recording with a condenser only

tsmitty87

Junior Member
just curious if anyone on here records with just a single condenser mic. I am needing to get some quality recordings from my kit and am thinking about getting something like a behringer xynex usb mixer to run directly into my computer. I know if i record with a condenser it probably won't have enough punch in the bass drum or snap on the snare so I was planning on copying a good bass drum sound and pasting it onto another track on the timeline at each bass and snare hit to get a well defined kick and snare. any ideas?
 
My suggestion in this situation would be to buy a condenser and a dynamic. The Condenser could probably pick up everything but the bass drum, and the dynamic could be used for the bass. This is a fairly simple set-up that I've seen used plenty of times before.

Just my preference.

Is it absolutely imperative that you only buy one condenser mike?
 
Too much work. If you're already getting the Xenyx mixer, with I'm assuming, at least 4 mic inputs, why not just get four mics to put on the kit? You can get four cheaper dynamics for the cost of a good condenser and actually close mic the kit if you want.

Or, if you're getting the mixer, get a pencil condenser for your overhead, and a cheaper dynamic to stick into the bass drum. Thereby only mixing two sources anyway.
 
Beringer makes crap stuff, my opinion.

A single condenser would work, but you would have to position it in front of the kit so the kick gets picked up..
 
I *have* recorded with a single condenser mic before on a few occasions. You end up getting that boomy room sound that has less definition. The best "minimal mic" set up, in my opinion, is the triangular mic setup where you put a dynamic mic on the kick and 2 condensers either above the kit (for a punchier sound) or out in front of the kit (for a bigger sound). You DEFINITELY want some reinforcement of the kick drum for presence, unless you're recording a bop session. So, at a MINIMUM, I'd recommend a good kick mic and a good condenser, but 2 condensers will give you a better representation of the drums, as well as giving you stereo mixing capabilities. Whether you go with a small diaphragm or a large diaphragm condenser(s) plays a big part of the sound, too. Oh, and stay away from Behringer...
 
Agree w/ Caddy. The 3 mic setup really is all you need. Anything else is not really needed, but you do have more control over individual drums.

For a basic full kit capture, 3 mics work great.
 
I *have* recorded with a single condenser mic before on a few occasions. You end up getting that boomy room sound that has less definition. The best "minimal mic" set up, in my opinion, is the triangular mic setup where you put a dynamic mic on the kick and 2 condensers either above the kit (for a punchier sound) or out in front of the kit (for a bigger sound). You DEFINITELY want some reinforcement of the kick drum for presence, unless you're recording a bop session. So, at a MINIMUM, I'd recommend a good kick mic and a good condenser, but 2 condensers will give you a better representation of the drums, as well as giving you stereo mixing capabilities. Whether you go with a small diaphragm or a large diaphragm condenser(s) plays a big part of the sound, too. Oh, and stay away from Behringer...

i agree with caddywumpus here. whatever you do with one condenser, it is not really possible to eliminate the boomy sound with no definition no matter how good or expensive your condenser is. Here's what i have experimented a couple of months ago. It is a post with an audio sample and some pics of the kit and mic positioning that may be able to help.

http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showpost.php?p=695959&postcount=13
 
A lot of the problem lies in the recording environment. The size and shape of the room and how absorbent the acoustical space is. Picking up sound from a distance can turn into a room filled with reverberations that normally a microphone can't sort out. I made many fine recordings with just one good microphone. Placement is everything. A lot of recordings back in the late fifties and sixties used just one microphone for drum pick up. I do this when I'm changing to a different type of head so I can hear the complete kit as one unit, similar but a little different from what an audience hears in an unmiced situation. A four mic system is, in my opinion, the minimum, especially if you might want to go stereo with the mix. Again using four microphones, placement is again critical to what you hear in the final mix.

Dennis
 
I made many fine recordings with just one good microphone. Placement is everything.

Placement... and the room environment. Drums on a raised platform or on a floor with a crawlspace underneath, will result in a better kick sound than on a concrete floor. There also needs to be some space around the drums in order for them to breath, especially the kick which needs a little extra room volume for its low end to fully develope.

That said, I've done some very decent recordings with one Shure SM81, pointed at the kit from behind me. That picks up more of the kick batter, which gives it more attack in the mix. From behind also tends to get the mix I hear when playing, rather than a mic somewhere in front of the kit that hears a different drums sound and also sounds from behind me, neither of which I can easily control without a lot of trial & error.

However, using more than one mic is always going to allow more control. Even an overhead and a kick mic is better than just one.

Bermuda
 
yeah, I've recorded some drum tracks with one condenser mic- a really good mic, and that probably makes a big difference opposed to a real cheap one. Personally, I love the sound, since it gives more of an even kit sound with less work, and boomier toms. The kick can be a little too low in the mix though, but that can be rectified with better placement, or getting a seperate mic for the it. You also have to watch what cymbals you use. If you have a cymbal that's too loud it will over power everything else when you hit it.

And, let's not forget "when the levee breaks" was recorded with one mic 3 or 4 stories up a stairwell. Of course, that was with Jimmy Page and Eddie Kramer manning the controls, so...

Either way, it sounds good, but it does have it's limitations. It's good for getting that old school drum sound, but it's not gonna get you anything modern sounding like all these overly compressed clean digital recordings you hear these days.
 
Try get a Yamaha MW series mixer. They've got a better rep than the Behringer ones. Also one condenser does make everything a bit too roomy I find. I'd second the multitude of 'Get a kick mic', in fact I'd say two pencil condensers (sold in a pair, very cheap off Ebay) and a dynamic mic as a kick mic. If you have four inputs on your mixer then you can later expand to get yourself a mic for your snare.
 
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