Drum Recording 102
It seems that i left off on microphone placement in the first installment, lo these many months ago. To some it may seem a little staggering to use so many microphones, however I found that the more microphones that are used, the better the final product is. For those of you that have done studio recording, you will not be surprised to hear that I actually double the mics on each position. This allows me to use one set of condensor microphones, and a set of diaphram microphones as well. The diaphram mics give the solid punch to each kick, or stick strike, while also extending the shimmer of cymbal strikes, and rides.
The next step is the mixer setup. I use a Mackie VF3200 mixer, with 4 stereo busses, 32 line inputs, and 8 AUX send and returns. Oddly enough, when doing any physical recording, I go straight up. No effects, no playing with the busses, or line inputs. A lot of people out there are going to tell you that input settings should be at -6db. I have found that this general rule of thumb does not bode well for drum recording. At such a low level, one tends to get hiss between kicks, hits, and strikes. For this reason, I tend to go with the old fashioned analogue metering.
Start by setting the gains on all channels to minimal. On most mixers this is indicated by a little sideways 8 next to the gain knob. Then set your track input slider to 0. Set the MASTER input to -6db. Make sure all mics are plgged in, and that Phantom power is activated if you are using any mics that require it. (In my case, that is generally 1/2 of the mics I have plugged in.) Power up the mixer, and you are ready to start setting levels. I like to start with channel 1, and work my way through the channels in order. Mute all the channels except channel 1. Play the drums the same way you would if you were playing a gig. Have the mixer man or woman, adjust the CHANNEL INPUT so the meter is not quite illuminating the yellow clip warning light. With drums, the yellow light is actually telling you that there is a clip in the signal. The sounds are so short and sharp, that often times the meters are caught inbetween. In my early days of recording, I would use the yellow as a good level to start, only discover that I was recording rather loud, nasty sounding tracks. You will also find that once you have adjusted each channel indavidually, that when you play with all of the channels hot (unmuted) that you may have to adjust the MASTER INPUT again, as microphones recording collectively have a tendancy to grab more signal, and therefore, more sound.
The first couple of times you do this, it may take some time. As you become familar with your mics and mixer, the time will decrease. Mainly because you will know, or like me, have written the settings down. This is also quite handy when playing live, as the drummer can use the same setup, and connect his mixer through a line mixer to the main mixer, allowing for a much cleaner, and punchier live drum performance, while maintaining levels with the rest of the band.
Somewhere down the road, engineering, and mastering your recordings. And as before, if I have created questions, leave them with your comments, and I will get back to you to clear up the question, or fill in what I may have left out.
Peace to all.
Kap
The next step is the mixer setup. I use a Mackie VF3200 mixer, with 4 stereo busses, 32 line inputs, and 8 AUX send and returns. Oddly enough, when doing any physical recording, I go straight up. No effects, no playing with the busses, or line inputs. A lot of people out there are going to tell you that input settings should be at -6db. I have found that this general rule of thumb does not bode well for drum recording. At such a low level, one tends to get hiss between kicks, hits, and strikes. For this reason, I tend to go with the old fashioned analogue metering.
Start by setting the gains on all channels to minimal. On most mixers this is indicated by a little sideways 8 next to the gain knob. Then set your track input slider to 0. Set the MASTER input to -6db. Make sure all mics are plgged in, and that Phantom power is activated if you are using any mics that require it. (In my case, that is generally 1/2 of the mics I have plugged in.) Power up the mixer, and you are ready to start setting levels. I like to start with channel 1, and work my way through the channels in order. Mute all the channels except channel 1. Play the drums the same way you would if you were playing a gig. Have the mixer man or woman, adjust the CHANNEL INPUT so the meter is not quite illuminating the yellow clip warning light. With drums, the yellow light is actually telling you that there is a clip in the signal. The sounds are so short and sharp, that often times the meters are caught inbetween. In my early days of recording, I would use the yellow as a good level to start, only discover that I was recording rather loud, nasty sounding tracks. You will also find that once you have adjusted each channel indavidually, that when you play with all of the channels hot (unmuted) that you may have to adjust the MASTER INPUT again, as microphones recording collectively have a tendancy to grab more signal, and therefore, more sound.
The first couple of times you do this, it may take some time. As you become familar with your mics and mixer, the time will decrease. Mainly because you will know, or like me, have written the settings down. This is also quite handy when playing live, as the drummer can use the same setup, and connect his mixer through a line mixer to the main mixer, allowing for a much cleaner, and punchier live drum performance, while maintaining levels with the rest of the band.
Somewhere down the road, engineering, and mastering your recordings. And as before, if I have created questions, leave them with your comments, and I will get back to you to clear up the question, or fill in what I may have left out.
Peace to all.
Kap
