Get A Great Drum Kit Sound - FREE Drum Kit Recording Techniques
In this series, we are going to look at how to record a wide range of sound sources from a solo vocal through guitars, bass, piano strings, brass, woodwind and percussion, before moving onto the drum kit. In part 10 we are going to look at recording the drum kit, using low cost and more expensive microphones, starting with one mic and going up to full drum kit mic rig.
Throughout this series, we are using some excellent videos produced by Audio Technica and they naturally profile their own mics. But of course, you don’t have to use the specific Audio Technica mics they recommend. Take note of the type of microphone they recommend, like a large-diaphragm cardioid condenser or a hypercardioid dynamic microphone and chose one of that type that you prefer and/or own. What makes the biggest difference to the sound is where you place the microphone, not the particular brand and model of microphone.
There are as many ways of recording a drum kit as there are different drums that can make up a drum kit. We are going to start this article with a simple and low-cost set of options to mic up a drum kit.
3 Tips For Recording Drums On A Budget
Kick Drum Mics - Start with a cardioid dynamic instrument mic placed just outside the hole on the kick drum. Since you’ll be using a single microphone on the kick drum, position the mic to pick up the attack from the batterhead through the hole while picking up the low-end from the front head at the same time.
Snare Mics - On top of the snare, use a cardioid dynamic instrument mic. Place it about an inch and a half above the drum just inside the rim.
Overhead Mics - The drum sound’s foundation will come from two microphones – a pair of large-diaphragm cardioid condensers in what some call the Recorderman position, consisting of two matching microphones, one directly above the snare and one just above the drummer’s shoulder, angled at the snare. They should be equidistant from the kick and the snare. The aim is that the overhead pair of drum mics present a full picture of the kit, while the mics on the kick and the snare serve to augment the sound from the overheads.
There you have it, you have your kit ready to record with only four drum microphones. For some mic choice inspiration you might want to check out our article Recording Drums - Six Alternative Microphones You Might Want To Try Instead Of The Usual Choices.
Top Tips To Avoid These 10 Mistakes The Next Time You Record Multi-track Acoustic Drums
For a moment let's put drum microphone placement techniques and mixing techniques aside whilst we look at mistakes you should avoid when recording multitrack acoustic drums
Microphone Stands Touching Parts Of The Drum Kit - After you have positioned your drum microphones across the kit you need to check that all of the boom stands you have set up aren’t touching any part of the kit such as a cymbal stand or even the ring that surrounds the hole in the kick drum resonant head. Microphone stands that touch parts of the drums will pick up vibrations from the kit that will transmit through the boom to the microphone. Take the time to get the positioning of your stands absolutely isolated otherwise you'll get some unflattering noises in your recorded tracks.
Snare Top Mic Close To Hi-Hats - You are always going to get some hi-hat bleed down the snare mic, that's to be expected but watch out for air blowing into the snare mic from the hi-hat when the hi-hats close. This can cause a short "rush of air" sound hitting the snare mic, it doesn't sound good. Two simple fixes are to either angle the snare top mic away slightly from the hi-hats or reposition the microphone's height up or down.
Cables Not Laid Flat - Setting up drums and throwing an array of microphones across the kit is lots of fun but don't let common sense take a leave of absence in all the fun you are having. Make sure you use cables that have plenty of length so that cables are never under tension or laid in ways that are trip hazards.
Don't Set Up Drums Close To Walls - If possible, avoid setting up your drums close to walls because early reflections bouncing off the walls could cause you problems in the mix. It's also good to have space around the kit so that you have ample room for microphone stands along with easy access for the drummer to sit at their throne. Rule of thumb to use here: If a drummer can touch a wall from their throne position you should move the drums further away from that wall.
Don't Leave Spare Drum Shells Lying Around - This is easily done, especially if you are auditioning a selection of snare drums. This mistake can cost over an hour in retuning and mic placement as there was a pitch that didn't sound quite right through the drum overhead mics. It was until the engineer noticed the spare snare was causing this issue and removed it from the room that the resonance they heard in the test recordings disappeared.
Not Using Counter Weights On Overhead Mic Stands - Take extra care with drum overhead microphones as these can easily topple over if not set up with plenty of care. In some cases, you may need to add counterweights to the opposite end of the boom arm to stop the overhead microphones drooping down. There are many purpose-built microphone counterweights available, however, if you have a handful of spare lightweight dumbbell weights lying around, use these to stop your overhead microphones drooping towards the drummer.
Not Tightening Everything - Don't be lazy when setting up the drum kit or microphone stands. Take extra care in making sure all nuts, bolts, clips and levers are tightened down firmly. Parts of a drum kit over time can work loose, so make sure you check every fixture before recording your drums otherwise you may get some irritating rattles in your tracks... or in a worst-case scenario, you may even have part of the kit collapse like a cymbal stand during a take.
Not Using A Drum Mat - Drum mats are essential. You don't need to use a purpose-made mat but you need something under your kit, even if it's an old length of carpet. Drum spikes under kick drum legs can cause a huge amount of damage to wood floors within small periods of time so make sure you avoid damaging the room you are in with a protective layer under the drums. Drum kits also have a habit of shifting forward slightly over the course of a session. Use a carpet under the drums to keep the kit in the spot you set them up in. Drum recording can also be a messy job, have you ever look under a drummer's throne after a long session? There is usually a heavy dusting of wood chippings from their sticks. Using a carpet under the drums also helps to contain those wood chips saving you time tidying up when you are breaking down the kit.
Not Having A Drum Key To Hand - Never assume that you'll get a great drum sound from microphone placement alone. Like other pitched instruments, including guitars and pianos, drums need tuning in order to sound great at source. Always have a drum key to hand to tune drum heads to avoid flabby sounding shells or to tune out sympathetic resonances from other kit pieces.
Don't Make It Easy For Drummers To Hit The Microphones With Their Sticks - The last, but no means least important mistake to avoid when recording acoustic drums is setting up microphones in such a way that makes it easy for the drummer to accidentally hit the mics with their sticks in performance. Microphones are fragile devices so you wouldn't want your gear damaged in your tracking workflow. Also, the sound produced by a drummer typically replaces the sound of the kit piece they intended to hit. Always ask your drummer if they are comfortable with the positioning of the microphones. Get them to play around the kit so that you can see if there are any close mics that can be repositioned so that the drummer doesn't need to change their style in order to avoid hitting any of the mics with their sticks.
7 Basic Tips for Drum Mic Setup And Recording
Setting up microphones for your drums is a crucial process. After all, the drums are the backbone of the song. We breakdown the mics we recommend for different parts of the kit piece by piece and also provide some basic drum mic recording tips.
Bass Drum Mics - We recommend you position a cardioid dynamic microphone, inside the bass drum to capture the attack and punch of your bass drum. You can balance it with a cardioid condenser mic on the outside, to strengthen the low end.
Hi-hat Mic - On the hi-hat, consider a small-diaphragm cardioid condenser mic with the pad on, if possible so that you do not overload the mic and the 80Hz roll-off engaged to mitigate the bass drum leak.
Snare Drum Mics - On the top, consider a hyper-cardioid dynamic mic, most people’s goto is a Shure SM57 but check out our article Recording Drums - Six Alternative Microphones You Might Want To Try Instead Of The Usual Choices for some alternatives, with the mic positioned just outside the rim. Underneath the snare, try a cardioid condenser mic with the 10dB pad on to pick up the snare. Remember that the bottom snare should always be flipped out of phase and the 80Hz roll-off should be engaged to reduce bleed from the kick and the toms.
Toms - On both toms, try cardioid condenser mics with the 10dB pads on, rather than the more usual hyper-cardioid dynamic mic. Place the tom mics about 3 inches above the drum – facing straight down.
Ride Cymbal - On the ride, use a small condenser with the 80Hz roll-off engaged. Position it above the ride and never allow the side of the cymbal to touch the mic element or you’ll have some terrible sounds on your recording.
Overhead Mics - For the overheads, a pair of large-diaphragm cardioid condensers set as a spaced cardioid arrangement with no pad and no roll-off.
The Room - For micing the room, try a pair of ribbon mics in a Blumlein configuration about ten feet in front of the kit and about four feet off the ground.
Free Tutorial - Recording Drums - Part 1 - Using A Single Microphone
Our resident drummer James Ivey produced a series of tutorials offering his take as both a drummer and recording engineer across 5 video tutorials. You can watch the first one for free and the remaining four are available on our premium video tutorial channel.
In the free introduction to a series of video tutorials, James starts by looking at some of the playing considerations that you as the engineer will have to discuss with your drummer when recording using this technique.
He then goes on to talk about the position of the single overhead mic which is, in this case, a U87 clone, in this case, a Hammer Audio HA-872.
James demonstrates the results when the mic set to a Cardioid and Omni-directional pick-up pattern and some of the benefits of using both settings.
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Recording Drums - Part 2 - Using 2 and 3 Microphones
In part 2, James adds a Bass Drum (Kick Drum) mic, in this case, an original AKG D12 to give the mix the recording some real bottom end thump. He then goes on to add a second overhead mic to create a stereo image of the kit.
Yes it is true you can just put the mic on the instrument or drum and it will "work" but James demonstrates what effect how far away the Bass Drum mic is from the instrument on the tone and punch you get from the drum.
He then shows how pointing or aiming the overhead mics at specific areas of the kit can help create a great stereo image of the drums.
Recording Drums - Part 3 - Adding A Snare, Second Kick And Hi-Hat Mic
In this third part, James adds 3 more mics to his recording setup. The first of the three new mics, he adds is a Snare Drum mic positioned near the top or batter head. James chooses a Telefunken M80 Dynamic Cardioid microphone in place of the normal go-to mic, the Shure SM57 as he likes this particular mic because of its better top-end tone and more solid drum kit safe construction.
Next James adds a second mic on the kick drum. He chooses to place a Shure Beta 91A inside the Kick Drum to capture the attack and bring some bite to the recording.
Finally, in this section, James adds a Hi-Hat mic, choosing a Shure KSM137 small diaphragm condenser mic. He shows how to position the mic to get the maximum rejection from the other instruments in the kit.
Recording Drums - Part 4 - Adding An Under Snare And Tom Mics
In this part, James adds an under-snare mic and Tom Tom mics to increase control and flexibility when it comes to the mix.
The under Snare mic helps to add some sizzle to the drum sound. The mic, in this case, a Sontronics DM-1S is pointed directly at the centre of the resonator head about 3 or 4 inches away. The most important thing to know about this mic is that it has been phase inverted on the recording interface. This is to make sure it is in phase with the snare drum top head mic.
James also talks about the Remo snare drum dampening system, which he is using on the top head to control the snare drum tone. He demonstrates tones, both with and without, and talks a little about his ideas when it comes to dampening other elements of the kit.
Finally, James adds Tom Tom mics. In this case, he is using Sontronics DM-1T small-diaphragm condenser mics as they have a small footprint around the kit but have a nice bright sound with plenty of attack.
Recording Drums - Part 5 - Room Microphones
In the concluding part, James looks at room mics, what configurations to use and how they sound.
He starts by explaining the 3 different room mic setups he is using. The first is an XY coincident pair of Aston Microphones Starlight small diaphragm condensers. The second room mic option is a Townsend Labs Sphere in Sphere 180 mode configured as an MS pair. The third is a Vanguard Audio Labs V44S Stereo condenser mic.
James plays a take with just the room mics to show off each of the configurations before blending his favourite room mic with the fully rigged up drum kit.
Before You Choose A Drum Sound Read This History Of Drum Recording
When discussing how to record drums, Grammy Award-winning independent Producer/ Engineer/ Musician/ Songwriter, William Wittman thinks it’s useful to have a look back at how exactly we got here with all of the options we have today. With a bit of experimentation you just might find that somewhere along this rough timeline there’s a method that works best for you.
In this article, outlines the history of recording drum kits before looking at a 5 mc rig with audio examples od the full fig as well as how the same kit sounds with fewer mics.
As William says in the article, this technique does require a good internal balance from the drummer so that, for example, the cymbals don’t overwhelm toms in the balance.
“But I would argue that any good drum recording, using any recording method, really requires that. Jimmy Page has said that when recording those big, roomy, Zeppelin tracks if he heard in the control room that the ride cymbal was washing out the drums, he didn’t look for an engineering solution, he’d simply go out and tell John Bonham and the drummer would adjust his playing to fix it!”
For the full story check out our article Before You Choose A Drum Sound Read This History Of Drum Recording.