Ribbons on a drum kit?

[cornandsoy]

Since everyone is asking Qs about ribbons, I'll toss another (played out?) question on the pile. How do folks feel about throwing a ribbon on a drum kit? Suggestions? Good experiences / bad experiences?

I saw the 2-mic drum technique at TOC two years back with a Coles front and center, and some other wonderfully expensive (heh) mic over the top; thought it was the bee's knees. Contrast that with the paranoia about treating your ribbon like a beautiful gentle flower, crossing yourself twice and knocking on wood before use -- where's the line? For reference, the only ribbon I've ever had a chance to use is my Avant CR-14, which to my slowly evolving ear sounds pretty nice.

[cornandsoy]

Brain lapse -- this should probably be in Recording Techniques...

[mjau]

Illinois in the house.
Not too long ago, I used a spaced pair of Shiny Box 46mxl's as overheads on a kit, and I really like how they gave me a less pronounced cymbal sound, because it allowed more of the snare body to be present in the overheads. I'll not avoid using the played out terms of smooth yet airy to describe the sound, because that's pretty much what it gave me.
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Scott

[mjau]

Illinois in the house.
Not too long ago, I used a spaced pair of Shiny Box 46mxl's as overheads on a kit, and I really like how they gave me a less pronounced cymbal sound, because it allowed more of the snare body to be present in the overheads. I'll not avoid using the played out terms of smooth yet airy to describe the sound, because that's pretty much what it gave me.
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Scott

[JustinHedrick]

il in the hizzo.....yeah, i like ribbon overheads. I use one as a mono overhad and one as a room mic....it sounds nice....

justin
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another metal guitar tip is to put a fan in front of you while you play, so it blows your stupid long hair around like the solo is BLOWING YOU AWAY because you're a fucking tool.

[djimbe]

I like a Coles 4038 looking over the drummer's shoulder and a SDC up in front sometimes (for OH applications).

I also like me some 4038 either as a heart mic or as a kick mic (when placed back about a foot from the resonant head on the drum). I know a guy that uses a pair of 4038's as "underheads" too. That can be cool, especially in a room with a lower ceiling.

That "treat yer ribbon mic like a gentle flower" advice gets a a bit overblown in my mind. Treat all of your tools with respect, know what their limitations are and you won't go wrong....
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I thought this club was for musicians. Who let the drummer in here??

[klangtone]

feel the illinoise! I grew up in Evanston...

yeah, I like ribbons as overheads. I've used the Coles over the floor tom/ride area and another ribbon (AEA R84) over the rack tom/crash area.
They pick up toms wonderfully, and tame harsh cymbals.

Roy
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"No matter how corrupt, greedy, and heartless our government, our corporations, our media,
and our religious and charitable institutions may become, the music will still be wonderful." -Kurt Vonnegut, ~~~www.thehabitat.info~~~

[floid]

[klangtone]

oh, and I forgot...

I've also had success with the Oktava ML52 on kick (beater side!)

and...

a Beyer m260 for hi-hat...

m160's can be good for OH's too.

that is all...

Roy
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"No matter how corrupt, greedy, and heartless our government, our corporations, our media,
and our religious and charitable institutions may become, the music will still be wonderful." -Kurt Vonnegut, ~~~www.thehabitat.info~~~

[floid]

+1 on beater side. i like it kind of underneath the snare, w/ the null to the snare. kind of hard finding a safe zone right in there, tho -only do that when i'm the drummer
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noid and lousy

[UXB]

recently been using a pair of Royer 121's in front of the kit, at sort of a 10 and 2, equidistant from the kick and below the axis of the cymbals (so it doesn't wah-wah). I really like the way it fills in the kit in a natural way, very 3D. I need to refine the technique, but it's been great so far.

-H

[bplr]

+1 for the ribbon over the drummer's shoulder.

i'm mixing a project that had D112 on kick, 57 on top snare, beta 57 on bottom snare, MK012s on both toms, SP C1 as knee high, and PPA ribbon over the shoulder. i can't get enough of the ribbon. in fact, i have an alternate mix that uses just the ribbon and the kick mic. lots of snare body, unhyped cymbals - no painful frequencies. and they seem to mix the kit evenly onto one track for you. i call any ribbon on drums the jesus mic. where one mic loves toms or cymbals or snare, the ribbon loves all of them equally.
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Bipolar Production

[floid]

[RM]

i like throwing that tape op ribbon thing on the kit with the bright side facing under the snare and the dull side facing the kick beater. i usually flip the polarity.
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www.thehuntstudio.com

[Professor]

I tend to like bright sounds from cymbals so I really don't do much in terms of ribbons as overheads. Especially for rock stuff where the drums might be the only thing really delivering much in the 'sparkly' range.
But I put ribbons on toms allthe time and occasionally they've found thereway onto snre drums too. Still haven't tried them on kick come to think, but I suppose if the muse carries me tht way I will.
Somewhere I have a photo posted of a drumset with ribbons hanging over the toms & snare, with little foam 'hats' in place to keep them from taking too hard of a hit. (You should see the dents I do have in a couple of them.
The best thing, apart from the great sound, of the ribbons up close is that I can turn and adjust a little bit and getthat 90º null-plane lined up with the ride and snare so I get almost no bleed from those and all the tone of the drum.

-Jeremy

[cornandsoy]

Thanks everybody! These are some great ideas! I'm tracking drums tomorrow night, so we'll see how it works out.