DUAL MIC GUITAR RECORDING TECHNIQUES! (The Fredman Technique and More)
Today we're going to expand our " microphone a guitar amp " article, talking about some advanced technique, that involves two microphones.
Using more than one microphone on the same cabinet means getting the sound from different points and reproducing it in a more accurate way, since every microphone just takes a snapshot of the spectrum tracked from there, and there will be unavoidably some predominant frequency area, and some other that will go lost.
We could add as many microphones as we want, keeping in mind that the more mikes we use, the harder will get to make them all glue together, but it's pretty common to say that using just one microphone is usually not enough to track the body and at the same time the crispness of a guitar tone.
Today we're going to focus on the three most common dual-microphone techniques:
1) the Fredman Technique: used by Van Halen and the producer Frederick Nordstrom, this technique was used on many albums, for example the In Flames' masterpiece "Clayman":
As you can see it's a "Close Miking" technique, which means that the microphones should be 1-2 inches (3 to 5cm) from the grill, and it's usually done with 2 shure sm57, but nothing forbids to try different combinations.
One microphone should be set straight towards the dustcap or its edge, taking the full body of the sound and many low frequencies due to the proximity effect , while the 45° offset one should take the higher frequencies, adding some grit to the tone.
2) the fizz-killing technique : this technique takes advantage of the phase alignment (click on the link for a dedicated article about the phase). It consists in using 2 Shure Sm57, one straight to the edge of the dustcap, the other near. The core of the technique is to back off the second microphone until the phase cancellation doesn't take away only the "fizz", the annoying high frequencies that make our tone sound like a mosquito. Once we get rid of them this way, only the "beef" of our tone will remain, and the sound will be tight and punchy.
3) The Condenser technique: this technique is used mainly with clean and overdriven guitars, and it consists in setting a dynamic microphone near the edge of the cone, to capture only the mids and the lows, and putting a large diaphragm condenser half a meter away, to catch some room, the higher frequencies and the low-roar of the tubes. These two microphones combined will give a very warm and rich clean tone, especially with tube amps.
Showing posts with label technique. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technique. Show all posts
Sunday, 30 October 2016
Sunday, 23 October 2016
Recorderman Overhead Drum Mic Technique
As an amateur recording engineer, you'll likely run into the name Recorderman when learning how to mic a drum kit. Recorderman's approach to placing overhead drum microphones is recommended for beginners because it's easy to set up, and yields good, sometimes great, results in practically every situation.
The name Recorderman” comes from a user on the forums who is credited with popularizing the technique. (Though his approach has been used by engineers for decades. It's largely a two-mic adaptation of Glyn Johns' mic setup)
Recorderman in a nutshell: Use two drum sticks as a ruler to place your mics the same distance from the snare drum, and a cable or string to get them equidistant from the kick beater.
Here's the best video description I've seen, to better illustrate:
Recorderman's approach accomplishes 3 things:
It places the snare and kick drums in the center of the stereo image.
It ensures any close mics on the kick and snare are in phase with the overheads.
It captures a balanced drum kit sound, close to what the drummer hears.
This microphone setup is ideal in a few situations:
When you have limited microphones for the drums: Especially when you only have 2 or 3 mics, Recorderman can still get you an open, balanced stereo image of the drum kit. If you're recording a talented drummer, 2 or 3 microphones in this arrangement might be all you need.
Recording with low ceilings or in a tight space: Drums sound best in a big, open room. Traditional overhead miking approaches tend to capture a smeared” drum sound when used in small rooms, largely because sound reflections off the ceiling interfere with the direct sound from the drums. Recorderman's technique gets the microphones close enough to the drums that this isn't an issue.
When the drums sound killer at the drummer's position: With decent microphones, this setup usually captures a sound close what the drummer hears. If the drums sound ideal right where the drummer is sitting, you should consider a Recorderman setup even if you're in a high-ceilinged space.
The name Recorderman” comes from a user on the forums who is credited with popularizing the technique. (Though his approach has been used by engineers for decades. It's largely a two-mic adaptation of Glyn Johns' mic setup)
Recorderman in a nutshell: Use two drum sticks as a ruler to place your mics the same distance from the snare drum, and a cable or string to get them equidistant from the kick beater.
Here's the best video description I've seen, to better illustrate:
Recorderman's approach accomplishes 3 things:
It places the snare and kick drums in the center of the stereo image.
It ensures any close mics on the kick and snare are in phase with the overheads.
It captures a balanced drum kit sound, close to what the drummer hears.
This microphone setup is ideal in a few situations:
When you have limited microphones for the drums: Especially when you only have 2 or 3 mics, Recorderman can still get you an open, balanced stereo image of the drum kit. If you're recording a talented drummer, 2 or 3 microphones in this arrangement might be all you need.
Recording with low ceilings or in a tight space: Drums sound best in a big, open room. Traditional overhead miking approaches tend to capture a smeared” drum sound when used in small rooms, largely because sound reflections off the ceiling interfere with the direct sound from the drums. Recorderman's technique gets the microphones close enough to the drums that this isn't an issue.
When the drums sound killer at the drummer's position: With decent microphones, this setup usually captures a sound close what the drummer hears. If the drums sound ideal right where the drummer is sitting, you should consider a Recorderman setup even if you're in a high-ceilinged space.
Tuesday, 18 October 2016
Guerrilla Guitar Mic Technique
By Darwin Grosse
In this article, we are going to take a guerilla” approach to guitar miking techniques, using a small (but versatile) set of inexpensive microphones. It might be easy to discuss guitar recording in a vacuum, and I'm sure you could buy a $10,000 Neumanleyfunken microphone, glue it to a tree, and get an excellent guitar sound. However, most of us have budgets, often kept very tight, and getting a good guitar sound with a limited mic collection is a necessity.
The weaponry
These days, the budget microphone class is really quite amazing. When I began recording (back when Giant Lizards roamed the earth), a decent condenser microphone cost two months' pay. Now, you can get both a large-diaphragm and a small-diaphragm microphone for around the cost of, say, three tanks of gasoline. So, assuming we are willing to stay at home for a few weekends, we can probably scrounge up a budget for a decent mic cabinet.”
Using a theoretical budget of around $500 (your mileage may vary, depending on how patient you are in waiting for sales and the like), I assembled the following microphone setup:
• An MXL combo” with two condenser mics, one large-diaphragm (the 2001P) and one small-diaphragm (the 603S)
• 2 Oktava MC012 small-diaphragm condenser mics, with cardioid capsules
• 1 Shure SM57 dynamic mic
• 1 Behringer ECM8000 omnidirectional measurement” mic
• 1 Behringer Ultra-DI box
• 4 mic stands
• 5 microphone cables
• 2 pillows and a blanket (I didn't buy these—I took them off the bed!)
By scouring the sales rack, looking for used microphones and borrowing your Uncle Howard's mic stands, you can probably trim this budget even tighter. In any case, we will use these tools for an attack on guitar recording.
Frontal assault on electric guitars
Everyone knows how to record an electric guitar—you slap an SM57 in front of the amp and hit Record, right? Well, that isn't always the best plan, but it can be a good start. The trick is to find a sweet spot” on the speaker, and set the mic up to capture that sound.
Generally, the center of the cone won't be a great spot for the microphone, since you can get some funny artifacts from the entire speaker pounding on both the mic diaphragm and body. What I've found most useful is to place the microphone off-center, then to adjust the nose of the mic until it is pointing at the best-sounding part of the speaker cone.
In the case of my Line 6 Spider amp, it turns out that the best sound is found around one-quarter of the way across the speaker. The best way to find the sweet spot” is to have someone play the guitar, and move the mic around while monitoring the mic with a good set of sealed headphones. (In fact, one of the most important items for good guitar recording wasn't listed in the above kit; that is, a Really Long headphone cable.)
Two mics
In some cases, and especially for less aggressive music styles, adding a second microphone will help add air” to the sound. Using the large-diaphragm MXL mic, I add a bit of the room sound so the cabinet is able to speak” a little before the sound is captured. By balancing the close and distance mics you can get a variety of sounds that will help a guitar sit better in a mix, but it doesn't take much. In a recent recording I found that having the ambient mic at -15 dB (while the close mic was at 0 dB) gave just the right amount of presence without adding an obvious roomy sound.
The use of a second, ambient mic is especially useful with jazzy guitar sounds, and almost a must when doing funky wa-wa tracks. However, you need to watch out for phase problems between the two mics; if the result of mono-summing the mics sounds like a phase-shifter stuck in one spot, you have to do a little more work on placement. Generally, moving the ambient mic a few inches in or out will greatly improve the sound.
Multi-speaker cabinets
Multi-speaker cabinets are a bit more challenging. This takes more experimentation with placement while wearing headphones. Get a mic in front of the cabinet, and try out the different speakers—you will generally find that one of the speakers is the beauty,” and you will want to focus on close-miking that one. As for distant mic placement, you will probably want to move the mic back; a Marshall stack takes a little more distance to fully form its sound than a Fender Champ does. I've had situations where a loud player will be ambient-miked as far as 8 feet away!
If you want a clue about good ambient mic placement for an electric guitarist, watch where the player likes to stand while warming up and noodling about. Guitarists tend to, unconsciously, gravitate toward the spot in a room where the amp sounds best. Let the player noodle for a while, then drop a mic in that spot and have him go stand in the corner (where he probably has belonged since grade school).
If you want to get creative, use a DI (direct injection) box in addition to the amp output. This can really help a guitar stand out in a mix, especially for those guitar arpeggios in the middle of a power ballad. The addition of some DI tink” on top of the cabinet's roar can help focus the sound when the instrument is exposed. If you get creative during mixdown, you might even find the direct sound is a great source for some reamplification (see my article elsewhere in this issue).
Flanking the acoustic
The recommended arrangement for the stereo recording of an acoustic guitar is to use a pair of small-diameter condensers bunched around the 12th fret. As with the classic” electric technique, this is a great starting point for a guitar recording. However, in some cases, we need either a lighter touch, or more ambience in the sound, since this standard technique tends to have a very up-front quality that might not fit well for all recordings.
One mic layout that I like is a single small-diaphragm condenser combined with either an omni or cardioid mic over the player's shoulder. This doesn't have the clear stereo nature of the dual close-miked sound, but it has a more delicate sound than pure close-miking, and has a great focus point for panning in a complex mix. As with the near/far mic combo for electric, you don't need to have copious amounts of the distance mic in the mix; often, a small amount of ambience (as little as -15 dB) will give depth to the mix that a reverb effect can't match. Also, if you pan the mics a bit in the stereo space, you can get a very player-friendly” sound for an acoustic solo recording. This technique is especially effective if you have a good-sounding live room in which to record.
Delicate jobs
For the most delicate sound of all, I replaced the small-diaphragm Oktava with the large-diaphragm MXL and started playing around with distances between mic and guitar body to get a good balance between the mics. By focusing up the neck, I caught plenty of the body without boomy soundhole blow.” The player was doing some smart finger-picking, and this setup provided a smooth and warm sound with just the right imaging.
Dealing with acoustic guitar ambience is a lot more difficult than with an electric—the sound of an acoustic won't overwhelm a room like a guitar amp can. This is where the pillows and blanket come into play. By draping a blanket over a mic stand, then altering the distance between it and the microphones, you can alter the effect of the room without eliminating the ambience completely. I will often place the blanket on the body side of the acoustic, relatively close to both the instrument and the mic. This seems to tighten up the sound without making it sound like I recorded the track in an anechoic chamber.
I tend to use pillows to control floor reflection. One pillow placed in the spot of the first floor reflection (halfway between the player and the distance mic) will help sweeten the ambience quite a bit; a second pillow placed just in front of the player's feet will help prevent too many splashy” early reflections. The pillows can also be used to alter the response of an omni mic—for example, having a low-mounted omni with a pillow underneath can give you a rich sound without sounding totally reverberant.
In situations where I want a very wide stereo sound, I've split” two microphones using the blanket-on-a-stand. This will force the ambient sound to remain separated left-to-right, and will create an incredibly wide image without the in-your-face sound of close-miked condensers. If you are double-tracking the guitar, try using the left side of one take and the right side of the other—the results will either sound great or threaten to twist your head off.
12-string
One of the more difficult guitar recording chores (for me) is getting a good 12-string sound. Perhaps it is because of the instrument I use—a cranky old Fender 12-string with a body shellacked as hard as a rock, but with a good feel. I've found that the harsh harmonics of the instrument, combined with a rather honky body sound, make it difficult to get a full yet natural sound.
One thing that I find very useful in this situation is using a soundhole-mounted pickup to get a little clarity in the sound. Using this pickup along with a small-diaphragm mic pointing toward the 12th fret tends to work for most applications. Interestingly enough, I found that using the large-diaphragm condenser for ambience, mounted over the player's head and pointing down, gives a more natural sound than one in front of the instrument. I'll also use the blanket and pillows in this application for a little splash control.”
Debriefing
When you have a modest mic collection, you often have to be more experimental with placement than someone with a brimming mic locker. Better-quality mics can make a difference; they generally have a better sound out of the box” and provide more flexibility with placement.
But as guerilla recordists we have to make compromises due to budget concerns. One important factor is where you do the recording. As with real estate, one of the keys to good recording is location, location, location.” Every condo, apartment, house and studio will have a few spots that are perfect for recording. Spend some time tracking those places down, and you will find that your tracks just sound better. The key to great guitar recording boils down to having a good combination of mics, a good ear, and plenty of time for experimentation.
Darwin Grosse is a recording engineer, producer, and sound designer in the Colorado Rockies.
In this article, we are going to take a guerilla” approach to guitar miking techniques, using a small (but versatile) set of inexpensive microphones. It might be easy to discuss guitar recording in a vacuum, and I'm sure you could buy a $10,000 Neumanleyfunken microphone, glue it to a tree, and get an excellent guitar sound. However, most of us have budgets, often kept very tight, and getting a good guitar sound with a limited mic collection is a necessity.
The weaponry
These days, the budget microphone class is really quite amazing. When I began recording (back when Giant Lizards roamed the earth), a decent condenser microphone cost two months' pay. Now, you can get both a large-diaphragm and a small-diaphragm microphone for around the cost of, say, three tanks of gasoline. So, assuming we are willing to stay at home for a few weekends, we can probably scrounge up a budget for a decent mic cabinet.”
Using a theoretical budget of around $500 (your mileage may vary, depending on how patient you are in waiting for sales and the like), I assembled the following microphone setup:
• An MXL combo” with two condenser mics, one large-diaphragm (the 2001P) and one small-diaphragm (the 603S)
• 2 Oktava MC012 small-diaphragm condenser mics, with cardioid capsules
• 1 Shure SM57 dynamic mic
• 1 Behringer ECM8000 omnidirectional measurement” mic
• 1 Behringer Ultra-DI box
• 4 mic stands
• 5 microphone cables
• 2 pillows and a blanket (I didn't buy these—I took them off the bed!)
By scouring the sales rack, looking for used microphones and borrowing your Uncle Howard's mic stands, you can probably trim this budget even tighter. In any case, we will use these tools for an attack on guitar recording.
Frontal assault on electric guitars
Everyone knows how to record an electric guitar—you slap an SM57 in front of the amp and hit Record, right? Well, that isn't always the best plan, but it can be a good start. The trick is to find a sweet spot” on the speaker, and set the mic up to capture that sound.
Generally, the center of the cone won't be a great spot for the microphone, since you can get some funny artifacts from the entire speaker pounding on both the mic diaphragm and body. What I've found most useful is to place the microphone off-center, then to adjust the nose of the mic until it is pointing at the best-sounding part of the speaker cone.
In the case of my Line 6 Spider amp, it turns out that the best sound is found around one-quarter of the way across the speaker. The best way to find the sweet spot” is to have someone play the guitar, and move the mic around while monitoring the mic with a good set of sealed headphones. (In fact, one of the most important items for good guitar recording wasn't listed in the above kit; that is, a Really Long headphone cable.)
Two mics
In some cases, and especially for less aggressive music styles, adding a second microphone will help add air” to the sound. Using the large-diaphragm MXL mic, I add a bit of the room sound so the cabinet is able to speak” a little before the sound is captured. By balancing the close and distance mics you can get a variety of sounds that will help a guitar sit better in a mix, but it doesn't take much. In a recent recording I found that having the ambient mic at -15 dB (while the close mic was at 0 dB) gave just the right amount of presence without adding an obvious roomy sound.
The use of a second, ambient mic is especially useful with jazzy guitar sounds, and almost a must when doing funky wa-wa tracks. However, you need to watch out for phase problems between the two mics; if the result of mono-summing the mics sounds like a phase-shifter stuck in one spot, you have to do a little more work on placement. Generally, moving the ambient mic a few inches in or out will greatly improve the sound.
Multi-speaker cabinets
Multi-speaker cabinets are a bit more challenging. This takes more experimentation with placement while wearing headphones. Get a mic in front of the cabinet, and try out the different speakers—you will generally find that one of the speakers is the beauty,” and you will want to focus on close-miking that one. As for distant mic placement, you will probably want to move the mic back; a Marshall stack takes a little more distance to fully form its sound than a Fender Champ does. I've had situations where a loud player will be ambient-miked as far as 8 feet away!
If you want a clue about good ambient mic placement for an electric guitarist, watch where the player likes to stand while warming up and noodling about. Guitarists tend to, unconsciously, gravitate toward the spot in a room where the amp sounds best. Let the player noodle for a while, then drop a mic in that spot and have him go stand in the corner (where he probably has belonged since grade school).
If you want to get creative, use a DI (direct injection) box in addition to the amp output. This can really help a guitar stand out in a mix, especially for those guitar arpeggios in the middle of a power ballad. The addition of some DI tink” on top of the cabinet's roar can help focus the sound when the instrument is exposed. If you get creative during mixdown, you might even find the direct sound is a great source for some reamplification (see my article elsewhere in this issue).
Flanking the acoustic
The recommended arrangement for the stereo recording of an acoustic guitar is to use a pair of small-diameter condensers bunched around the 12th fret. As with the classic” electric technique, this is a great starting point for a guitar recording. However, in some cases, we need either a lighter touch, or more ambience in the sound, since this standard technique tends to have a very up-front quality that might not fit well for all recordings.
One mic layout that I like is a single small-diaphragm condenser combined with either an omni or cardioid mic over the player's shoulder. This doesn't have the clear stereo nature of the dual close-miked sound, but it has a more delicate sound than pure close-miking, and has a great focus point for panning in a complex mix. As with the near/far mic combo for electric, you don't need to have copious amounts of the distance mic in the mix; often, a small amount of ambience (as little as -15 dB) will give depth to the mix that a reverb effect can't match. Also, if you pan the mics a bit in the stereo space, you can get a very player-friendly” sound for an acoustic solo recording. This technique is especially effective if you have a good-sounding live room in which to record.
Delicate jobs
For the most delicate sound of all, I replaced the small-diaphragm Oktava with the large-diaphragm MXL and started playing around with distances between mic and guitar body to get a good balance between the mics. By focusing up the neck, I caught plenty of the body without boomy soundhole blow.” The player was doing some smart finger-picking, and this setup provided a smooth and warm sound with just the right imaging.
Dealing with acoustic guitar ambience is a lot more difficult than with an electric—the sound of an acoustic won't overwhelm a room like a guitar amp can. This is where the pillows and blanket come into play. By draping a blanket over a mic stand, then altering the distance between it and the microphones, you can alter the effect of the room without eliminating the ambience completely. I will often place the blanket on the body side of the acoustic, relatively close to both the instrument and the mic. This seems to tighten up the sound without making it sound like I recorded the track in an anechoic chamber.
I tend to use pillows to control floor reflection. One pillow placed in the spot of the first floor reflection (halfway between the player and the distance mic) will help sweeten the ambience quite a bit; a second pillow placed just in front of the player's feet will help prevent too many splashy” early reflections. The pillows can also be used to alter the response of an omni mic—for example, having a low-mounted omni with a pillow underneath can give you a rich sound without sounding totally reverberant.
In situations where I want a very wide stereo sound, I've split” two microphones using the blanket-on-a-stand. This will force the ambient sound to remain separated left-to-right, and will create an incredibly wide image without the in-your-face sound of close-miked condensers. If you are double-tracking the guitar, try using the left side of one take and the right side of the other—the results will either sound great or threaten to twist your head off.
12-string
One of the more difficult guitar recording chores (for me) is getting a good 12-string sound. Perhaps it is because of the instrument I use—a cranky old Fender 12-string with a body shellacked as hard as a rock, but with a good feel. I've found that the harsh harmonics of the instrument, combined with a rather honky body sound, make it difficult to get a full yet natural sound.
One thing that I find very useful in this situation is using a soundhole-mounted pickup to get a little clarity in the sound. Using this pickup along with a small-diaphragm mic pointing toward the 12th fret tends to work for most applications. Interestingly enough, I found that using the large-diaphragm condenser for ambience, mounted over the player's head and pointing down, gives a more natural sound than one in front of the instrument. I'll also use the blanket and pillows in this application for a little splash control.”
Debriefing
When you have a modest mic collection, you often have to be more experimental with placement than someone with a brimming mic locker. Better-quality mics can make a difference; they generally have a better sound out of the box” and provide more flexibility with placement.
But as guerilla recordists we have to make compromises due to budget concerns. One important factor is where you do the recording. As with real estate, one of the keys to good recording is location, location, location.” Every condo, apartment, house and studio will have a few spots that are perfect for recording. Spend some time tracking those places down, and you will find that your tracks just sound better. The key to great guitar recording boils down to having a good combination of mics, a good ear, and plenty of time for experimentation.
Darwin Grosse is a recording engineer, producer, and sound designer in the Colorado Rockies.
Friday, 2 September 2016
Placement Guesswork With The Shavering Technique
Getting a great recording of your guitar involves many factors. We'll be exploring these in upcoming issues, but let's begin with one of the most difficult things for many musicians and engineers to deal with: microphone placement.
Where should the mic go to capture all the tone your rig is putting out? In the center of the cone? Off to one side? Near the speaker surround? Against the grille? Pulled back away from the cabinet a bit? Should the mic be angled or straight on? The list of possibilities is long.
If you read about guitar recording at all, or visit online recording forums where electric guitar is discussed, someone will surely say, Mic placement is critical, moving a mic even a half-inch will make a huge difference.” Sheesh, nothing like making a difficult task even more challenging. How the heck are you supposed to get the mic in the best place when such a
small movement can result in so much change?
A Pro Technique
Fortunately, there is an easy solution to finding the best place for the mic. (Note that I said the best” place, not the right” place. There is no objectively correct” place for the microphone, but the best” place is the one that subjectively sounds the best to your ears and that works best in the context of your recording.) Pro engineers have used the following technique for many years. I'd never heard an actual name applied to it, but recently, when multi-platinum engineer/producer Keith Olsen (Whitesnake, Scorpions, Carlos Santana, Joe Walsh, and many more) was telling me how he places mics on guitar amps, he called it shavering,” which is as good a name as any.
Here's how shavering works: Set your amp up, turn it on, and let it warm up. Plug in your guitar and dial up the tone you want. Important: when you have the tone you want in the room, unplug your guitar! Choose your mic (don't worry, we'll be talking a lot about microphones in future issues) and plug it into your preamp, interface, or mixing console. Turn off the studio monitors and plug in a set of headphones. Now, turn the gain and the master volume on the amp all the way up. You should hear strong hiss coming from the amp.
Warning: before proceeding to the next step, double-check that no guitar is plugged in.
Put on the headphones. Now take the microphone in one hand and hold it up to the amp's speaker. You should hear the hiss from the amp through the microphone and through your headphones. You may need to increase the gain on your mic preamp, and you may or may not need to turn up the headphones in order to hear the hiss at a decent volume.
One more cautionary note: Be very careful of noise in the room if you have the preamp and headphones cranked, and be wary of someone inadvertently plugging into the amp. Any stray noise could blast you at extreme volume through the phones and damage your hearing. Not to belabor the point, but don't mess around. Even if you don't permanently damage your hearing, you'll blow your ears out and not be able to hear accurately for hours—which will effectively bring the session to a screeching halt.
Now, very slowly, move the microphone around the speaker. You'll hear the tone of the hiss change as the mic moves—it will sound vaguely like an electric razor (thus Olsen's shavering” name). Experiment with angling the mic, moving it in and out, and so on. You'll quickly begin to hear the differences each of these changes makes to the tone of the hiss.
Here's where different engineers' approaches diverge on this technique. Olsen moves the mic until he finds the spot on the speaker where the mic picks up the brightest sound. Other engineers look for the hiss to sound the same through the mic as it does when you're listening to the speaker in the room. Others look for a balanced” hiss with a neutral tonality. Still others look for the spot on the speaker where the hiss is the darkest in tone. (I suggest recording some tracks using each approach to see which works best for you. You may prefer different approaches in different contexts.) Once you've found the spot, take off the headphones and set the mic in its stand in the location you found most appealing. Return your amp to its normal gain and volume settings, and dial back the mic preamp gains and headphone volume to the settings you usually use for recording.
Rock On
That's it. Now you're ready to lay down your tracks. The advantage of this technique is that it gives you a practical method for locating a good mic position. It's also dependable. If you look for the brightest hiss each time you place the mic, for example, the mic will deliver a consistent sonic image of that amp, no matter how long it has been since you last laid down tracks. Give shavering a try—it works!
Mitch Gallagher
Mitch Gallagher is the former editor in chief of EQ magazine. He has written more than 1000 articles and six books on recording and music technology, and he has also released an instructional DVD on mastering. A guitar player for more than 30 years, Gallagher operates MAG Media Productions and the Sound Sauna studio, is adjunct faculty at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), and is Sweetwater's Editorial Director. His upcoming book is entitled Guitar Tone: Pursuing the Ultimate Electric Guitar Sound.
Where should the mic go to capture all the tone your rig is putting out? In the center of the cone? Off to one side? Near the speaker surround? Against the grille? Pulled back away from the cabinet a bit? Should the mic be angled or straight on? The list of possibilities is long.
If you read about guitar recording at all, or visit online recording forums where electric guitar is discussed, someone will surely say, Mic placement is critical, moving a mic even a half-inch will make a huge difference.” Sheesh, nothing like making a difficult task even more challenging. How the heck are you supposed to get the mic in the best place when such a
small movement can result in so much change?
A Pro Technique
Fortunately, there is an easy solution to finding the best place for the mic. (Note that I said the best” place, not the right” place. There is no objectively correct” place for the microphone, but the best” place is the one that subjectively sounds the best to your ears and that works best in the context of your recording.) Pro engineers have used the following technique for many years. I'd never heard an actual name applied to it, but recently, when multi-platinum engineer/producer Keith Olsen (Whitesnake, Scorpions, Carlos Santana, Joe Walsh, and many more) was telling me how he places mics on guitar amps, he called it shavering,” which is as good a name as any.
Here's how shavering works: Set your amp up, turn it on, and let it warm up. Plug in your guitar and dial up the tone you want. Important: when you have the tone you want in the room, unplug your guitar! Choose your mic (don't worry, we'll be talking a lot about microphones in future issues) and plug it into your preamp, interface, or mixing console. Turn off the studio monitors and plug in a set of headphones. Now, turn the gain and the master volume on the amp all the way up. You should hear strong hiss coming from the amp.
Warning: before proceeding to the next step, double-check that no guitar is plugged in.
Put on the headphones. Now take the microphone in one hand and hold it up to the amp's speaker. You should hear the hiss from the amp through the microphone and through your headphones. You may need to increase the gain on your mic preamp, and you may or may not need to turn up the headphones in order to hear the hiss at a decent volume.
One more cautionary note: Be very careful of noise in the room if you have the preamp and headphones cranked, and be wary of someone inadvertently plugging into the amp. Any stray noise could blast you at extreme volume through the phones and damage your hearing. Not to belabor the point, but don't mess around. Even if you don't permanently damage your hearing, you'll blow your ears out and not be able to hear accurately for hours—which will effectively bring the session to a screeching halt.
Now, very slowly, move the microphone around the speaker. You'll hear the tone of the hiss change as the mic moves—it will sound vaguely like an electric razor (thus Olsen's shavering” name). Experiment with angling the mic, moving it in and out, and so on. You'll quickly begin to hear the differences each of these changes makes to the tone of the hiss.
Here's where different engineers' approaches diverge on this technique. Olsen moves the mic until he finds the spot on the speaker where the mic picks up the brightest sound. Other engineers look for the hiss to sound the same through the mic as it does when you're listening to the speaker in the room. Others look for a balanced” hiss with a neutral tonality. Still others look for the spot on the speaker where the hiss is the darkest in tone. (I suggest recording some tracks using each approach to see which works best for you. You may prefer different approaches in different contexts.) Once you've found the spot, take off the headphones and set the mic in its stand in the location you found most appealing. Return your amp to its normal gain and volume settings, and dial back the mic preamp gains and headphone volume to the settings you usually use for recording.
Rock On
That's it. Now you're ready to lay down your tracks. The advantage of this technique is that it gives you a practical method for locating a good mic position. It's also dependable. If you look for the brightest hiss each time you place the mic, for example, the mic will deliver a consistent sonic image of that amp, no matter how long it has been since you last laid down tracks. Give shavering a try—it works!
Mitch Gallagher
Mitch Gallagher is the former editor in chief of EQ magazine. He has written more than 1000 articles and six books on recording and music technology, and he has also released an instructional DVD on mastering. A guitar player for more than 30 years, Gallagher operates MAG Media Productions and the Sound Sauna studio, is adjunct faculty at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW), and is Sweetwater's Editorial Director. His upcoming book is entitled Guitar Tone: Pursuing the Ultimate Electric Guitar Sound.
Thursday, 4 August 2016
Setting Up And Microphone Technique
by Marc Henshall
A full drum kit can be one the most difficult instruments to record successfully. It requires a great deal of patience and a skilful drummer to achieve excellent results. Don't let this discourage you, though, as your efforts will reward you with far more individual character than is possible with software or drum machine alternatives.
So how do you capture the perfect drum sound?
The options and approaches, of course, are endless, and the seasoned sound engineer will have numerous microphone techniques developed over a number of years. For those of us with a little less experience, it's useful to start with some tried and tested methods, from which, you can adjust to taste as your experience grows.
Setting Up the Drums
In all recording applications, good results start at the sound source. A poorly setup and tuned drum kit, will only ever produce a disappointing result; no matter what trickery you apply with microphone placement and mixing techniques. Make sure the kit and the drummer are on top form before proceeding with anything else.
Setting up and tuning drums is a real skill. It requires a deep understanding of musical styles and the mechanics of a drum kit - combined with a good ear - to get professional results.
If you don't feel confident tackling this on your own, I'd highly recommend you consult someone who does. At the very least, conduct some research first; paying close attention to the kind of drum heads and how they're tuned. If your drum heads are old, they can be very difficult to tune, so you might want to consider replacing them first.
If you're still getting excessive, undesirable resonance after you've replaced and tuned the skins, it's worth considering specialist drum damper products, such as ‘moongel'.
Damper products should tackle any additional resonance and are particularly useful if you prefer a dry sound. Cymbals, on the other hand, are very difficult to control if you're unhappy with the tone. Therefore, the lesson here for drummers is clear: if you have a limited budget for your drum kit - spend it on cymbals first.
Room Acoustics
Once you're satisfied with how the drums sound, the next biggest influence on how your final recording will sound is the room it's in. Two very different approaches apply here: 1)
Embrace the natural acoustic qualities of your room. 2) Control the room acoustics and apply synthetic ambiance later.
Headley Grange
1) Natural Ambiance
There's no doubt that the best drum sounds are recorded in great sounding rooms. What might surprise you though, is that these spaces aren't necessarily pro studios. For example, Led Zeppelin famously recorded drums at the bottom of a 3 storey stairwell for their album ‘Led Zeppelin IV'. The natural reverb - captured using microphones hung down the stairwell - was used to capture their signature stadium drum sound. Check out the drums on ‘When The Levee Breaks' for example.
Whether or not you decide to let natural acoustics shine is a matter of personal taste, genre - and in certain cases - luck. For example, if you're recording drums at home, the kind of home you live in could be the deciding factor. Unfortunately, most home acoustics are less than stellar. However, if you're lucky enough to have an interesting sounding space - try experimenting and embracing the room.
2) Controlling Room Acoustics
If, like many of us, your studio acoustics are naturally uninspiring or detrimental to the recording - you might want to consider controlling rather than embracing them. (Think concrete walls in a garage for example). By reducing reflections using soft materials or specifically designed room kits , it is possible to turn even the most humble of recording spaces into a usable room. Once the basic dry sound is captured, you can easily add room character later on using software plugins. This more controlled approach also has the advantage of retaining control over the room sound right down to the final mixing stage. In other words, if you change your mind about the room ambiance later on, you can easily change it. The same cannot be said for natural ambiance.
Microphones
The kit is setup, the drums are tuned, and the room is sounding great; now it's time to capture your hard work with the appropriate microphone technique. Again, two very different approaches should be considered depending on a number of factors.
1) The Drum Kit as a Homogenous Sound Source
First things first, this approach only works with a great drummer in a fantastic sounding room. The idea is to treat the kit as one entity; using a minimal amount of microphones.
Typically, an experienced engineer will use just 2 overhead microphones with additional close mics - usually on kick and snare - to plug in sonic gaps. Much like our Led Zeppelin example mentioned earlier, this technique is particularly effective in capturing the attack and dynamic range of the drum kit.
If you decide this approach is right for you, it's best to start with the overheads. Most engineers use a couple of large or small diaphragm condenser mics and develop the sound from there. The wide dynamic range and sensitivity of condenser microphones make them ideal for capturing the wide frequency range and dynamics of a drum kit. If you prefer a smoother sounding high-end, then it's also worth considering ribbon microphones as an alternative.
When placing your overhead microphones in this application, you're aiming to achieve a well-balanced representation of the entire kit. Although there are no right or wrong ways to go about this, having some understanding of how the cymbals resonate will help you make an informed choice.
Cymbals radiate their sound above and below, whereas the hi-hat resonates horizontally. With this in mind, you can begin to imagine how a balance between drum and cymbal sounds can be achieved simply by moving the overheads. You can typically achieve a balanced sound of the kit with overheads placed between two and three metres above floor level, and either behind or in front of the kit.
A/B vs X/Y - There are two main microphone techniques to consider for overhead configurations. The most common is referred to as the A/B technique. This approach involves 2 mics positioned to the left and right of the kick, which helps pick up much more of the room sound with a wide stereo image. The second approach is a technique called X/Y configuration.
The X/Y technique presents fewer phasing problems as the capsules are closer together, but gives you less control over balance and image of the individual elements of a kit. You might find that X/Y works better for you in close-mic drum applications, but it's important to experiment when finding a sound that works best for you.
Once you're happy the overheads are capturing a good balanced sound, you can now begin to add spot microphones to support or emphasise certain parts of the kit. In almost all circumstances, you'll want to give the kick drum some more weight, and in some cases, the snare can also benefit from additional support. Consider using a purpose built kick drum mic to boost the bass drum and either a dynamic or condenser to emphasise the snare. Close micing individual drums will be covered in more detail as part of approach number 2, which looks at a more surgical approach to recording drums, by close micing almost every element of the kit.
2) Close Micing a Drum Kit
While the minimal approach described above captures a pure and dynamic sound, close micing comes with its own distinct advantages and can even be the preferred approach for certain genres of music. The close-mic approach can give you a drier, more intimate sound, with greater separation and control. If your room acoustics aren't up to scratch or you have a drummer that isn't great at controlling dynamics - the close mic approach will likely produce better results.
Here are some examples of how to mic each piece of a typical kit:
Overheads - Once again, it's best to start with the overheads as a base from which you refine. In a close-mic multichannel drum recording application, you'll likely find that the overheads work better closer to the kit than you might otherwise try in our first, more minimal approach. As the overheads will primarily be used to capture cymbals, it's better to place the overheads directly above the kit. Under the X/Y technique described earlier, you'll achieve the best results when overheads are placed directly above the snare with each mic pointing left and right respectively. The X/Y techniques inherent phase coherence is particularly valuable when using lots of mics on a single kit. If you do decide to try the A/B technique, be sure to listen carefully for phase problems. Phase problems are a whole separate topic, but, in short, try flipping the phase inversion switch on one channel if your mixer or audio interface allows. Listen for which setting sounds ‘fuller' or ‘stronger' and select that option. If neither sounds good, you might have a phase problem and will need to experiment further with mic placement for a better result.
Kick Drum - The vast majority of kick drums are recorded using a dynamic microphone, and ideally using one that's purpose built for the job. Purpose-designed kick drum microphones have a tailor-made frequency response designed to compliment the low-frequency power and the attack of kick drums. They are also particularly adept at handling high sound pressure levels.
Microphone techniques for kick drums vary greatly from engineer to engineer and from genre to genre. As a general rule of thumb, placing your mic inside the kick drum and pointed towards the beater will capture lots of attack, while positioning further back - or even outside the drums resonant head - will increase low-frequencies. For the best of both worlds, many engineers prefer to balance the attack and low-frequency tone using both mic techniques in combination.
Resonance - Micing up a kick drum can often reveal unwanted resonance when you monitor the result, if this proves to be the case, try placing a pillow inside the drum kit to help dampen any ringing and provide a tighter sound.
Snare - The jury is still out on whether a dynamic or condenser works best for snare drums, and much will depend on style and taste.
By far the most common approach is to use two microphones: with one placed above the snare to capture the ‘crack', and the second placed beneath to give you more ‘fizz'. Once again, whenever two microphones are used to capture the same sound source, phase coherence can become problematic. With a snare drum, the phase relationship between top and bottom is invariably out of phase, so you'll want to flip the phase switch on one channel.
As for dynamic vs condenser microphones on snare drums, the general consensus is that dynamic mics capture weight and body, with greater isolation from other drums. Condenser mics on the other hand, will reveal far more subtlety in the drummers performance and capture more high-frequency detail for a crisp, punchy tone. A condenser, of course, will not handle high sound pressure levels as well as a dynamic mic; so be sure to check levels and apply a pad at the mic or pre-amp if necessary.
In any case, the mic should be positioned close to the edge of your snare for the best harmonic complexity, but secondly to protect the mic from being hit! When considering distance, placing the mic a good 4 inches away from the snare and angled toward the centre will ensure you capture the whole drum sound, with a clear and punchy attack.
Toms - Cast your mind back to our minimalist drum mic approach, and you'll recall that the toms are rarely close miced. This is because if you've set your overhead microphones effectively, the toms should be clear and well balanced with the rest of the kit. Saying this, for certain genres - particularly modern rock or metal - everything is close miced, and this includes the toms.
Much like the snare drum, using a dynamic mic will deliver a full, fat sound, with less spill. Traditionally, dynamic microphones have dominated for tom-tom applications, and the primary reason is almost certainly spill. Think about it like this: The more mics you have, the more spill. The more spill, the less control, and the harder it becomes to balance the kit.
There is, however, always two sides to every story. Over time, the introduction of purpose-built, discreet condenser microphones have made it much more practical for engineers to harness the superior transient response of condenser mics, without risking damage to their favourite mic. As with any microphone selection, listen and experiment to find what works for your genre or song. For more on dynamic vs condenser mics on toms, check out our previous post on the topic.
Hi-hat - I've left this piece until last, because typically, a well placed pair of overheads should be more than enough to capture a nice crisp hi-hat. If you do find a little extra attention is needed, try placing a pencil condenser mic roughly 10 - 15 cm away and pointing directly down at the edge on the far side, away from the snare.
Checking Phase - Bringing the Kit Together
Once you have all the microphones in place, it's important to check phase relationships between each channel. Failure to do so can result in a weak sounding recording. The kick drum will spill into other microphones more than other elements of the kit, so it makes sense to start with this as a reference point.
Monitor carefully with a high-quality pair of headphones and check the phase as follows:
Have the drummer play the kit just as they would during the recording.
Fade up the kick drum
Fade up each individual track in turn and flip the phase polarity
Listen for which setting sounds ‘bigger' or ‘fuller'
Pay particular attention to how your kick and snare sound together as this will form the backbone of your beat. The overheads are also important, but less important in context with the kick if you're working on a close-mic model for recording drums. The reason for this is that you'll likely apply a heavy dose of low cut to overheads during the mixing stage for close-mic applications; allowing the individual kick and snare mics to carry the burden.
More on Phase Issues & How to Avoid Them Using The 3 - 1 Rule
Phase cancellation happens when two microphones are receiving the same soundwave but with opposite pressure zones. When it is necessary to use multiple microphones, phase problems can be minimised by using the 3-to-1 rule. For multiple microphones the rule states that the distance between microphones should be at least three times the distance from each microphone to its intended sound source. As a result, the sound picked up by the more distant microphone should be at least 12dB less than the sound picked up by the closer one. This guideline helps to reduce the audible effects of phase cancellation to a manageable level.
The Bottom Line
When all is said and done, recording drums is a major challenge. The importance of room acoustics and the use of multiple microphones to capture a diverse range of sounds requires a substantial amount of patience, knowledge, and perseverance to obtain first-class results. Nevertheless, in a world where programming a convincing, real sounding drum track is possible using software alone - the sound of real drums could be just what you need to set your recordings apart from the crowd.
A full drum kit can be one the most difficult instruments to record successfully. It requires a great deal of patience and a skilful drummer to achieve excellent results. Don't let this discourage you, though, as your efforts will reward you with far more individual character than is possible with software or drum machine alternatives.
So how do you capture the perfect drum sound?
The options and approaches, of course, are endless, and the seasoned sound engineer will have numerous microphone techniques developed over a number of years. For those of us with a little less experience, it's useful to start with some tried and tested methods, from which, you can adjust to taste as your experience grows.
Setting Up the Drums
In all recording applications, good results start at the sound source. A poorly setup and tuned drum kit, will only ever produce a disappointing result; no matter what trickery you apply with microphone placement and mixing techniques. Make sure the kit and the drummer are on top form before proceeding with anything else.
Setting up and tuning drums is a real skill. It requires a deep understanding of musical styles and the mechanics of a drum kit - combined with a good ear - to get professional results.
If you don't feel confident tackling this on your own, I'd highly recommend you consult someone who does. At the very least, conduct some research first; paying close attention to the kind of drum heads and how they're tuned. If your drum heads are old, they can be very difficult to tune, so you might want to consider replacing them first.
If you're still getting excessive, undesirable resonance after you've replaced and tuned the skins, it's worth considering specialist drum damper products, such as ‘moongel'.
Damper products should tackle any additional resonance and are particularly useful if you prefer a dry sound. Cymbals, on the other hand, are very difficult to control if you're unhappy with the tone. Therefore, the lesson here for drummers is clear: if you have a limited budget for your drum kit - spend it on cymbals first.
Room Acoustics
Once you're satisfied with how the drums sound, the next biggest influence on how your final recording will sound is the room it's in. Two very different approaches apply here: 1)
Embrace the natural acoustic qualities of your room. 2) Control the room acoustics and apply synthetic ambiance later.
Headley Grange
1) Natural Ambiance
There's no doubt that the best drum sounds are recorded in great sounding rooms. What might surprise you though, is that these spaces aren't necessarily pro studios. For example, Led Zeppelin famously recorded drums at the bottom of a 3 storey stairwell for their album ‘Led Zeppelin IV'. The natural reverb - captured using microphones hung down the stairwell - was used to capture their signature stadium drum sound. Check out the drums on ‘When The Levee Breaks' for example.
Whether or not you decide to let natural acoustics shine is a matter of personal taste, genre - and in certain cases - luck. For example, if you're recording drums at home, the kind of home you live in could be the deciding factor. Unfortunately, most home acoustics are less than stellar. However, if you're lucky enough to have an interesting sounding space - try experimenting and embracing the room.
2) Controlling Room Acoustics
If, like many of us, your studio acoustics are naturally uninspiring or detrimental to the recording - you might want to consider controlling rather than embracing them. (Think concrete walls in a garage for example). By reducing reflections using soft materials or specifically designed room kits , it is possible to turn even the most humble of recording spaces into a usable room. Once the basic dry sound is captured, you can easily add room character later on using software plugins. This more controlled approach also has the advantage of retaining control over the room sound right down to the final mixing stage. In other words, if you change your mind about the room ambiance later on, you can easily change it. The same cannot be said for natural ambiance.
Microphones
The kit is setup, the drums are tuned, and the room is sounding great; now it's time to capture your hard work with the appropriate microphone technique. Again, two very different approaches should be considered depending on a number of factors.
1) The Drum Kit as a Homogenous Sound Source
First things first, this approach only works with a great drummer in a fantastic sounding room. The idea is to treat the kit as one entity; using a minimal amount of microphones.
Typically, an experienced engineer will use just 2 overhead microphones with additional close mics - usually on kick and snare - to plug in sonic gaps. Much like our Led Zeppelin example mentioned earlier, this technique is particularly effective in capturing the attack and dynamic range of the drum kit.
If you decide this approach is right for you, it's best to start with the overheads. Most engineers use a couple of large or small diaphragm condenser mics and develop the sound from there. The wide dynamic range and sensitivity of condenser microphones make them ideal for capturing the wide frequency range and dynamics of a drum kit. If you prefer a smoother sounding high-end, then it's also worth considering ribbon microphones as an alternative.
When placing your overhead microphones in this application, you're aiming to achieve a well-balanced representation of the entire kit. Although there are no right or wrong ways to go about this, having some understanding of how the cymbals resonate will help you make an informed choice.
Cymbals radiate their sound above and below, whereas the hi-hat resonates horizontally. With this in mind, you can begin to imagine how a balance between drum and cymbal sounds can be achieved simply by moving the overheads. You can typically achieve a balanced sound of the kit with overheads placed between two and three metres above floor level, and either behind or in front of the kit.
A/B vs X/Y - There are two main microphone techniques to consider for overhead configurations. The most common is referred to as the A/B technique. This approach involves 2 mics positioned to the left and right of the kick, which helps pick up much more of the room sound with a wide stereo image. The second approach is a technique called X/Y configuration.
The X/Y technique presents fewer phasing problems as the capsules are closer together, but gives you less control over balance and image of the individual elements of a kit. You might find that X/Y works better for you in close-mic drum applications, but it's important to experiment when finding a sound that works best for you.
Once you're happy the overheads are capturing a good balanced sound, you can now begin to add spot microphones to support or emphasise certain parts of the kit. In almost all circumstances, you'll want to give the kick drum some more weight, and in some cases, the snare can also benefit from additional support. Consider using a purpose built kick drum mic to boost the bass drum and either a dynamic or condenser to emphasise the snare. Close micing individual drums will be covered in more detail as part of approach number 2, which looks at a more surgical approach to recording drums, by close micing almost every element of the kit.
2) Close Micing a Drum Kit
While the minimal approach described above captures a pure and dynamic sound, close micing comes with its own distinct advantages and can even be the preferred approach for certain genres of music. The close-mic approach can give you a drier, more intimate sound, with greater separation and control. If your room acoustics aren't up to scratch or you have a drummer that isn't great at controlling dynamics - the close mic approach will likely produce better results.
Here are some examples of how to mic each piece of a typical kit:
Overheads - Once again, it's best to start with the overheads as a base from which you refine. In a close-mic multichannel drum recording application, you'll likely find that the overheads work better closer to the kit than you might otherwise try in our first, more minimal approach. As the overheads will primarily be used to capture cymbals, it's better to place the overheads directly above the kit. Under the X/Y technique described earlier, you'll achieve the best results when overheads are placed directly above the snare with each mic pointing left and right respectively. The X/Y techniques inherent phase coherence is particularly valuable when using lots of mics on a single kit. If you do decide to try the A/B technique, be sure to listen carefully for phase problems. Phase problems are a whole separate topic, but, in short, try flipping the phase inversion switch on one channel if your mixer or audio interface allows. Listen for which setting sounds ‘fuller' or ‘stronger' and select that option. If neither sounds good, you might have a phase problem and will need to experiment further with mic placement for a better result.
Kick Drum - The vast majority of kick drums are recorded using a dynamic microphone, and ideally using one that's purpose built for the job. Purpose-designed kick drum microphones have a tailor-made frequency response designed to compliment the low-frequency power and the attack of kick drums. They are also particularly adept at handling high sound pressure levels.
Microphone techniques for kick drums vary greatly from engineer to engineer and from genre to genre. As a general rule of thumb, placing your mic inside the kick drum and pointed towards the beater will capture lots of attack, while positioning further back - or even outside the drums resonant head - will increase low-frequencies. For the best of both worlds, many engineers prefer to balance the attack and low-frequency tone using both mic techniques in combination.
Resonance - Micing up a kick drum can often reveal unwanted resonance when you monitor the result, if this proves to be the case, try placing a pillow inside the drum kit to help dampen any ringing and provide a tighter sound.
Snare - The jury is still out on whether a dynamic or condenser works best for snare drums, and much will depend on style and taste.
By far the most common approach is to use two microphones: with one placed above the snare to capture the ‘crack', and the second placed beneath to give you more ‘fizz'. Once again, whenever two microphones are used to capture the same sound source, phase coherence can become problematic. With a snare drum, the phase relationship between top and bottom is invariably out of phase, so you'll want to flip the phase switch on one channel.
As for dynamic vs condenser microphones on snare drums, the general consensus is that dynamic mics capture weight and body, with greater isolation from other drums. Condenser mics on the other hand, will reveal far more subtlety in the drummers performance and capture more high-frequency detail for a crisp, punchy tone. A condenser, of course, will not handle high sound pressure levels as well as a dynamic mic; so be sure to check levels and apply a pad at the mic or pre-amp if necessary.
In any case, the mic should be positioned close to the edge of your snare for the best harmonic complexity, but secondly to protect the mic from being hit! When considering distance, placing the mic a good 4 inches away from the snare and angled toward the centre will ensure you capture the whole drum sound, with a clear and punchy attack.
Toms - Cast your mind back to our minimalist drum mic approach, and you'll recall that the toms are rarely close miced. This is because if you've set your overhead microphones effectively, the toms should be clear and well balanced with the rest of the kit. Saying this, for certain genres - particularly modern rock or metal - everything is close miced, and this includes the toms.
Much like the snare drum, using a dynamic mic will deliver a full, fat sound, with less spill. Traditionally, dynamic microphones have dominated for tom-tom applications, and the primary reason is almost certainly spill. Think about it like this: The more mics you have, the more spill. The more spill, the less control, and the harder it becomes to balance the kit.
There is, however, always two sides to every story. Over time, the introduction of purpose-built, discreet condenser microphones have made it much more practical for engineers to harness the superior transient response of condenser mics, without risking damage to their favourite mic. As with any microphone selection, listen and experiment to find what works for your genre or song. For more on dynamic vs condenser mics on toms, check out our previous post on the topic.
Hi-hat - I've left this piece until last, because typically, a well placed pair of overheads should be more than enough to capture a nice crisp hi-hat. If you do find a little extra attention is needed, try placing a pencil condenser mic roughly 10 - 15 cm away and pointing directly down at the edge on the far side, away from the snare.
Checking Phase - Bringing the Kit Together
Once you have all the microphones in place, it's important to check phase relationships between each channel. Failure to do so can result in a weak sounding recording. The kick drum will spill into other microphones more than other elements of the kit, so it makes sense to start with this as a reference point.
Monitor carefully with a high-quality pair of headphones and check the phase as follows:
Have the drummer play the kit just as they would during the recording.
Fade up the kick drum
Fade up each individual track in turn and flip the phase polarity
Listen for which setting sounds ‘bigger' or ‘fuller'
Pay particular attention to how your kick and snare sound together as this will form the backbone of your beat. The overheads are also important, but less important in context with the kick if you're working on a close-mic model for recording drums. The reason for this is that you'll likely apply a heavy dose of low cut to overheads during the mixing stage for close-mic applications; allowing the individual kick and snare mics to carry the burden.
More on Phase Issues & How to Avoid Them Using The 3 - 1 Rule
Phase cancellation happens when two microphones are receiving the same soundwave but with opposite pressure zones. When it is necessary to use multiple microphones, phase problems can be minimised by using the 3-to-1 rule. For multiple microphones the rule states that the distance between microphones should be at least three times the distance from each microphone to its intended sound source. As a result, the sound picked up by the more distant microphone should be at least 12dB less than the sound picked up by the closer one. This guideline helps to reduce the audible effects of phase cancellation to a manageable level.
The Bottom Line
When all is said and done, recording drums is a major challenge. The importance of room acoustics and the use of multiple microphones to capture a diverse range of sounds requires a substantial amount of patience, knowledge, and perseverance to obtain first-class results. Nevertheless, in a world where programming a convincing, real sounding drum track is possible using software alone - the sound of real drums could be just what you need to set your recordings apart from the crowd.
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