Can you mic a drum kit with one mic?
Believe it or not, you can totally get away with recording drums with one microphone! Even though we’re accustomed to close miking each piece of the kit in order to get the biggest, punchiest sound we can, that isn’t always the result.
How Many Mics do you need for a drum set?
Using just two microphones is a perfectly valid approach for tracking drums, especially if you are looking to capture the drums exactly as they sound in the room.
Can you record drums with a vocal mic?
Yes, you could use the mics as a stereo overhead pair, but there will be some sacrifice in the low end. You will not get enough kick drum in the mix. In this situation, I prefer to sacrifice the stereo drum sound and go for a more full-range mono sound.
What is the best way to mic a kick drum?
Place the mic 2 to 3 inches away from the inside head and a couple of inches off center. This is the standard way to mic a kick drum if you have the outside head off or if a hole is cut in it. This placement gives you a sharp attack from the beater hitting the head.
How do you mic a kick drum without holes?
There are a couple of ways you can use a kick drum microphone inside of the drum but in this case, you’re looking at mic’ing the drum without that hole. The most obvious method is to place the microphone just up to the resonance head as close as possible without getting touched by the drum head when it’s played.
How many preamps does it take to record a drum?
8 preamps
It’s preferable to have at least 8 microphones to capture drums in the most detail, which means you’d also need an interface with 8 preamps. An affordable 8 pre interface is the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20.
What mics did Glyn Johns use?
This drum kit was tracked in the foyer of a house using the traditional Glyn Johns method. Mics used were Kel HM-1s for overheads, a Kel HM-2d outside the kick, and a Shure SM-57 over the snare.