User Manual

25
the front head, try mic’ing the drum from behind at a distance
of 100 to 200mm. Just make sure it doesn’t pick up any pedal
squeak. You can also try a large diaphragm capacitor mic such
as the Origin or Spirit set up maybe 300mm in front of the kick
drum.
The overhead mics are very important, and also the most
problematic in small studios. Ideally drums should be recorded
in a high room with the overhead mics 1 to 1.5 metres above
the cymbals and spaced apart by around the same amount.
In smaller studios, ceiling and wall refections can degrade the
sound of the overhead mics making the kit sound boxy so use
your blankets, duvets and foam panels to ‘dry up’ the area
around the overhead mics. A perfectly valid alternative to a
spaced pair is to set up the two overhead mics as a coincident
pair and then adjust their position to give the best overall bal-
ance, the advantage being that the two mics will always be the
same distance from the snare drum regardless of whether they
are placed over the centre of the kit or oset in some way to
ne tune the balance.
In a room with low ceilings, reections from the ceiling can
compromise the sound reaching the overhead mics. One
practical, low cost solution is to x some acoustic foam to the
ceiling above the kit and then move the mics up so that they
are actually touching the foam. This approximates a boundary
mic situation and reduces the magnitude of ceiling reections
reaching the mics by a signicant margin. A true boundary mic
would have its capsule ush with the ceiling, but clearly the
length of the mic body makes this conguration impossible.
However, in combination with the foam to absorb the higher
frequencies, this approach is usually an acceptable compromise.
If using Starlights, try all three voicing settings as the dierences
in drum kits, room acoustics and musical styles mean that there
is no one ‘best’ voicing option.
A useful tip is to place the two overhead mics equal distances
from the snare drum centre so that there will be no phase
errors if the recording is played back in mono. The snare sound
is the most adversely aected by phase errors because of its
high frequency content. If using a pair of Starlights as overheads
you can use the lasers to help nesse your mic placement.
As a rule, overhead placement becomes more critical if not
using separate tom mics as their position will aect the balance
of the toms as well as the cymbals.
When mixing, ensure that the close mics are panned to match
the stereo image captured by the overhead mics.
Piano
Pianos are usually recorded in stereo where you can use a pair
of spaced microphones (omni or cardioid spaced 1 to 1.5 metres
apart) or a coincident pair of cardioid mics set at an angle of
90 to 120 degrees. Capacitor mics are the best choice as they
have the widest frequency range. For upright pianos, remove
the upper casework and position the mics around one metre
above the piano. For grand pianos, put the lid on its prop and