Overheads
Probably the most natural sound that can be obtained is with a high-quality condenser mic positioned overhead and either in front of or behind the kit. As symbols radiate sound in a sort of figure of eight above and below the symbol plane whilst the hi hats radiate horizontally, so positing a microphone closer to this plane will reduce noise level. I chose to get a fair amount of symbol noise – as I can alter the sound if needed within Pro Tools. For the purpose of recording the band I used two Neumann U87(s) over head the drums and slightly in from of the kit – these were around 2 meters in the air.
Kick Drum
Due to the demanding pressure that the kick drum creates when in action only a few mics can actually work in this atmosphere. A moving coil microphone is preferred in this position, so I hooked up the kick drum with an AKG D112. This microphone is good for consistently picking up a low frequency response. For positioning purposes the front drum skin was taken off and the microphone positioned slightly off centre and closer to the bottom of the drum (just above the light padding). The padding is used to dampen any ringing within the drum and provide a more rock drive sound.
Snare Drum & Hi-hats
My favourite microphone that I have used so far for the hi-hats is the trusty pencil like condenser microphone AKG C451. Previously I used to use a Shure SM57 but know tend to use them hand-in-hand with the 58’s on the toms. I have found that the C451 microphone gives the snare sound a little bit more top end, I do like a tinny snare! The mic was positioned at around a 45 degree angle above the head and quite close to the edge – two reasons for this, one hopefully the drummer will not hit it! The second is to give maximum attack as the drumsticks hit fairly close to the mic. I tend to also use a C451 or SM57 at the bottom of the snare drum, this to give me more of my tiny sound that I admire so much.
Again the use of a C451 (I feel like I am marketing this microphone a lot) and an acute angle is used for the hi hats - as talked about before the sound of the sound comes at a horizontal plane unlike the symbols. The main thing here is not to place the mic too close as it can pick up chuff of air each time the hats open and close. The mic is around 10 centimetres on the far side of the drums so the amount of spillage from the kit is at a minimal.
Toms
In a rock oriented drum sound (which is what I am after) all the toms will be miked up. As the kit has a fair few mics recording it the use of a gate will reinstate some sort of separation between each drum. For the recording session I used Shure 58’s for all the toms, trying to keep them around an inch away from the top head and very near to the side. Again for the drummer not to hit them but also toms give a few more harmonics at the rim which will give the toms an overall warmer sound when playing back. I try and position them facing away from the symbols if possible again for spillage reasons.
Just a quick summary of my mic positions…
1 & 2) NEUMANN U87 to record overheads and will be panned slightly left and right during mixing for a stereo drum mix.
3,4 & 5) SHURE 58 to record toms closely, facing them away to avoid a little bit of spillage.
6) AKG C451 or SHURE 57 to record the top of snare, the closer the better for a quick attack time.
7 & 8) AKG C451 to record the bottom snare (the thick sound) also the hi hats – making sure to face slightly away from kit and not completely horizontal to the plane of air coming from the close.
9) AKG D112 with or without the kick drum skin placed off centre where the pressure is the most and above any padding. This mic picks up low frequencies like a charm.
