Drum recording equipment

ToxicDrummer3

Junior Member
Hey I'm looking to buy recording equipment (Drum mics, mixer, ect.) I'm going to record for covers and all that. I have no idea what i should get, and i have no experience in recording, my friends do, but they don't know what i should get. I have a budget of about $1400, and it doesn't have to be top quality, just as long as it sounds good. Of course id like to spend as little as possible, so does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.
Edit: The set is an 8 piece by the way, not a standard 5 piece.
 
are starting from sctratch or do you have a computer or tape deck to record to?

if so i would recomend a Presonus fire studio and a set of Audix mics, you can get pro level results for sure.

the older Presonus firepods are cheaper but you have to find one on ebay ore somewhere used. they still sound great.
 
Well I was going to get a mixer to record it, then take it and put it on my friends comp, i have nothing at all (softwear, ect) im not sure what equipment ill need.
 
here is the way it works,

you need an interface with microphone preamps to get the signal into the computer. younwant to record each microphone on its own track on twhe computer so yiu have control over the mix.

so how is your friend getting a signal into his computer now?
 
How serious are you about this and what are your intentions? youtube vids, practice vids/audio? Do you want to tweak each of your mics in a separate track? do you have a computer to use, can it handle the work load, software?

You can get decent results with a 3 mic set up, 2 overheads and a kick mic, leaving you more money for mixer/multi-track recorder and whatever else you need. It adds up really quick. Micing an 8 pc can get up there.

Without know more details many people recommend the Zoom Q3 HD, it's around $300 new cheaper used on ebay or your local classifieds. Take decent video and audio for such a small gadget. do a search on youtube for it, lots of examples.

But if you are anything like me and you want to buy once and get it done with then you really have to do your homework and determine what it is you really need.


Mics-
Look at the Audix DP series, a little pricey but highly regarded. Sennheiser e604, Shure Beta series or PG series. So many to mention but these come to mind.

Kick- Audix D6, Sennheiser e602 or e902 ( <----- I think), Shure Beta 52, AKG D112

Overheads- Audio Technica 4040, 2021 (I have the 2021 not bad for the price but not the best out there, does the job) The above mics mentioned usually come in kits with overheads. Rode makes some killer mics too so check them out.

Snare- Shure SM57, Audix i5, most popular among drummers, Though I experimented with my Sennheiser e604's and they give good results too.


Audio Interface-

Presonus Firestudio/Firepod,-Very popular, firewire and comes with Studio One, I think it's called. I've been thinking of switching.

Zoom r16/r24 (I own the r16, does a decent job, portable works on batteries and u can mix everything on it if you desire or use it as an interface connected to your computer and do the EQ in your DAW (DIgital Audio Workstation).

Maudio has some great stuff, I think it's the Profire 2626 that comes to mind.
Tascam US-1641 comes to mind as well. but just search the companies for what you need.

Software- Really depends on your needs and platform, some notables
Garageband, free with Macs
Studio One, free with Presonus firestudio/firepod
Audacity- Free

Logic express/pro (I use express, more than enough for me)
Cubase 6 (various versions like LT, Artist)
Ableton Live
Pro Tools



Anyway, I think that's some info to get you at least researching and comparing cost. you probably would get more bang for your buck buying used. I got all my gear for less than your budget and I'm very happy with it so far. But I'm only micing a 5 piece.

whew! I think that's my longest post ever! hahaha!
 
here is the way it works,

you need an interface with microphone preamps to get the signal into the computer. younwant to record each microphone on its own track on twhe computer so yiu have control over the mix.

so how is your friend getting a signal into his computer now?
Couldnt we save the audio files onto a flash drive? Or do they need to connect directly into a computer? I just need to know the best software to get too. Im doing it for youtube covers, and id like software that i could just remove the drum part of the song. I also plan on recording for other things too but right now i have about 70 songs to cover so ill mainly focus on that. Also to the other guy who posted, that info is extremely helpful so thank you both so much for the help.
 
Here's what you need:

1. Something to pick up the sound (microphones)
2. Something to convert the sound into digital (either an interface or a mixer with a firewire out)
3. Software that will handle what you want to do with the recorded sound (mix it? effects? tweak with the soundfiles?)
4. Cables to connect everything to everything
5. Stands for the microphones
6. Not necessary, but a *wise* choice would be a power conditioner to plug your electronics into.

As for microphone selection, interface/mixer selection, software selection, that's all subjective. With such a large kit, you'll want to opt for some overheads and a kick drum mic (most interfaces have 8 inputs, which is less than you'll need to close-mic everything). Spend your money on a few good mics rather than a lot of lesser-quality mics. Buy used if you can to stretch your budget.
 
Thanks Caddy, and tyger thanks to you i found all the mics i need, theres 9-10 of them, as for an interface, id need one that has 10 inputs and i could spend about $450 on it, can anyone point me in a direction for that? Thank you all so much.
 
Thanks Caddy, and tyger thanks to you i found all the mics i need, theres 9-10 of them, as for an interface, id need one that has 10 inputs and i could spend about $450 on it, can anyone point me in a direction for that? Thank you all so much.

Cool what did you end up getting?
 
Didnt order anything yet but im getting a shure sm57 for my snare, 2 sennhieser 602 dynamic kick mics, 2 audio technica pro 45 condensers, and 4 pg56 tom mics (one will be used for both floor toms) just have to buy the interface, i need 1 with 10 inputs, but i have no knowledge about interfaces, also does anyone know which software lets you take the drum track right out of a song? Thanks.
 
There is no such software. Drumless tracks are either made from the original studio recordings (with the drum tracks dropped out) or are re-recorded, minus the drum track.
Oh, ok, well how do people who do covers on youtube have all the other parts (vocals track, ect) loud, but you cant hear the drums?
 
TASCAM US-1641 + an external microphone pre-amp(s). I have a Nady PRA-8 as well as some little ART tube pre-amps (about $30 each) that sound great with some minor tweaking (replace the tube with a bad ass Sovtek tube).

US-1641 has 8x Mic Pre-amps built in with line level inputs for 6x more channels. I'm running 14x microphones into it simultaneously with no issues.

Taking drums out of mix, good luck. You normally can't hear them on drum covers because someone is playing the drums exactly the same as the original recording, so you really can't hear the difference anyway. You can always EQ the crap out of the base track until you get rid of most of the drums.

Why do drum covers? Why not do original work or record bands? Try to do some session work? There are thousands of people doing drum covers on YouTube and unless you're a smoking hot female wearing skimpy clothes, you're not going to get many views.
 
Im in a band, and id like to try to get noticed/sponsored. Im.not doing just 1 genre of music, im doing many kinds, punk, metal, rock, ect. And my other band members dont have recording equipment, so we cant record us all.
 
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