How do I Mic drums? I have 2 inputs

[SWBoatman25]

Hello,

I am in a band, and I going to record a live drum set. I have a audio interface with 2 inputs (Scarlett 2i2) and an SM57 mic.

With only 2 inputs to work with, I have one SM57 mic and I am going to buy another mic.

I have been told that the best way to do this with only 2 inputs, is to buy two condenser mics, one out in front of the kick and one overhead to get the high and the low sounds.

If I do that, I heard that condensers are sensitive to pressure waves that may cause it to blow, my drummer plays hard (genre is pop-punk, alternative) so he smacks the sh*t out of his set surprisingly. Would that be enough to blow a condenser mic that is set up a few feet in front of the kick or above?

I have $150-$200 to spend on a condenser mic. (broke college kid)

Let me know of any ideas, about the best way to go about it with just 2 mics.

THANK YOU

[shtik]

Before recommending mics for your situation, I will start with the best advice you could ever get, and it's better to get it as early on as possible:

Work with your drummer on playing with good balance. Much easier said then done. Especially in this situation, where you can only have a kick and one more additional mic, you can easily have the much important snare and toms lost in the mix without having a way to fix this.


You can do it in 2 steps:


1. Go in the room with the drummer and tell him to play the hi hat part in the song the softest way he can, with varying pedal positions (open to closed), while maintaining good timing and sound. Tell him to remember how soft he did it.

Do the same with the crash cymbals - tell him to hit the crashes the softest he ever can, while maintaining good crash sound - they should sound like a solid tchshshshsh. If they sound like kkccchchhchhshshsh - they are played way too loud. If they swing up and down like crazy after every hit - they are played too hard.

Work with him until you got a solid cymbal sound - but you can be in the room without them cracking your ear drums.

Now - the hardest part - let him play the whole drum part - but with the other pieces of the kit (kick snare and toms) played as hard as he used to, or as you said - smack the sh*t out of them. BUT NOT THE CYMBALS!!!!!!

That's a very hard thing to do, but that's what will make your recording usable for what you want to achieve. Just keep in mind (and in your drummer's mind) - if the cymbals are played too hard - your recording goes to the trash.


2. Now bring up the session for recording and arm your 2 tracks for recording. Track 1 will be the kick (use your SM57 for it), keep it muted for now. Track 2 will be your front (room/OH mic).

Let your drummer play and adjust the gain for your front mic. Don't set it too high or you'll clip your inputs.

Now while you and your drummer are wearing headphones, slowly start to raise the headphone volume up, while he hits the snare. He needs to be comfortable with the snare level in his ears. It should sound big and heavy to him. This will be the reference point for him to determine ho hard he hist the different pieces of the kit. Since he only hears the one mic that's being recorded, this will be the final balance in the mix.

From now on, you will not decrease the headphone level or the track's level, or your recording will go to the trash. If you hear your drummer complaining that the cymbals are splitting his eardrums through the headphones - just tell him to play them softer as you practiced earlier. NEVER agree to turn down the volume (assuming the snare sounded good to him in the first place)

Now, un-mute and set the gain of the kick drum mic until you can both hear it well in the mix.

finally, slowly raise any guide or click tracks until your drummer feels comfortable with their level. He should always make sure that he hears the snare and the toms loud, clear and big, and the cymbals at just the right volume. Never too loud.


Now to microphone advice: You need not worry about condensers overloading, you need to worry about your Scarlett inputs overloading. Use a pad (attenuation) where available.

I think that in this situation you can use a Large Diaphragm Condenser in front or above the kit, a good value mic for this would be the MXL Cube:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...Condenser.html

I would also try recording the front of the kit with a value Ribbon mic such as the Cascade Fathead:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...icrophone.html

Sometimes because of the darker sounding nature of the ribbon, it tends to tame the harsh highs of the cymbals. Also it is less likely to overload your Scarlett's inputs, because it has lower output level than the LDC mic.

I would say try to get both for different applications, but it might be too much above your budget.

Be careful with a 57 on the kick, do not put it inside the kick, or you'll end up with a paper and plastic sounding kick. Aim for a spot just outside the hole of the kick, pointing to where the beater hits. This position emphasizes more of the low end thump, while not compromising the attack.


Happy experimenting, and share the results here with us.

[Bill Denton]

You might want to look at some of the articles on these searches:

https://www.google.com/search?q=andy...icrosoft:en-US

And:

https://www.google.com/search?q=reco...I7NDKB_enUS542

A lot of good info on these search results...

[SWBoatman25]

Thank you so much shtik

I will definitely sit with my drummer and talk out everything you posted and go over it with him. That was super informative and very detailed, a great step by step approach to it and great mic recommendations that I will try out.

I will let you know how everything turns out or if I have question in the process.

Thank you too Bill Denton!

Great articles that I looked into and I will refer back to for reference.

THANK!

[JFreak]

...and tell your drummer that what he or she learns by playing like this (cans hard, cymbals soft) will benefit in the live gigs as well. It's kind of a technique that you need to learn at some point anyway. So that's not time wasted but instead invenstment into the future.

[shtik]

Thank you so much shtik

I will definitely sit with my drummer and talk out everything you posted and go over it with him. That was super informative and very detailed, a great step by step approach to it and great mic recommendations that I will try out.

I will let you know how everything turns out or if I have question in the process.

Glad it helped you, you're welcome to do so.

You might want to look at some of the articles on these searches:

https://www.google.com/search?q=andy...icrosoft:en-US

And:

https://www.google.com/search?q=reco...I7NDKB_enUS542

A lot of good info on these search results...

That's great Bill, but these techniques require more than 2 inputs, which is the limitation here. Anyway might be good for when the OP has more than 2 inputs.

[DMB13KOS]

Use the old-school Glyn Johns technique:

http://www.drummagazine.com/plugged-...ng-techniques/

[Carl Kolchak]

I'd probably go Glyn Johns technique (1 mic about 3ft directly above the centre of the snare, 2nd mic equidistant from centre of snare - but to the side of the floor tom, about 1ft above the rim of the floor tom, and facing across the tom, directly aimed at the centre of the snare. Pan 1 3 O'clock right, and 2 9 O'clock left), and then after the recording, use a drum V.I. to augment the snare and kick drum (use tab to transient to find each hit, and place the MIDI note / drum sample).

[Bob Olhsson]

Originally Posted by Carl Kolchak

I'd probably go Glyn Johns technique

The GlynJohns technique was 4 mikes, not 2! I'd use the 57 on the bass drum with some kind of a pop screen and a figure-8 overhead. That'll balance the snare up and the cymbals down.

[DMB13KOS]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

The GlynJohns technique was 4 mikes, not 2! I'd use the 57 on the bass drum with some kind of a pop screen and a figure-8 overhead. That'll balance the snare up and the cymbals down.

Glyn also recorded some drummers with only two mikes - one for the kick and one for the whole set.

The 4 mic technique is the more commonly used and better version, but the 2 mic version is useful when inputs are limited and can yield good results.