00:00In this episode we're going to focus on miking the drums with a four mic setup.
00:13Before you start miking the drums make sure the kit is tuned and free of buzzes and rattles.
00:19You can tame unwanted ringing sounds with dampening products such as gaffer tape and
00:25gel strips. As we mentioned in the previous episode the dynamic close drum mics we're
00:30going to be using aren't going to pick up too much unwanted noise from the other instruments.
00:35This is also known as mic spill or bleed. This is because they'll be close to the loud sound
00:41sources of the kick drum and the snare. We'll be using condenser mics positioned overhead to capture
00:48the sound of the overall kit but inevitably they may be sensitive enough to pick up some of the
00:53guitar sounds too. There are numerous different setups for recording drums but we're using four
00:59microphones for this recording to show how to achieve a clean drum sound. We're going to address
01:05the two overhead mics positioning first. As mentioned before these are the mics that capture more of the
01:11ambient natural sound of your drum kit being played in the room and help produce a clearer cymbal sound.
01:17Positioning our two overhead mics six feet above ground level and aim down at the kit
01:22will help create a balanced sound for our drums. It's important that these two mics are equal
01:27distances from the kit to ensure the sound from the drums hits them at the same time and avoids unwanted
01:33phasing. As a rule of thumb to help with this think three to one. If the mics are positioned two feet
01:41above the cymbals make sure they are six feet apart. You can monitor for mic phasing by having one signal in
01:49the monitor headphone mix and then fading the second in, the sound should remain full with plenty of bottom
01:54end as you do so. If there's phasing between the two mics and the sounds are cancelling each other out,
02:00adjust the positioning of the mics as necessary. The batter head is the side of the kick drum which
02:06is hit and as a general rule the closer your dynamic mic is positioned to the batter head the more kick
02:12drum attack you'll get from the sound. Moving it further away from the batter head will give you a
02:18rounder sound. We're using a pillow inside the kick drum as a muffler too and this helps reduce unwanted
02:24overtones. There are specialist drum products available to do this too. It's an optional method
02:31some players prefer to give a punchier less boomy sound. From the top of the snare position the second
02:38drum dynamic mic a couple of inches above and an inch from the edge of the snare. Positioning here
02:44helps to retain the sound of the drumstick impacting the snare. The further you move the mic away from
02:50this starting point the more room air ambience and reverb you'll inevitably pick up. The closer you go
02:57the more bottom end you'll add. Experiment to find the sound you feel is best for the recording
03:03and make sure you feedback info and guidance to the drummer as you do so. For this session we're using
03:11an AKG mic kit but a Shure SM57 is also a reliable affordable dynamic mic for snare because it can
03:18handle the high sound pressure levels and mid-range frequencies well. Microphone spill from the hi-hat to
03:25the snare mic is a common problem with recording drums. You can help address this by making sure any other
03:32cardioid dynamic mic for the snare is directly facing away from the hi-hat. More importantly it might
03:38also be a matter of your drummer being more sensitive with their hi-hat work to ensure it's not overly
03:43dominant or even trying to move the hi-hat further away from the snare drum. Remember to experiment to
03:50fine-tune angles and make sure someone monitors the sound as you go along. Check the effects of each mic
03:56placement and feedback info to your drummer on how they might need to change their performance approach.
04:01Finally it's important for the drummer and indeed the band as a whole to remember to allow for the
04:07vocals in the dynamics of their performances. Musicians often respond to the vocal in their
04:12performances live so play with those vocals in mind, dropping down on certain sections to reflect
04:18the vocal lines. We're going to be overdubbing the vocals in a separate session later.
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