My first paid job. A few questions.

[Colin M. St. Claire]

Hey guys, just wondering what some of you guys would do in this situation. I suspect some to say "try it and find out", but I don't have the time to try every option.

1: For fast, metal drumming (240bpm double kick and blasts) in a small, but well treated room would you recommend Oktava mk012 or AKG C414 for OH? It will be spaced pair. Hat and ride will have mk012 spot mics

2: sm57 or md421 on rack toms? They're tama rockstar maple 10x9 and 12x10. Gonna use 421 on 16x16 floor.

3: Room(s). I could use 2 mxl 2001, 2 AKG C414 (if not used for OH), or one other LDC in next room with door open. Thoughts?

4: he is used to 2 kicks, so I'm just gonna get a few samples of the best sounding one and then tigger, no mics. Any ideas on the best way to reduce kick bleeding into snare, OH, rooms? Felt beaters? Tons of blankets?

He is a pretty good drummer, is replacing and tuning heads before coming in. Decent sounding kit.

Thanks a ton guys!

 

[sbwakfk1]

I would personally use the 414s on the OHs since it sounds like that is the highest quality mic you are working with and it is VERY IMPORTANT to get a great overhead sound. Its gonna be the glue that puts all the drums in the same space. As for toms, i would go with the 57s because the get less bleed that a 421. I would pay attention closely and if you hate the sound of the 57s, change them out for 421s. I would use packing blankets over and in front of the kick to keep it out of the room as much as possible. I guess use the MXLs on rooms and do your best to create a good stereo image with them. I would definitely try many different placements to make sure you balance the "room" sound with a good image of the drums. Just use your ears.

 

[Sloan]

Kick - Fill it up with a bunch of stuff to basically make it dead
Snare - Get both top and bottom if possible
Toms - you just have one md421 available for the rack toms? (sample each tom individually with md421/sm57 if you have to mic two with one mic)
OH - C414
Room - MXL (you might not even use these tracks)



1. DON'T RUSH
2. Record a bit and check each sound
3. Get it sounding awesome on the way in
4. There is no fixing in the mix
5. SAMPLE THE KIT
6. SAMPLE THE KIT

 

[Trevoire520]

1: For fast, metal drumming (240bpm double kick and blasts) in a small, but well treated room would you recommend Oktava mk012 or AKG C414 for OH? It will be spaced pair. Hat and ride will have mk012 spot mics

Either will work fine. Personally I'd use the Oktava's so that you have the 414's for room mic's.

2: sm57 or md421 on rack toms? They're tama rockstar maple 10x9 and 12x10. Gonna use 421 on 16x16 floor.

Again either will work. 57's will be easier to position, 421's I think sound better personally but might have more cymbal bleed (mind you 57's aren't exactly amazing in that department either!)

3: Room(s). I could use 2 mxl 2001, 2 AKG C414 (if not used for OH), or one other LDC in next room with door open. Thoughts?

As I said above I'd go for 414's. Set them to omni and get them as high and wide as possible. If you have a spare mic & input you could throw a mono room mic in there aswell.

4: he is used to 2 kicks, so I'm just gonna get a few samples of the best sounding one and then tigger, no mics. Any ideas on the best way to reduce kick bleeding into snare, OH, rooms? Felt beaters? Tons of blankets?

If you have enough inputs & triggers you might be better off actually using both kicks to make him more comfortable, see how he feels about it and if he's happy to just use one and a double pedal then obviously it makes life easier for you!
If you're just going to trigger anyway then grab a duvet and shove it in the kick drum, should drastically reduce the volume in the room.

He is a pretty good drummer, is replacing and tuning heads before coming in. Decent sounding kit.

Share samples!

 

[Sloan]

^this
i forgot about the octavas!

 

[thefalloftheheretic]

Did we mention sample the kit? Oh yeah.
SAMPLE THE KIT.

 

[FarBeyondMetal]

For fast metal, I would definitely use the Oktava's for overheads. C414's will pick up more low end, and you mentioned that you don't want the kick too loud in the overheads.

As for rooms, C414 stereo pair AND the hall mic. More mixing options

 

[Colin M. St. Claire]

Either will work fine. Personally I'd use the Oktava's so that you have the 414's for room mic's.


Again either will work. 57's will be easier to position, 421's I think sound better personally but might have more cymbal bleed (mind you 57's aren't exactly amazing in that department either!)


As I said above I'd go for 414's. Set them to omni and get them as high and wide as possible. If you have a spare mic & input you could throw a mono room mic in there aswell.


If you have enough inputs & triggers you might be better off actually using both kicks to make him more comfortable, see how he feels about it and if he's happy to just use one and a double pedal then obviously it makes life easier for you!
If you're just going to trigger anyway then grab a duvet and shove it in the kick drum, should drastically reduce the volume in the room.





Share samples!

He will be playing with both kicks triggered, but will just sample one before the actual tracking.

 

[Colin M. St. Claire]

Kick - Fill it up with a bunch of stuff to basically make it dead
Snare - Get both top and bottom if possible
Toms - you just have one md421 available for the rack toms? (sample each tom individually with md421/sm57 if you have to mic two with one mic)
OH - C414
Room - MXL (you might not even use these tracks)



1. DON'T RUSH
2. Record a bit and check each sound
3. Get it sounding awesome on the way in
4. There is no fixing in the mix
5. SAMPLE THE KIT
6. SAMPLE THE KIT

The studio has 4 421s, just 57s are easier to fit up there with all his cymbals.

 

[Sloan]

Speaking of cymbals, keep them FAR AWAY from the shells.

 

[Colin M. St. Claire]

Speaking of cymbals, keep them FAR AWAY from the shells.

I'll do my best, but I don't want to make things awkward for the drummer.

 

[Sloan]

I'll do my best, but I don't want to make things awkward for the drummer.

Last time i tracked drums i didn't try to influence cymbal placement and now i'm paying the price. Luckily I got some clean samples.