[DRUM RECORDING] 4 Mics "Plug and record" Method

daniboun

Senior Member
[DRUM RECORDING] 4 Mics "Plug and record" UPDATE !

Hi amigos,

I spent some hours to find the best way to record drums. What I wanted : a "plug and record" method with only 4 mics (pretty like The Glyn Johns Drum Recording Method).
I was looking for "ready to record" microphones and "easy to plug and clip" as well.
No compression, No EQ, no Effects, with a tiny mixer (Behringer 1004 Xenyx). I also needed a very effective method, applicable for Live and Studio : minimum hardware required (no mic stand, minmum cables...) = you ear what you catch ! This is a delicate challenge :)
Just takes me 5mn to record when you understand the principle.

I have tested lots of mics and my choice went to this configuration.

RECORD RESULTS : (use headphones please)

https://soundcloud.com/justdani/mapex-demo

https://soundcloud.com/justdani/mapex-demo-2

UPDATE :

Check now into the mix, with my Tama Superstar Hypedrive.
This is a live record, plug and record :

https://soundcloud.com/justdani/plugin-baby-demo

https://soundcloud.com/justdani/always-on-the-run-demo

SETUP :

- One Boundary Microphone BBS AT37s ( FET preamplifier)
- Two Clip on Cardioid Condenser Microphones (CC 75, 20 Hz - 20 kHz) "ready to plug" XLR included
- One Kick mic : Audix F14 (30 Hz - 10 kHz) Very easy to use.
- Behringer 1202 Xenyx mixer
- Cowon iAudio 7 MP3 Player/recorder
- An accurate and tuned drumset (Mapex Saturn IV Studio here (Evans G14 heads on tom, Emad on Kick, Remo Ambassador on snare).
- A good player (humm... not my case lol)






 
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I really like the recording. Open sounding toms. Real sounding drums, can’t go wrong with that. The only change I would make would be to the snare drum. I like the ring of your drum but it appears to be the only playable sound. By tuning my snare tight on a center strike I get a solid full tone sound. A strike closer to the edge of the drum I get the ring that I also like. The snare thing is just a personal thing so yea a great job on great sounding drums.
 
I like the idea but I'm not overly fond of the mix.

In my view, the toms are far too forward in the mix and the cymbals are too far back. Personally, I always mic my overheads to get a balance between the two, with cymbals being the dominant partner. I think your high tom is also slightly clipping the recording - I'd imagine this is a mix issue rather than the mic reaching its maximum SPL limit.

The kick sound is quite solid but could do with just a little more low-end punch and a removal of some of the mids. The idea of using a boundary mic is a good one but I'd replace the kick mic with the boundary in the drum and then run another condenser as an overhead farther back from the kit.

The stereo image is also quite extreme. Personally, I'd go for a narrower stereo field (that's why I usually mic X/Y or when possible M/S so I can choose the width).

The mics themselves are quite transparent and I like that. The fact that you have chosen not to EQ is commendable and you've managed to do well for eliminating too much crossover between the different sources.

I hope this doesn't seem too critical! I really like the way you're thinking and I approve of mic minimalism when appropriate. Just needs a little tweaking.
 
I like the idea but I'm not overly fond of the mix.

In my view, the toms are far too forward in the mix and the cymbals are too far back. Personally, I always mic my overheads to get a balance between the two, with cymbals being the dominant partner. I think your high tom is also slightly clipping the recording - I'd imagine this is a mix issue rather than the mic reaching its maximum SPL limit.

The kick sound is quite solid but could do with just a little more low-end punch and a removal of some of the mids. The idea of using a boundary mic is a good one but I'd replace the kick mic with the boundary in the drum and then run another condenser as an overhead farther back from the kit.

The stereo image is also quite extreme. Personally, I'd go for a narrower stereo field (that's why I usually mic X/Y or when possible M/S so I can choose the width).

The mics themselves are quite transparent and I like that. The fact that you have chosen not to EQ is commendable and you've managed to do well for eliminating too much crossover between the different sources.

I hope this doesn't seem too critical! I really like the way you're thinking and I approve of mic minimalism when appropriate. Just needs a little tweaking.

Thanks for the feedback, really helpfull :)
This is still a "prototype project".

In my actual setup :
- The boundary is above the snare, about 1,2 meter. (used as overhead and snare capture)
- the clip mics are used for toms
- the kick mic for the bass drum

I'm going to catch the bass drum with my second boundary mic. You gave me a good idea :)

About the mix : there is only a pan left / right for the tom mics.

See you
 
Thanks for the reply, Dani! I'm glad we can discuss this. It's a pet topic of mine.

I think that's what's throwing me off. The panning for the tom mics is very extreme. It makes mixing easier but is a little disconcerting.

One exercise that I would use would to be recording yourself playing to a backing track and then trying to mix the drums into the track.
 
Thanks for the reply, Dani! I'm glad we can discuss this. It's a pet topic of mine.

I think that's what's throwing me off. The panning for the tom mics is very extreme. It makes mixing easier but is a little disconcerting.

One exercise that I would use would to be recording yourself playing to a backing track and then trying to mix the drums into the track.

I'll try to make a new record with your recommendation.
Before mixing into the track, I have to find a adequate balance inbetween the elements.

I'll share a new recording.

Danny
 
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