Drumset Recording Levels

[Mr_Seven]

It's really about personal taste and the type of music.

I will usually listen to the overheads (mixed) then bring up the individual mics to fill in. typically I'll keep the kick and snare up more (dance) than the others. But there's no hard fast rule. Remember to pan stuff and you'll likely set levels based on where you position the instruments in the stereo spread. Don't forget that eq plays an important part in mixing the drums too. Removing he offending freq. from each particular drum, boosting the feq that are pleasing and to position in the musical range. i.e. I like the high hat to sound bright and shiney and thin (words don't do sound well) out of the box I think hihat sound brash and clangy. I've gone on too long. Use your ears to find what you like. That is all.

[MaKoRancid]

I am going to be recording drumsets with 7 mics shortly. Now when i mix the drums what are some things i shuold keep in mind? Should i try to get the volume of each drum to be exactly the same or are some drums generally mixed at a lower volume than other drums?

[allstaar]

I would say the only regular guideline is to always leave some headroom, 6-8dB below fullscale is pretty safe.
The drummer I regularly record always hits the snare and bass drum harder during the take(s) than he does when setting levels. Or he hits everything harder!
A fast compressor (and I mean fast) can be a real help on your snare before protools inputs.