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Why multimike drums when the simple Glyn Johns four-mic technique gives great results? WITH INTERVIEW VIDEO!
Record Producer Steve Lyon gives a taste of what it is like to work with Glyn Johns's simple drum miking techniques and explains why metal sheets were once brought into the studio.
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First, let's hear what million-selling producer Steve Lyon has to say about Glyn John's techniques... (You may have to wait a short while for the video to load.)
Somewhere in the 1980s it became an audio standard to record a five-drum kit with eight mics - one for each drum, one for the hihat and two overheads, plus an additional bottom snare mic if necessary.
Without doubt this gives the ultimate in controllability, and the individual sounds and levels of each element of the kit can be set at the mixing stage, long after the drummer has gone home.
The Glyn Johns technique, and other simple drum miking techniques, depend on getting pretty much everything right first time.
But they give a sound quality that can be much more natural than multimiking.
You don't have to slavishly stick to the Glyn Johns method, or any other prescribed method. Do what sounds good to you and aim to capture a great sound right there in the session, without planning on 'tweaking' it later.
If you have channels to spare, you can always add the standard eight mics too. Just in case.
The rest of this 60-minute interview with Steve Lyon is available in the Audio Masterclass Music Production and Sound Engineering Online Course, together with drum recordings in audio and video made using a variety of recording techniques.
Publication date Monday May 25, 2009
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Discussion on this article's topic...
Clifford Griffith, Bromley, United Kingdom
When started looking around for my SIAB daw, my main concern was for the amount of inputs available for recording each individual drum as well as laying down a guide vocal with eithet keys or guitar. Now I have also ventured into computer DAW and I face the problem that unless I can get a computer with firewire, I have only USB connections. Apparently USB only allows two in two out so this makes it impossible to to record drums on separate tracks. so I have to make sure that I det the drums right before progressing with a project on my computer DAW. This is not the case however, with my Lorg D3200 which allows twelve individual tracks to be reorded at once with a seven or eight mike drum set up.
Friday June 18, 2010
Craig M. Houck, Binghamton, Ny, USA
I have been using this mic set up (my one mod 2 OH)for a few months now. I had it on a massive 14 drum, 12 cymbal kit and a kick, snare, rack, floor kick. In both cases the stereo spread was well defined at the same time I didn't hear individual 'heads' get lost or overpowered. I didn't hear (or expect) much spread on the two rack mounts as the strike point for either was only around 3 inches off center for each. One could argue that is correct, they are, after a very short distance, both in the middle.
I used all Audix mics. D6 on kick, Pair of F15's, OH, and a pair of F10's, L/R. One over the floor pointing down just a bit aimed at snare the other pointed a bit down at the snare aimed at the floor.
I tried to place the OH as equa-distant to the cymbals broken into a left and right group/set. I had the F15's a bit higher than normal (at least for me)
Short cords close to drums and stands made for a very clean presentation and kept things out of the way of the drummer.
Sadly I am bored and want to try something else.
Maybe Kick, one at the rack pointed left and an over head right above the drummers head pointed left. Hm
I used all Audix mics. D6 on kick, Pair of F15's, OH, and a pair of F10's, L/R. One over the floor pointing down just a bit aimed at snare the other pointed a bit down at the snare aimed at the floor.
I tried to place the OH as equa-distant to the cymbals broken into a left and right group/set. I had the F15's a bit higher than normal (at least for me)
Short cords close to drums and stands made for a very clean presentation and kept things out of the way of the drummer.
Sadly I am bored and want to try something else.
Maybe Kick, one at the rack pointed left and an over head right above the drummers head pointed left. Hm
Monday February 15, 2010
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