Hey everyone. Recently I tried recording something with one plug in vocal mic, that's all I have right now. I used it the first time as an overhead which was fine, but my cymbals, which are loud anyways, overpowered everything else and you can barely here my kick. The next day I tried putting it on the floor about 3 feet from my kick. The kick then overpowered it, had some strange echo affect, and my snare didn't sound right.

Any suggestions on the placement of this one mic? I was thinking of locating it on the floor but off to the side by a few feet. Any help would be great. Thanks.








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SilverFox HR Sticks

Whenever I've done that I've always gotten good results with putting the mic one-to-three feet in front of the kit, about tom high, and pointed slightly downward.








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Dr. Rodney McKay wrote:

Well, I only know one thing and that is that flying darkness that eats energy can only be very, very bad.

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Since my cymbals are a little overpowering, do you think I will have a problem with wash?








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SilverFox HR Sticks

DrumsPlus wrote:

Since my cymbals are a little overpowering, do you think I will have a problem with wash?

The downward angle helps with that. Except for the distance this is where the head of the average listener would be if you were on stage in a club...that had a decent stage, hahaha.








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Dr. Rodney McKay wrote:

Well, I only know one thing and that is that flying darkness that eats energy can only be very, very bad.

http://www.MySpace.com/PageFive

SGarrett wrote:

DrumsPlus wrote:

Since my cymbals are a little overpowering, do you think I will have a problem with wash?

The downward angle helps with that. Except for the distance this is where the head of the average listener would be if you were on stage in a club...that had a decent stage, hahaha.

I like the decent part, made me laugh. I'll give it a try, thanks.








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SilverFox HR Sticks

I know you are probably trying to stick with the one-mic-only setup. But, probably the best way to go, and still keep it cheap, would be 2 mics, if possible 3. With 2 mics, you can have an overhead, and a kick drum mic. -a popular low-budget setup. And, with 3, you can get very close, if not dead-on, to the VERY popular setup of X-Y overheads and kick drum mic. It's probably the best way to balance the it.








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http://www.sixstringsensei.com • Drummer • Guitarist • Lyricist • Graphic Designer • Jack of all trades, master of some!

kiteboarder wrote:

I know you are probably trying to stick with the one-mic-only setup. But, probably the best way to go, and still keep it cheap, would be 2 mics, if possible 3. With 2 mics, you can have an overhead, and a kick drum mic. -a popular low-budget setup. And, with 3, you can get very close, if not dead-on, to the VERY popular setup of X-Y overheads and kick drum mic. It's probably the best way to balance the it.

I've done that with two wireless mic before and your right it's more balanced but, for right now I only have the one. I'm looking at drum mics right now so hopefully this will not go on for much longer. Thanks for the input though.








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SilverFox HR Sticks

I've done the single mic thing. If you haven't gotten other mics yet, try it behind you. I did that, & it wasn't too shabby. My body provided just enough shield against cymbals. It picked everything else up good too.








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TAMA Drums, Sabian, Zildjian, Paiste, LP, ProMark, VicFrth, Pearl Pedals. Evans.

DrumsPlus wrote:

SGarrett wrote:

DrumsPlus wrote:

Since my cymbals are a little overpowering, do you think I will have a problem with wash?

The downward angle helps with that. Except for the distance this is where the head of the average listener would be if you were on stage in a club...that had a decent stage, hahaha.

I like the decent part, made me laugh. I'll give it a try, thanks.

haha damn. thanks thats helpful








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"Truth is like the sun. You can make it go away for a while, but it ain't goin nowhere."
-Elvis Presley

www.myspace.com/theburningmirage

You could try recording each drum separately, that would probably give you the best results.








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Mapex
Sabian AAX
Vic Firth

Vanden wrote:

You could try recording each drum separately, that would probably give you the best results.

Itd take awhile wouldnt u think.Every time ive recorded with my band we,ve all just used one mic.The mics shitty and proble worth no more then 25 bucks but it has done an alright job for a crappy fast punk band haha








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mapex_king wrote:

Vanden wrote:

You could try recording each drum separately, that would probably give you the best results.

Itd take awhile wouldnt u think.Every time ive recorded with my band we,ve all just used one mic.The mics shitty and proble worth no more then 25 bucks but it has done an alright job for a crappy fast punk band haha

Prince and Ray Charles track drums like that sometimes. They'll do just kick track, then the snare, then cymbals, and then the toms so they can focus on just one instrument at a time.








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Dr. Rodney McKay wrote:

Well, I only know one thing and that is that flying darkness that eats energy can only be very, very bad.

http://www.MySpace.com/PageFive

SGarrett wrote:

mapex_king wrote:

Vanden wrote:

You could try recording each drum separately, that would probably give you the best results.

Itd take awhile wouldnt u think.Every time ive recorded with my band we,ve all just used one mic.The mics shitty and proble worth no more then 25 bucks but it has done an alright job for a crappy fast punk band haha

Prince and Ray Charles track drums like that sometimes. They'll do just kick track, then the snare, then cymbals, and then the toms so they can focus on just one instrument at a time.

And then you would recieve a really good sound (depending on mic quality) on each drum and cymbal, right.








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Mapex
Sabian AAX
Vic Firth

Doing it one drum at a time would get you a better overall sound if you have the patience to play all those parts in the abstract.

So far as one-mic setups go, I have had a lot of success using a Behringer B2. It's a large diaphragm condenser mic, designed primarily for vocals, but I've done everything with it - acoustic guitars, guitar amps, violins, vocal groups, percussion instruments... I've even used it to close-mic a floor tom before. I would normally be nervous putting a condenser through all that, but the b2 can handle up to 147 dB. It has great bass response (the best bass response I've ever gotten from a mic that wasn't specifically designed to be a bass mic) and cymbals sound amazing as well. When miking a drum set, I usually hang it a couple feet overhead (might want to sandbag the mic stand, it's a heavy mic), pointing straight at the snare. I think it would also work pretty well a few feet back from the kit, pointed downward like SGarrett recommends, and that would probably get better kick response than directly overhead.

A B2 will cost you about $150 at a place like MF (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Behringer-B2-Pro-Condenser-Microphone?sku=270491)

That does make it considerably more expensive than what you've got right now, plus you've got to phantom power it (I use a behringer Tube Preamp, it was like $50 and worth every penny) but it is an incredibly versatile mic. As I said before, it can do nearly everything, and it is particularly good as an overhead drum mic. Use it as an overhead and add a kick mic, and you've got a thoroughly usable recording setup. Get two of them, and voila! You're in stereo.

Another great all-purpose mic: the Behringer c2. (http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-BEH%20C2?SRC=D0407FG0HAMS0000&utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=feed&)
The c2 is a small-diaphragm pencil-style condenser, and it costs about $60-70 a pair. If you can do two channels, you can use the pair in x-y configuration as overheads. It won't be as warm or bassy as the B2, but it has great clarity: everything will be clear and audible.

Honestly, it you're short on cash, Behringer is your best friend. If you can't really afford to buy a new mic at this time, experiment with mic placement. Remember that it is directional (your mic, being a vocal mic, is probably cardioid) so if you point it away from something, you will get less of that thing.