 |
|
FEATURE ARTICLE |
MARCH
15, 2001 ISSUE |
|
|
Recording
& Mixing Drums |
BY
BOB DENNIS |
|
|
 |
| Introduction |
| This article is about how I recorded and mixed an album
that I am working on called "GIFTVS," scheduled for release
this Summer.
The sessions were done with an SSL 4000 Series console and a 24 track professional
analog recorder in December 1999 and January 2000 at The Disc Ltd.. Although the reader's situation may be different,
I'm sure you will find information that you can use on your next drum session. |
| Drum Set Up |
| The studio dimensions of Disc Ltd. is a 35 x 20 room with wood
flooring and medium acoustics. Bass traps line the longer walls at the top to reduce
room boom and to even out the bass in the room reverberation. We set up the drums along
one of the longer walls with professional 6-foot sound absorbing baffles behind the
drummer. Having the drums in the main studio gives a mild amount of reverberation to
the sound and using the baffles assures a high degree of presence to the sound.
|
|
|
|
|
Input
#1 - The
Foot Drum |
| Microphone Selection |
| I selected an Electrovoice RE-20 microphone. This is a
large diameter dynamic microphone that has variable D ports. The large diameter
diaphragm assures that the mic picks up all of the low-end generated by the foot.
The variable-D ports assure that you get a smooth, natural sounding low end.
The microphone has smooth frequency response to the highest audio frequencies and
therefore will capture the "snap" of the foot also. |
|
Alternate Microphones |
| I would have preferred a RE-27 microphone which is similar
to the RE-20 but with a lower-weight diaphragm and coil assembly, giving it a truer sound.
Microphones that I would be happy with in a pinch are the Shure Beta 57, the
Senheiser MD-421, the Shure SM-57. I would not have been happy to use an AKG D-112
which a lot of people use but sounds like s**t. I would have been unhappy with any
kind of condenser microphone which would have a "restricted,
cardboard-like" sound -
even the best condenser mics have this characteristic. I could have used a good ribbon
microphone. |
|
| Microphone Placement |
| I like maximum "skin tone" of the foot drum so I
almost always place
the microphone at the outer diameter of the drum. In the middle, you get more
low-end thud but few of the harmonic frequencies that are being generated by the skin.
|
| To get all of the shell sound, I place the microphone
diaphragm even with the back of the shell. This means I get both the shell and the
skin tine. I usually place the microphone at the top of the drums so that any pillow or
blanket used by the drummer does not muffle the microphone pickup. |
|
|
 |
FOOT MIC PLACEMENT DIAGRAM
|
|
|
|
Microphone Equalization
& Sound Check |
| The equalization I used is as follows |
Setting |
Purpose |
+ 9 dB @ 50 Hz, Shelf Response |
Gives the drum good low-end push. The amount should be an amount
that causes a slight increase in level when you put the equalizer in the channel. |
- 6 dB @ 400 Hz, peak response with Q=1.5 |
Reduces the cardboard sound and increases foot drum / bass guitar clarity. |
+ 4 dB @ 4000 Hz, peak response with Q=1.5 |
To add sufficient hard beater sound |
|
| I brought up the level so that the peaks of the foot drum
caused the tape machine's meters to read +3.0. You can overdrive low-frequency
instruments on analog tape and they sound better because of this |
| Generally for analog recording I equalize the drums before
the sound is recorded on tape. If this was a digital recording I would record
without equalization and use thse kinds of EQ settings during the mixdown. |
|
Mixing The Foot Drum |
| The foot drum is the sound in the production that I start
with. After I set the foot drum, I pretty much leave it alone, mixing the levels of
other drum and rhythm parts to be correct with the foot at a fixed level. |
| Since I equalized before recording, I don't do much
equalization during mixdown. I add a slight amount of
plate reverb with a very short reverb time (1/2 of a second)
which helps make the drum sound like it's part of the drum kit
rather than sitting in your lap. [See snare drum description for
reverb parameters. |
|
|
Input
#2, #3 - The
Snare Drum |
| Microphone Placement
Approach |
| I used two microphones to pick up
the snare. One microphone is on top of the snare and one is on the
bottom. Since I am "micing in pairs" of microphones, I want to have
both mics be the same model of microphone. I particularly like the resultant
sound for analog recording. If you mic the top of the snare
only you will usually have to
use EQ to get the snare to sound right. With two microphones, its a matter of blending
levels. |
| Microphone Selection |
| I selected my favorite dynamic
microphone, the Shure Beta-57. This mic has a very true hypercardioid pickup
pattern (that stays the same at all frequencies) which allows you to properly reject the high hat from the microphone's
pickup. The moving mechanism of the microphone (the diaphragm and coil) are 1/2 the
weight of the older SM-57 and therefore the Beta version does a much better job of
capturing the transient. |
| Alternate Microphones |
| I would have preferred a ribbon
microphone like the Beyer 500 series (or even the 260 series), because ribbons would get
a clearer attack. A set of condenser microphones like AKG 414 would have sounded
good but there would be less high hat rejection (the pattern is not as true for all
frequencies on the 414). Other microphones that I would be happy with in a pinch
are the EV RE 15 the Senheiser MD-421. I would not have been happy to use an
SM-57 or SM-58 because of a muffled sound due to the transient not being picked up
properly and because of increased leakage (because these
microphones' pickup patterns vary with frequency). |
|
Microphone Placement |
| I put the microphone at the edge of skin and
angle the back so that the rejection of the microphone points at the high hat. For
the bottom microphone, I make a "mirror image" of the top microphone.
If I were using the MD-421 microphone I would turn
on the bass roll-off. With the 414 microphone
I would both turn on the microphone pad an the bass
roll-off. |
|
|
 |
SNARE
MIC PLACEMENT DIAGRAM
|
|
|
|
|
Microphone Routing,
Equalization & Sound Check |
| I activate the phase-reverse on
the console channel that I am using for the bottom snare microphone. If the two
microphones are mixed together without a phase-reversal, the snare will "thin
out" because of phase cancellation of the lower frequencies generated by the
drum. I like to phase reverse when I cut so that the multitrack mater can just be
mixed. I like to record onto two tracks and blend the two microphones later during
mixdown. I always note on the log sheet for the reel, "Sn Bottom" and put
a phase-reverse sign after the words. |
|
Often I will avoid equalization
during recording but sometimes a slight increase of presence or treble is needed to get
the right amount of snap. I always equalize the top and bottom snare channels at the
same frequency but I usually use peak EQ on the top microphone and shelf EQ on the lower
microphone. This is because the snares on the bottom of the drum generate more
high-frequency energy.
|
Setting |
Purpose |
+ 4.5 dB @ 7000 Hz, Shelf Response |
For bottom snare. To increase "attack" of snare
drum. |
+ 4.5 dB @ 7000 Hz, Peak Response,
with Q=2.0 |
For top snare. To increase "attack" of
snare drum. |
|
| I brought up the level so that
the peaks of the snare drum top mic caused the tape machine's meters to read +0.0;
and brought up the level of the snare drum bottom mic to cause the tape
machine's meters to read -3.0. You can overload an analog tape machine track easily
if the pickup of the microphone is all high-frequency percussive energy - this is why the
bottom microphone signal is recorded at a lower level. |
|
Mixing The Snare Drum |
| The top snare track is used to
establish the general level of the snare in the mix - usually equal to the foot drum level
by ear. I bring up the bottom snare track until there is enough snap. |
|
For the drum mix, I will have
three reverbs activated (see last week's tip). On the top snare I will blend the
shortest reverb with the medium reverb. For the bottom snare, I usually only use the
shorter reverb. I pan both tracks center. The chart
below lists the programs use and suitable substitute programs
I could have used.
|
|
PROGRAM |
FUNCTION |
SETTINGS |
SUBSTITUTE |
SETTINGS |
NOTE |
|
PLATE |
Attack |
| Predelay: 0.0 |
| Rev Time: 0.5 sec |
|
GATED |
| Predelay: 0.0 |
| Rev Time: stock |
|
provide
s attack/snap to the reverb |
|
HALL |
Hall |
| Predelay: 18 ms |
| Rev Time: 1.8 sec |
|
NONE |
|
provides
good-sounding natural ring out |
|
PLATE |
Room |
| Predelay: 10 ms. |
| Rev Time: 1.5 sec |
|
ROOM |
| Predelay: 5 ms. |
| Resizev Time: 1.5 sec |
|
smoothes
transition between programs - makes reverb denser |
|
|
|
Input
#4 - The
High Hat |
|
Microphone Selection |
| I selected a 414 large-diameter condenser
microphone. I activated maximum bass roll-off and put the pad to "-10".
I put the microphone on hyper-cardioid. The biggest factor that caused
me to choose this microphone was the availability of the hypercardioid pattern. |
|
Alternate Microphones |
| I could have used any condenser microphone
that had bass roll-off and a pad. I would not have used any dynamic microphone,
because the high quick transients put out by the high hat would have been muffled by the
best dynamic microphone. I could have used a good ribbon
microphone with a figure-8 pattern (bidirectional), which rejects the snare drum better. |
|
Microphone Placement |
| I put the microphone about 8 inches away from
the high hat and kept the cymbal between the microphone and the snare drum.
Sometimes too much snare can get into the high hat mic and pointing it out away
from the snare helps, as does the hypercardioid pattern. I made sure that the axis
of the microphone was in line with the axis of rotation of the cymbal.
I turn the bass roll-off switch to maximum and turn
on the microphone pad. |
|
|
 |
HIGH
HAT MIC PLACEMENT DIAGRAM
|
|
|
|
Microphone Routing,
Equalization & Sound Check |
| I will often add a slight amount
of extreme highs to accent the "sizzle" of the high hat. |
Setting |
Purpose |
+ 4.5 dB @ 12,000 Hz, Shelf Response |
For increased sizzle of the cymbal |
|
-6.0 dB @ 200 Hz, Shelf Response |
To reduce snare drum pickup as well as reducing
ambience. |
|
| I brought up the level so that
the peaks of the high hat read "-6" on the console's output meter. The
high hat is all high end and will overload analog tape at "0" level. |
|
Mixing The High Hat |
| I mix in the high hat after I bring up the
foot and snare drum. I usually pan the high hat right and slowly bring up the high
hat fader. When the image shifts right, this is a good level. Even with no
high hat track in the mix, you will hear high hat through the leakage into the center-panned
snare mic. When the high hat track gets present enough in the mix you will hear the
high hat shift to the right. |
| For the drum mix, I use the
shortest reverb on the high hat track. |
|
|
Inputs
#5. #6 & #7 - The Toms |
| Microphone Selection |
| I selected the
Shure Beta-57 microphones to pick up the toms. The biggest factor that caused
me to choose this microphone was the true hypercardioid
pattern and how even the rejection is at all frequencies. |
| Alternate Microphones |
| I could have used
the senheiser MD-421, or any high-quality dynamic microphone
with a "true" pickup pattern. I could have used a good ribbon microphone. |
|
Microphone Placement |
| I put the microphone
on the toms much as I place the top microphone of the
snare. I point the rejection of the microphones
towards the nearest cymbal. The microphone is about
a quarter-inch away from the drum skin at the edge
of the skin. |
|
|
 |
TOM
MIC PLACEMENT DIAGRAM
|
Click
On Image To Enlarge
|
|
|
|
|
Microphone Routing,
Equalization & Sound Check |
| I
routed the toms to two tracks using two busses
(4&5). All three inputs were routed to both busses,
and the pan pots associated with the routing matrix, allowed
me to pan the smallest tom (#1) fully-right, tom 2 in the
center and tom 3 (the floor tom) fully-left. The toms
are panned according to the audience perspective but made more
extremely panned then how the drum image would be if heard
live. |
| I will often
EQ the toms much as I do for the foot drum. I boost the
smallest tom at a slight higher bass frequency because,
compared to the other toms, it generates less very low
frequency energy because of its smaller size. |
Setting |
Purpose |
|
|
Gives the drum good low-end push. The amount should be
never be an amount
that causes more than a slight increase (2-3 dB) in level when you put the equalizer in the channel. |
- 6 dB @ 400 Hz, Peak Response with Q=1.5 |
Reduces the cardboard sound and increases
drum/guitar clarity. |
+ 4 dB @ 7000 Hz, Peak Response
with Q=2.0 |
To add a metallic attack to the toms. |
|
| I brought up the level so that
the louder hits for tom 1 & 3 read "0" on
one of the console's output meters. The middle tom
should read "-3" on both the Left and right meters. |
| Mixing The
Toms |
| I mix in the toms after
the
foot snare drum and high hat. I pan the two tom tracks
left & right and slowly bring up the faders. There
will come a point that I notice an increase in room ambience -
at this point I reduce level slightly (2-3 dB). I make
final level adjustments when I hear the tom rolls |
|
For the mix, I use the
a combination of room and hall reverb on the toms.
|
|
|
Inputs
#8 & #9 - The Overhead Cymbals |
| Microphone Selection |
| I selected two
Crown C700 condenser microphones. These microphones are
primarily used for picking up the cymbals and the small
diameter head on this microphone does the most accurate job of
doing this. |
| Alternate Microphones |
| I could have used any condenser microphone.
If I had used a microphone without a bass roll-off feature, I
would attenuate the bass with a filter on the
console. I would not have used any dynamic microphone,
because the high quick transients put out by the crash and ride
cymbals would have been muffled by the
best dynamic microphone. I could have used a good ribbon microphone. |
|
Microphone Placement |
| I put the microphone
pair slightly higher than the highest cymbal and use
a 120 degree angle between the microphones (a
"wide" XY configuration). The more
severe angle and the proximity of the pair to the
cymbals increases the cymbal pickup and reduces the
level of the snare drum |
|
|
|
CYMBALS
MIC PLACEMENT DIAGRAM
|
|
|
|
Microphone Routing,
Equalization & Sound Check |
| I will often add a slight amount
of extreme highs to accent the "sizzle" and presence
of the cymbals. |
Setting |
Purpose |
+ 4.5 dB @ 10,000 Hz, Shelf Response |
For increased sizzle and presence of the cymbal |
-6.0 dB @ 200 Hz, Shelf Response |
To reduce tom & foot drum pickup as well as reducing
ambience. |
|
| I brought up the level so that
the peaks of level reach "0" on the console's output
meters. You will usually get the maximum level when
there is a tom roll and a lower level )around "-6"
on crashes. |
| Mixing The
Overhead Cymbals |
| I mix in the
overheads after the rest of the drums are in the mix. I
listen to the overall drum tone change as I increase the level
- in particular how the snare drum sounds will alter. Besides
giving presence and volume to the cymbals, these tracks will
tend to increase the attack on the snare drum and the
toms. |
|
For the drum mix, I use the
attack reverb and a slight amount of room reverb.
|
|
|
DRUM
MIXING - Reverb Notes |
| What's Reverb like today? |
| An engineer of ours told me a few weeks ago that there was less reverb in
mixes today compared to those of say 10 years ago. One of my recording instructors
had talked about this also. I told Chaz (the engineer) that I thought he was full of
s**t and there was every bit as much reverb being used today. |
| We met with gloves on in the mastering room (with the truest monitor
speakers in the building) and listened. Chaz is occasionally a recording instructor
for RID and has a choice collection of current R&B always with him. I wanted to
see what changes in reverb there actually were in this idiom. |
| After several CD cuts were played, we pretty much agreed with the changes
but had different ways of describing the changes in reverb sound for the 21st
Century. Gone in today's mix of today is the long-tail reverb of last decade, and if
it was present it was in very restricted amounts. There is every bit as much reverb
in the mixes but shorter reverb that often is more of the instrument's sound than of room
effect added later. |
| So What Does One Do Differently? |
| The stock programs in effects units usually have factory presets like the
reverb used a decade ago. There are two time parameters that are usually "out
of whack" for today's mixing. |
PARAMETER |
DESCRIPTION |
| PRE DELAY |
Also known as initial delay, which is the
length of time that the reverb takes to build up after the direct sound occurs. |
| REVERB TIME |
How long, in seconds, that it takes for
the reverb to die away. |
|
| So the first thing to be done to your hall programs
is to cut
the time parameters listed above in half. This means the reverb is established twice
as fast and dies down twice as fast. Room and chamber programs
need
the reverb time parameters reduced by 25% to 50%. These few changes in parameter settings make reverb more like today's reverb sound. |
| In setting up the reverb for mixing the Giftvs
drums, the following changes were done from stock settings: |
|
PROGRAM |
FUNCTION |
SETTINGS |
ORIG
SETTINGS |
|
PLATE |
Attack |
| Predelay: 0.0 |
| Rev Time: 0.5 sec |
|
| Predelay: 0.0 |
| Rev Time:
1.8 sec. |
|
|
HALL |
Hall |
| Predelay: 18 ms |
| Rev Time: 1.8 sec |
|
| Predelay: 24 ms |
| Rev Time: 2.2 sec |
|
|
PLATE |
Room |
| Predelay: 8-10 ms. |
| Rev Time: 1.5 sec |
|
| Predelay: 0 ms. |
| Rev Time: 1.8 sec. |
|
|
|
|
|
Copyright © 2001, by
Robert Dennis, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED |
Published in Recording
Engineer's Quarterly and Alexander magazines with permission |
USE OF THIS ARTICLE SUBJECT TO
USER AGREEMENT
|
|
|
|
|