Comparing drum miking techniques

[eh91311]

I was browsing over at recordinghacks.com and found this article again by Matthew McGlynn: http://recordinghacks.com/2010/04/03/dr ... omparison/. It is a good description of various overhead drum miking techniques and the timeloop mp3 (http://recordinghacks.com/sounds/sample ... meloop.mp3) is a great audio comparison of the discussed techniques. Very informative.

[GussyLoveridge]

So I checked this out. Pretty cool.

One note though - I know there is no right or wrong way to do things really when recording and if it sounds good then it is - but I was always under the impression that when you did an XY the capsules were supposed to point away from one another and not toward as in their first photo for XY or Coincident Pair.

Superstition? Myth? Bad Information?

I'm not trying to talk down that article on recording hacks at all - just curious if what I've learned was bologna or not.

Also - Jecklin Disc! - Anyone using those?

[eh91311]

So I checked this out. Pretty cool.

One note though - I know there is no right or wrong way to do things really when recording and if it sounds good then it is - but I was always under the impression that when you did an XY the capsules were supposed to point away from one another and not toward as in their first photo for XY or Coincident Pair.

Superstition? Myth? Bad Information?

I'm not trying to talk down that article on recording hacks at all - just curious if what I've learned was bologna or not.

Also - Jecklin Disc! - Anyone using those?

I found this chart online that shows the typical stereo mic placements, including X-Y and ORTF. The article's X-Y pic shows a closer mic placement but the included arrows indicate the intended capsule pickup direction.

I thought it was interesting that the author excluded the Glyn Johns drum miking technique.

[RoyMatthews]

I dunno. I'm admittedly drunk but the mic placement seems weird in those pics. Plus he/she said that M/S:

Part of the problem is that the ?side? channel sounds like a room mic, not like an overhead; I?d rather my stereo image not come at the cost of trashing up the sound of the kit.

The point of M/S is how both signals work together. You can't just listen to the side to get any idea of the sound. At least especially not after it's been matrixed. It's just the same signal out of phase with itself. It needs the Mid signal added into the equation to create a stereo image.

[eh91311]

I was not so interested in how his miking techniques looked, more into the timeloop mp3 and how the mic techniques sounded on the drum kit he was recording.

[Mike's Mix Room]

I haven't seen the videos yet, but I'll check 'em out soon.

With regards to what Roy Matthews comment about the video's take on M/S: I agree that M/S is an odd choice for OH's particularly because the side channels face away at 90 degrees from the center of the kit. There is not usually much stuff that far out on the drum kit so the mic hears more ambience than anything direct. That would tend to make it sound more like a "room mic" or ambience control. Using X/Y or OTRF will always give you a clearer, more direct sound with a better stereo image if that's what you're after.

Indeed M/S is weird sounding when broken into its components but even when combined it's not really ideal for OH's at that distance from the kit.

[RoyMatthews]

I haven't seen the videos yet, but I'll check 'em out soon.

With regards to what Roy Matthews comment about the video's take on M/S: I agree that M/S is an odd choice for OH's particularly because the side channels face away at 90 degrees from the center of the kit. There is not usually much stuff that far out on the drum kit so the mic hears more ambience than anything direct. That would tend to make it sound more like a "room mic" or ambience control. Using X/Y or OTRF will always give you a clearer, more direct sound with a better stereo image if that's what you're after.

Indeed M/S is weird sounding when broken into its components but even when combined it's not really ideal for OH's at that distance from the kit.

Actually to disagree a bit, yes the Side mic faces 90? away from the kit. However, when combined with the Mid mic the stereo image is focused toward the source. With the proper alignment and blend of the Mid and Side signals the resulting stereo image can be identical to XY.

I will agree that at that distance from the kit you won't get much of a stereo image of the kit. But that would be true with any stereo pair.