Blumlein on drums?

[Sculli]

So Tony and Chris, How far away from the kit on the Blumlien? Thanks in advance!

[drumsound]

So Tony and Chris, How far away from the kit on the Blumlien? Thanks in advance!

In that picture, I think they are about 3-4 feet from the drums.

[losthighway]

Do you hard pan those mics? (sorry a bit of a rudimentary question )

[Sculli]

Gonna definitely try that out! Thanks again!

[cgarges]

So Tony and Chris, How far away from the kit on the Blumlien? Thanks in advance!

For me, it depends on the room. I generally like them a good ways away from the kit. In a smaller room, that might be six to eight feet, but in a larger room, it might be ten or fifteen. If I'm using a Blumlein configuration directly in front of the kit as a replacement for "traditional" overheads, it would be closer--maybe three or four feet away. But usually, I'm using the setup I described as an ambient component, so having it a similar distance to the kit as the overhead mics can lead to phase issues sometimes.

Do you hard pan those mics? (sorry a bit of a rudimentary question )

In a Blumlein configuration, 95% of the time, yes. In that other 5%, I might be bringing them in slightly narrower or something, but equally on both sides, assuming that I've got a balanced image recorded with them to begin with.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Sculli]

Thanks Chris!

[cgarges]

Sure thing!

CG

[ScottEvans]

I'm a big fan of Blumlein on drums, especially in a decent sounding room. But I like roomy drums. When I get it right, a Blumlein pair is a big part of my drum sound.

The "line between the kick and snare" thing is critical with Blumlein -- and any other stereo drum mic'ing technique. I like to lean on distant mics a lot for drum sounds, so I try to get the center correct without digging into spot mics. If kick and snare are going left to right, I feel like I blew it.

Of course YMMV greatly depending on 100 factors.

[trodden]

My main point of concern is that with the amazing stereo imaging that Blumlein affords you'll want to take care in getting your snare and bass drum well centered.

The solution to this is to not use the center of the BD as L/R center, but to think of a line that goes through the BD shell and SD head on the diagonal. I do that with OH and coincident room mics. It keeps the BD and SD centered as one would mix close mics.
here's a pic

I use this exact same configuration, but on the opposite side of the kit (snare drum/hi hat) frequently.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

I'll spend excessive amount of times with this.. its embarrassing.. same with OH's in ORTF. I'll sit there and adjust and adjust.. then have drummer play, and adjust some more... OCD..

[Ryan Silva]

Going to try this with a couple of Coles 4038s a couple of weeks.

What I'm trying to figure out is how much coverage am I going to need overhead. Doing 70s trucker CW mcall type of stuff, with a 5 piece in a 10ft celling 12 x 16 room mostly dead.

Last time we did a 414buls in omni right in the middle of the kit 18" above the snare. Picked up rack toms, kick and snare all very evenly. I'm hoping with the omni and the blumlien I should be covered. Then top/bottom snare, kick in and out, maybe a ride mic. He floats his ride cymbal so far right it's in another county.

Can't wait.