Best way to record my 5 piece kit

[Trommler]

I was wondering what kind of drum mic set-ups you guys have to record your kits. I have a 5 piece kit with about 7 cymbals. I was wondering the best quality mics I can get not being too pricey. Thanks a lot.

[SolidGoldstein]

I suggest getting 2 decent overheads and a stereo (2 channel preamp) for those mics. Rode NT-5 to be exact. That would be the cheapest solution to capture the dynamics of a drum kit with a low budget. This wa you won't need a mixer or decent sound card, just get a Y cord (female 1/4" jacks to a TRS 1/4" or 1/8") Each output (of the mic) will be automatically panned left and right to give you a full image of the room you're in.

Actually, I just remembered something easier... a Sony MiniDisc recorder stereo microphone. I think they're only ~$100 and sound better than anything else you'll find, but not near as good as the NT-5's

[Trommler]

Well, my mics would be lining in straight into a recorder actually. So does this make a difference on what kind of mics? I have about 5 inputs to myself hopefully. We have a 16-track recorder with 8-track simultaneous recording so that might play into it too.l

[SolidGoldstein]

no. What I am trying to make clear to you is that quality will go MUCH farther than looking like you have a four-hundred thousand dollar budget.

May I ask what you are recording with, or what soundcard you're using?

[darrell]

Look into how Led Zeppelin recorded their drums... I think they only used 2 mics (maybe older albums?). I'm not sure what mics and how expensive they were, but they had a decent sound for what they used.

[SolidGoldstein]

They used old RCA ribbon mic's on alot of the stuff, and anything that bonham used is now overpriced because it's known he used it, soooooooo I will be sending you a bill for suggesting you record with the same technique as Bonham :chug:

[Trommler]

My band and I are recording with a ZOOM 16-track recorder. It has a 40GB internal hard drive. Here is a link to it...http://www.samash.com/catalog/showitem.asp?ItemPos=3&TempID=4&STRID=13512&Method=3&CategoryID=318&BrandID=1503&PriceRangeID=0&PageNum=0&DepartmentID=6&pagesize=10&SortMethod=3&SearchPhrase=&Contains=&Search_Type=Department&GroupCode=

[SolidGoldstein]

Well gooood luck!

I still think it would be immature to mic each drum on that budget.

...........You asked!


The articulation and sound quality will be so much better with a stereo pair of more expensive mics than it would ever make your drumming sound with each drum mic'd up.

[Jomofo]

Once again....I've heard great things about these mics, as well as great recordings with them. I've never used them personally, but they seem like a good choice.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/srs7/g=home/search/detail/base_pid/270749/