August 22, 2015 editorial: comments

The Whole Kit and Caboodle

You have a lot of options when miking up a drum kit. You could use a simple three- or four-mic setup that depends on a stereo pair of overheads to capture the bulk of the kit sound, or opt for a more complex, multi-mic configuration that might even have more than one kick and snare mic, mics on the toms, spot mics on cymbals, room mics, trash mics and more.

Not surprisingly, the simpler the setup is, the easier it is to mix in most cases, but the harder it is to control individual kit elements. On the other hand, the more mics you have, the more potential phase issues and bleed you have to deal with.

Of course, what we choose for a drum-miking scheme in our own studios depends a lot on circumstances such as how many inputs and mics we have available, and the size and characteristics of the recording room.

Do you have a particular drum-miking setup you like to use? I’d love to hear how you do it.

If you want to read about some interesting and intelligent strategies and tactics for drum miking, recording and mixing, you’ll want to read this week’s interview with Adam “Nolly” Getgood of the band Periphery. He talks about the massive drum miking setups he uses, some unusual EQ techniques he employs, how he minimizes bleed using both mic placement and processors, his favorite plug-ins and more. If you have any interest in the topic of drum recording, you definitely don’t want to miss it.

That interview is just one of many we’ve done at Audiofanzine (with plenty more to come). We’ve talked with some really cool musicians, producers and engineers, including Vernon Reid, BT, Dave Pensado, Daryl Thorp, and many others. We’ve got them all archived in the All Interviews section, which you can access from the home page by clicking on All Articles.