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darcman
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« on: November 14, 2004, 08:31 AM » |
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hey there, anyone got any ideas about recording a full drum kit with only two mics? I got a MXL condenser studio mic and a SHURE SM57 mic. This is all I have to use and I can only record onto two tracks at a time with the digital recorder I have anyways. Any suggestions people? Thanks a lot. BTW, thanx Bart for the help in looking for cymbals....
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Chris Whitten
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« Reply #1 on: November 14, 2004, 08:43 AM » |
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Probably the easiest way to go about it is to set both mics in a stereo pattern in front of the drums.
However, for a possibly better result and seeing as you are using two different mics, try positioning one mic about a foot or two directly in front of the BD and the other mic pointing down at the snare batter from a position above your head (you're going to need a boom stand).
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jameswalker
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« Reply #2 on: November 14, 2004, 08:48 AM » |
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With the gear that you've listed...and keeping in mind that I'm not a professional recording engineer, my humble suggestions:
• I wouldn't set up those mic's as a stereo pair - these mic's sound too different for that to work well, IMHO.
• I'd use one as an "overhead" (the MXL), and the other to focus on some part of the drumset that you'd like to have control over in the mix - which likely would be either the bass drum or the snare drum. My first choice would be to put the 57 on the bass drum, and then use the MXL as an overhead - likely pointed towards the snare drum, but experiment with its position and orientation to adjust the balance between snare, toms, and cymbals. Or, put the 57 on the snare drum, and put the MXL out in front of the set to get the toms, cymbals, and bass drum (again, experimenting with position and orientation to adjust the balance among the different parts of the set.)
Experiment. Also, keep in mind the music that you play, and what parts of the drum set (if any) figure most prominently in your recording. If you're playing straight-ahead jazz, you may well want to emphasize the cymbals in the recording, rather than focusing on the snare and the bass as mentioned above.
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563
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drum + hand
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« Reply #3 on: November 14, 2004, 11:37 AM » |
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+1 on Chrisso and James's posts. Plus a little experiential story to thicken the mix. I used a setup like that to record a kit not long ago and found that the 57 style mic didnt end up picking up as much low end as I wanted. The overhead condensor picked up plenty. What I did was copy the overhead track to the second track and eq'd the hell out of it to make it a bass track. While tweaking the other to act as the overhead it was supposed to be. The point of which is that when recording, the assumed techniques are great launching points but by no means the only option. Sometimes you have to make stuff up  |
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Making bad art. Saying stupid things. Implimenting my master plan to be forgotten when I'm gone and forgettable while I'm here. The Luna MothmeTableland |
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mfran
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« Reply #4 on: November 14, 2004, 09:22 PM » |
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My ideal situation would be three mics:
one mic near the bass drum, one just above the snare, and one above the larger toms... Cymbals always leak into everything anyway, so I've never had a strong preference for using overheads when recording... just mic the toms a couple inches away, and it works for cymbals too.
Since you don't have three mic's, but only two:
I'd put one near the bass-drum (on the pedal side, so you will pick up the floor tom too) and one about a foot above the snare drum, to pick up the toms, hi-hats, etc. A touch of reverb on the snare mic only will make a nice recording too!
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jokerjkny
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« Reply #5 on: November 15, 2004, 03:43 PM » |
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yup,
what they all said.
just to beat a dead horse,
the condensor as an overhead, and the SM57 for the kick. i'd probably set the condensor over by the ride tho, since the snare would be plenty loud enough, and the ride would need more definition.
but i too found the Sm57 to be lacking with the lows. says it hits 42Hz, but a studio rat friend mentioned it rolls off drastically around 50Hz. still, it does record the kick's punch beautifully. so, experiment, and see which mic fits which ever situation better. just be sure to set the -15dB pad on the condensor to protect it from the assaulting kick.
but do you have an extra mixer lying around? with my Tascam US122, i only have two XLR channels, but i take my trusty Mackie 1202VLZ, and am able to setup 4 mics.
one for the bass, one for the snare, and two overheads. i mix the sound right at the mackie with my headphones to get the best balance.
its not ideal, especially when you wanna bring out the overhead channels a bit more, but works fine for most demos i've done.
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...this aint no time fo' jibba jabba!
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AllanSpeers
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« Reply #6 on: November 18, 2004, 03:15 AM » |
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I'm with Mfran, sort of:
Put the MXL just off the floor, but out in front of the kick and facing up at the cymbals. Experiment to find the perfect balance between kick and the rest of the kit. Compress this mic fairly hard.
Then shove the 57 on your snare.
If your kit (and your technique) is well-balanced, this should work just fine. Cymbals sound just as good from underneath as from on top.
The reason to do it this way is that you can put a small amount of short reverb on the whole kit and sound good, but you typically need a longer reverb on the snare, so the snare really needs it's own mic. Plus, you will probably want that snare punch that only comes from a close mic.
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Otherwise, do like the others suggested, kick and O-H, but remove the tranny from your 57 and run it unbalanced. You will pick up some noise this way, but will get a LOT more LF from your kick.
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