Unleash the Groove: 1 Mic Drum Recording Mastery ( GREAT audio samples )
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ย. 2024
- Using a single microphone for recording drums can simplify the recording process and provide a more cohesive sound. It captures the entire drum kit in one go, preserving the natural balance between different elements like the kick, snare, and cymbals. This approach can also yield a more vintage or "live" sound, reminiscent of classic recordings. Additionally, it requires less equipment and setup, making it accessible for home studios or musicians on a budget.
In this special feature we show how to use 1 SM57 microphone for Recording GREAT Sounding Drums!
Top recording engineer Mike Thorne shows how to get a great drum sound in his recording studio with limited equipment - using just one microphone featuring Wild Things drummer Pete Wheeler.
We chose the Shure SM57 as it's a well proven, affordable microphone and can be picked up used for not much money. The key thing to getting the best drum sound is to work with a great drummer, playing a well sorted drum kit, in a nice room. Then it's just down to putting on headphones and move the mic around until you find the spot that sounds just right. Mic placement makes all the difference. Mike Thorne's placement is a good starting point but don't feel tied down, experiment!
Just because we could, we then added a second SM57 to see if we could improve on the sound of the drum recording setup. Even still, both mics could be bought used for not much more than a $100, if you look hard enough.
Tech notes: The signal path was: SSL AWS 900+ SE console with onboard mic pre's, bit of EQ and an EAR 660 compressor and a Massenburg EQ on Pro Tools to notch a few things so not exactly drum recording on a budget but using a good field recorder we think you'd get drums sounding this good - as long as you're working with a good drummer.
Special thanks to Pete Wheeler for being our test pilot for the day and braving COVID-19 and of course, a huge thank you to Mike Thorne and Rimshot Studios for being the host.
Thanks also to Josh Holland for helping set up the Go-Pro cameras.
If you found this video useful, please subscribe to our channel and take a look at our other videos - please pass on the word and let us know your thoughts and, let us know if you'd like us to feature you too! Oh, please let us know if you've tried these methods to record drums and how you got on!
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Very cool. Would be interested to see how a ride, crash, and floor tom could be incorporated. Would add some complexity.
You know, this is pretty good! If you ask me (nobody ever does) it sounds pretty much as good as many big-dollar studio recordings with equipment that probably cost as much as the house I'm in!
There's a bit of "ping" in the snare drum, but maybe you wanted that :)
Sounds ABSOLUTELY amazing 😮 ! Even with 1 mic only, but 2 is better.
Would love to see this with a full kit with at least 2 toms, ride and 1 or 2 crashes!
Wow. That’s really inspiring. (Really great playing as well. He’s very balanced).
Thanks a lot!
Yeah I think a good studio drummer is key for a one mic setup. They need to be able to mix themselves ;)
Yep, Pete (the drummer) is brilliant! :-)
Great info. I’m setting up a monitor rig for my lad, to use at gigs. They don’t always play mixed up so no mixer to take a feed from, so using 3 mics into a simple headphone amplifier and out to his in ear wireless monitors. This has answered how to mic up the drums to get a decent sound into the system.
Would love to see these drum recordings (or similar recordings) being used in a full mix.
Good point - very much on the plan for some videos, hopefully coming soon (as soon as possible in the current situation) - Thanks for watching and your feedback :-)
The first example was amazing!
Goes to show how important the instrument itself is, the playing and the room. Those are the real important elements, mics and other gear are secondary.
Thanks... Now I want your mixing board... On the upside, I do have enough money to buy a pair of Shure SM57 mics, and this video has just persuaded me to do that. Very good sound and good drumming.
Room has really good acoustics
Yes!
as soon as he started playing I was Like..😳
Oh wow, great to know!
cute live room omg
This is so sick!
Thanks for watching :-)
Mapex drums are sick, really underrated IMO.
Great sound, great playing!
Thanks for listening :-)
I am having a hard time believing this was one mic. It sounds so good
It’s real, I was there. Try this method, it works, so long as you have a good drummer though 🙂
Wow!!! Perfect!!!
I saw that quantizing on the first clip.
This is really cool, thanks for sharing! Could I use a Shure Beta 57a and get similar results? I know they're different but I have the Beta and was wondering if it could do the job, so I don't have to buy another mic. Thanks!
There's one way to find out - give it a try! Put on some headphones and move the mic around until you get it sounding great. No reason that mic can't work. Let us know how you get on 🙂
Sounds great!
First Chelsea, then Everton Fired Frank Lampard, and he his now giving us Recording Tips, never knew he was multi-talented like that...
great playing
Its all about the sound of that room.
That’s crazy!
Very good drumming, nice balance between the kick, snare, and hi hats, but the bass drum sounds very high and thin, rather than a deep boom that most people want.
Problem with a really deep boom is that if the mix has a bass guitar in it that's low in the mix (as mixing assholes so often do!) and you turn up the bass knob on your stereo so you can actually hear it, the loud booming bass drum will overpower the whole mix and you'll end up with a muddy thump that drowns everything else out.
Big deep bass drum boom is fine if the bass guitar is also prominent in the mix, but it doesn't work with "normal" mixes because when you turn up the bass it will mask the rest of the bass line and just sound annoying. There's no happy medium.
That could probably be fixed by boosting certain eq frequencies
These people have God Ears😊
How can drums mixed seperately when their all being played simutaneously? Wont they bleed into each other.
The point is that this is the sound/mix :)
.., will it have a different placement if its a 5-pc drum setup?
Have you done any additional treatment such as EQ or compression?
SSL AWS 900+ SE console with onboard mic pre's, bit of EQ and an EAR 660 compressor and a Massenburg EQ on Pro Tools to notch a few things. :)
Ah ok. Couldn’t believe it’s completely clean. But great job anyway!
Would I be able to record drums with one sm57 mic plugged into a pre-amp with that pre-amp plugged into a computer?
Yes - give it a try 🙂
Where would you put it if you have a couple of toms on top of the bass drum?
Stay tuned for the follow up videos... :-)
Thank you!
If I plug the sm57 directly to my interface and do the same, probably I wont get the same results... Even if I have a good drum set.
Put on some headphones while the drummer is playing and move the mic around and you’ll find a spot that sounds good - then tighten the mic stand and you’re ready to record. It’s really easy - try it 🙂
@@RecordProduction Im gonna do this very soon and give you feedback :)
@@bulletsandpencils just trust your ears, when you find the spot you’ll know it but make sure your headphones keep the direct sound out so you’re hearing the mic. Good luck!🤞
@@bulletsandpencils Have you tried this yet - let us know how you got on 🙂
Do you put gate?
No :-)
@@RecordProduction how you resolve a problem with a pick up sound from other mic?
What problem?
@@RecordProduction your mic in bass pic up sound from snare and cymbals
This is a video about 1 mic to record drums (then adding a 2nd mic) and the whole point it to find the place where placing a mic gives a great balanced drum sound. Key is the drummer being good and also, putting headphones on and moving the mic around while he is playing to fine tune the best possible spot to put the microphone..
Remake without the mask (and Mapex) please?
Why?
Why's that guy wearing a mask lol
That stupid mask. Can’t watch it. Ridicolous
would you like a link to an online english course?
@@Marcos-mz8qf oh no no thanks! I already found a course to tell you to fuck off!
@@TheCunnu12 good one lol
you edited your comment and you still spelled ridiculous wrong. I just found the worlds smarted anti-masker
Why is the drummer wearing a mask, makes no sense.
Your message before you edited was more creative - "Why is the drummer wearing a mask, he should be out in a field with the rest of the sheep."
Ok, so over here in the UK, wearing a mask isn't a political 'thing', it's about trying to reduce the spread of a nasty virus, one that has killed at least 3 producers that we know. Rather than let the virus stop us completely recording features we decided to press on and do some as safely as possible. Now, I hope that makes sense?
Idk why people are opposed to wearing a mask. It's pretty simple, cover your mouth and nose when you're with other people so that way your gooey bits don't get in them and their gooey bits don't get in you. Slows spread of all viruses and is important for Covid because we're only now getting a vaccine and a considerable amount of people have died, even if they had other health issues they don't deserve to die because of this BS. It shouldn't be politicized, that's why we've had it worse in the US for example. It's not being a sheep, it's being reasonable and not selfish.
@@RecordProduction which 3 producers died of Covid ? That is very sad. A loss to the industry.
Excuse my language, but what a completely f*uc*ing BS comment from Bernie Boombeat. Maybe work on a COVID ward for a few days, without a mask and see if it makes any sense to you. Tw*t.
@@RimshotProductions ikr? What a wanker.
sounds brilliant!