This Week:  Drum Micing (Part I)

Although there are many great software-based virtual drum programs out there with great-quality samples, sometimes there’s still nothing like real acoustic drums and a real drummer playing them.  So, how do you go about capturing a great performance and a great sounding kit?  Here’s the first part of a brief overview of mic’ing a drum kit.

A general rule of thumb in recording is GIGO (garbage in = garbage out) meaning that you get results based on how good your sound source is.  A good drum sound requires a decent well-tuned drum kit in a good-sounding room (more on the room aspect later).  Make sure the heads aren’t overly worn, pedals are free of squeaks and that it sounds good in the room when played.

You can achieve great results with a good room and 3 good, well-placed mics but for this article we’re going to focus on using a combination of individual drum mics, an overhead pair and a room mic or two.  We’ll start first with the overheads. 

Good condenser mics are preferred for overheads as they tend to be more detailed and have a wider frequency range.  Cardioids are also preferred as they will be more focused and won’t pull in as much of the room sound.  There are several options for placement including spaced pair and the various close pairing options of X-Y or M/S coincident pair and ORTF.  There is also a placement option where the mics are placed pointing at the snare drum and measured from the capsules to the center of the snare to ensure that each mic is at an equal distance.  Closer pairs provide a more centralized and focused kit sound while spaced pairs offer a wider stereo image.  Height should range from about 24” to 60”.  The higher the mics, the more the sound of the room factors in.  Check the mics in mono; this can help identify any potential phase issues.

Snare drum:  You can’t go wrong with the tried and true Shure SM57 pointed towards the center of the drum and peeking just over the rim facing away from the hi-hat.  Other dynamic mics can also work well.  Angling the mic more towards the rim of the drum will give more ring and tone whereas the center will provide more of the crack and impact.  Feel free to experiment with the placement until you achieve the right balance of tone and impact.  It’s not essential to use a mic under the snare but if you have the track space it’s nice to have if the resulting recording needs a little more “sizzle”.  Another SM57 pointed up at the snares or even a condenser that can take high sound pressure levels (SPLs) will do the trick.  You will likely have to flip the phase on this mic on your mixer or in your DAW as this mic will tend to be out of phase with the top mic. 

Next issue we’ll look that the rest of the kit (bass drum, toms and room mics).