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(Gid Tanner) wrote in message . com...
Hello. I would appreciate suggestions and advice. I am recording a
drum kit for a session of blues/vintage rock. The room is fairly well
padded and dead. The drummer is good and gets a balanced sound. I
would like to use as few mics as possible, as I have only a limited
number of tracks available (two to four tracks, given the song).
Here is my available equipment: 2 Beyer M160's; 2 Seinheisser 421's;
2 AT 4050's. I have a 2-channel tube pre-amp/compressor (custom made
with a warm, fat sound) and a 2-channel Focusrite Red 8 pre-amp. I
had thought of placing the M160's in front of and slightly above the
toms, and seeing if that would suffice for the whole kit. If need be,
I would add one 421 for the kick and one for the snare.
What would your recipe be? I really appreciate the expert
knowledge/advice I get here. Thanks!
Gid

I toured with a jazz big band for several years, and also did some
recordings with them, and my goal was the same: use few mics and
"capture" the sound of the kit.

Here's what I would suggest based on the mics you have:

Kick - MD421 with the rotary switch set to one click off "M", and make
up the LF at the console. Sounds punchier that way than fully on "M"
IMO.

Overheads - The two 4050s should work well. I'd place one of them
straight over the snare and about 4 ft. above it, and the other one to
the drummer's right, looking over the floor tom back over to the
snare. These two mics should be EXACTLY the same distance from the
center of the snare drum. By varying the height of that 2nd overhead
mic (the one by the floor tom) you can balance the floor tom with the
rest of the kit. But again, be certain that it is the same distance
from the snare as the other one.

With these three mics, you should get a really good "open" kit sound.
Now, you may need to use another mic or two depending on the kit.
Maybe for snare, depending on how "close miked" you want it to sound.
Maybe for hi hat, ditto.

Have fun.

Karl Winkler
Lectrosonics, Inc.
http://www.lectrosonics.com