Two Mics, One Drum Set

[sonic death]

I've got one Shure SM 57 and one MXL 990, now, what would be the best method to record a (full) drumset with only these two mics?
(Just so it's known, I'm aware I won't get the best sound possible, some of you may say it's not worth it, but assuming it is, assuming I'm not out to get the best possible drum sound but only the best possible drum sound I can get with these two microphones)

[chris ryan]

i would say just go for the 57 on the kick and throw the mxl over the kit, a couple feet, and you should be good.

or for kind of a weird (but interesting) stereo sound, you could just space both of them out in front of the kit a few feet back, space them out so they are pointing straight at the kit (like one at the hi-hat and one at the floor tom) and then pan left and right.

the mics won't sound alike at all, but i've gotten some interesting results when i accidently recorded a 57 or other mic that i didn't know was plugged in, just sitting in the room somewhere. (this only happens at 4am)

[jckinnick]

This is similar to what I use, I have an SM57 and a CAD M179. I place the SM57 about a foot back from the snare and I put the CAD M179 about a foot from the tom on the opposite side.

[JWL]

yeah, there's lots of ways to do it. I'd probably do the opposite, I'd use the 57 as a snare/overhead (maybe put it a foot or so above the snare so that it gets the top of the kit) and then put the MXL out in front of the kick, 2-3 feet off the ground.

But experiment, see where it sounds best.

[syrupcore]

just using the mxl, try to get the best sounding overall kit sound. might be up top, might be out front, might be behind the drummer.... then use the 57 to compensate for what's missing relevant to what you're trying to record.

an easy way to play the move around game is to get the drummer to play for a while and record the mic in each possible position for 40 seconds or something. then listen back together and see what makes the most sense. When you're in the room listening to the kit trying to figure out interesting spots to mic from, stick a finger in one ear (one mic=one ear).

Will

[drumsound]

I'd try the MXL and a whole drum-set thing and then fill in BD with the 57 I guess, maybe snare.

[sonic death]

Thanks for the help.
Trying the MXL alone first and then adding the 57 where needed sounds best.
The drumsets in a different room and been shying away from moving some gear into that room. I want to be able to get as many drum tracks done as possible as well as possible.

[Rigsby]

I'd try the MXL and a whole drum-set thing and then fill in BD with the 57 I guess, maybe snare.

Yeah, me too.

[lee]

no one has asked "what kind of music are you recording?" is the music an in-your-face kind of thing, or is it a soft-lullaby? ive heard drums thats were recorded from 10'-20'+ feet away, they sounded perfect with the song. making the drums sound appropriate is what you need to be trying to do, and there are as many ways to do that then there are to smoke pot.

also, you have to take into consideration what the other instruments are playing; this will help you decide which drum(s) are more important (kick, snare, ride cymbal, overhead, etc...).

are you tracking the band as a whole or are you tracking individually?

my advice, sit back and listen to the song(s) that your going to track. think, "how do these instruments need to sound in order to make them say something; how should they communicate?" close your eyes and look up into your head: listen.

[logancircle]

We're talking about this on another thread, I've done this a lot before I had enough ins to fully mic a kit. With a 2 mics you can get a good drum sound, but the drummer will probably have to play differently. I have used kick & overhead and smack the living shit out of the snare so that if/when you do parallel compression the hihat won't slice your ears off. That and you'll have some room sound you can use. If you really focus the OH on the snare, so may have to hit the toms & cymbals louder, and vice versa. I know I used a really small small-diaphram omni sticking up from below the kit (poking up right btw all the drums) that worked real well, but real dry, no room sound.