Recording drums anywhere other than a professional studio can be tough. Throw in the fact that you only have two microphones, and you might as well throw in the towel. Come on, you can’t just quit.
Recording drums with two mic’s can be a daunting task, there are obviously more drums than there are mic’s. Along with that drums are very loud so they easily cause clipping. A big concern is also mic placement.
When I record drums I use a simple formula for mic placement. I usually mic my snare with an overhead. An overhead is a mic stand that holds the mic in place anywhere from a foot to however far away the mic can be placed. I mic my snare at about two feet off of the head. The second mic is always placed at the bass drum a.k.a kick drum. This allows for the most balanced sound because you get the highs of the snare, symbols, and toms. The second mic obviously picks up the bass.
In order to avoid clipping I set my preamp gain levels quite low. I try to avoid going into the red as much as possible. For those staring at a fader you’ll know what I mean. When I’m setting these levels I try and get the drummer to play as loud as possible, setting my knobs likewise.
To capture the energy of a live rock sound it isn’t always necessary to play super hard. Drumming with a dynamic sound also means being able to control the volume, hence playing softer. Compression and Equalization are tools that can add a lot to the sound. The volume is the main thing that is added when processing.
The final tip is recording in a dead room. What I mean is, a room that doesn’t have a lot of reverb or echo. This will make for the best quality recording.
What are tips that help you record drums?