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LESSON 3 PART 2: Recording Drums
Ok here we go, the drums can make or break a recording, and they are really hard to do well! Its taken me years to get my sound, so i'm going to try to make it a little easier for u guys!
Like anything, theres no right or wrong way to record drums, but there are many tequniques to help you get a good sound.
Kick: Maybe the hardest of all the drums. You really need a proper kick drum mic, you cant really get away with using a vocal mic. AKG make a good one thats only about $150. The standard way to record a kick drum is to put a mic inside the drum, by cutting a hole in the front skin. On the nevermind album by nirvana, the producer put a cardboard tube that was about 10 feet long inside the hole and put a mic at the other end of the tube, so there you go, there a many ways to record it!
Snare: SHURE SM57 SHURE SM57 SHURE SM57 SHURE SM57 SHURE SM57 SHURE SM57 SHURE SM57. By using a SHURE SM57 you really cant go wrong. These mics are as old as the hills but talk about getting it right 1st time, and their virtually indesrtructable. Put the mic about 1-3 inches above the rim of the drum. The further away you put the mic, the more ambient it will sound in the mix.
Toms: Some say mic them, some say dont, its up to you. Personally I think you should. Any vocal mic ussually does the trick. Mic them like the snare, but bring the mics in a bit from the rim towards the center of the drum.
Cymbals: two condenser mic over the cymbals is what you need. Behringer make good ones that are cheap enough, or if you want to go even cheaper, then the samson ones are ok. Put them about two feet above the cymbals.
EQ. Listen to what the drums sound and youll notice that less eq is often more!. If you have to do some I suggest raise the lows in the kick drum, to give it phatness, and raise the highs to give it definition. Maybe raise the highs in the snare a little.
Remember less is often more
So there ya go. experimenting is the key to getting a good sound. I suggest if your recording your band, then spend at least a couple of hours with your drummer, getting a sound, before your band arrives, coz getting a drum sound takes time!
Next Lesson: Recording Guitar and Bass
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