i've got A LOT of snare in my overheads (help)

[cobrahead1030]

i'm getting ready to begin tracking drums again with my band, we're currently setting up the drums to record and so far it's all going pretty well. i took some advice from another thread, to use the snare as my centerpoint for the overheads; and altho it sounds quite nice, i'm getting a TON of snare in my overheads...

to the point that i can't get the cymbals decently audible with the rest of the kit unless i hard limit them (raising the level about 3.5db past normalized) which leaves the cymbals unaffected and they sound pretty nice, but it kills the snare sound overhead

so my question is this...should i move the overheads forward maybe? the way my drummer sets up, the kit isn't symmetrical @ all, most of the overheads are off to the right side so it makes it difficult to pick them all up clearly if i do this...currently we're set up as pictured below (the overheads are actually spread out a bit more than that on each side, please forgive my poor illustration)

any help would be much appreciated

 

[batlas]

I Believe there was the exact same thread title a while back.

Search Function:
Getting rid of LOT'S of unwanted noise in the snare top mic!
ahhh similar. Very usefull for you.
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235818
and this one...
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=242874&highlight=cymbal+snare+bleed

 

[STINNETT]

You can keep the snare in the center of the image and still get a more symmetrical image of the cymbals too....something like this.

I'va also taken to angling my overheads out away from the snare these days just a little so there is less of it in the overheads.

 

[Suicide_As_Alibi]

I'm far from an expert, but the only ways I know of to get rid of unwanted noise in drums mics are distance and angle - get the mics as far from the snare as you can, and try and angle them away from it as much as you can. It might be worth getting your drummer to raise his cymbals a few inches to get them closer to the mics and further away from the snare.

Using the layout Metalhead showed ^up there^ should help too, because your mics will be right over the cymbals rather sitting right off at the edge of the kit (which is what your diagram suggests).

Steve

 

[STINNETT]

I was thinking about this some more, and after looking at the picture I posted, I realize that I would more than likely have the mics inside of the cymbals, rather than outside like that picture sort of suggests. I might start somewhere like this, with the mics pointing slightly outward, like the arrows suggest....but just a little.

 

[cobrahead1030]

I Believe there was the exact same thread title a while back.

Search Function:
Getting rid of LOT'S of unwanted noise in the snare top mic!
ahhh similar. Very usefull for you.
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=235818
and this one...
http://www.ultimatemetal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=242874&highlight=cymbal+snare+bleed

thanks, but i don't think that exactly covers the problem i'm having...from what i can tell those threads are people who have other stuff bleeding into their snare mic, which i've managed to avoid pretty well; the snare mic is sounding pretty goods

i'm getting too much snare in the overhead mics

 

[cobrahead1030]

metalhead28, i think i'll try something like that...probably out a bit like the first one, because i think the china would kill the ride cymbal if the mic were right over it

getting a good full ride sound is gonna be the hardest part, the rest of his cymbals record great and are really easy to capture...i've tried telling him to raise the cymbals, but he won't (drummers!!!)

 

[batlas]

hah right. I just read the title. sorry
maybe those will be usefull later...

 

[Ronnie_Rocker]

use A/B insted of X/Y.

 

[STINNETT]

getting a good full ride sound is gonna be the hardest part, the rest of his cymbals record great and are really easy to capture...i've tried telling him to raise the cymbals, but he won't (drummers!!!)

Sticking another mic on the ride is pretty common too. Maybe even from underneath. Might be worth a try.

 

[STINNETT]

use A/B insted of X/Y.

He certainly doesn't appear to be using an X/Y configuration.....he just labeled the mics X and Y......

 

[cobrahead1030]

Sticking another mic on the ride is pretty common too. Maybe even from underneath. Might be worth a try.

i wish we could, but we're currently occupying all 8 channels on our firepod with the mics we have now

and i'm not sure why i labeled them X and Y either

 

[STINNETT]

i wish we could, but we're currently occupying all 8 channels on our firepod with the mics we have now

and i'm not sure why i labeled them X and Y either

I feel your pain, I was stuck with only 8 channels of input for a long time too!

 

[chadsxe]

use A/B insted of X/Y.

Or use...
down down, up, up, left, right, left, right..hahaha I humor myself to much:Smug:

 

[Glenn Fricker]

You can never have too much snare in the overheads. Well, that's my opinion anyway.

 

[everybody's x]

You can never have too much snare in the overheads. Well, that's my opinion anyway.

X2

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

That's the old "Andy vs Colin" approach then

 

[kaomao]

if you want maximum separation go for the Andy approach or else go for colin/bob rock/andy wallace approach

 

[cobrahead1030]

if you want maximum separation go for the Andy approach or else go for colin/bob rock/andy wallace approach

could you elaborate on that, or point me to a place where i could get more info?

 

[cobrahead1030]

You can never have too much snare in the overheads. Well, that's my opinion anyway.

i'll send you a short mp3 of each track probably tomorrow night, and you can decide