Recording a hi-hat basher!!!!

[oyrgawd]

Don't mic the hats. This came recommended to me from Steve at Electrical. Works like a charm.

Another idea from electrical:
http://www.electricalaudio.com/item.php ... /297-0.jpg

[tiger vomitt]

i dont know what mics youve got, but a ribbon would do nicely here. not on the snare tho! you'll blow it in a second... u could try it as a room mic for the main "kit" sound, then use close mics to fill out the sound wherever you need it (definitely dont mic the hat, seems kinda obvious).

ayan's got an ml52 that worked really well as a cymbal tamer

[Slider]

i build a little baffle out of a styrafome<sp? drinking cup stuffed with thin foam around an SM-57.
sometimes i'll use two 57's with the cup and one without. just to make sure the cup isn't freaking out the sound.
i can use the normal one if i can get the hat right.
i also sometimes hang some foam on a mic stand between the hats and the snare drum (did this on drums today) and sometimes i'll expand the snare mic a little bit just to get it down in the mix. but be careful of the hat pulsing with the snare hits.
I hate bashing of the hats.
no one needs to hit the hats that hard. if they hit like pussies on the snare drum it makes it even worse. good luck. use a 57!! and try something underneath blended with phase flipped.

[trashy]

Don't mic the hats. This came recommended to me from Steve at Electrical. Works like a charm.

Another idea from electrical:
http://www.electricalaudio.com/item.php ... /297-0.jpg

Yeah, I forgot about de-essing. I've had this work pretty darn well. A multi-band comp could work in the same way.

I don't think some people here understand the difference between a guy who bashes and a guy who plays loud with the hats open. It's just not the same thing. That kid from Joy Division could flat out play - "bashers" don't play, they bash.

[NewYorkDave]

Yeah, there are degrees between full-open (clang clang) and fully closed (tic tic). I agree that for driving rock, a fully-closed hat usually sounds wimpy. But my old drummer used to BASH his partially open hat to the point that it just washed everything out. I listen to some of our old tapes and it makes me wanna puke because there's this loud, almost white noise riding on top of everything. I really wish I had had the nerve to say something to him about it. (Maybe I did? It's been over 16 years. I don't remember).

I chuckled at the suggestion to "not mic the hat." I mean, that should pretty much go without saying. Does anyone ever really need to mic a hat for rock? Jazz maybe...

[jakeao]

Here is what I do when I record my drums, and I'm all about the huge Hi Hat. I put a 57 on the snare and don't directly mike the Hi Hat, just let the overheads pick it up. Works great for me. One other thing you can try is have the drummer raise the hi hat up a bit to distance it from the snare, this will also work quite well if the drummer is up for it. Good luck let us know how it goes.

[Slider]

it's pretty rare that i use a hat mic. sometimes i put one up for the hell of it.
but it's rarely in the mix.