Getting a studio quality drum recording at home can be difficult. I'm here to offer
some tips to help you avoid some of the most common mistakes and make the most of your home
studio. But if this is our first time meeting, my name is Kyle. Welcome to Audio University.
Today we've got Ernesto Doural Jr. on drums. If you're a drummer, check out Ernesto's channel
for drumming tutorials and reviews. You can find a link in the description of this video.
The first step is to set up a good space for recording your drums.
Most of us won't have a specifically designed live room in our own house. You'll probably end
up recording in a basement or another room that's similar to the one I'm in right now. I know you're
eager to get started recording, but I want you to take just a minute to optimize your setup first.
You can't fix these things later so it's important to make sure to take care of them now.
First we want to make sure that the room is as quiet as possible. Take a moment to
listen for any noises. Now, I understand you might be living with roommates or neighbors
but if you can temporarily turn off any noisy appliances you'll get a cleaner recording.
In addition to reducing the noise in a room you should also listen for any acoustical problems.
The reverb of a live room in a recording studio might add to the drum sound
but chances are your room doesn't sound very good. In most cases, it's best to minimize the
reverb in your space for recording. You can test your room by clapping your hands and listening
for the reverb or echo. Try placing absorptive objects in front of any reflective surfaces.
You can always use a reverb plugin while mixing.
Finally, I want you to tune your drums before going any further.
It's really difficult to fix a ringing snare drum with EQ, so it's best to fix it at the
source. Ernesto has a video on tuning drums that you can watch right here. Trust me - taking
these basic steps will dramatically improve the quality of your recording.
Once you've set up your room, it's time to place the microphones for recording your drum kit.
I used to think more microphones meant a better recording. But the truth is that,
at a certain point, more microphones will just muddy up your recording.
In fact you might be recording with an interface that's only got two or four inputs anyway.
The key is to choose mics strategically for the sound you're going for. Let me show you how I
would place microphones depending on how many mics I've got and what genre of music I'm recording.
If I only had one microphone to work with, I'd probably start by placing it right above the kick
drum facing the drummer. The reason I would start here is because I want to capture the
whole kit without getting too much brightness from the cymbals. You can use pretty much any
microphone for this method. Dynamic or condenser will work. Pointing the microphone away from any
particular component of the kit like this will give us both a close and a balanced
sound. This is just a starting point though. Record a short clip and adjust as necessary.
If I had two microphones, the placement would depend on the genre. I would ask myself "What kick
drum sound are we going for?". If you're recording drums for a metal song that requires that close,
wet kick sound, I'd recommend adding a close mic to the kick drum. This will give you more control
over the kick drum while still capturing the full kit with the first technique.
In almost every other case you can get a good kick drum sound without a close mic on the kick.
Your best option is probably two mics in a stereo overhead configuration. I would probably start
with some variation of the Glyn Johns method that he used to record John Bonham's drums.
Start with one microphone above the floor tom and the other one above the kit. The key here is
to get both microphones the same distance away from the snare drum. Now, it doesn't have to
be perfect. Of course, I'm kind of a geek so I'm going to actually measure them out but remember:
if you get close, you'll be set. The reason you want to try to place the microphones the same
distance from the snare is so that the snare is in phase when it reaches both microphones.
If you're unfamiliar with phase interference and comb filtering check out this video.
It's also helpful to place the mics above the cymbals. Sometimes placing the microphone level
with the cymbals will cause a swirling effect as the cymbal tilts up and down.
Again, listen to a test recording and adjust the mics for the best placement.
I would generally choose a pair of small diaphragm condenser mics like the Shure SM81s,
but this can be done with dynamic microphones too.
With two overhead mics on the drums, you'll have a good overall drum sound.
If you have the option to use a third or fourth microphone, here's what I'd recommend. Listen to
the overhead mics and ask yourself if anything is missing or if anything sounds distant.
You could put a close mic on the kick or on the snare. You might even decide to put two mics on
the snare or have an internal and external kick mic depending on the sound you're going for.
These are starting points and I encourage you to listen and make
adjustments to find the best sound for you. At this point,
you've recorded the drums. In the next video I'll walk you through the basic steps of mixing drums.
Again, use these steps as starting points but ultimately you should listen and trust your ears.
If you want to improve your ears for recording,
check out my post on ear training for audio engineers.
If you found this video helpful, hit the "Like" button and I'll see you in the next one.