When I listen to records I hear "2 predominate drum sounds". 1 being the flat, sort of 2-D kind of drums, EQed with a lot of treble as heard on Slints "Spiderland" or Black Sabbath's self-titled album. The second would be the 3-D kind which accents the attack and has more depth as heard on Shellac albums or Unsane's "Occupational Hazard". On a record like Led Zeppelin, we sort of have a happy medium between, thumpy and flat and Zep drum sounds are something people aspire to.

Now, When I record a drum kit, I usually end up with the second kind of drum sound, and I like it that way. I want the drums to possess their "thump" if you will. I usually use a large diaphragm condenser on the kick to also act as a room mic, a decent dynamic on the snare, another decent dynamic to the right of the kit, about a 1/2-foot above the ride cymbol and a small diaphragm condenser on the toms. However, what creates that first drum sound... huge treble boosts on all channels? bass cuts? different mic selection/placement? I havent been able to figure it out. I also understand that too much thump is bad. I don't know if any of you have heard the self-titled "Kalas" album featuring Matt Pike of Sleep/High on Fire, but the kick drum is mixed way too loud and makes me quite annoyed whenever I listen to it, which is unfortunate, because I think its a really great record.

I have this feeling that someday, someone may not be satisfied with my preference in drum sounds and may want the flat kind, instead of the 3-D kind. I'm trying my best not to sound like some guy asking how to "make my guitar sound like Kurt Cobain's", and I know this is vague, but any ideas on how to attain this sound? Maybe you will disagree about my ideas of "drum sounds", maybe you don't hear the 2 I am typing about. Thats fine. However, any input would be appreciated. I also apologize for the legnth of this.

i think that "2-D" sound you're referring to is a more close mic'd drum sound; meaning most of the sound is coming from the mics on the individual drums. i happen to favor this sort of sound myself*, but each method has its pros and cons.

close mic'd drums work very well with dense instrumentation (especially heavily distorted guitars), but can sound a little funny during sparse passages.

roomy, "3-D" drums sound wonderful by themselves or with tight, minimal arrangements (ala Shellac), but can get buried pretty quick if there's a lot going on. also, really fast drumming can sound muddy as the decay of the drums can outlast the spaces between the beats.

nowadays with 'unlimited' tracks and whatnot, i think most people record both close and distant mics and blend the 2 on a per-case basis.

*more great examples of 2-D drums:
-first 3 ZZ Top records
-early Eno records
-Wire 'Pink Flag'
-lots of 70s P-Funk

I'm thinking it might have alot to do with the drumkit itself and the room as much as (or more than) the micing. How the drums are tuned and muffled. If you have a roll of duct tape on the snare, you're not going to hear it twack throughout the room, you're goin to hear it snap on the close mic. Same thing wih removing front head from the kick drum. Using super coated tom heads (heads all have ratings for things like resonance, attack, sustain.)

i think it's all about the room mics. that and dampening. the more dampening put on the drums and the more the mix favors close mics, the more 2d the recording will be. i think of gang of four's entertainment as the ultimate example. so go in the opposite direction.

Love the '3-D", but

154 wrote:roomy, "3-D" drums sound wonderful by themselves or with tight, minimal arrangements (ala Shellac), but can get buried pretty quick if there's a lot going on. also, really fast drumming can sound muddy as the decay of the drums can outlast the spaces between the beats.

correctamundo.

Whenever I record drums, I most often find myself putting the mics very close to the individual drums, but very far away from the cymbals. The closeness really comes through especially since I always try to record drums in the tiniest of spaces. I find that helps.

I recorded this guy's band with his equipment, which was very cheap, borderline crap. It was a punkish band, so there was a lot of fast drumming. I put SM57s on the snare and floor tom, pretty much a millimeter or five from the head. Then I put another SM57 practically inside the kick drum, because he wanted that NOFX-y punk rock kick. I used these Radio Shack omnidirectional mics for the cymbals (of which he had many so I put the sensitivity up really high so it would pick up a fucking pin dropping). We initially started in the main part of the practice space, but everything sounded too bassy. The room just sucked. So we moved into the smalled room around, like a walk-in closet sized room. Did the same mic set up but used only one omni for the cymbals which I let dangle from the light on the ceiling close enough to pick up every little sound. Still the greatest drum sound ever. Something about the closeness made those drums fucking brilliant sounding on the tape. Too bad the band was terrible.

When I recorded, I made them thwacky and 2-D without the aid of much eq'ing or dampening, so it can be done without effects or tricks.

I just put a condom in a top hat, and leave it 2 - 4ft from the kick drum for that "teetbass" feel

stephenchamber wrote:I just put a condom in a top hat, and leave it 2 - 4ft from the kick drum for that "teetbass" feel

Keep up the good work.

Weird. I just read in the new TapeOp that Bonham preferred one microphone for the whole kit. Two was pushing it, and three was a beg job.

Lately, in my crap practice space recordings, I have been relying more and more on a single microphone for everything except the kick. If I had a better microphone, and a real room, I would probably drop the kick as well. However, that is for my personal crap recordings...

rayj wrote:Weird. I just read in the new TapeOp that Bonham preferred one microphone for the whole kit. Two was pushing it, and three was a beg job.

Lately, in my crap practice space recordings, I have been relying more and more on a single microphone for everything except the kick. If I had a better microphone, and a real room, I would probably drop the kick as well. However, that is for my personal crap recordings...

I don't know about ONE microphone Rayj. I've never heard a Zep track with mono drums. I remember Eddy Kramer and Andy Johns both saying that what Bonham didn't want was ANY mic close to his kit. Close being within 6 feet or so (kick drum was the exception of course). Having said all that, I want to know who said the bit about the single mic in TapeOp. Do tell.