3 Mic Recording

JimFiore

Silver Member
I was wondering if anyone has tried a 3 mic recording technique using stereo overheads and a separate kick mic (and possibly a fourth to pick up the snare/HH). If so, did you find that you had enough control and did the imaging work out? I've always used the method of 2 overheads w/ low cut filters for the cymbals, a mic (or 2) for snare/HH, one for kick and one for each tom (or one mic per pair if many toms). I'm also wondering if anyone has tried this for live PA.

Thanks
 
I tried it - and I think it works out better. My set-up was simple, just two Audio-Technica pencil condensers capsules facing each other at a 45-degree angle over the kit, and one Shure SM58 about 6-inches in front of the kick.

Compared to one overhead, one snare, and one bass drum mic, this gives me more of a "real" sound of the kit. I also usually mix the snare mic farther down as well in this configuration.

With the two overheads, it's picking up the entire kit relatively equally and the stereo picture is good. However, in my set-up, the cymbals are almost as low as the drums. If you have your cymbals up higher, there's a risk of the overheads picking up more cymbal and you'll have to balance your playing a bit.
 
Yes and yes.

It works. You just have to think about the placement more and be handy with the EQ if necessary.

+1 Absolutely it works. One of my favorite set ups. Properly executed it sounds awesome.
 
Cool! So for the overheads are you using two separated mics or an M-S pair? I was thinking of getting another AKG C214 for this but if M-S works better then I'll have to dig deeper for the multi-pattern C414. Either way, it's a chunk of change and not something I wanted to just "experiment with".

Any issues with excessive room rumble in a live situation or gain-before-feedback issues?

Thanks again
 
I always opt for a separate snare mic. On mixdown you have so many more options that you just don't have otherwise. So I prefer 4 mics. If I only had 3, the snare would still get one for sure, sacrificing an overhead. More versatility.
 
Cool! So for the overheads are you using two separated mics or an M-S pair? I was thinking of getting another AKG C214 for this but if M-S works better then I'll have to dig deeper for the multi-pattern C414. Either way, it's a chunk of change and not something I wanted to just "experiment with".

Any issues with excessive room rumble in a live situation or gain-before-feedback issues?

Thanks again

I usually run it as an XY or AB (spaced) pair but M/S is absolutely viable.

Larry's idea of running a four-mic setup with a snare is a good one, too. If you're set on only running three you have to balance the need for a snare mic as compared to your need for a stereo image.

C214s are fine. I would just stick with those and run a conventional stereo setup of some sort.

I've never had any problems with room rumble or gain issues. You just have to know what you're doing placement-wise and adjust your playing to fit your configuration.
 
yeps. It's so much easier. lol

So far I've been using 4 mics with one on the snare, but i might forgo that snare mic and get a room mic going. There's a lot of experimenting that goes into getting a good sound.
 
Great article, thanks. That's very close to what I was thinking originally.
 
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