how do YOU do MONO drums? ? ?

[The Scum]

Crown PZM on the floor, anywhere between 3 and 10 feet in front of the kick. Move it to the sides if it's too boomy.

Byron Jacquot

[bigtoe]

last time i did mono drums was a single b+k 4011 and a 635 by the kick...the guy was a pretty sick drummer...

Mike

[A.David.MacKinnon]

I'm a big fan of mono drums.
One of my favorite setups is A Beyer M88 on kick, a AKG d19 on snare and a LCD (Apex, Marshall Electronics or Octava) as an overhead - either out front at hed level and angled toward the beater side edge of the kick or behind the drummer's head.
I've also been getting good results with one mic (usually an Octava 219) in the midle of the kit just peeking over the beater side of the kick drum.

[RefD]

my recipe:

1 PZM taped to the ceiling over the drummer's head and usually sucked out below 120hz with a low shelf eq and then crushed with a suitable compressor.

plus

1 dynamic 2-3 feet off the front of the kick (outer head, if any), usually gently shelved off above 800hz or so, compressor brutality to taste.

[Ben Logan]

usually I do an Okatva 012 about 5 feet infront of the kit pointed at the drummers balls. 57 on snare and d112 or d6 on kick.
the other day though I stuck a 57 right above the kick in the middle of the kit and it sounded fucking awesome.

fuu, do you mean that you recorded mono drums with just one SM57? That's what I've done lots of times, out of necessity (I didn't own more than an SM57 at the time). I have more mics now, none great: SM57, SM58, TapeOp omnis (built by my friend thearnicasync - thanks Kelly), Shure SDC, and my friend's Studio Projects B1. So far I haven't beat the old mono-drum sound I got with just one 57 hovering about 6 inches above the kick and snare. I like a trashy drum sound though...

[wedge]

Mono drums rock! (& roll)

Stick 'em square in the middle o'the mix: Clears up space for other, less db-enhanced items to exist happily. White Stripes do this to great effect. And Meg's drums sound BBIIIIIGGGG...

[Jaws of Hell]

I really started thinking about mono drums more when I realized that the latest Fiona Apple record is filled with them and I think the drums on that are about as perfect as you can get. It does seem to give more room for other things to exist.

[tonewoods]

I love to record drums mono, especially if I'm gonna pan them to one side of the mix, which I tend to do a lot...

(Why is it if the Beatles are so damn influential, that you rarely hear drums panned to one side these days??)

Anyway, I too usually use a Coles 4038 OH, a Beyer M201 on the snare, and an EV RE38 on the kick, all through Hardy pres in a nice room measuring 37' x 16' x 14' high....
Works for me....

[Family Hoof]

Back again. I like this thread.

Here is an example of a single Beta 57A suspended slightly above the drummer's head and aimed at a point in between the kick and snare. Preamp was Behringer and there's heaps of compression via some Bomb Factory plug-ins. I was playing the kit on this tune and I know how to get a good balance for recording. I wouldn't trust most drummers to do the same and therefore would never use this technique on any paying clients without recording some safety (close) mics as well. I should also mention that the cieling in the room was very shallow, like 6ft or so.

[fuu drakka]

fuu, do you mean that you recorded mono drums with just one SM57? That's what I've done lots of times, out of necessity (I didn't own more than an SM57 at the time). I have more mics now, none great: SM57, SM58, TapeOp omnis (built by my friend thearnicasync - thanks Kelly), Shure SDC, and my friend's Studio Projects B1. So far I haven't beat the old mono-drum sound I got with just one 57 hovering about 6 inches above the kick and snare. I like a trashy drum sound though...

thats excatly what I mean!, and excatly what i did for a couple years, when all I had was a 57. just like you, now I've got some more mics, none of them great, but if there is a goood drummer the kit balance can be so awesome with this setup.