best way to minimize bleed when Miking Drums in studio?

[sventvkg]

I am getting a lot of Bleed in the snare Mic of the Hihat and the kick drum and would like some advice as to minimize it when recording. I am using a 57 on the snare and it's picking up a lot of Hat and kick....Gating while recording? Any ideas?

Sean

[whiskas]

I wouldnt gate during recording as you may loose some hits of the snare if you have the gate set to severly, always gate after recording then you can adjust the gate parameters to make sure you dont cut out any quiet snare hits.

also is the bleed spoiling the drum take, as once you have everything in the mix you may not notice the bleed.

[BradLyons]

Actually, gating is perfectly fine during recording and HIGHLY recommended....providing you have good gates and know how to set them. In the live field, I have a Presonus ACP88 multi-channel compressor/gate that works fairly well for the job on my drums. I have the toms gated to take ONLY the initial Tom hit, let it sustain, and close out other signal. The same is true for the snare and Kick drums. I never lose a cut-off note. I do prefer having Drawmer Gates and used to own 16-channels of those years ago. It's beneficial to have very good gates such as Drawmer to give you frequency dependent gating.

What do you have for hardware gates? They really aren't that expensive.

[where02190]

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT GATE DURING RECORDING!!!!!!! (Brad I cannot believe you said that?).

You can always gate when mixing, but gating when you record commits you to the gate dynamics, there's no going back. I highly recommend against it.

You can also edit out the bleed between hits, or use automation to lessen them, automation being my #1 choice. although time consuming, it is the most sonically pleasing and unnoticable way to eliminate excess bleed when done properly.

However, having said all this, I suggest trying a bit of mic prepositioning, and to accept some bleed. A drumkit is one instrument, not many, and should be treated as such. How the other drums interact and percieve the sounds of eachother is part of the characteristics of the kit, player and room.

Hope this is helpful.

[J. FO]

you could also try using an expander instead of a gate during mixdown. much more pleasant to my ears.

[kenhawkins]

Actually, gating is perfectly fine during recording and HIGHLY recommended....providing you have good gates and know how to set them

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[Walling1]

Bleed isn't bad....gates are!!

Work on mic positioning before messing with your dynamics - and even then never, ever record with a gate. Gates are for mixing.

-Dave

[La Flange]

Gating during recording... heh I'd sooner play the drums with pool cues.

[Lowfreq]

Okay, while the 'great gate debate' rage on, try moving the mic around instead. Use the mic's null point of the polar pattern, in the case of a 57 (cardioid) it the rear. Face the rear of the mic towards the high hat. I know this is easier said than done in certain set ups. Anyway you can get the mic to face away from the hats and still point at the snare will show a huge improvement. You will never get all of the hat out the mic, but most. Another option that can work well is micing the shell of the snare versus the head. Sometimes you have more bleed control & still get a great snare sound. Get out there and experiment!

[marchhare]

Take a mic pop filter. Buy a ski cap (or two,
color optional). Put the ski cap over the pop
filter. Clip the pop filter onto the hi-hat
stand. Position between horrible, offensive
hi-hats and beautiful snare mic. Now you can
add as much top end to your snare as you want
and it won't sound like garbage can lids. I've
spent years trying to get the hats out of the
snare and this really works.