[Scott Dorsey]

Tommi wrote:

So far I've used a spaced pair of Audio Technica 4050's as overheads, and
tried to keep them equally distant from the snare. But I also have a pair of
Shure SM81's (one has been used as a hi-hat mike so far). But, since the
room we're recording in is a typical amateur band rehearsal space -the room
is so crappy we have mostly just dampened it- I am having trouble getting a
full, "glued" sound from the whole kit. Basically we're just after a typical
modern rock sound, but finding it hard to achieve.

I think you're going to find that what is missing is the room, and without a
good sounding room you're not going to get a good sounding drum. And I bet
a nickel you have only the high frequencies in the room damped down, so all
the midrange issues just become worse in comparison.

But even so... what happens if you pull the overheads way back, and then
move them way forward? How do the balances change?

If you walk around with a finger in one ear listening with the other, what
does it sound like? Is there a place where the room and drums are in balance?

The close mikes sound as good as ever (SM57's mainly), but I think I am
messing up the overhead sound. We have only 8 tracks at our disposal, and it
would be nice to get both the overall sound and the cymbals from those
overheads. Maybe I should try a X-Y pair for a more coherent stereo image?

The stereo image isn't your problem, the problem is going to be either
the balance between the different parts of the overhead, or the room
tone in the midrange. You _should_ be able to find a place where you can
get a good balance between the cymbals and the overall sound, but you won't
be able to without using one ear and listening around until you find that
place.

BUT, even in that place you may have hollowness issues with the room.

If you guys have any tips about how should I try to make the sound better
with these mics, it would be very much appreciated. I have also tried to
search the web but found it surprisingly hard to find detailed descriptions
about different overhead techniques. I guess the main question is, should I
place the OH's as a coherent or a non-coherent spaced pair, and should I use
the SM81's or the 4050's...

It doesn't matter. For experimental purposes you can try using one overhead
and doing it in mono. Once you get the balances in mono right, you can then
transfer it to whatever stereo miking technique you want. But if you cannot
get the balances right and you cannot get the tone right, you need to worry
about that before worrying about imaging.

The reason folks don't give descriptions about different techniques is that
basically there are only two: putting the mike in a place where it gets just
cymbals, and putting the mike in a place where it gets a good overall sound
in the kit. The actual places to put it depend completely on the kit and
the room, and you may find the right place for an "overhead" is three inches
off the floor. Only your ears will find it.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."