The best kick drum mic senheisser 421s for all toms. Microphone techniques for live sound reinforcement english. A backwards and surprising kick drum mic technique video. Miktek performance series drum microphones offer way. This is the standard way to mic a kick drum if you have the outside head off or if a hole is cut in it. This will capture the snap of the beat around the batter head while isolating the rest of the kit. Like the other skills weve discussed coordination and independence, becoming a faster drummer doesnt just happen overnight. How to mic drums for recording, part 2 four microphones. Triple microphone full kit techniques kick, snare and overhead this techniques uses 1 cardioid condenser microphone placed two feet above the cymbals and pointed down at the set. The outside microphone will have all the tone and low end, the inside microphone can be dialed in for the perfect amount of punch and attack.
By paying attention to the fundamentals, you can capture a kick drum sound that provides a solid foundation for the music without overpowering everything else. We recommend that you position the mic inside the bass drum. If you need your snare sounding its best, check out the audix microd mini clipon condenser drum microphone. The basis of a good kick sound is a large dynamic microphone like the atm250. A simple stereo overhead pair with kick drum and snare drum spot mics, and the. While you can get a pretty good drum sound with only a single microphone, using two mics is even better. Although there are many different methods, some common techniques and. Shure gives some valuable insight on microphone techniques for drums. He really made a name for himself in the annuls of recording legend with his monstrous john bonham drum sounds on all those zeppelin records. Bright, with plenty of attack natural natural allow clearance for movement of pan. Offering clean and powerful sound free of distortion at even higher sound pressure levels, it also has an extremely rugged construction, allowing.
In this pattern, youll place a wa87 above the drum kit, roughly four feet directly above the snare. The pg alta series delivers professional quality audio at an affordable price, with solutions for capturing nearly any source, including voice, acoustic instruments, drums, and amplified electric instruments. Remove front drum head and damp the drum shell with a. You can take the skins off, radically change the tuning, change the beater material from felt, to hardwood to plastic. The best kick drum mic gearslutz pro audio community. You can modify the preceding miking technique by moving the mic back so that its about halfway inside the drum. Please note that micing techniques are a matter of personal preference.
There are lots of mic techniques for getting a great kick drum sound. We wanted a really punchy, deep, and airy kick drum sound, but with two mics in place it just wasnt cutting it. There are a few variations on it esp distance to, or in front of, or somewhere around the bass drum but the overly simple approach is 1. The trick to mixing the kick drum is balancing it with the bass. One mic outside the front resonant head putting a mic in front of the outer head is the most common kick drum mic placement, but there are still plenty of variables. Charlie will demonstrate how to capture your kick sound starting with 1 microphone and show you how mic placement will change your sound. In fact, you can find some largediaphragm dynamic mics specifically designed to record kick drums. Additional information on recording drums and microphone techniques is available at.
Microphone technique is largely a matter of personal taste whatever method sounds right for the particular instrument, musician, and song is right. Optimizing miking of the mighty kick drum optimizing miking of the mighty kick drum microphone techniques for everything you wanted to know making it go bang. Cello, bass one microphone placed 4 6 inches above each pan. Usually, the best microphone recording technique for the kick drum is to adopt two microphones, one positioned inside of the kick drum and one outside. Tape gauze pad or handkerchief on top head to tighten sound. The kick can set the tempo for the song, though it might not be struck. After investigating the many available bass drum microphone options and still finding nothing to suit a restricted budget, both webb and cobb agree that you cant beat a ubiquitous shure sm57. Pga52 kick drum microphone pga57 snare drum microphone 2 pga56 drum microphones 2 ap56dm mount 5piece kit. We cover the basics of professional bass drum microphones for a balanced sound in your drum mix. Im not saying these techniques are the gold standard, but something to have in your back pocket if a situation arises where the drummer has a setup youre unfamiliar with. The kick drum provides the foundation for any strong drum track. This manual has covered the major points of akg microphone selection and usage in. For reinforcement of musical instruments, there are several main objectives of microphone techniques.
In this case, place the mic right in the middle, pointing where the beater strikes the drum. Congratulations on the purchase of a new shure pg alta series microphone. The two tracks generated allows the engineer, during the mixing phase, to fix the levels according to the desired sound. If you have two mics available, try placing one in front of the bass drum about a footaway from the front head on a short stand. Full, smooth one microphone over center of drum set. No matter where you place the mic, you can reduce the amount of boominess from the drum by placing a pillow or blanket inside it. By that time, miking the snare was as normal as nailing the kick drum to the riser. When recording a kick drum, most recording engineers choose a dynamic microphone. D6 is a dynamic instrument microphone used for stage, studio and broadcast applications. Further miking techniques may be found on our website at. Microphone techniques 7 for just above top head at edge of drum, aiming at top head. Here are some miking options you might want to try. Check out the how to mic drums for recording, part 2 four microphones page at sweetwater the worlds leading music technology and instrument retailer.
Best kick drum mic for recording d112 practical music. If youre curious who glyn is and why this technique is so widely used, id recommend taking a quick look at his recording credits. If youre looking for a mic to get the most out of your kick drum and floor toms, try the yamaha subkick lowfrequency capture device. Sometimes the best place to mic up your kick drum is the last place youd expect. Besides how to improve, most drum students want to know how to play drums faster. When the d112 was first released in 1986, it was every sound engineers preferred kick drum microphone, by far.
Microphone techniques for just above top head at edge of drum, aiming at top head. This placement gives you a sharp attack from the beater hitting the head. Pga52 kick drum microphone pga57 snare drum microphone 3 pga56 drum microphones 2 pga81 overhead condenser microphones 3 ap56dm mount note. Guidelines for miking the bass kick drum with dpa microphones. As the venue gets larger, or the band get louder, adding just a bit of kick drum can help underpin, and add a bit of weight to, the overall sound. Microphone techniques for introduction microphone techniques the selection and placement of microphones have a major influence on the audio quality of a sound reinforcement system. Audix has recently completed a video series on how to mic your drums. These are merely guidelines to assist in the placement of the microphone to gain optimal performance. To maximize room sound, raise the oh microphones, angle them away from the drums, or use wider polar patterns. Popular microphone techniques for vocals, guitars and.
So when mixing drums, you need to treat it with care. Place the microphone in front of the resonant kick drum head. For this technique one cardioid condenser microphone is overhead pointing down at the drum kit. It was a very common sight in most recording studios and live stage performances, and still is to this day. There is also no one ideal way to place a microphone. Tips for miking your kick drum condenser and dynamic. By mark frink although there are other conventions, its generally agreed that the kick drum. Ive found it best to use a large diaphragm condenser or ribbon for this microphone. Pm11 super cardioid dynamic microphone owners manual. The kick drum and the snare drum are the key pieces of the drum kit that define its sound. Early models commonly used on snare include the shure 545 unidyne. Anyone who has had the misfortune of trying to reposition a drum microphone midgig.
There is no one ideal microphone to use on any particular instrument. I now have a mobile setup and for years have only been recording choral and orchestral music but periodically i get asked to record a small rock or blues band. To minimize room sound, lower the oh microphones and point them toward the center of the kit. Fm radio in portland along with drum clinician mike snyder, is a step by step analysis of how to mic up your kit. Five techniques for stereo miking drums shure blog.
Listen to the sound source with the other ear and move around until you find a spot that sounds good. Its much less about the plugins, eq, compressors or how many subs are in the system. Drum kit miking the drum kit is one of the most complicated sound sources to record. Reeling in the kick drum with different miking techniques. There are several methods that can be used when capturing the kick drum, including single mic and dual mic placements. Please note that micing techniques are a matter of. One microphone between every two tomtoms, close to top heads.
The glyn johns drum recording method recording revolution. The basics of miking a kick drum vintage king blog. However, this may not be practical or healthy for extremely close placement. This collection of drum miking techniques will help you capture the perfect drum sound, regardless of style or budget. The kick drum indeed, the whole kit is uniquely modular. Thats what happened in a recent drum tracking session. See stereo microphone techniques for overhead placement options. Drums microphone techniques 4 for general rules microphone technique is largely a matter of personal taste whatever method sounds right for the particular instrument, musician, and song is right. Placing a pad of paper towels where the beater hits the drum will lessen boominess. We will begin with a discussion of vocal pickup techniques, then moving on. If the kick drum resonant head has a hole in it, place the microphone inside for improved isolation from other instruments.
Drums microphone techniques for microphone placement tonal balance comments tenor, second pan, guitar one microphone placed 4 inches above each pan. And if theyre not treated properly, theyll actually make each other sound worse. We pass on the hardwon wisdom of fifty top producers in the essential sound on sound guide to recording kick and snare drums, the backbone of modern music when it comes to describing in interview how they record drums, top producers seem to spend more time discussing techniques for snare drum and bass drum than anything else. Microphone techniques for recording university of waterloo. As with most directional microphones, the low frequency response of the pl33 microphone varies with the distance from the sound source. More so than any miking technique, modifying the kick drum it to taste will create the most powerful results.
In fact, this was a classic setup for so many hit records of the 50s and early 60s, heres how its done. In this blog, im going to go over a few examples where the miking technique changes depending on the resonant head on the kick drum. Mic techniques a shure educational publication microphone techniques for drums drums mic t echniques drums for one ear with your finger. One of my favorite drum microphone techniques is the glyn johns overhead pattern. The bass drum is the underlying pulse of rock and pop music. Aim the pga57 towards the center of the snare drum head to capture more stick attack, or closer the edge to capture more. Because the microphone is virtually inside kick drum, there will be a good. If the need is a more punchy and isolated kickdrum sound, place the microphone inside the kick drum to avoid all the noise and bleed coming from the rest of the kit. Glyn johns is a british musician, engineer, and producer who most notably worked with led zeppelin, the who, the rolling stones, the eagles, eric clapton, and even started his career assisting for the beatles. If youre here for an individual kick drum microphone though, youll love the top rated akg d 112 kick drum microphone. Pga drum microphone kit5, pga drum microphone kit7 user. Blend this in with the inside microphone for a full picture of the kick drum.
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