I´ll hire a studio to record drums and I´m lost in mikes selection

[acappa]

Hey mates!!! It´s just I will hire a studio to record drums and I´m swimming thru so many possible choices.
The drum set is Pearl Forum with 22" KD, 14" SN, 2x rack toms, 2x floor toms, 3 crashes, 2 chinas, ride, HH and Splash.
The gear available (summing mine and studio) is:
D112, D6, E602, SUBKICK, 4X SM57, 2X I5, 2X EV N/D468, 2X D2, D4, AKG 414 STEREO PAIR, AKG C 451 B STEREO PAIR, 2X RIBBON MIKES (TBONE RB500), SM7

What I´ve planned is:

KD: - D6 IN
- SUBKICK OUT

SNARE: - I5 UP
- SM57 DOWN

TOMS: - D2/D4/57´S ???

CYMBALS: - 414 OH
- C 451 RIDE
- C 451 HH
AMBIENCE: 2X RIBBON MICS

I´m pretty lost with the toms, don´t know if the best choice is to use sm57´s on the rack toms, D4 on the first floor tom, and E602 on the biggest one...

Also, the preamps available are mainly 8 tube channel from TL AUDIO M-1F 8 TUBETRACKER and Audient ASP 008, I´ve planned to connect KICK IN, SNARE UP, CYMBALS and Room Mikes to TLAudio, and toms, Subkick and Bottom Snare into Audient.

Finally only say the band is on the Machine Head wave if it helps, so my questions would be:
- Which combinations of mikes would you choose??
- Which preamps would you use??
- Which drumheads (only upper ones) should I recommend them for their style of music???

Thanks a ton my friends, looking forward to see your answers. Cheers!

 

[Trevoire520]

Sounds like you're on the right track man, only thing I would say is it might be better to go with either:

57's on snare, 57's on racks and I5's on floors

or

I5's on snare and 57's on all toms

Just for the fact that in my experience I prefer to have similar sounding mic's on toms as it means you get a more consistent sound from drum to drum. Going from 57's to a D4 to a 602 is going to mean the eq on each drum will be radically different, whereas if you go with 57's/I5's then the eq for each tom should be at least in the same ballpark as the last.

You could also try the 602 in place of the subkick as the 602 has a pretty massive low end. Both should work fine though just see which you prefer.

As far as drumheads go I love Evans G2's on the toms, Evans Genera Dry or Remo Controlled sound on the snare (Gdry for metal snares, CS for wood)
For kick Powerstroke 3 is cool, make sure to get a falam slam pad for it and use wooden/plastic beaters.

Why do drummers NEVER want to change their resonant heads? Annoys me so much!

 

[Ionei]

Any chance you can get a better kit brah?
Atleast a better snare.

 

[ahjteam]

if you are unsure, just try out different microphones and use the ones that sound best. It will take max 1 hour to test all the combinations.

 

[acappa]

Thanks for the advices!!! I will definitely have to check all available combinations between 57´s, I5´s, D2´s and so...
Do you have any other drumhead suggestion???
Thanks

 

[ahjteam]

to quote Andy Sneap: don't use Ambassadors on toms

 

[barricade]

clear emperors on toms!!! and d2's on tomtoms , d4's on floortoms!! They are great mics!

 

[acappa]

clear emperors on toms!!! and d2's on tomtoms , d4's on floortoms!! They are great mics!

Gotcha barricade, thank you! But I only have one D4 !!!!!

to quote Andy Sneap: don't use Ambassadors on toms

Ok, I´ll stay away from those, thanks!

More options on SN and KD?? Using some Moongel or Resonant rings is a MUST??, or it depends on the way they sound....¿?

 

[Trevoire520]

Snare head wise I also like powerstroke 3's and ambassadors. I've also heard great things about remo ebony pinstripe and evans onyx emad on kick, though I've never used them myself.

Moongels are very helpful in my experience, I normally cut them in half as at the stock size I think they can muffle a bit too much and make the drum sound a bit too dead. Keep them near the edge of the drum. O rings are ok but I prefer moongels tbh.

Get the best sound you can by tuning the drum before resorting to muffling though. And dont get worried about a bit of ring as long as it's in tune and not dissonant.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

The D112 is a great mic on the floor tom FWIW.

 

[acappa]

Thank you for you opinions!!! Is there any info regarding the drumhead Andy uses to recommend! I keep in mind he recommends to stay away from Ambassadors...but may be there´s some info about what he used with Chimaira/Arch Enemy/Exodus....and so on...
PD: I promise I´ve read all the stuff from "Put here your questions to Andy"...

 

[acappa]

Hey! Today I was with the dummer and he remains me of things I´ve misunderstood: He has 3 rack toms (10,12,13") and a floor tom (16") also he told me he can´t afford to buy two sets of drumheads (one for studio, or for rehearsal), so he will buy those he took last time, Remo Pinstripes. Don´t know if they´re not good for studio as I´ve never listened to them...any idea on this???
May be I can "force" him to take some "key" drumheads, the most important, like snare or something...

 

[Trevoire520]

Personally I've never liked pinstripes. Kinda soggy sounding and don't have much attack compared to a G2.

Why can't he just buy some heads that will work well in the studio and then continue to use them for rehearsal afterwards?

 

[acappa]

Personally I've never liked pinstripes. Kinda soggy sounding and don't have much attack compared to a G2.

Why can't he just buy some heads that will work well in the studio and then continue to use them for rehearsal afterwards?

He thinks they´re gonna be less durable than pinstripes, I also forget to mention that the snare is Mapex Blackpanther.
Which is the sound difference between clear and coated drumheads and single/double layer...¿? Which is better for what??

 

[PhilR]

There's nothing wrong with using Pinstripes in the studio and they have been used to record hundreds of records. What matters, as always is have they been tuned correctly?

Even Ambassadors can be used for metal recordings, to say they cannot is fucking stupid. Derek Roddy swears by single-ply heads and all his recordings with Hate Eternal used Ambassador heads.

I'd suggest letting the drummer use the gear he knows and prefers rather than trying to coerce him into using something unfamiliar based purely on the say-so of a bunch of people on the internet. Especially when you obviously don't have enough personal direct experience to make a valid judgment call yourself.

 

[ahjteam]

He thinks they´re gonna be less durable than pinstripes

Well, at the regular rate of max 6 hits per song on the toms, they will most likely last as long as the pinstripes edit: but to be honest, I don't see the logic that you rent a studio to record the drums, if he won't even buy the better sounding drumheads.

 

[PhilR]

A punchy, clear-sounding drumhead will still sound like wooly garbage in the hands of a drummer that can't tune and hits like a pussy. A "spongy", dull-sounding head will sound great unter the control of a drummer that hits with power and consistency. You cannot make assumptions before you really know the quality of the source material you'll be working with. If the drummer has new heads that are well-tuned and bedded in correctly then you have no excuse for not getting a good sound.

 

[acappa]

thanks again for sharing your knowledge with me. As PhilR mentions tuning, is there any standars in tuning using tension watch for each size of drum??
As I have no experience in tuning drumheads...may be I could use some tension number as reference....thanks again

 

[PhilR]

thanks again for sharing your knowledge with me. As PhilR mentions tuning, is there any standars in tuning using tension watch for each size of drum??
As I have no experience in tuning drumheads...may be I could use some tension number as reference....thanks again

The unfortunate irony of gadgets like the tension watch is they work best in the hands of someone that doesn't really need them...

And no, there are no standards. Drums respond differently to different tunings. Ears are the best tool here.

 

[Trevoire520]

If the drummer can't tune then get in a drummer or drum tech who can. Believe me it'll be the best thing you could do for your session.

G2's should be just as durable as Pinstripes, they're both 2 ply 7 mil heads, just G2's don't have the oily coating inbetween the plies.

Clear heads are a bit brighter sounding then coated, they're both good but I prefer clear for toms.

1-ply will have more sustain, livelier tone, and be a bit louder.
2-ply will have shorter sustain and fewer overtones.