What to look for when close micing?

[punkrockdude]

This will certainly sound like a mess but...

I have always been trying to find almost the most treble sounding places when I have close miced but never gotten any really consistent sound out of it. When I have then tried to process it and mix it together, for example drums, it has never sounded like a true kit and the compression never makes the miced things sound tight. It always sounds thin no matter what processing I've done with my limited knowledge.

Now I downloaded some recorded drums that were sounding dull at first (recorded with really good preamps though) but when equalizing out the "mud" like in the snare and kick it was there! consistent and everything. It took some wild cuts and stuff but man!

What I am trying to say or ask is something like is it usually a better idea to find a well balanced or exaggerated lows when close micing which will sound alot better when EQd then when going for really bright at the beginning,

Best Regards!

[A.David.MacKinnon]

There's no secret to this stuff. It's all about mic choice and placement. Move the mic around till you find a spot that sounds good. If you find yourself reaching for the EQ try a different mic instead. You should be able to get pretty close to your final sound without eq or compression.

[Jitters]

'Brighter', like 'louder', can very easily trick your ear into thinking it's hearing 'better'.

[vivalastblues]

'the flame'

[mjau]

I'd try to stay away from a "this will sound good once I EQ the hell out of it" strategy. When I started recording drums, I put the close mics as close to the heads as I could manage, mostly thinking I'd be helping keep bleed to a minimum, but once I started backing those mics off a bit (and learning to live with and appreciate the bleed), the close mics became much more useful and natural sounding. I get all kinds of hats in my snare mic, but I like how the snare sounds in it, so c'est la vie.

[Jitters]

'the flame'

Bun E. Carlos is a badass for sure, but I much prefer the earlier stuff.

[drumsound]

'the flame'

Bun E. Carlos is a badass for sure, but I much prefer the earlier stuff.

I totally agree, but the snare on the Flame sounds pretty great.

[JGriffin]

'the flame'

Bun E. Carlos is a badass for sure, but I much prefer the earlier stuff.

I totally agree, but the snare on the Flame sounds pretty great.

Saw Cheap Trick on the "'The Flame' is the hit single" tour. Right before they played that song Rick Nielsen asked the crowd, "how many of you watch MTV?" And the crowd cheered. And he said, "Why?"

[Jitters]

'the flame'

Bun E. Carlos is a badass for sure, but I much prefer the earlier stuff.

I totally agree, but the snare on the Flame sounds pretty great.

Huge! And how about the side stick on the 2nd verse?

[Artifex]

This will certainly sound like a mess but...

I have always been trying to find almost the most treble sounding places when I have close miced but never gotten any really consistent sound out of it. When I have then tried to process it and mix it together, for example drums, it has never sounded like a true kit and the compression never makes the miced things sound tight. It always sounds thin no matter what processing I've done with my limited knowledge.

Now I downloaded some recorded drums that were sounding dull at first (recorded with really good preamps though) but when equalizing out the "mud" like in the snare and kick it was there! consistent and everything. It took some wild cuts and stuff but man!

What I am trying to say or ask is something like is it usually a better idea to find a well balanced or exaggerated lows when close micing which will sound alot better when EQd then when going for really bright at the beginning,

Best Regards!

Sounds like your two biggest issues are your micing methodlogy, and probably the acoustic environment you are recording in. Try using less mics for your drums; epspecially for beginners, using more mics creates more phase issues which tends to result in exactly the kind of sound you are describing. Also, I bet you $5000 monopoly dollars that you are not recording in an acoustically treated environment. This is going to make a huge difference.

[joninc]

you should be looking for the mic placement that gives you the most natural resonance of the instrument as opposed to most treble/bass.

and check the phase ALL THE TIME - this really can be like night and day.

good mics/preamps/converters all help - but a well placed mic on cheap gear will still sound much better than badly placed expensive gear.

[Nick Sevilla]

'the flame'

+1

The FLAME... but not THAT flame (Cheap Trick) the OTHER Flame... of sound...

[Jitters]

Ok, I'll bite..wtf are u guys talking about? What is 'The Flame'? Is it like Using 'The Force' or something?

[AstroDan]

The Flame is something you have to feel when close miking.

[MoreSpaceEcho]

is that when the drummer lays into a rimshot when you have your head 2 inches from the snare whilst positioning the mic?