JohnnySomersett wrote:I've never had the chance to record in a dry enough room to get 100% dry drums!We have use of a dead room and between me and the owner we have some large rockwool panels that could be placed but I'm not into it, my college had very dead rooms and there's only so much you can handle a room where only the LF modes ring. For a start, they're just not pleasant to play in.I know some guys who would just mic the toms for their stereo spread for a super dry thing, or bring the overheads in really close (Glynn Johns maybe or similar), but it's just not my thing.

What rack delays are people using to get out of the Haas Effect region? Anyone used at TC Electronics TC2290. Seems great, but maybe does more than what I need. Thanks

here's a nice long doc about recording drums at EAphpBB [media]no idea if this is the right thread for this & hope it hasn't been posted before

That was great. And backs up my opinion that for the amateur recordist, whatever your problem is, the answer is probably not better preamps.Also mentions panning from the drummer's perspective in case anybody was in doubt that this is the true and correct way.

FM steve suggested that even if the preamps on the desk were total shit he'd still use them, because anything south of the microphone is subtle at best and on a 14-channel drum setup with so many other far more important variables to manage, not worth bothering your head with.I would think doubly so for the amateur who almost certainly has bigger problems going on.

Anthony Flack wrote:That was great. And backs up my opinion that for the amateur recordist, whatever your problem is, the answer is probably not better preamps.Sure, but also the preamps on the Neoteks are way better than the onboard preamps you'd find on most recording interfaces. So sometimes the answer is better preamps.

i watched that video a couple nights ago and the part about always using console preamps for drums has been blowing my mind ever since.

Anthony Flack wrote:FM steve suggested that even if the preamps on the desk were total shit he'd still use themEh, FM steve is not recording anywhere without a maintained 2" multitrack, and even though he said so I'm betting it's been a long time since he's recorded on a Soundcraft. The takeaway from that was session priorities (when you're most likely working on a nice board anyway) and not "preamps don't matter much".I've made 4 records on that console and while most of the drum pres came off there, we usually ran the snare & kick into pres with a bit more low end 'color'. The most recent session we had the rooms going to Ampex 451s ran a touch hot. Overdubs and vocals are almost always something else (Neve, Greg Norman's pre, Ampex).

n.c. wrote:i'm not about to stop using the external pres that i have, but it makes me think i should spend a lot more on mics before i bother getting another preamp, and it changes my thinking about mic'ing the drums. in the future i may go ahead and put up some extra mics and just buss them down.and the whole session flow thing is so relevant. i've always found it a huge asset to be able to get sounds quickly, not just in terms of the clock, but the whole flow and morale.Yeah. We self-recorded an EP in our space a few years ago with 8 channels of borrowed lunchbox pres + a Soundcraft. And it was a pain in the ass (way more time drum checking, one or two emergency trips to Guitar Center, etc). But, I don't think the answer for our scenarios is no outboard pres at all, just better prioritization. Like, maybe the API clone on the floor tom mic wasn't worth the time-suck balance. Drum overheads: perhaps worth it. Guitars: always worth it

Anthony Flack wrote:I would think doubly so for the amateur who almost certainly has bigger problems going on.Well, since amateurs usually use a lot less than 14 microphones to record a whole band, then it would stand to reason that they should have nice preamps, no?My point is that I get what Steve is saying, but also some preamps are shit and he doesn't have one shitty preamp in his arsenal.