best ways to use 2 mics on a drumkit

best ways to use 2 mics on a drumkit 

1 mic on kick and 1 as overhead...or 2mics to capture the whole kit? what are your thoughts?...its for a rock band btw..thnx!

Re: best ways to use 2 mics on a drumkit 

2 mics whole kit. I treat a drumkit as one big insturment, and while you might end up with one mic ovehead and the other close to the kick drum, in a minimal micing situation, both mics will capture the kit as a whole, otherwise there one mic capturing the kit, and the other micing one drum. Try (players) chest height infront of the kit in x-y, but experimentation is the key to innovation.

Re: best ways to use 2 mics on a drumkit 

To be of any real help I need more info on your recording setup, but here's some thoughts: 1. Consider the room. High, vaulted ceilings are best (over 12 ft.). If ceiling is low and horizontal, try sound dampening above the kit (to control cymbal volume) with foam. Also dampen corners where possible. Remember, parallel walls that are about 10 feet apart can create constructive interference at frequencies around 100Hz (can make things sound very bass-heavy). 2. If you're unfamiliar with tuning drums, look into it. It'll make a big difference. My suggestions for your situation are to use 1-ply drum heads (as opposed to 2-ply or oil filled) and some muffling on the edge of the head only on the toms (they make little gel pads that work great for this because you can cut them to what size you need). When struck, the thin head will produce less "stick on head" attack and more fundamental tone, while the muffling will cut down the "ring". Too much attack and your toms will sound too boxy (unless, of course, you're into that). As for the bass drum, if you want, cut a hole in the front head in order to get more attack sound. Use muffling for volume control, and tune the head a loosely as possible without it sounding muddy. 3. Now for the microphones: use large diaphragm condensers if possible, and try anything. I suggest you start about six feet away and four feet off the floor, on both sides but still in front. The reason I suggest low to the floor rather than above the kit it that cymbals are acoustically louder than drums, yet almost all recordings have the kick and snare boosted and cymbals turned down. Obviously, pan the mics left and right to create a deeper stereo image, but let your ears decide when it sounds balanced from side to side. You may encounter some phasing problems, so listen for when the volume drops. If this does happen, flip the phase on one mic, or just move the mic to where the signals sound loudest. Hope this helps, Naagzh

Re: best ways to use 2 mics on a drumkit 

it depends on what mics you have, if you have a condenser use it as an overhead and put the other mic pointing at the drumer about 3 inches above the toms and about 2-3 feet away (you might need some reverb) or if you have two dynamic mics put them 3 inches above the toms and about 1-2 feet back, if you have a condenser and a dynamic but you need some wicked bass drum (i'm recording a metal band and the drumer has some serious double bass stuff) then put the condenser mic about 5-7 inches away from the head of the bass drum (it depends also on what kind of mic your using for this i used a stageworks LD1) and do a lot of checks to make sure you don't clip cause it will pick up a lot and you'll need to play with the trim controls and then put the dynamic mic infront of the drumer like said above, i got some nice sounding bass (to my surprise) using that method, or experiment with your mics until you find what you want.

Re: best ways to use 2 mics on a drumkit 

thanks for all the helpful posts guys! to answer some questions: 1-im still not sure if i'll use 2 condensers,2 dynamics,or one of each....ive got a couple of 57's ,a 58,and some generic pencilneck condensers...but i might rent a couple of mics instead...still not sure (this is just for a personal demo project) 2- ceilings are not that high...probably 8-9 feet 3- im gonna be recording straight into my mbox preamps.....no outboard gear yet! thanks again for all the help fellas