recording drum kit with a single mic

[drumsound]

I can't agree with Eric and Marc more. Great posts fellas!

[SethD]

Tape (and how they use it) is part of that equation. That mic, board, compressor and plate are part of the equation. Homer Steinweiss is probably the biggest part of the equation, though. I recorded at Daptone playing on the same kit with that same 55 all by itself and it sounded pretty different. Really nice though. Placement was actually just behind and to the right of my right butt cheek, pointing kind of between the kick and snare.

That's interesting and very cool. Tape is definitely a big part of that sound. From what I've read the Menahan record was recorded without a dedicated compressor, just hitting the tape hard for certain things.

[SethD]

I'm really hook on that Daptone sound too. I'm comin at it from a different angle though. I do not have a drummer around who will work for cheap (read: free) and play simple groovin stuff with precision and taste. So I program my drums (well enough to fool several drummers) and that means mics are out of the equation.
I could go on about this problem for days... I don't want to do it this way but the situation dictates that I must.

The Daptone sound I'm really hooked on his their horn sound. I do record live horns and struggle to find that magic combination of simplicity and control. Do I just use one mic for the whole section and lose panning ability? Do I mic everyone separately and lose that sort of "one source magic"? A blend of both is the best compromise I can come too.

So I guess that's my suggestion. Why not set up the one mic in that magic spot, then put an extra overhead, kick, and what have you on the kit. Then listen and try to go with just the one mic but if you need to mix in the others you have them.

That is a good suggestion. As far as horns go, Bosco Mann has a few tips in his Shitty is Pretty article:
http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopic.php?t=48751

[BradG]

My plan is to talk a talented drummer I know into being a guinea pig.

Ha! It's pretty unbelievable that, with the number of posts you got, that only you (and Roscoe to a certain extent) were the only ones to address the absolute of the whole thing. You gotta have a great drummer! A great drummer (and also some 'very good' drummers in certain genres) will actually mix themselves. It's pretty amazing when you get to record one.

I will guarantee you that a great, soul drummer will sound better through a cellphone in the hallway, than a decent "pop" drummer playing the same parts through $50,000 worth of mic's, a Neve console and 2" 16 track tape. I honestly don't believe that I'm exaggerating on this one.

[DrummerMan]

That's interesting and very cool. Tape is definitely a big part of that sound. From what I've read the Menahan record was recorded without a dedicated compressor, just hitting the tape hard for certain things.

My point mainly was that everything's a part of the equation, and very important, but Homer (the drummer, ahem, BradG ) is probably the biggest part, though I would agree, too, with those that say that the song arrangements that make those parts work are vital as well.

[jgimbel]

My plan is to talk a talented drummer I know into being a guinea pig.

Ha! It's pretty unbelievable that, with the number of posts you got, that only you (and Roscoe to a certain extent) were the only ones to address the absolute of the whole thing. You gotta have a great drummer!

I don't know that they were the only ones to address it, I think we all just felt it was a given, it's kind of a part of the Tape Op mantra. Just sayin.

[Dr Rubberfunk]

My plan is to talk a talented drummer I know into being a guinea pig.

Ha! It's pretty unbelievable that, with the number of posts you got, that only you (and Roscoe to a certain extent) were the only ones to address the absolute of the whole thing. You gotta have a great drummer!

I don't know that they were the only ones to address it, I think we all just felt it was a given, it's kind of a part of the Tape Op mantra. Just sayin.

I think I probably felt it was - with this type of sound / arranging style, the whole question of 'am I loving the sound of the drums in the room?' becomes (one of) the first you need to ask yourself - and a good player is the lion's share of that.

Maybe we can get onto vintage kits v modern kits on page 3?

[inasilentway]

I'm really hook on that Daptone sound too. I'm comin at it from a different angle though. I do not have a drummer around who will work for cheap (read: free) and play simple groovin stuff with precision and taste. So I program my drums (well enough to fool several drummers) and that means mics are out of the equation.
I could go on about this problem for days... I don't want to do it this way but the situation dictates that I must.

If you want to get into the spirit of the "Shitty is Pretty" article, you should get a beater kit and learn to play it. Put up a single dynamic mic and then play a beat on kick snare hat, play the same damn beat for an hour straight with no fills and record the whole thing. By the end of the hour you'll probably be pretty tight, and you can listen through and sample the best parts.
You'll probably get a very pleasing and rewarding sound in the same amount of time it would take to program the drums for a track. And if it doesn't work, hey, you spent an hour practicing drums!

[vatoben]

Song -> Arrangement -> Performance -> Instrument -> Microphone -> Preamp -> Processing -> Medium -> Mix proecessing -> Medium -> Mastering -> Final Format.

This flow may be one of the best things I've ever seen on this board. It's a bulletproof priority chain.

[NewAndImprov]

I mixed a tune once where we had tracked the kit normally, but mainly used one mic in the final mix. It was a Shinybox ribbon, level with the top of the kick, about 4 feet in front of the kit. It's just one of the spots that sounds good in my tracking (living) room. For this tune, we ended up wanting a classic motown/stax kind of sound. We just used a little bit of the kick mic, and mostly the shinybox. The drummer was a great player with excellent feel and he naturally balanced his kit while playing. The track sounded great!

[ofajen]

Is anyone here still using this technique? Care to share some tips? Also, how important is tape in this equation?

Yeah, I often use one overhead and maybe one out in front of the kick. I use a more neutral sounding mike than an SM-57, though. I usually use an omni or a ribbon mike in front of the kick. Overhead it could be an omni, a neutral-sounding cardioid or a ribbon mike.

You have to make sure the kit sounds good and then really listen to how it sounds in different places around the kit. Overhead can get a good sound on my kit, though the kick sound is kinda diffuse, as you would expect. That's why I often add in some sound from out front to make the kick more solid.

As far as tape, all I can say is that I can get a good sound either way, but I generally prefer the sound coming back off of tape, especially if the playing is loud.

Cheers,

Otto

[ottokbre]

I'm mixing 3 songs right now where the kick is a MIDI kick and either a single LCD as an overhead (to basically a cocktail kit) or a Shure 76 Omni that gets bleed of the high hat and the snare.

It's fairly sparse drumming, but by no means folky or small. Rock what ya got.

Also; see Ravonettes.

[amyatt1]

I got to do this the other day at Sharkbite.



We used the med. sized iso in the studio and Sharkbites new Lucas CS-1 mic . At first the mic was more over the hat (which naturally picked up more hat) which we didn't like too much. Moving it over a bit helped quite a bit. We did 2 tracks of this, one panned leftish and one rightish.

They come in about 2 mins in, (but I recommend listening to the rest of the song!). It's a remix of Jon Brions "Phone Call" from our newest E.P. Songs We Wish We Wrote You Vol. 2. This is the unmastered version, but you get the idea. Thoughts?

Phone Call (James & Evander Remix) - James & Evander