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Thread: I need some suggestions picking out drum mics.

  1. #1

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    Default I need some suggestions picking out drum mics.

    I've been trying to get a good sound quality out of my home "studio" and failed miserably.
    I used a gigrac 8 channel mixer and the cheap cad 7 piece mic set. I have been told that when trying to record a good sound the most important pieces are the mics and the speakers you end up playing the music out of.

    So, here are my real questions:
    1. Will using a recording interface instead of a mixer get me better sound quality and if so any recommendations for interfaces would be incredible.
    2. How much money do I have to spend on mics to get a semi-professional sound. Again, mic recommendations are greatly appreciated.
    3. Should I be tuning my drums a certain way for recording? I really love the sound I get out of them live but I have been told that you want a completely different tuning to produce the same sound when recorded.


    Any help is greatly appreciated. I'd rather spend my time drumming than trying to be my own sound engineer

  2. #2

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    Default Re: I need some suggestions picking out drum mics.

    Get Bill Gibsons Audio Pro Home Recording Course (excellent book) It took me 4 books and a year of trial and error to learn to mic drums. I went through three different sets until I bought the Audix D series set. I believe you can still get decent sound with your mics and proper technique I do prefer analog better but "you can get good sounds dry to digital" (I don't believe this though) There something about running through an analog mixer (direct outs to interface) first that you don't get from interfaces (INSERTS for hardware and Eq's). All the pros will tell you that. When recording drums proper tuning is a must. Good sounds out equals good sounds in. Also muffling is a must (overtones can ruin a recording) I use evens O rings I stay away from remo because they are too thick. For a traditional kick you want 20% batter and 10 to 20% reso muffling I use the Evans Gate pillow on the reso and Eq pillow on the batter (it rebounds) and if you have a Drum Dial 74 on single ply batter 70 on reso. I stick the mic in my Evans Eq4 hole and aim slightly towards the beater (6 inches from touching the batter head slightly off center). I gate my kick and nothing else this give you a tight kick but not isolation when you gate everything. (gating everything sounds like seperate instuments instead of a drumkit, bleed is good). Then I compress a couple of Db's at 2.5 to 1 just to round it out then remove cloudy frequencies around 300 Hz at a Q of .75 to 1 as much as -12 Db's (this will alow you too record a much hotter kick giving you more thump (punch) during mixdown. There are a lot of Eqing drum tutorials on you tube but they really don't tell you what to do before. Which I've provided above. The snares pretty easy just put it 2 inches above and inside the rim aiming towards the center while the back of the mic is to the Hi Hats no processing is required except Eqing during mixdown. Overheads 2 feet above cymbals, XY pattern directly over you kick knee panned hard right and left no proccesing here either just some Eqing during mixdown. Lets get good sounds from this setup before moving to toms which require some compression and a bit of Eqing before tracking. When your ready let me know and I'll explain the toms. Anyways I've talked to quite a few engineers and they tend not to dry track (I tried it first couldn't get good results hated it and then followed their advice).

    P.S. do you know how to gain stage?
    and check out that Evans guy (you yube tutorial) on tuning toms He's right for recording just needs muffling
    and check out virtual drum bible for head types, it does matter on genre
    Last edited by Cant Get Enough; 04-08-2010 at 09:45 AM.

  3. #3

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    Default Re: I need some suggestions picking out drum mics.

    This is great ! If you have not read this Do before you spend any more money !

    http://home.earthlink.net/~prof.sound/
    E Drums !! !

    There are no loud instruments just loud players !

    Protect Your Hearing !!!!

  4. #4

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    Default Re: I need some suggestions picking out drum mics.

    thanks a bunch for the help guys. I'm going to try fine tuning my tuning a bit more but I think I just have to get new mics. I get alot of distortion with mine which I don't think should be happening

  5. #5

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    Default Re: I need some suggestions picking out drum mics.

    It's not your mic's. CAD makes a good microphone. If your getting distortion your either recording to hot "in the red" or your gain stage is messed up.
    I don't know if your running direct out to your interface or line out. If your running line out set your master to detent or zero. Master faders higher than the track faders , and start your faders at a very low level and bring them up accordingly until your reading is just below the red or barely in the yellow. That means your loudest hit is barely in the yellow. If your running direct out adjust your trim accordingly. Also there's nothing wrong with having some resonance in your toms. I personally record my drums resonant. Sounds better to me, but in all fairness my room is treated with Auralex and bass traps in the ceiling corners.
    It takes time and experience to train your ears and know what to listen for.
    Take "Can't Get Enough's" advice on mic placement. I actually just had a famous artist release a CD that several of the drum tracks were recorded here in my project studio and I was useing a Snare, Kick and 2 overheads. 4 mics on a 5 piece set. I always add efx post recording. Plug in's. If you record with efx, your stuck with it.
    I use anywhere from 4 to 7 mic set up for recording.
    Last edited by VIbes; 04-11-2010 at 02:52 PM.

  6. #6

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    Default Re: I need some suggestions picking out drum mics.

    It is the weakest link in the chain theory. Lets say you have Avalon preamps and compressors for all of your neuman mics going into a cheap analog digital converter then it is going to sound cheap. The trick is maximizing the the chain at ALL stages to get the best end product and step one is the room Acoustics. If this is not correct, you will always be fighting for "that sound".

  7. #7

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    Default Re: I need some suggestions picking out drum mics.

    Oh and BTW, definitely listen to Vibes. Man knows what he is talking about and CGE is giving you gold info.

  8. #8

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    Default Re: I need some suggestions picking out drum mics.

    Well, thank you !

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