# mic'ing and recording your own drum kit



## Kapo_Polenton (Jun 20, 2007)

Hey everybody, 

I am interested in mic'ing my drumkit as to be honest, drumloops are fun and all, but they just don't compare to playing what you want to play.. they lock me into a groove a bit too much where playing myself i can change tempos at will. Has anyone successfully set themselves up at home to record on a budget using a mixer and then going into computer? Ideally would be nice to mix all levels on the computer but i think mixing the signals through the mixer and then sending one or two lines out to the computer is probably more affordeable seeing as older analog mixers can be found for cheaper. It then is really room acoustics and the mic's that you use.. I am interested in seeing if I could do this on a budget. Soo far i have one sm57 and a presonus interface with 2 mic lines in to the computer.


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## Kapo_Polenton (Jun 20, 2007)

If I could get anything remotely close to the old schoo Zep and Deep purple tone with a bit more oomph from a dedicated kick mic', i'd be happy. The stuff in todays studios is eq and compressed to hell, it is the sound we all think drums have until we play an acoustic kit for the first time lol. I thought about electronic kits but honestly, the feel and response is not the same... you just know electronic drums when you hear them.... just not the same. I think i will try two overheads, one kick, one snare and an ambient room mic'. I can add and subtract as I see fit. Dedicated mic's for toms are great too though.. I have had reasonable results with those cheap long and mcquade rent me drum mic kits too so i think it is doable. 

How about mixing? Has anyone pre sent all the levls into a mixer and then piped the output as is to a computer and put some eq and other magic to the entire set?


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## Kapo_Polenton (Jun 20, 2007)

Jroberts, do you have any sound clips using this setup?


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

There was a guy on this forum that was selling a Yamaha Promix-01 for $350.00. That would work extreamly well for what you want to do, especially if you have an SPDIF audio in on your computer.


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## Kapo_Polenton (Jun 20, 2007)

Guys, what about triggers? Crossed my mind that triggers plus a drum brain might allow me to combine that with overheads for the cymbals to get a unique sound because i could mix and match samples and the speed of the hit would also be transferred? Am I out to lunch?


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## Kapo_Polenton (Jun 20, 2007)

nuff said.. a "live" feel I think will be more organic for the sound I am after. I might just rent some mic's to get a feel for it through my computer.


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## Dr.StephanHeimer (May 1, 2006)

*Drum Mic'ing on a budget*

If you wanna go ultra simple just grab yourself another shure 57 and try distance mic'ing your kit using some stereo mic techniques. Just experiment with where they are placed in the room and the distance to your kit and with some work you'll find something that sounds good. A lot of classic Led Zep drum tracks were recorded with mic's (sometimes only one) at a distance.

Here is a link for some stereo mic techniques (with 2 57's you can pull off anything except the MS) 

http://www.prosoundweb.com/studyhall/shure/mics/stereo/table.gif


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