Recording Drums On a Budget
I record drums in our practice studio which is like 12x12x9. pretty crappy sounding room, lots of bass buildup. Here are a couple things that I've learned along the way that have helped us. I hope this helps you to learn to record drums at home.
#1 rule: There is nothing better than good sounding drums well tuned.
#2 rule: Buy good heads; coated ambasdors on the front; clear abasadors on the resonant head usually sound really good and snappy.
kick inside: akg d112 or similar inside the kick drum; 4-6 inches from the front head. move closer for more click, further for more boom.
kick outside: 414, or other LDC mic about 3-6 inches away pointing diagonally towards snare or floor tom to avoid blowing the capsule. MAKE SURE TO ENGAGE PAD.
snare top: sm57 about an inch or 2 away from the snare; sometimes i move it in as close as 2 inches to get more proximity effect.
snare bottom: 57 underneath exactly the same distance as snare top, but with phase flipped.
toms: Sennheiser 421 or 57 about 2-4 inches off the head pointing diagonally thru the drum.
overheads: 414s or whatever LDC you can get about 3' above the snare making sure to capture a good stereo image of the drums.
ROOM MICS: octava mc012's or whatever kind of sdc mic you have 451's, studio projects c4's work well in X-Y or near coincedence. find a good spot in the room about 8-12 feet away. make sure you keep track of your L-R perspective between room and overheads. i never realized how important room mics were. if the room is too "live" put up some packing blankets and keep the room pretty dead, but not TOO dead. it's a fine line. good luck
With only this information, you could be well on your way to recording drums at home well.
looks good, also 4" oc 703
looks good, also 4" oc 703 bass traps will do wonders for your drums.
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