Best minimalist way to mic a drum kit?

[mcatano]

First and foremost, observe the inverse ratio between "drummer's ability to adjust to the room" and "number of mics I need to use."

For single-mic stuff, I've always had pretty good luck with an omni or PZM on the floor, in between the kick and snare, a few feet in front.

An LDC or ribbon 3' in front and 3' above the kick often sounds really good - I like putting a stereo pair of ribbons in that 3x3 spot in blumlein.

[marqueemoon]

After comparing results from recent “real” studio experiences to my own minimalist recordings, what has disappointed me the most on my own drum recordings is the kick sound.

I think I’m gonna go the other way and play around with some DIY subkick shenanigans in addition to an inside mic.

[NBarnes21]

The best way is really dependent on all of the variables of the situation- the recording revolution video is a good place to start if you only have 1 mic, you could also check out the Tchad Blake 1 mic technique with a mic just above the kick, in between rack and floor tom, pointed right at the snare (this is also a great spot to throw an extra mic if you have channels to spare) . Very direct kick snare and tom sound with minimal cymbal bleed and room sound.

Beyond that it depends on the situation- with 2 mics a direct kick and mono overhead can be great so long as your drummer lays off the cymbals and makes the snare and toms cut through. 3 mics and I'd go kick snare mono overhead. If you've got 4 mics and a great sounding room then Glyn Johns can be awesome, 4 mics and a shitty room and recorderman is a good way to go. X/Y overheads (or ORTF) and a direct kick and snare mic can be awesome and will eliminate phase issues so long as you get the overheads in phase with the snare- spaced pair overheads will give a wider stereo image but need to be in phase with each other. Iterations of this are endless- going for a rounder boomier kick sound? mic outside the front head. Going for a punchy kick sound? mic inside the hole of the drum head.

As someone who records remote drum tracks for people, I have a lot of mics on the kit (15 right now). "Less is more" can certainly apply to drum recording but "more is more" equally applies. A lot of times I'm recording my drums to just a scratch guitar track and vocal, or a roughly sketched demo, and the eventual right combination of mics will be totally dependent on how the production and overdubs shape up, so having total coverage as Brad mentioned is something a lot of engineers and producers want to have. I have 2 spot mics each on kick and snare (sometimes 3), direct tom mics as well as hi hat and ride spot mics, stereo overheads, mono overhead, stereo rooms, and a couple of "vibe mics" that I'll move around to various spots to get a cool sound, and I also print a stereo reverb track that can be blended in to taste. Keeping everything in phase can take some work but honestly isn't super hard to deal with once you're used to it.

Getting great drum recordings is an ongoing endless pursuit, I'm always learning new tricks, have fun experimenting!

[øøøøøøø]

The big danger with sending someone dozens of tracks is that they may feel compelled to use all of them!

Within the past 10 years or so my way of working has very much tended toward "never send two microphones to do one microphone's job."

After comparing results from recent “real” studio experiences to my own minimalist recordings, what has disappointed me the most on my own drum recordings is the kick sound

Monitoring low end is so, so tough. As you get lower in frequency, accurate monitoring (particularly in the time domain) becomes almost exponentially more cost-inefficient and space-inefficient.

[Plumerai]

Have 5 mics on a kit now, but it sounds good with just a single overhead above the snare & one in front of the kit. The other mics are on the snare, in the kick & next to the floor tom.

[jorri]

After comparing results from recent “real” studio experiences to my own minimalist recordings, what has disappointed me the most on my own drum recordings is the kick sound.

I think I’m gonna go the other way and play around with some DIY subkick shenanigans in addition to an inside mic.

I've used a subkick but keep going back to the method described by Steve Albini to use a side chained gated sine. Why is it more natural in sound? I suppose its a pure tone, idk, but its a lot cleaner and less likely to influence the sound of other mics.

Since any suitable sub monitoring is so far away, I like a lot of other are in part using visual information to check that. Seems a lot better than 'just by ear' as long as its not 'forgot to use ears'. I certainly would use headphones if ny alternative is just an improper room and speakers.

I find i need a lot of processing to get kicks right though, its one place i think an eq, compression and saturation will never be "overdoing it" which is something i cinstantly think about on other tracks

[marqueemoon]

After comparing results from recent “real” studio experiences to my own minimalist recordings, what has disappointed me the most on my own drum recordings is the kick sound.

I think I’m gonna go the other way and play around with some DIY subkick shenanigans in addition to an inside mic.

I've used a subkick but keep going back to the method described by Steve Albini to use a side chained gated sine. Why is it more natural in sound? I suppose its a pure tone, idk, but its a lot cleaner and less likely to influence the sound of other mics.

Since any suitable sub monitoring is so far away, I like a lot of other are in part using visual information to check that. Seems a lot better than 'just by ear' as long as its not 'forgot to use ears'. I certainly would use headphones if ny alternative is just an improper room and speakers.

I find i need a lot of processing to get kicks right though, its one place i think an eq, compression and saturation will never be "overdoing it" which is something i cinstantly think about on other tracks

The Albini thing sounds like an analog way to do a sample.

I’m not above fooling around more with processing, but I want to get more practice with tuning and micing and such.

[jorri]

After comparing results from recent “real” studio experiences to my own minimalist recordings, what has disappointed me the most on my own drum recordings is the kick sound.

I think I’m gonna go the other way and play around with some DIY subkick shenanigans in addition to an inside mic.

I've used a subkick but keep going back to the method described by Steve Albini to use a side chained gated sine. Why is it more natural in sound? I suppose its a pure tone, idk, but its a lot cleaner and less likely to influence the sound of other mics.

Since any suitable sub monitoring is so far away, I like a lot of other are in part using visual information to check that. Seems a lot better than 'just by ear' as long as its not 'forgot to use ears'. I certainly would use headphones if ny alternative is just an improper room and speakers.

I find i need a lot of processing to get kicks right though, its one place i think an eq, compression and saturation will never be "overdoing it" which is something i cinstantly think about on other tracks

The Albini thing sounds like an analog way to do a sample.

I’m not above fooling around more with processing, but I want to get more practice with tuning and micing and such.

I get what you mean, it feels like giving in. I like the batter head with outer mic separation. The engineer I worked with recently used a 91a PZM inside and that worked pretty well, with all the low end coming from outside D12 without need for any subkick/sine. Not very minimalist i admit! Previous times there was a mic central to the kit, like an altered 'crotch' position, but in view of the batter head and that got enough batter sound too. There are so many ways to try.

[JamesSGBrown]

Recorderman worked for me.

https://jonstinson.com/the-recorder-man ... technique/

[marqueemoon]

This video might be of interest to some of you.

[level3]

Recorderman worked for me.

https://jonstinson.com/the-recorder-man ... technique/

This has worked for me as well, but I've always felt the need to add an extra mic for the kick (and snare sometimes). Otherwise I couldn't get it to sit in the center.

[marqueemoon]

This video might be of interest to some of you.

My main takeaway is I’m eventually going to need a Fet 47 clone in my life. That sounded the most balanced, but with a nice heft to it when in that spot.

The immediacy of the Earthworks sounded awesome on the snare, but the rest of the kit lacked some oomph.

[mcatano]

I recorded some stuff last weekend with 4 mics that I think turned out sounding pretty good.

Fairly small dry/dead room (our rehearsal space)

kick in - sE V7x (their version of an M88)
snare side - EV ND468 (maybe 1.5" back from the shell, about halfway down)
over-shoulder - M160 (pointed dead center of the full kit)
heart - Apex ribbon (oriented so that the two lobes pointed at the toms, with the kick and ride in the nulls)

Ended up with a really nice, tight sound that doesn't sound overly modern or close mic'd. Carefully squashing the heart mic gives the kit some body and energy but also lets the toms pop out when they get thumped. It took a few passes to get the mic in the right spot so that the balance between the two toms was decent, but once there, very pleasant.

[mcatano]

This video might be of interest to some of you.

My main takeaway is I’m eventually going to need a Fet 47 clone in my life. That sounded the most balanced, but with a nice heft to it when in that spot.

The immediacy of the Earthworks sounded awesome on the snare, but the rest of the kit lacked some oomph.

The Oktava held its own, that 47 sounded exceptional though.

[marqueemoon]

This video might be of interest to some of you.

My main takeaway is I’m eventually going to need a Fet 47 clone in my life. That sounded the most balanced, but with a nice heft to it when in that spot.

The immediacy of the Earthworks sounded awesome on the snare, but the rest of the kit lacked some oomph.

The Oktava held its own, that 47 sounded exceptional though.

Yeah. The most disappointing for me was the Coles. I liked what it did for the cymbals, but everything else was a no.