Recording Drums… Part Three

DRUMS JOSHThere are hundreds of dissertations on this subject around the web.  Many written by people far more qualified than I.  However, since I’ve recorded 400+ different kits over the years, and customer satisfaction has generally been high…  This is Part Three.

I Usually… One:  Take a wide-ish band at 500Hz and cut it aggresively on the toms.  This is the boxy tone that nobody misses.

I Usually… Two:   That pesky energy node you’ll probably get on the toms at 200Hz isn’t going to go away unless you spend a month tuning… forget about it. Set a narrow band on the eq and try to notch it out either while recording or while mixing later.

I Usually… Three:  Cut 100Hz or so on the kick drum.  I know…I know… that’s the frequency that some people will tell you to boost, but it pushes to much energy into the compressor.  You don’t have to get crazy, but as you drop this freq, you’ll hear some awesome sub tones DRUMS PIGGYthat seem to expand the size of the kick.  You’ll also have to make a wide, gentle boost some place in the upper midrange to show the slap of the beater.  If you hear a weird “clacking”, “beeping” or other unnatural sound, figure out the frequency and… notch it.  I don’t usually boost any low frequency on the kick unless genre=metal then I’ll boost 44Hz a tiny bit with a more severe 100Hz cut.

I Usually… Four:  Put some level of compression on all individual drums.  Very light on the toms, a little more on the snare, and quite a bit on the kick.  Yes, we’re shaping the tone, but we’re really looking for some level of consistency in volume across the kit.

Oh Crap!  Too much cymbal:  They’re in everything and if that weren’t bad enough they’re flanging because of the phase differences at each mic making the drums virtually unlistenable.  Let’s figure out why.

  1. The room is usually the number one culprit.  The cyms just seem to multiply everytime they’re struck.  You’ll have to deaden the room or move the kit to a larger space.
  2. Mic placement is usually the next bad guy.  Solo each mic to find the trouble maker(s) and make adjustments in the way they’re placed. Crashes eat up tom mics and the ride is almost always facing the capsule of the snare mic.  I’ve rubber banded pieces of foam to the sides of mics to help with this.DRUM FOAM but asking the drummer to either move his cymbals or change the way he/she plays may be the only way out.  Depending on your situation, you may have to remove the offending cyms and have the drummer play them as overdubs.  I’ve not done this, but it was common back in the day…
  3. Make sure your overhead mics are in the best possible position to capture a balanced drum vs cymbal performance and as the drummer plays make sure that you sweep from pan to center (mono) to listen for phasing.  Correct accordingly.
  4. I’ve found that almost all drum tracks have too much cymbal in the tom mics.  I just mute the tracks in between tom strikes.

The Snare:  Don’t over compress!  Make sure you can hear enough snare band.  Need more snare in the mix and pushing the volume doesn’t really help?  Build a reverb that does it.  There are tons of plugins that let you set early reflections, tune the verb, and simulate natural rooms and environments.  These can/willDRUM SNARE MIC make your snare as big as you want it without sounding too reverb-y.

I don’t consider myself an expert, just someone who’s had the remarkable opportunity to mic a lot of drum kits.  twenty years from now, there may not be many engineers around who will have recorded more than 10 kits.  Music has changed.  Anybody who’s used sample/replace software knows… but if you have a real band and a  real drummer, who wants to hear real drums, mic’ing is easy…  Part One.  or Part Two.

Recording Drums…Part Two

DRUMS KEITHThere are hundreds of dissertations on this subject around the web.  Many written by people far more qualified than I.  However, since I’ve recorded 400+ different kits over the years, and customer satisfaction has generally been high…  This is Part Two.

There was a session several years ago when the band had finished recording all of the basic tracks and were starting to overdub guitar parts when one of the band members asked, “Where did (the drummer) go?”  None of us had seen him since the last trip to his car after tear-down…it had been at least UNDER EVERYTHING DRUMMERa half hour.  It turns out that he had packed his car and quit the band.  He drove three hours back home without saying goodbye thinking he was saving the band the messiness of quiting before he had recorded with them… Probably not the right call…

No Worries One:  Really cheap tom mics are fine.  You’re only going to use them to augment the overheads and bring attack, body, and increased volume to the toms anyway.  That sounded surprisingly like a shampoo ad.

DRUMS FROG AND GUMNo Worries Two:  Remove all of the damping, tune and reapply moon gels cut in half.  Full gels kill too much area.  If you have to, use two halves in different spots.  Drum Gum is also really effective.  I actually use little frogs that I bought at a party store which are made out of the same stuff.  Part Three.  or back to Part One.

Recording Drums… Part One

ROB DRUMMINGThere are hundreds of dissertations on this subject around the web.  Many written by people far more qualified than I.  However, since I’ve recorded 400+ different kits over the years, and customer satisfaction has generally been high…  This is Part One.

After recording and mixing a session one day, a band member asked, “What did you do to the drums?”  His wording surprised me.  I thought they sounded pretty good.  “Umm, what do you mean?” I asked.  His reply;  “Well, they sound so good…  So natural… What did you do to them?  The last studio I was in spent two hours on the snare drum alone, and we didn’t record anything the first day of the session because we worked on the drums the entire day.  You just threw some mics up, turned a couple of knobs and said, ‘OK, now guitar.’  Do you have a secret processor or something?”DRUMS CM

I do not.  I have no secrets of any kind, and I have never substituted a drum sound using sample-replace software.  It just seems so unfair to the drummer.  Hey, guitar player, I don’t like the tone of your amp; let’s replace you and your little dog too.

There are a couple of things that I’ve done over the years that have given clients consistent results.

I present these with the humility of someone who has been in situations where nothing really worked and despite my best efforts the drums didn’t sound like they should have.

DRUMS DAVEAssumption One:  The drummer can play.  He/she actually strikes the drums with authority and confidence.  Touch drummers do not record well.  You really have to be on your game when recording a jazz oriented player who strikes lightly.

Assumption Two:  The drums aren’t complete garbage.  I tracked a kit once that was cobbled together from three different below average drum sets.  However, the top heads weren’t dented and he hadn’t removed the bottom heads (important).  Once we removed all of the duct tape and retuned, they recorded fine.  I am partial to maple shells, though.  They just seem so focused.

Assumption Three:  You have some idea how a kit is supposed to sound, and you aren’t afraid to help the drummer tune it.DRUMS KICK MIC

Good Idea One:  Two heads are better than one.  You can’t fake this.  There’s a reason that drums have two heads.  The kick drum can be the exception, however.  If it has a hole, put the mic inside the drum, and you’re in business.  Otherwise remove the front head.   If you’re going for a flabby/indie/70’s sound you may have to keep it and mic from outside the front.

Good Idea Two:  Get two good overhead mics.  They are your drum sound.  I’ve used different ones over the years, and I found that I liked affordable, natural sounding microphones.  I settled on ADK Area-51’s.  Properly placed, you can shut off all DRUM OVERHEADSof the other mics except the kick and hear the real drum sound.  If you’ve been searching for overheads, I highly recommend you audition these.  You won’t need a hihat mic either.  I’ve never used one.   Part Two.