Hi guys.
I've got the kit all mic'ed up and she's sounding pretty good, so I thought i'd share some of the insights I've gathered this time around.
I'm using a 12 channel mixing desk, though, because I'm recording the band live i've got 5 channels for the kit. I've got a recording interface (sound card) that can support 8 audio inputs to my computer at 1 time. Again the kit will be using only 3. I have 1 cheap condensor mic above the kit that picks up pretty much everything, 3 cheap balanced mics on the 2 bass drums and snare and 2 crappy karioke mics over my four toms.
Here's how I've made it work.
Firstly I lay a heavy quilt over my bass drums to stop them from poluting everyother mic. I've been recording my drums amaturely for years now and if I don't do this I know the other mics will be littered with bass drum noise.
I placed a jumper in each bass drum, but not letting them touch the batter head, then placed the mic on the jumper with the diaphram about 2cm's from the batter head. Each of the bass drum mics was given it's own channel on the desk. The gain for them (as well as everything else) is set as high as it can without clipping. Their eq's are as follows, high-10%, mid-40%, low-60%. This has given them a more full bodied sound without a bassey over-ring. I didn't want them to occupy the lowest frequencies too much as I'm leaving them for the bass guitar.
The snare drum mic is held in place with a $6 rim mounted mic holder. I does nothing to isolate the mic from the impact to the drum, but it doesn't seem to bother it. This mic was also given it's own channel and the eq is set at high-40%, mid-50%, low-10%. I'm trying to not let the ringing of brass shell be the only thing heard, so I'm giving it more mid to add bass to the sound.
I placed one crappy mic between my rack toms and one between my floor toms. The floor tom mic is positioned with a rim holder. I tried this with the rack toms but vibrations from the ride cymbal make me switch to a boom stand for placement. One con from owning a rack. I did not mic the toms on my last recordings and you can tell by the way they sound so distant and unrefined. This has been very helpful this time around. Both mics have their own channels and are eq'ed high-50%, mid-50%, low-80%. this is giving them more definition through deep bass thuds. My overhead mic is picking up most of their other tones.
Speaking of which, my overhead is a cheap condensor mic I bought from ebay for $20 aus. It is powered by a behringer phantom power pack which is then routed into its own channel. Eq high-80%, mid-50%, low-0%. I really just want it to pick up the crash of the cymbals, but I know I have to deal with everything else it gets too. This mic and one between the 2 bass drums was all I was using last time.
So I hear you asking, "but Skin, if you're occupying 5 channels on the mixing desk, how can be using only 3 in the interface?". Good question! Now if I had an unlimited studio at my disposal, every single peice of my drum kit would have it's own mic, channel, track in the mix and another one thrown in for his dog, but I'm a tight-arse, so I've got to get creative to pull off a decent recording with minimal budget. So my overhed has been it's own channel in the mix, because it is the most complex track and I need to have as much control over it as possible. I ran one patch cable directly into that channel on the desk. Next, I turned the balance on the bass drums and snare all the way to the left and pugged their patch cable to the left output on the desk. This will give me one track containing the bass drums and snare, which given the vast contrast of frequencies between the two, I'm having no trouble iscolating the two once the track is layed down. Thirdly, I turned the 2 tom channels all the way to the right and patched them at the right output to give all four toms one channel. Given the similarities in their sounds, this has proven quite successful as it gives me the control to change all their
attacks and tones with one fader.
So, in summation, one channel for both bass and snare, one channel for toms and one for overhead, has given me a broad range of my large kit, with minimal cost outlayed. I shall be posting the results in the comming months.
If anyone has any questions or advice for me, feel free to smack me with it.
Ciao!!
Linear Mode
