Practical Tips for Mic'ing Drums

I am a drummer by education, (I actually have my degree in drums and percussion) and a technician and worship leader by trade. So the intersection of the two leaves me spending plenty of time tweaking and refining the mic'ing of drums. We have two kits in two different auditoriums and I'm constantly trying new techniques. I end up tuning them about once every 4-6 weeks

I also spent time talking with friend who is a Nashville recording engineer and producer who also is a drummer. Here's a summary of what I've learned from my friend as a worship technician.

We have two auditoriums that both use acoustic kits. I've been experimenting a lot with different techniques and devices. I end up tuning them about once every 4-6 weeks.

So you want your drums to sound as good mic'd as they do when your playing them (or even better?) Here are a few suggestions.

1) Good mixes start with good sounding drums. Start by making them sound as good as possible without mics or EQ, then add them in later. Trying to fix bad sounding drums with EQ is like trying cover over a rotten piece of meat with the right seasonings and spices. You can add as much steak seasoning as you want, but the steak is still gonna taste like rotten meat.

2) You have to start with properly tuned drums. If you don't know how to do this, then you'll be fighting with EQ and dampening the whole time. The result is bad sounding drums that have been robbed of all tone.

• A drum dial is worth it's weight in gold. Drums are really hard to tune. A drum dial is the quickest and easiest way to get even tympanic pressure across the head. Even tympanic pressure is the key to good sounding drums.
• Use a sharpie to mark the drum dial number on your heads. I usually put a small "85" or "90" by the logo on the head. This makes it a lot easier to retune as the heads get stretched.
• The resonant (bottom head) is often the culprit in a drum sounding like its a 2 by 4 piece of wood. It needs to be properly tuned with the top head to achieve maximum resonance. I usually try to get it to the same tympanic pressure number as the top (or 5 lower).
• Work your way around the head tightening opposite tension lugs-- like you are tightening lugs on a tire.

3) Once the head is in tune, use small amounts of gaff or electrical tape near the rim to dampen. DON'T OVER DO IT. I try to go with the least amount as possible. Once again, the bottom head can cause problems here as well.

4) Change heads often. They are just like guitar strings. They get overstretched and fouled up. That equals tone loss. As soon as the head has divets in it-- it needs replaced. I once had a drummer that totaled a brand new snare head in less than 15 minutes because he played so hard.

5) Once the set sounds good, then you can deal with mics. Put your ear next to the drums, and where it sounds good to your ear, put a mic there. Bass drums are particularly hard to mic. We usually put one mic through the air port, pointing at the beater head about 4-6 inches away from the head.

Products I highly recommend-- yeah verily-- would not do without.

• · Evans EMAD bass drum heads. They sound unbelievable. They kick you in the gut. I could not believe the difference in sound. Purchase both a resonant and batter set. It will be the best $100 you can spend. Again, following my above argument, don't over muffle. The EMADs allow you get rid of the pillows and it lets the drum breathe.
• · Evans Genera dry snare drum head. Works great for mic’ing. Very little dampening is needed.
• · Kickport. As soon as I saw these, it just made sense. You never see a subwoofer with a plain hole drilled into the cabinet. So why would you expect your bass drum to be any different? This product controls the airflow through the air port and tunes its response. Just installed these this last week. Great results for $30. Fits right into an EMAD head. http://www.kickport.com/
• · Drumdial. I don't tune without it.
• · Moon gel. Kids love to mess with these. So if your kit is going to be unmonitored with children, maybe you want to use a different project.

Keep experimenting with different heads. Find what fits your style. Just remember, let your drums breathe. They are made to be resonant, not choked off.

Part 2 of this issue is coming up. I'll deal with mic'ing techniques then.