Simple 3 mic recording - opinions please

Andy

Andy

Honorary Member
I attempted setting up a simple recording upgrade last week, & it wasn't great. I've been messing around for a few hours today, & this is the result. It's 3 mic's, through a desk direct to 2 track, then into a Zoom Q3HD handy cam. There's no mixing possibility except for the up front balance into the camera.

Anyhow, I'm using two Rode NT5 overheads at shoulder height, & I'm fairly happy with the body & detail of the capture. Bass drum mic (D112) is 10" in front of the resonant head.

What do you think?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI7--_wG5Tg&feature=youtu.be


I'm hoping to use this setup as a basic tool for simple demonstration of drum sounds, so I need to get a consistently good but honest result. Room isn't exactly ideal, but the recording is fairly close to what I'm hearing when playing, except the bass drum is a bit one dimensional compared to the room sound.
 
Those Zebranos sound killer Andy. K.I.L.L.E.R. Everything sounds like I'd want it to. No negs at all. Quite the contrary. Every piece is stunning.
 
keep it simple said:
Thanks Larry :) You even like the 13" stave snare?
Click to expand...

The snare literally popped right out of the recording. Yes I like it very much, it is really lively in this recording. I can't believe the tone you get from your more affordable drums. They remind me of...but far surpass....and I hate to say it....Saturns... with the inner walnut ply. Your drums sound way deep compared to say maple. The snare really jumped out at me in a great way.
 
larryace said:
The snare literally popped right out of the recording.
Click to expand...
Thanks Larry. In that case, I'll re-record the santos rosewood snare for your delectation :) Quite an explosive sound for a little 10" x 14" x 20" kit eh!

KamaK said:
KIS, are you a Leftie, or a goofy Righty?

Sounds great BTW.
Click to expand...
Goofy as charged ;)

Brian said:
The drums sound amazing, K.I.S.
Click to expand...
Thank you Brian. I'm hoping to use this as a simple repeatable setup.
 
That sounds pretty stunning Andy! I think the only thing it needs is a little more of is some bass drum attack. I've been experimenting with a ported bass drum (gasp) with my D112 sticking slightly into it and I'm getting a nice attack along with resonance (the port is a small one).

But those drums sounds really good - it's a great recording!
 
Those drums sound absolutely fantastic andy! Especially those toms, I am in love haha.

As for the kick drum I have some suggestions regarding capturing more of what you hear in the room. Try using the d112 as a core mic, such that it is capturing the kick sound from the batter head because this is the side that you are predominantly hearing as the drummer. Or try move the mic back more than 10" from the front head so it acts as more of a room mic and captures some depth. Just things to experiment with! But they sound great as they are.
 
Matt Bo Eder said:
I think the only thing it needs is a little more of is some bass drum attack. I've been experimenting with a ported bass drum (gasp) with my D112 sticking slightly into it and I'm getting a nice attack along with resonance (the port is a small one).
Click to expand...
Thanks Bo :) I'll not be going the ported route, but agree - more slap is needed. I'm using the felt side of a DW beater at present. I'll try the plastic side & see if that's enough. I'm shooting for minimum effort & repeatability.

Galadrm said:
Try using the d112 as a core mic, such that it is capturing the kick sound from the batter head because this is the side that you are predominantly hearing as the drummer.
Click to expand...
This is another great suggestion, & something I often do with live reinforcement :)

konaboy said:
Sounds really good Andy, loving the tone of those drums!
Click to expand...
Thank you. This is a really punchy little kit, with a ton of depth & bite for it's size. Once I have this simple setup dialled in, it means I can do comparison videos on the fly :)

jornthedrummer said:
Very nice indeed! Nice chops too.
The room lends itself well to drum recording too.

thx

jorn
Click to expand...
Actually, the room is quite difficult, especially the very low & sloped ceiling profile.

As for "chops" - hahahaha. Though shalt never mention "chops" & "Andy" in the same post, especially as he's obviously edited out the most shitty bits, yet still left some flagrant "oops, tempo just exceeded ability" triplet flamming in place for all to hear :(

In Andy's defence though, he did spend all of 5 minutes on this performance ;)
 
keep it simple said:
I'm using the felt side of a DW beater at present. I'll try the plastic side & see if that's enough.
Click to expand...

That may well be enough - it always surprises me what a difference a hard beater makes.

Mic'ing from the batter side helps a lot with attack too, but I have always found that can allow a bit too much 'noise' of other parts of the kit (and my squeaky pedal, haha).

The kit sounds amazing, by the way!
 
snare and floor tom were the standouts for me; I will echo what others have said about a little more attack on the kick. All in all though this relatively simple recording process should allow you to present those drums in a very positive light.
 
Thanks for the positive comments chaps :)

Managed to grab a few minutes today. Reversed the beater to the plastic side, & put the mic on the bass drum batter head side (about 8" off the head, & to one side). This gives a much better result IMO, although I think I'll revert to the felt side of the beater. I'm not used to the rebound from such a hard beater, & I can hear the affect clearly :(

I'm now hearing the depth of tone I'm getting in the room. All is good :)

Whatcha think? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ots1JsoNHl4&feature=youtu.be

Once I have this dialled in, I'll keep the setup absolutely consistent. My benchmark is "does it sound nearly the same as the room?" I'm getting close, & once there, I can use it reliably for comparisons.
 
Video is private Andy, can't access. Is this your way of teasing us???
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top