I originally set off a thread ("3 mic drum techique: budget mic advice
please") asking for advice on which mics to use for the 3 mic drum
technique described by Fletcher:

http://www.mercenary.com/3micdrumstuf.html

Thanks to all who replied, and the thread also seemed to trigger some
interesting discussions around guitar micing...

Having now tried the technique I've got some feedback that might be
interesting for micing jazz drum kits - particularly when the drummer
uses the left hand traditional grip.

I'm not a rec audio pro ;o), and my mics are not exactly studio quality
(1 x NT2, 2 x C1000s, 2 x SM57, 1 x ATM25) but this is what I found:

The kit is a Gretsch Custom Maple 'Bebop' with Bosphorus cymbals and
hi-hats. Basically a fairly warm sound. Most of the time the key
elements are the ride cymbal and hi-hat, with embellishments on the
snare, and toms/kick used interchangeably for fills/solos.

Overhead Mic: Comparing an NT2, C1000s and SM57, the NT2 won hands down
(not surprisingly) and I found that going for the drummer's right
shoulder position about 3-4 feet up really helped bring out stick
articulation on the right hand ride. Snare, Toms and HH all sounded
great.

Front Of Kit Mic: Comparing ATM25, C1000s and SM57, the ATM25 about 1-2
feet from the bass drum had most bottom (as it should do) and gave a
good low end from the BD and Toms without adding too much cymbal
interference - maybe I'd prefer a large diaphragm condenser out front,
but the NT2 was used up already.

Side Mic: Comparing C1000s and SM57, the SM57 came out on top. I'm
going to sell those C1000s - they're just too harsh. But here's the
interesting bit: maybe it was my less than perfect placement of the
side mic near the floor tom, but I couldn't get it to add much to the
party. I made sure that it was the same distance from the snare as the
OH mic, but I just got a reinforced floor tom sound, some unwanted ride
cymbal interference, and not much snare. So I thought about it a bit
and realised that because my snare was tilted up on the left hand side
(from the drummer's perspective) to help with the traditional grip, the
snare sound was being thrown to the left of the kit (again from the
drummer's perspective), under the hi-hat. So I moved the side mic to
the HH side of the kit, again same distance from snare as OH mic and
pretty much same height as the snare, pointing at the shell. And lo and
behold, a great sound for jazz: on top of the good OH and FOK mix, more
articulation from the snare and HH.

Everything was summed in mono - call me a luddite, but I find it so
much less distracting.

I'm not saying that this is a better technique than the original tried
and tested one, but it might be an option in some cases...

Rich.

On 4 Feb 2005 05:37:40 -0800, "Rich"
wrote:

Having now tried the technique I've got some feedback that might be
interesting for micing jazz drum kits - particularly when the drummer
uses the left hand traditional grip.

Thanks for the report. I always appreciate the "I tried this, and this
is what happened" posts. Beats the heck out of the "try this, I think
this is what will happen" posts. (yes, this is a copy of my response
in another thread, but still applies.)

Thanks to all who replied, and the thread also seemed to trigger some
interesting discussions around guitar micing...

I was one of those triggered. So, I apologize for not chiming in on
your original quest. But it seems you obtained enough info to get a
desirable result... good on ya.


====================
Tracy Wintermute

Rushcreek Ranch
====================

Cool. Nice to get something going with a little insight, isn't it! g
Never be afraid to experiment. It's where most inspiration comes from.

--


Roger W. Norman
SirMusic Studio

"Rich" wrote in message
oups.com...
I originally set off a thread ("3 mic drum techique: budget mic advice
please") asking for advice on which mics to use for the 3 mic drum
technique described by Fletcher:

http://www.mercenary.com/3micdrumstuf.html

Thanks to all who replied, and the thread also seemed to trigger some
interesting discussions around guitar micing...

Having now tried the technique I've got some feedback that might be
interesting for micing jazz drum kits - particularly when the drummer
uses the left hand traditional grip.

I'm not a rec audio pro ;o), and my mics are not exactly studio quality
(1 x NT2, 2 x C1000s, 2 x SM57, 1 x ATM25) but this is what I found:

The kit is a Gretsch Custom Maple 'Bebop' with Bosphorus cymbals and
hi-hats. Basically a fairly warm sound. Most of the time the key
elements are the ride cymbal and hi-hat, with embellishments on the
snare, and toms/kick used interchangeably for fills/solos.

Overhead Mic: Comparing an NT2, C1000s and SM57, the NT2 won hands down
(not surprisingly) and I found that going for the drummer's right
shoulder position about 3-4 feet up really helped bring out stick
articulation on the right hand ride. Snare, Toms and HH all sounded
great.

Front Of Kit Mic: Comparing ATM25, C1000s and SM57, the ATM25 about 1-2
feet from the bass drum had most bottom (as it should do) and gave a
good low end from the BD and Toms without adding too much cymbal
interference - maybe I'd prefer a large diaphragm condenser out front,
but the NT2 was used up already.

Side Mic: Comparing C1000s and SM57, the SM57 came out on top. I'm
going to sell those C1000s - they're just too harsh. But here's the
interesting bit: maybe it was my less than perfect placement of the
side mic near the floor tom, but I couldn't get it to add much to the
party. I made sure that it was the same distance from the snare as the
OH mic, but I just got a reinforced floor tom sound, some unwanted ride
cymbal interference, and not much snare. So I thought about it a bit
and realised that because my snare was tilted up on the left hand side
(from the drummer's perspective) to help with the traditional grip, the
snare sound was being thrown to the left of the kit (again from the
drummer's perspective), under the hi-hat. So I moved the side mic to
the HH side of the kit, again same distance from snare as OH mic and
pretty much same height as the snare, pointing at the shell. And lo and
behold, a great sound for jazz: on top of the good OH and FOK mix, more
articulation from the snare and HH.

Everything was summed in mono - call me a luddite, but I find it so
much less distracting.

I'm not saying that this is a better technique than the original tried
and tested one, but it might be an option in some cases...

Rich.