I've been trying to get a good brushed-snare sound, but mostly the brushes wind up sounding like tape hiss.
Also, if the drummer brushes around the circumference of the snare, the volume goes up and down as it moves to and from the mic. This is less of a problem, I can ask him to make smaller circles.
Any ideas on how to get a really natural sound here? Thanks.
Recording Brushed Snare
2Here's a thought.....
Don't close mic the set.
Use overheads and a kick only.
Use the most sensitive and neutral mics you have in a coincident pair. If the room is good and you have figure-8 patterns available, try that, and play with the relationship between mic height and the direct/ambient balance versus stereo image width.
Try a boundary layer mic 2-3 feet in front of the kick, or set within the drum (if possible) on an isolating material.
BTW, Is this jazz you're recording?
Don't close mic the set.
Use overheads and a kick only.
Use the most sensitive and neutral mics you have in a coincident pair. If the room is good and you have figure-8 patterns available, try that, and play with the relationship between mic height and the direct/ambient balance versus stereo image width.
Try a boundary layer mic 2-3 feet in front of the kick, or set within the drum (if possible) on an isolating material.
BTW, Is this jazz you're recording?
Marsupialized wrote:Right now somewhere nearby there is a fat video game nerd in his apartment fucking a pretty hot girl he met off craigslist. God bless that craig and his list.
Recording Brushed Snare
3Thanks, Gei. No, it's not jazz. I'm not sure what to call it. Mellow.
It's just a snare and a kick, no other drums or cymbals. I mic'ed the snare close with an RCA 44 and far with an Oktava 012.
I want it to be in mono, also. Oh, and the room is not good, pretty dead.
It's just a snare and a kick, no other drums or cymbals. I mic'ed the snare close with an RCA 44 and far with an Oktava 012.
I want it to be in mono, also. Oh, and the room is not good, pretty dead.
Recording Brushed Snare
4Got an omni capsule for that Oktava? Try that as an overhead above the drums pointing down, that may help some of the "coming and going" problems. I like omnis for brush work. No proximity effect either if you choose to close mic the thing. Lotta that hiss has some lower frequency component.
Wire brushes or nylon? Also coated heads or smooth? Both of these factors have a lot to do with the sound. I like wire on a coated head, but yeah, sometimes that can sound like hiss, depending on the performers technique.
If it's just egg beater brushes with no accented hits, try disengaging the snares. No extra snare strand hiss that way, you see...
good luck, brush work can be a real challenge...
Wire brushes or nylon? Also coated heads or smooth? Both of these factors have a lot to do with the sound. I like wire on a coated head, but yeah, sometimes that can sound like hiss, depending on the performers technique.
If it's just egg beater brushes with no accented hits, try disengaging the snares. No extra snare strand hiss that way, you see...
good luck, brush work can be a real challenge...
Recording Brushed Snare
5Swill wrote: I mic'ed the snare close with an RCA 44
the reason you are getting such volume swells with the snare is because the 44 is a fig-8, which means it has a very tight polar pattern, and very extreme nulls. I would recommend "close" micing the snare with an omni.. and dont be afraid to put some distance between the mic and the drum. Getting some distance with an omni will give you a much more natural sound. Try the 44 in front of the kit, about 3 feet away just a touch above the cymbals. I would also recommend micing the kick drum ofr some definition.
mtar
Recording Brushed Snare
6Yeah Mike! Good answer.
I recorded brushed snare all day yesterday. I love me some AT 4050 as a close mic for brushes. I alternated between cardioid and omni, depending on the song. I also had a bunch of ambient mics and I liked all of them to varying degrees, much more than the close-miked sound prominantly featured.
There are SO many variables to getting brushes to sound good, the least of which is the type of mic used. The player's technique (which usually sounds better if they have room to get around the drum, rather than being limited to just playing a small area of the head), the condition of the brushes, the condition of the drum head, the type of drumhead, the tuning and snare tension, the type of drum, and the material of which the brushes are made. Get all of that appropriate to what the drummer really likes (or close to it) and the rest of it should be a breeze.
Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC
I recorded brushed snare all day yesterday. I love me some AT 4050 as a close mic for brushes. I alternated between cardioid and omni, depending on the song. I also had a bunch of ambient mics and I liked all of them to varying degrees, much more than the close-miked sound prominantly featured.
There are SO many variables to getting brushes to sound good, the least of which is the type of mic used. The player's technique (which usually sounds better if they have room to get around the drum, rather than being limited to just playing a small area of the head), the condition of the brushes, the condition of the drum head, the type of drumhead, the tuning and snare tension, the type of drum, and the material of which the brushes are made. Get all of that appropriate to what the drummer really likes (or close to it) and the rest of it should be a breeze.
Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC