Recording drums well is a challenge. Even if you’ve done it successfully in the past, it always takes a long time to get things sounding just right when compared to something “easier” like tracking bass direct, or miking up a guitar amp. There are a million ways to record drums, and a million more drum sounds people tend to like, so my advice here on one hand is purely subjective. This is how I personally like to record drums. On the other hand there are some universal tips that will help you in capturing a rockin’ drum sound no matter what style you’re going for. Enjoy the video!
Comments
Graham, did you use compression when tracking the kit? On specific parts of the kit? How about gating? For example did you use a noise gate, say on the snare mic, to block out the hats bleed? Did you plug the mics directly into your interface? It would be interesting to hear a clip of the finished product!
No compression or gating. The mics went straight into the mic pres, which are connected through ADAT to my interface.
I’ll definitely post finished clips when I’m done!
Well that makes it simple! May I ask what mic pres and what interface you used? I’m hoping to do this exact type of thing with my band this year. I have an M-Audio Firewire 1814 which should have plenty of inputs. Originally I thought we would go to a pro studio for drum tracking and do everything else at home. But now you have me inspired. We would gain invaluable experience by tracking drums ourselves, plus save a ton of money. I like the looks of that Samson drum mic package. I had no idea that I could get all the drum mics I need for such a low price. I encourage you to keep posting about the various stages of this EP project your are working on. I’m learning so much. Thanks for the info!
Graham, these mic’s you using. They sound great.
Yes, the Samson mics are a phenomenal bargain (and quality). We use them live at church, and I use them in the studio a lot.
I ran all the mics through a Behringer ADA 8000. Fantastic piece of equipment. Plus you can’t beat 8 channels of clean solid mic pres for under $200!
WOW !!! Very impressive.. Your site is awesome and thanks so much for keeping it about the “home studio”. VERY encouraging..
Can you possibly do a video on recording electric guitars?
Thanks again.
Thanks for being a reader Gale! I can definitely do a video on recording electric guitars. Thanks for the suggestion.
wow great tight sound..i would expect to hear a lot of slap back and ringing
very impressive,love the sound of a real drum set recorded just cant stand playing them in a house(too loud for the room mates).ive gone electric.
Yeah, you’d be surprised how much you can do in a non-studio environment. It’s all about mic placement.
[...] option, and for under $200!) and I'm ready to go. In fact this is the exact setup I used up in this video when tracking a band the other week. And the fact that it's only a 1U rack space, I've got a [...]
Hey Graham, ive never used ADAT before but i hear some people swear by it. How does it work, and say, if you have got an 8 channel firewire interface (with an ADAT connection) can you use them both to have more input channels. I ask this because i have never found an audio interface with more than 8 mic/line inputs and have always wanted access to more inputs.
Yes, that’s the idea. If you have a firewire interface let’s say with 8 pres in it, but you also have an ADAT connection available to you. Typically that means you can purchase an ADAT rack of pres (like the one’s mentioned above) and in one simple connection add another 8 channels of Audio.
Wow, impressive raw sound. It surely sounds like it had some compression going on! Who would’ve thought those Samson mics had that much biff in them. Good work and thanks for the tips!
Thanks Edu. It’s amazing what you can do for not much coin these days!
so what’s the absolute minimum number of mics (if working on a tight budget) would you recommend? plus is that room mic necessary? good job by the way!
Stacy, absolute minimum would be one mic! Check out my video on recording a drum kit with one mic here: http://therecordingrevolution.com/2011/03/14/recording-drums-with-only-one-mic-video/
just watched the video. i can’t believe you can get such sounds from just one mic and placed where i never would have thought. thanks again graham!
Absolutely Amazing! Great Job Graham, you got talent. I watched the video and you did a great job using 1 mic and capturing the sound as if using a top recording stuff. It’s true that the hardest instruments to record are drums and you did it. Thumbs up!
Stephen – Thanks my man.
Stacy – Been in the “business” for about 6 years, but have been a musician intensely for the past 12.
Thanks Grahem, I am now a ADAT convert, you really captured the sound – thanks for the advice.
Stacy – “just watched the video. i can’t believe you can get such sounds from just one mic and placed where i never would have thought. thanks again graham!”
I was still thinking of this one.. I really can’t believe a single mic can do such sounds.
And to mr. Graham.. How long you’ve been in the music ministry? I mean as a musician? And do you use some effects too? What are the top ones you may recommend? Thanks!
P.S. Mind if I plug? I’m an artist too, a visual artist – “Website Design West Palm Beach“
[...] and mixing drums is a huge challenge. A few weeks ago I posted a video showing you how I recorded drums in someone’s living room. We used 7 microphones going straight into some affordable mic pres, straight into Pro Tools. We [...]