Well there are several hints I have for live drums.
For the drummer:
1) Tune them up. Each drum should sound good on its own. There should be a slight drop in pitch from the initial hit on the toms. This should be more pronounced on hard hits.
2) Fix them up. Hitting a drum should not make another rattle except the snares. If the snares are off there shouldn't be any rattles.
3) Clean them up. Get the grunge off the cymbals so they can shimmer (and shine)
For the soundman:
In order of venue size:
1) Mic the kick. Use an
AKG D112, Audio Technia
ATM25 or even an SM58 :o
2) Mic the snare. Start with an
SM57. (If I am micing the whole kit I put it on the bottom other opinions WILL differ.)
3) Put up overhead pair. Use 2 good large diaphram condensers. (These should be good enough to auto eq the pa which is a whole other thread)
4) Mic the toms. I like the AKG clip on mics but
SM57 or
Sennheiser MD421 work well for me.
5) Mic the hi-hat. Use a good small diaphram condenser. I use
AT4041.
If you are micing the whole kit you will need a hefty sound system. Even if all you mic is the kick you will need subs. Friends of mine with smaller systems run an aux with only the kick to the subs.
EQ each of the above in turn. I like the toms to really speak out with some slight hang time.
