something new. They I'll gate it off the snare or compress it to death just for something different. It might get used, it might not.

Used to do the Sub Kick thing, but now I just turn up the Bass EQ if I need it. Mostly I don't, just stay away from D112's any you won't need one!!!

I'll often use a Mono overhead and close mic the Hat and Ride. Seems to work well for me.

Most microphone set-ups work as long as the player has the kit properly tuned and knows how to hit the stupid things.

mkegvn

Forget the sub. Rarely useful. Unless you're working with hip-hop or something. Don't bother micing under and over the hats. Try one or the other and pick your favourite. 9/10 times you'll probably leave the channel muted anyway, depending on the drummers style. Overheads are fine. No need to mic under the toms for most stuff. If you like it however, fair enough. Again, try both separately, and together and pick your favorite and what sounds best.

Try something like this next time you're recording drums.

Kick
Snare Top
Snare Bottom
Rack 1 Top
Rack 2 Top
Floor Top
OH L
OH R
Hats Top
Ride Top
Room Mic ( If your room sounds any good)

- A good starting point for a room mic is generally 4/5 feet back from the kick, 2 feet off the floor. Any mic you have will work. Compress it hard, it'll sound great when you blend it in (if the room isn't awful). - If you don't know how to use a compressor, then don't use an outboard one - Compress it later with a preset in whatever DAW your using.

The most important thing here is to remember to check your phase. Your drums will sound poor regardless of what way you mic them if you don't phase check them.

For boom and attack from the kick, try pointing the mic at the beater, about halfway into the drum.

Always mic your guitar cab, as well as taking a line from it. You don't have to use it if it sounds naff, but if you have a crappy DI, then at least you have options.

Try different things, different combinations etc. It's all subjective. Just use your ears.

mkegvn

studiorat wrote: »

Most microphone set-ups work as long as the player has the kit properly tuned and knows how to hit the stupid things.

This is also spot on advice. Learn to tune a kit. Invaluable knowledge to any engineer.

studiorat

mkegvn wrote: »

This is also spot on advice. Learn to tune a kit. Invaluable knowledge to any engineer.

I've a little drum torque key. Very handy for starting off.