Drum Miking Techniques
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Kit miking techniques:
There are a lot of possible kit mic set-ups and combinations
of set-ups. The deciding factors are usually sound, the
number of tracks available, and the number and type of mics
available. When possible, you can always experiment with
combinations of the following set-ups. Always go with the
best sound you can find under whatever limitations that
you are under. We'll start with the least number of mics,
and work up from there.
3 mics-
You can use two figure-eight pattern mics in a bloomlein
technique(see multiple mics technique page) in front of
the whole drumset. You can vary this sound by raising or
lowering the mic pair, and angling them more at the cymbals,
or more at the drums. Also, the distance from the drum set,
and the angle of the pickup pattern can change the sound.
These two mics are meant to pick up all of the drum and
cymbal sound, so experiment with placement until you get
the best sound. You can only EQ a little bit, because you
don't have different signals to EQ for all the drums. If
you boost a frequency to get a better sound from the toms,
it will also effect the snare sound. In addition to the
two figure-eight mics, you can mic the bass drum seperately.
This uses only three mics, but still gives you a lot of
control over the bass drum sound, and you can boost the
really high frequencies to get a better cymbal sound without
effecting the other drums' sound too much.
4 mics-
You can start with the 3 mic aproach, but add a fourth wherever
it's needed. If the snare sound is weak, mike the snare.
If the hi-hat is weak, mike the hi-hat. If the floor tom
is weak, mike the floor tom. If you mike the snare, you
can try to angle it toward the rack toms, or the hi-hats
to try to catch some bleed through from those drums. If
you mike the floor tom, you can angle it to catch some of
the ride cymbal, and rack toms.
5 mics-
You can start with the 3 mic aproach, and add
mics where needed. You can use one figure-eight pattern
condenser on the cymbal overheads, and one accent mic elsewhere.
Or you could use two overhead condenser mics. Or you could
mic the top and bottom of the snare drum. Or you could mic
the hi-hat and snare drum....you get the picture. Lots of
options, depending on what sound needs the most boost.
6 mics-
You can either use the 3 mic technique and add mics as described
above, or you can skip the bloomlein altogether. You can
use two mics for the overhead cymbals, one on the bass drum,
one on the floor tom, one placed between the two rack toms,
and one on the snare drum. Or, replace the two overhead
mics with one figure-eight mic for overheads. Then you can
use the other mic on either the underside of the snare drum,
or the hi-hats.
8 mics-
With eight mics, you don't have to get very creative. You
can mike a standard 5-piece drum kit using two overheads,
and using a single mic for each drum, and one on the hi-hats
(or a second one on the snare drum). Or one figure-eight
mic on the overheads, two on the snare, and one on the hi-hat,
in addition to one for each other drum. A lot of computer
audio interfaces only allow up to eight simultaneous inputs,
so you don't often see more than eight mics used.
Individual drum miking techniques:
Snare-
Mic placement should be 1-3 inches above the head, outside
the outer rim but aimed at the center of the head. If there's
too much of a pitched sound (like toms or timbales) and
not enough snap, the mic may be too close. Experiment with
the distance and position of the mic until you get closer
to the desired sound. Some prefer the sound of a snare with
an additional mic underneath the drum aimed at the snare
wire (no closer than 2 inches). This under-snare mic should
be compressed and switched out of phase. Some like this
sound and some hate it, but it definately accentuates the
snare sound of the snare drum. A lot of engineers will make
sure to bounce the two snare sounds together once recorded,
or sometimes while recording. You could also try taping
wadded paper towels or adhesive foam weather stripping to
the head to get rid of any ringing. Tuning tricks: for a
fat snare sound try tuning the bottom head to a lower pitch
(really low) than the top head. For a cutting snare sound
try tuning the bottom head up in pitch and keep the top
head tuned lower.
Toms-
The rack toms can be miked individually or as a pair, with
a single mic placed between and above the two drums at a
short distance. Usually, the toms are miked 1-2 inches in
from the rim at a distance of 1-3 inches. Closer mic placement
yields more of a dead sound, while more distant miking yeilds
more of a live sound. For a more isolated sound between
the toms, with less of an attack, you can remove the bottom
head and position the mic 1-5 inches away from the top head
inside the drum. The floor tom is usually miked using the
same techniques. A good economy of mics is to use one placed
inbetween the two rack toms, and one on the floor tom.
Bass drum-
Getting a good bass drum sound can be the most difficult
and most rewarding part of recording drums. Because of the
low frequencies and high SPL involved in miking the kick
drum, as well as the proximity effect involved with using
dynamic mics, a lot of different sounds can be achieved
just by playing with the mic placement on the head. Often,
drummers who have recorded a lot will have a precise spot
they like to have miked. Large diaphragm dynamic mics designed
for low frequencies are usually used to mike the bass drum.
The drum head can be miked anywhere from the outside rim
all the way to the center of the head, producing different
sounds. Generally miking near the rim of the head produces
more of the head sound, while miking toward the center produces
more of the thud from the bass drum beater. Placing the
mic closer to the head produces a warm sound, while miking
farther away produces more of the high frequency click from
the beater. Different bass drums will sound different, as
well. You want to make certain that the tuning of the drum
is producing as much of the desired sound, as well. A bass
drum that sounds bad acoustically is doomed from the start.
No amount of microphone placement can make a bad sounding
bass drum sound great.
Hi-hat cymbals-
You can pick up the hi-hats by bleed through from the snare
drum mic, if the placement of the snare mic is pointed in
the direction of the hi-hats. Or you can pick up more of
the hi-hats by placing one of the two overhead mics used
for the crash and ride cymbals over the hi-hats. But if
a stronger hi-hat sound is desired you can also mike the
hi-hats seperately. You want to avoid placing the mic in
between the top and bottom hi-hat cymbals, as the sharp
burst of air when the cymbals meet will be captured through
the mic. If more stick sound is desired, you can position
the mic above meeting point, angled down towards the cymbals.
For less stick sound, you can place the mic below the hi-hats,
angled upward. If you want to eliminate snare drum bleed
through in the hi-hat mic, EQ can be used to capture mostly
cymbal frequencies, or can be applied later during mix-down.
Overhead cymbal miking-
Overhead cymbal mics are used to get more of the high frequency
sound of the cymbals, as well as get an overall blended
sound of the snare, toms, and hi-hat. There are three main
techniques used. One is using an evenly spaced pair of microphones,
above the cymbals pointing down towards the cymbals, or
drums. Another is using an XY stereo pair of mics, with
the one mic directly over the other, pointed in opposite
directions over the cymbals, or drums. You can also use
a single figure-eight pattern mic, with the dead spot of
the figure eight pointed down towards the middle of the
kit, and the two sides of the figure eight pointing left
and right. Depending on the number of mics, inputs, or tracks
available you might not use a lot of individual drum mics,
or even overhead cymbal mics. You can use a bloomlein method
and completely do away with overhead cymbals, if you like
the sound achieved this way.
