Miking Drums:

Miking the Kick:

. Recording without front head:

. Place towels inside the kick to the point where its just touching the head and secure with a weight

. If kick rings too much pack towel tighter against the head; If too dead loosen the packing a bit

. Large diaphragm dynamic mic is best for recording the kick

. optimal: AKG D 112

. Place mic halfway inside kick facing towards where the beater hits the head

. Adjust backward for lower frequencies; Move closer for more definition and attack

. Recording with front head port:

. Place mic just inside the hole where the mic faces towards the beater

. Face mic towards the shell when you want less attack

. Recording with full front head

. Place mic 4 to 6 inches away from head; Halfway up the head; Slightly off center

. If you want more low end place mic 6 more inches away from the drum

. If you want more definition place mic closer towards the head around where the beater would be hitting (may pick up some unwanted overtones)

Using Subkick Mic:

Subkick: A microphone traditionally made by Yamaha to capture the sub-low frequencies of a kick drum

. Only picks up low frequencies

. Place a few inches from the lip of the lip of the kick drum head

. Do not move and keep close to kick (moving away will cause leakage)

. When gaining on console should be added to the point it can just be heard in the mix

. Little goes a long way

Miking the Snare Top:

. Not only trying to capture the sound but also trying to get the most isolation out of all the drums 

. Make sure mic on snare top is out of the way and not touching other equipment to avoid vibrations

. Dynamic mic like SM 57 is perfect because it can handle to brightness and the loudness of the snare

. Make sure top snare mic is resting 1-2 inches above the snare and make sure it is pointed towards head

. When dealing with a heavy handed drummer try placing mic 6 inches away from snare and face it towards the shell for a good tone

Miking the Snare Bottom:

. A dynamic mic with a cardioid or hyper-cardioid pattern will do like the SM 57

. Place mic 6 inches below the snare and face it towards the snares

. Cut 50-100Hz in the bottom mic to avoid kick leaking into snare

Miking the HiHat:

. Small diaphragm condenser mic is best for recording hi hat since it favors its higher frequencies and cuts out the lower frequencies of the other drums

. Make sure mic is placed towards the rear of the kit to avoid leakage

. Place the mic where its 6 inches directly over the hi hat and is halfway between the rim and center

. If you want a thicker sound place mic closer towards the center; Place towards the edge if you want it to sound thinner’

. DO NOT place mic sideways since it will pick up big puffs of air 

Miking the Toms:

. To get the best sound from toms make sure that it is tuned well acoustically

. You can put masking tape on drum to avoid ringing (tape deadens the sound)

. You can use a dynamic or condenser mic depending on your preference (condenser provides more attack than the dynamic when recording)

. Place mic 6 inches above the rim of the drum

. Point towards center to get the most attack; Point towards edge to get more ring

Miking the Cymbals (aka Overheads):

. Condenser and ribbon mics are best for miking cymbals (optimal: AKG C 414)

. Activate the high pass and pad if you have the option since it can get loud and muddy when recording

. Place directly above center to avoid wavering sound

. Make sure both overheads have equal loudness and that there is no decay difference between them

. Make sure mic picks up a good balance of sound, room, and reflections

Miking overall kit:

ORTF: Two identical mics are crossed at a 110 degree angle and about 7 inches apart (stereo miking technique)

. Place over the exact center if the drum kit and about a foot over the drummers head

. Adjust the gain to be equal on both mics and pan each one hard left and hard right

. This technique helps you hear more of the room

. Does not work well with low ceilings or if the room doesn’t sound good in general

Room Mics: 

. Used to glue sound of the drum kit and make it really sound like a whole rather than individual parts

. When placing the room mic you want to go for a placement where the mic picks up exactly what you’re hearing in the room

. Place a directional mic 6 feet away in front of the kit at a height equal to the eyes of the drummer

. Point mic down at the snare drum or top of the kick

. If you want more ambience place mic further away from kit (around 10 feet)