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hello

i've just bought a sonor force 3005 drumkit with handmade turkish
cymbals and evans drumheads
i've made a test recording with my cheap ribbon microphone (t.bone
rb500)
i placed the mic 1 meter from the front of the kit. height = 1 meter
or a bit more

i'm surprised with the result. i was thinking of buying two overheads
(3 mics is enough for me) but hearing this result i wonder if one
single mic is not enough after all. or maybe adding just one mic over
my shoulder or somethin ?

here's the mp3
http://motthieu.free.fr/drums.mp3
only process : a 60hz highpass filter (24db) + very little compression
(low ratio / fast release)

would you use this for a track ?
do you think my drumkit is properly tuned ?
what is sounding good and what's not ?
any advice ?

oh and forgive my drumming, it's been 7 years since i last played and
playing right wasn't the point in this test
there's also no head on the front of the bassdrum yet i need to carve
a hole in it before i place it.

thanks

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[Scott Dorsey]

In article . com,
wrote:

i'm surprised with the result. i was thinking of buying two overheads
(3 mics is enough for me) but hearing this result i wonder if one
single mic is not enough after all. or maybe adding just one mic over
my shoulder or somethin ?

Everybody used mono drums for years and years. There's nothing wrong with
using a single mike overhead for the whole kit. You just have to be really
careful with placement.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[[email protected]]

what's everyone favorite single mic placement for a drumkit then ?

i've tried overhead-ing my mic but the result was very mid-rangy, too
much snare, not enough bass drum ...
i'll give it another shot with different angles

[David Morgan \(MAMS\)]

wrote in message ps.com...
what's everyone favorite single mic placement for a drumkit then ?

i've tried overhead-ing my mic but the result was very mid-rangy, too
much snare, not enough bass drum ...
i'll give it another shot with different angles


I find it very difficult to get a drum sound that will fit into a crowded mix
with only one mic, but when I've done this in the past I've found that the
room you are recording in will make or break the sound of the drum kit.

A really live room is impossible (for me)... in a well dampened space,
about 5 to 6 feet in front of the kit and about two feet above the floor has
proven to be a usable sound. Bearing in mind of course, that the drummer
strikes all of the parts with equal intensity.


--
David Morgan (MAMS)
http://www.m-a-m-s DOT com
Morgan Audio Media Service
Dallas, Texas (214) 662-9901
_________________________________
http://www.januarysound.com

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i think i'll only be missing the stereo of the cymbals
adding reverb or messing with a stereo spreader won't help
or maybe someone has a special trick ?

[Peter V Rawlings]

wrote in message
ups.com...
hello

i've just bought a sonor force 3005 drumkit with handmade turkish
cymbals and evans drumheads
i've made a test recording with my cheap ribbon microphone (t.bone
rb500)
i placed the mic 1 meter from the front of the kit. height = 1 meter
or a bit more

i'm surprised with the result. i was thinking of buying two overheads
(3 mics is enough for me) but hearing this result i wonder if one
single mic is not enough after all. or maybe adding just one mic over
my shoulder or somethin ?

here's the mp3
http://motthieu.free.fr/drums.mp3
only process : a 60hz highpass filter (24db) + very little compression
(low ratio / fast release)

would you use this for a track ?
do you think my drumkit is properly tuned ?
what is sounding good and what's not ?
any advice ?

oh and forgive my drumming, it's been 7 years since i last played and
playing right wasn't the point in this test
there's also no head on the front of the bassdrum yet i need to carve
a hole in it before i place it.

thanks


Hi,

The T-Bone (thoman.de) mic seems to be doing very well. I've found their
product range to be well-chosen/designed - for the money.

I think the bass drum just might be a bit close to - and on-axis - to the
mic. Whilst there is no perceptible intermodulation distortion, the kick
drum seems to 'splat' a bit - indicating overload, perhaps. Two metres
might clean that up?

As for the single mic: Yes - it copes - but even a crossed-pair (..or a
Sony ECM-979 !! ...) would give a better spatial field if there is any nice
brasswork aloft! The final mix could be a bit 'cardboard cutout' with your
one-mic ultra-simplicity! :-/

HTH,

Pete.

PS I'm a bass player, so I like detailed percussion! :-)

[news to me]

if you need stereo do stereo - what i mean is ive done a bunch of jazz
records where they wanted that old sound but in stereo ( yeah I know
contradiction in terms) and I did a pair of overheads and a single mic out
front, like you are already doing. Find your spot for the front, then
balance that out with the spread from up top. Check for phase as it will
be an issue.

wrote in message
oups.com...
i think i'll only be missing the stereo of the cymbals
adding reverb or messing with a stereo spreader won't help
or maybe someone has a special trick ?

[Scott Dorsey]

wrote:
what's everyone favorite single mic placement for a drumkit then ?

Wherever it sounds good. It depends on the room and on the drum. Stick a
finger in one ear, have someone play the drum, and move your head around
until you find a place where it sounds good.

i've tried overhead-ing my mic but the result was very mid-rangy, too
much snare, not enough bass drum ...

So move the mike away from the snare and toward the kick.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[[email protected]]

a little note about the RB500 :

"open it, remove the inner fine wire mesh grille, and the silk bag
assembly. Also add dense foam to the cage supporting the ribbon motor
to damp mechanical resonances and stuff open cell foam into the base
canister to close off that acoustical chamber and eliminate standing
wave resonances."

this way you get a much more balanced, unmuffled sound

great mic