recording drum kit with a single mic

[SethD]

Some of my favorite drum sounds in recent years have come from the Daptone family of musicians. Bosco uses a single Shure 55 according to this article:
http://messageboard.tapeop.com/posting. ... topic&f=14

The Menahan Street band LP was recorded with a 57. This video won't for me work at the moment, but I seem to recall a single mic on the drums here:
http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/439742/i ... id=1599272

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

[drumsound]

Making that decision will effect the entire production. You can't expect s big 'modern' production and sound using one mic. Everything recorded with the drums and everything overdubbed will have to make sense with the general tone of the single miced drums.

[jgimbel]

Not surprisingly drumsound nailed it. You can get really cool sounds with just one mic, but it affects EVERYTHING. You won't have the option of doing EQ to just one mic/source (like just snare or just kick). So presumably you want to get the sound as close as possible to the final thing with just that one mic, since you can rely on EQ even less than you could were you using multiple mics. I do single mic drums now and then, and I find the drums smear together (or unify, however you want to look at it) more than a multi-mic mono setup. With multiple mics sometimes people have a relatively small frequency range for each mic - to oversimplify it you've got your mids/high mids for snare, mids/low mids for toms, low mid/low for kick/high where the cymbals are. When you add guitars, bass, whatever else on top of that, the drums are still each going to stick out in those spots, so everything else can stay pretty clear while still having a wide freq range. With a single mic on drums, the roles are kind of reversed. The drums will have a wide frequency range that is tougher to change or shouldn't need to be, while everything else has to poke out in certain spots to make sure everything stays clear. I just think of it as a really different approach, but when you're doing it you can kind of see a little more how people got those distinct now-vintage sounds in productions that just used one mic on drums. You end up noticing in those older recordings that guitars, bass, etc. really do stay in their own spaces being respective of drums. That's just my observation of it, I'm not sure if others have the same experience with it. But it also makes you put your palm to your face even more when people say "how do I get that cool vintage drum sound" and don't understand that it's the drum sound PLUS the everything else engineered respectively that makes that sound.

[hansgrinder]

drumsound and jgimbel are correct. if you're looking for a modern "in your face" drum production then a one mic setup will more than likely disappoint. that being said, however, a single mic setup can yield surprisingly awesome results. i've had great success using a single wide-diaphragm condenser (an AKG C-2000B) pointing down at the entire kit over the drummer's right shoulder, usually around 3-3.5 feet away from the snare drum. alternatively, you could attempt to place it on the opposite side but i've found that it's more difficult to capture the toms/snare/kick from that position. you might also consider getting a boundary mic and taping it to the ceiling above the kit. again, this technique does not allow for the most sonic control but with enough tweaking and experimentation you should be able to get the vibe you're looking for.

[jgimbel]

The over-the-right-shoulder technique is definitely the way I'd go. I used to try putting a mic above the kick almost between the toms, but it always sounds just halfway there for both kick and snare, not working the best for either of them. With over-the-shoulder, you're aiming it at a great spot, where the snare is projecting and you get attach from the kick, which helps in the mix. Of course play around with it, but that's my go-to spot for that kind of thing now. I love my new used AT3035 for this, it's not overly hyped on the highs so the cymbals don't get too harsh, and it picks up a really sexy mid and low end.

[SethD]

This is really helpful. Thanks for the responses. I have always used break beats in my music. So I'm comfortable working with the kit as a whole rather than as the sum of individual elements. My plan is to talk a talented drummer I know into being a guinea pig. Which of these four mics would you choose for this application: SM7b, SM86, SM57, Radio Shack unidirectional dynamic (with an attached cable and 1/4" out)?

[0-it-hz]

SM7

[Marc Alan Goodman]

I love me some STC 4038 directly over the kit. Usually I'll take a kick and snare mic as well with it, but I don't always use them. Sometimes it's just the sound. You have to have reasonable expectations for the whole soundscape before you start, for sure.

[DrummerMan]

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.

[roscoenyc]

It also takes a very simple/specific arrangement of the song for this one mic to work really well. There is no knob for arrangement :D

[UnlikeKurt]

I've recently begun tracking a "heart mic" when I have an open channel. Don't always use it, but it often helps glue the kit together and can also sound pretty freaking good all on its own. I've been using a 635a with a fair amount of leveling.

[AstroSounds]

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.

[Marc Alan Goodman]

There is no knob for arrangement :D

THAT's what I'm talking about. Aren't music teachers licensed in this country? Can't we explain to them that the first thing they should tell anyone about recording is that it's all the arrangement? Just add it to the textbooks. In bold. Taking up the whole first page.

[kayagum]

There is no knob for arrangement

THAT's what I'm talking about. Aren't music teachers licensed in this country? Can't we explain to them that the first thing they should tell anyone about recording is that it's all the arrangement? Just add it to the textbooks. In bold. Taking up the whole first page.

But people spend more money on gear than thinking. It's capitalism at its finest!

[Marc Alan Goodman]

Don't get me wrong, I love gear (no denying it at this point). But each step relies on the last. it's like a series of pipes.

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

You have a certain amount of quality from the song. Each step along the way can't add quality. Each pipe is either big enough to let that pass through or it's not and you lose some.

Mind you that doesn't mean an amazing performance or arrangement can't bring things out of a song that you didn't know where there (Sam Cooke being a great example. I'm not a fan of most of his songs but he sure makes them shine bright).

That's how I look at it at least. Engineering's a tough gig. The best you can do is keep up.