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250 Views 8 Replies Latest reply: Sep 10, 2012 11:43 AM by LarryLion RSS
LarryLion Just Startin'
LarryLion
117 posts since
May 7, 2011
Currently Being Moderated

Aug 29, 2012 1:12 PM

Quick Survey:  How Do You Mic your Drums?

My band is thinking seriously of taking the plunge, buying the StageScape, and replace our ageing Roland VM system, which has served us well, and has 20 analog  (XLR/Line) inpust and a slew of digital inputs, but is complicated, old and relatively badly supported these days.  One of the issues will be analog channels - mic inputs - on the StageScape.  We are a 6-piece band, and we currently use 16-17 analog inputs, 6 of which are dedicated to the drums, and most of them XLR.  We also need a couple of spares for guest musicians, etc. I've been told we should be mixing the drums off-board, and reduce our inputs that way, so I'm curious - how do other small bands mic their drums?  If any of you are prepared to share yoru setups, it will help us decide whether to go with the Line6 kit.  We curently use discrete inputs as follows:

 

2 x Electric Guitars, via mic'd amplifiers

1 x Acoustic Guitar, via DI

1 x Bass Guitar, via DI

1 x Harmonica/Vocal Mic

5 x Main & Harmony vocal Mics (2 are "dry" returns from floor mounted vocal processors)

6 Drum mics

1 x Mandolin/12-string "utility instrument" via DI

 

Any other suggestions on how we can reduce our input needs?

 

Cheers!

Tags: mic, drum
  • dboomer Line 6 Support
    dboomer
    1,997 posts since
    Oct 13, 2008
    Currently Being Moderated
    Aug 29, 2012 4:54 PM (in response to LarryLion)
    Re: Quick Survey:  How Do You Mic your Drums?

    Hi Larry

     

    There are 18 analog inputs on the mixer ... don't forget the stereo mini 1/8th" input.  It is unbalanced so you'd have to keep the cable no longer than 20 feet.

     

    Depending on how you actually mic up your drum kit you could also think about adding a "mic combiner" which would allow you to combine say a pair of tom mics into a single input.  They range in price from about $35 - $85 and are available from most cable companies.

    • LarryLion Just Startin'
      LarryLion
      117 posts since
      May 7, 2011
      Currently Being Moderated
      Aug 29, 2012 8:41 PM (in response to dboomer)
      Re: Quick Survey:  How Do You Mic your Drums?

      Thanks for the tip, will bear that in mind. I'm considering a submixer for everything on the drumkit but the kick, giving two stereo outs to the main mixer, plus the kick, reducing my existing XLR count  by 3 or 4. But I'd like to hear how others mic their drums, and what to look for.

       

      Cheers, Larry

      • Iknowathingortwo
        MerlinFL
        1,667 posts since
        Jul 17, 2007
        Currently Being Moderated
        Aug 30, 2012 3:18 PM (in response to LarryLion)
        Re: Quick Survey:  How Do You Mic your Drums?

        Hi Larry,

         

        I've had to mic drum kits of all size, brands, tunings, etc. with 1:1 mic to drum or cymbal miked to a kick and a pair of high quality overheads for the entire kit.

         

        If you'd like to discuss miking options for your specific situation, I'd be happy to help in any way I can without actually hearing the drums or your drummer play solo and in your band situation.

         

        Take care,

        Neal

  • TTWBand Just Startin'
    TTWBand
    5 posts since
    Aug 28, 2012
    Currently Being Moderated
    Sep 3, 2012 5:43 AM (in response to LarryLion)
    Re: Quick Survey:  How Do You Mic your Drums?

    We had the same discussion as a band before purchasing this board. We adopted a 4 mic system. One mic on the snare, one on the kick, and two overheads. Seems to work just fine. We have gigged with it this way twice with no complaints.

    • LarryLion Just Startin'
      LarryLion
      117 posts since
      May 7, 2011
      Currently Being Moderated
      Sep 4, 2012 6:29 AM (in response to TTWBand)
      Re: Quick Survey:  How Do You Mic your Drums?

      TTWBand

       

      Thanks ... that's the kind of input I was looking for   Anyone else willing to share their mic config?

       

      Cheers

      • antonioctd Just Startin'
        antonioctd
        34 posts since
        Apr 11, 2006
        Currently Being Moderated
        Sep 8, 2012 5:49 AM (in response to LarryLion)
        Re: Quick Survey:  How Do You Mic your Drums?

        How big is the room?

         

        In small rooms I've been getting really good results with 3 mics. Kick + Stereo OverHeads. The snare and toms can usually be heard acoustically anyway.

        In fact, I just use a very small hint of the overheads with lots of reverb and a high pass filter on the PA.

        This will just help blend the cymbals with the band and create a nice ambient. Any more that this and the drums will be to loud in room.. 

         

        I've been recording my shows and mixing in Cakewalk Sonar to bled the audio with the live videos.

         

        I've learn that, if I don't have to much spill from the band on the overheads, I can just boost the right mid frequency and get a decent snare and toms! In a big Stage, with good physical instrument separation, I believe it is possible to get a great drum sound with only 3 mics.

         

        Except for Metal! For Metal I would add a snare mic and use a sub-mixer for micing toms.

        I wouldn't really need many processing tools for the toms so a cheap mixer with 4 pre-amps would suffice. This would be used just to give some "impact" and the real tone would still be conveyed by the overheads!   

        But I din't try this yet...

         

        Hope it helps

        • LarryLion Just Startin'
          LarryLion
          117 posts since
          May 7, 2011
          Currently Being Moderated
          Sep 10, 2012 11:43 AM (in response to antonioctd)
          Re: Quick Survey:  How Do You Mic your Drums?

          Thanks, Antonio. The practice space we have is way big - 1,400 sq. ft. - but we limit the actual band space to what we would expect in our average venue, a 16 x 30 feet stage.  Directly over the band is the AC duct, soundproofed, but a hard surface.  We have acoustic treatment behind and over the drum kit, and on the side walls too.  It's a big room, but we try to scale it back using baffles and absorbers, in other words.  When we play, we need to mic the drums, and we also do outdoor work, so nothing is hard & fast.  I've noticed on our recordings, in the practice space, that at least 2 of the drum mic's are redundant - eliminating a pair of tom mics, or the snare/hi-hat pair from the mix does not seem to make much of an effect - the twin ohead mics seem to pick everything up.

           

          I dunno, maybe I'm just talking myself into the reduced channel count

           

          Thanks for sharing!

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