Apologies if this is a dunce question; I am not technically minded - I just thought this forum was appropriate.

Our band have been in the studio today putting down drum tracks. I noticed the engineer used a combination on overheads we haven't used before and I haven't seen in use - this said, I've not got that much experience.

The overhead mics were both hanging over the centre of the kit diagonally, forming an inverted 'V' about a couple of feet above the rack tom/ride cymbal.

Whilst the end result sounds pretty good, I was just wondering is this commonplace? What is the reasoning and logic behind the inverted V?

Probably X/Y, but perhaps Blumlein.

http://www.josephson.com/mic-faq1.html

Oh, wow, cool. I was expecting someone to tell me to get fucked. Thanks very much!

Really? That kinda makes me sad that people might think we're a mean bunch. We're only mean to ignorant people spreading messages of racism, sexism, etc. We all like to answer good questions!

Yeah. Well, not 'told to get fucked', just the silent equivalent - ie. no answer.

It does look like it was the X/Y coincident as I'm fairly certain they were cardiods. I was going to take a photo and post it up.

Also, when recording the drums, the engineer left the door open (it's like a room within a room) and placed a Neumann Somethingorother outside the door to capture a nice roomy/ambient sound. I had my initial misgivings, but it seemed to give everything a nice extra dimension. I find these kind of things fascinating, even though I never take time out to learn about it.

Anyway, thanks again.

get fucked!

kerble wrote:get fucked!

I just did, it was great!
thanks for the advice

If the capsules of the mics were right next to each other it was probably x/y. If the mic bodies cross near where the cable connects to them (forming a capital A shape, where the capsules are 6 or so inches apart from each other) then it was probably ORTF or NOS. I believe the difference between the two has only to do with the angle at which the mics cross.