Drum mic's?

[Microstudio]

How many mics do you usally use when micing a drum set... I know it has to do with the amount of drums but just give an outline of your method.

[Ollie]

2 - (overheads) Lg condensor mics or a stereo ribbon mic in front of the kit. I may start using one Lg condensor placed over the kit and the stereo ribbon in front.

1 - Kick
1 - Sn top
1 - Sn bottom
1 - hat
2 or 3 - per each tom or 1 for two rack toms and 1 for floor tom
1 or 2 room mics

10 to 12 mics

[Perry]

How many mics do you usally use when micing a drum set... I know it has to do with the amount of drums but just give an outline of your method.

Well, depends on the situation but.. here's my general setup.

I'll usually put up a couple of room mics out front; distance and spread depends on the room and the style of music or.... what kind of mood I'm in.

Sometimes I do specific things if the situation calls for it.. like extra mics in places around the kit to capture certain things out of the ordinary that the drummer may be playing.

On occasion I've put a center mic a bit out in front of the kit as well, either near the floor or a few feet up, but not often.

I usually mic the cymbals fairly close; again though it all depends on what's being recorded and how the drummer is playing.

If in doubt and it's an important session (and the mics are available) I might do both.. one set of overheads close to the cymbals and another set higher up.. then sort it out later... but I try to avoid getting too comlplex with it as a rule.

I've seen guys use like 20 mics or something. I'm not opposed to that if it's necessary but generally I wouldn't do that.

10-12 mics is typical for me for a standard kit.

This is what I have at home that I usually use.

KIK_Audix D-6

Toms_Audix D-4's except very small Tom_ Audix D-1

Snare top_SM 57 or AKG D 1200E (bright), sometimes something else if it works

Snare Bottom_Shure KSM27

Overheads AKG 535 EB's

Ride Cymbal (sometimes) Sennheiser MKE 4032

Hat_Audio Technica 4031

If I'm at another studio sometimes I bring the Audix's because I really like them for Kik and Toms and then use whatever the studio has for the rest.


Perry

[Craig Allen]

I've recently been mic'ing the shell of the snare instead of the top or bottom and have really liked the result. I believe I read about someone doing it in Tape Op.

[Tim Miskimon]

Depends on the era I'm shooting for. For traditional jazz I put a mic on the snare, hi hat & an overhead a few feet in front of the drum kit.
Rock I use:
Kick - 421, D 112(close inside) AKG 414 about 18 inches in front of the kick.
Snare - 57, 441
Toms - 421s - I've tried tons of mics on the toms but I seem to always come back to these. I like the attack & depth.
Hi Hat & Over heads - 451s, sm 81s.

[Sean McCoy]

In general:

Kick, snare top, 2 overheads, hat, 1 for each tom, so a stock setup would be 7-8 mics. A pair of semi-distant room mics (in a decent room) can be cool for rock. I use a snare bottom mic only if I can't get any highs off the top, and will use a second kick mic 1-3 feet out from the drum if miking in the shell for beater snap doesn't pick up enough bottom. Occasionally a ride mic if the drummer depends on it a lot or positions it in an awkward spot where it's hard to pick up in the overheads. I think 12 is the most I ever used for a session.

The hat mic can probably be eliminated with aggressive players. I read an interview recently with one of the Lord-Alge guys who mentioned having thrown out hat miking completely. But you need it for jazz. OTOH, you can try eliminating the tom mics and going with a mono overhead for traditional types of music and a vintage vibe.

[Leadfoot]

KIK_Audix D-6 Perry

i discovered this mic about a year and a half maybe two years ago.. absolutely love it! live or studio, it 'kicks' ass! i am still telling engineers everywhere i go about this mic. most of them(beta52/d112 freaks) just look at me and go, audix? and i say, yes, AUDIX D 6 !!! if your system is eq'd and crossed over right, and your ears know what their hearing, this mic is as close to 'great' as i've heard.

tony

[antiClick]

How large is your room?
What style are you used to record?
How many mics & preamps are at your disposal?

Again, you won't learn to mike a drum kit in a forum

This is what I use to do:

KK - D112 or MD421
SN - MD441 or SM7
HH - MD421 or nothing
OHs - 2 x C391 or 2 x 414-II (depends on the room)
TOMs - 2 x SM58
LowTOM - MD421 or 414
AMB - 414-II

... but it mostly depends on the rooms size and the style of the drummer

But the most important thing is not how many mikes. But knowing how to use it well.
Take lot of care on your mike placement: study phase issues, avoid comb filtering and leakage...and remember to tune the kit.

If your resources are limited use an XY stereo pair condensor pencils as OH, 57 on SN, and 112 or large condensor on KK. After tracking rememeber to edit KK and SN regions so as to delete silent parts and avoid phase problems between KK and SN tracks.

hope it helped

[Microstudio]

Again, you won't learn to mike a drum kit in a forum

Asking questions does not mean that someone does not know how to do something. Its like sitting around with a bunch of people in the biz or hobby and talking about drum micing... you never know what you might learn.

So I will say... you will never learn new things if you don't ask or search for them...

I for one do not know everything...

[Perry]

i discovered this mic about a year and a half maybe two years ago.. absolutely love it! live or studio, it 'kicks' ass! i am still telling engineers everywhere i go about this mic. most of them(beta52/d112 freaks) just look at me and go, audix? and i say, yes, AUDIX D 6 !!! if your system is eq'd and crossed over right, and your ears know what their hearing, this mic is as close to 'great' as i've heard.

tony

Yeah.. I agree Tony. I've used all the "standard" kik drum mics at one time or another. In the studio a favorite for me at one time used to be a FET U-47 Neuman... but I'm happy as a lark with my D-6, that's for sure. Love it! I like the D-4's for toms too! Besides sounding good (to me ) they're relatively small and easy to place.

Cheers!

Perry