need opinions:recording with 1 mic

It's certainly possible to get a usable sound and mix with 1 mic. Drum tuning, room acoustics, and mic placement are crucial to making it work. A 57 tends to fall a bit short on the high and low end, but with some EQ and a little compression, you can get a surprisingly good sound for YouTube or demo purposes.

Bermuda
 
I'm not sure of the technicalities, but I remember reading somewhere that Chess Records, [ I think it was them ],had what became a famous recording process utilising limited, but specificaly placed microphones. I could be wrong.
 
5678...procrastinate said:
I'm not sure of the technicalities, but I remember reading somewhere that Chess Records, [ I think it was them ],had what became a famous recording process utilising limited, but specificaly placed microphones. I could be wrong.
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In the really old days, drums weren't mid'c at all. Bands/orchestras played a good mix to start with, and musician placement was employed somewhat, typically with the drummer in the back. Later, drums were recorded with a mic hung over the kit. Ambitous engineers later added a mic in front of the kick, and it kind of went from there.

But it's important to note that drums were tuned differently back in the day... they sounded full and resonant. They had tone, and sounded great from several feet away. And, mics were important. The AKG C12, ribbon mics like the RCA 44, etc. Ribbon mics in particular are just magic on drums. A single mic placed in front or above a well-tuned, well-played kit sounds just amazing.

And let's not forget the virtues of classic analog boards and processors, and recordings made to tape. And prior to 1965 or so, calf heads still being used by many drummers. It's all part of the resulting sound.

Bermuda
 
bermuda said:
But it's important to note that drums were tuned differently back in the day... they sounded full and resonant. They had tone, and sounded great from several feet away.

Bermuda
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Don't today's drums sound full and resonant in comparison then? Is my drumkit 'dead'? :(
 
lowdowner said:
Don't today's drums sound full and resonant in comparison then? Is my drumkit 'dead'? :(
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Oh, they can... But most drummers tend to undertune drums so they sound low in pitch, or they're high in pitch, and they don't sing like most drums back in the day did. Not the drums fault, just the way they're tuned.

Bermuda
 
I think it depends on what you're trying to accomplish. I've made youtube-type videos and only used the microphone on the camera. I wasn't really happy with the drum sound but it served my purpose at the time. If I was going to make a higher quality audio recording I would probably use at least three mics: kick and two overheads. Legendary producer Glyn Johns is famous for his use of four mics to record a whole kit: kick, snare, and two overheads. Of course he had access to top of the line microphones and he recorded in acoustically great rooms.

I say use what you've got. Beg or borrow from your friends. Experiment. Trial and error is a great teacher. You'll learn something every time, even if it's what doesn't work.
 
The latest Modern Drummer (May 2013) has a great article on recording with one, two, and three mic's.
 
teamsleepnine said:
thanks bermuda i was refering to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS_YZpn818A
since you mention,is there any other mic that more suitable for it that is around shure 57 budget.
thanks
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The mic in the video is a condenser (requires phantom power) and will probably be smoother overall than the 57 (dynamic mic.) There are certainly inexpensive condenser mics, You can get a pair of MXL mics for $100-150, and they're decent, The better the mic, the better the results.

Bermuda
 
bermuda said:
The mic in the video is a condenser (requires phantom power) and will probably be smoother overall than the 57 (dynamic mic.) There are certainly inexpensive condenser mics, You can get a pair of MXL mics for $100-150, and they're decent, The better the mic, the better the results.

Bermuda
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thanks appreciate it...my interface does have phantom!
 
bobdadruma said:
Here is a recording that I made with a Samson USB condenser mic.
As Jon said tighter melodic tuning, musician room placement, and mic placement is a great help.
https://soundcloud.com/bob-paquette/fredie-freloader

Here is one with just drums. Mapex Saturn tuned medium/tight
https://soundcloud.com/bob-paquette/transending-solo-on-saturn
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Hey Bob that sounded great. The combination of the room and the drum sounds really evoked an early Blue Note recording for me. It's such a rare sound to hear these days.
I would say your recordings could've easily been made back in 1957 ;)
 
teamsleepnine said:
thanks appreciate it...my interface does have phantom!
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Not pushing you to go as far as you can go, but why not consider a mic like the Studio Projects C1? It's a large diaphragm side-address condenser mic and when I owned one, it sounded really good. Those don't cost more then $250 when you search eBay. Another mic I would highly recommend would be the CAD Trion 8000 condenser tube mic - this mic sounded especially warm because of the tube, and even better when I replaced the tube with a NOS RCA tube I got from a friend. I think I got mine for about $299 when they first came out. Both of these mics are manufactured in China but are high quality and sound wonderful.

Of course, if you plugged it into a really nice pre-amp before going into your computer's interface they'll sound even better. Hell, even plugging the SM57 into a nice pre-amp will improve that mic's sound immensely. I got my hands on a dbx 376 once and that mid-level box did wonders to everything I plugged in to it!
 
Bo Eder said:
Hey Bob that sounded great. The combination of the room and the drum sounds really evoked an early Blue Note recording for me. It's such a rare sound to hear these days.
I would say your recordings could've easily been made back in 1957 ;)
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Thanks Bo, I thought that it sounded like an old Jazz recording too only the playing was not as good :)
The room has a lot to do with the sound.
The room is 20'x20' square with a 14' cathedral ceiling.
The mic was in the middle of the players.
 
One overhead...Shure KSM 27. I use one overhead for small to Meduim gigs/size rooms. Works just find. Can also pick up my backup vocals. Denis
 
Actually, the 57 is pretty close in response to the human ear. I made a satisfactory recording many years ago with a single 57 overhead, pointed down at the snare. Had a kind of old school sound which fit the recording I was making perfectly. Also that was a '60s Ludwig kit I had at the time that I wish I had back.

That experience has led me to use an SM57 or Beta57 as a single overhead in small sound reinforcement situations. Cymbals carry and get into everything. The high frequency roll off of a dynamic or ribbon (which have become very popular recently for recording overheads) balances the kit better. Also reduces that artificial "ting ting" of the ride and makes it sound more natural.

Recently, I've gotten into a variation of the Glyn Johns thing that I saw Steve Jordan doing on his Groove is Here video. He has the primary mic over his left shoulder instead of straight overhead. This is similar to the acoustic guitar technique of a mic pointing down over the players right shoulder. The mic pics up something similar to what the player hears. Allowing the player to create the tone and just capturing it.
 
It depends on what limits you to 1 mic.....and to some extent what you intend to use the recording for.
Is it budget or available mixer/recording channels.
I'd prefer to use a pair for stereo overheads as a minimum.
If budget limits you take a look at Red 5 Audio mics (RVD 30 dynamic or RVK7 drum mic set)
 
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