Recording dilemma....

[mikgag]

I'll try to keep this brief. First I'll outline what I have, then some options on what I'd need. I know alot of you will think this setup is "ghetto" but it actually produces VERY surprising results.

We record our band practices/songs LIVE, in a very good sounding room(dead). We play heavy/rock/punk/metal/loud.

Right now, we record as follows:

Mackie 1604 mixer -> PC w/Audiophile 2496

2 guitars - both cabs mic'd, sounds amazing.
bass - D.I., sounds amazing
vocals - direct into board,then out the Aux sends into PA, sounds amazing.

drums - The drums are recorded using a PZM "room mic" on one of the walls and actually sounds really friggin' good, however, I'd like just a little more definition/volume from the drums without turning up the PZM and introducing more room sound into the mix. These are the solutions I'm thinking of, and would like opinions on which would work best:

1) spaced pair (Recorderman) (a little worried about room bleed, and setup time)
2) spaced pair, but in front of drums, hopefully reducing bleed, but might be a little "cymbal heavy?)
3) 1 mono omni overhead behind drummers head, pointing down at kit.
4) 1 stereo condenser behind drummers head, pointing down at kit.
5) something else? ORTF? second PZM behind the drummer?

Remember, this isn't for tracking, and isn't for "studio" quality requiring $500 microphones, just a little more "kick" from the drums in addition the PZM. I'm actually thinking that I'll be able to turn the PZM down a little after this. I've posted this on a couple of other forums for more responses, so if you see it again, sorry...

thanks

[csholtmeier]

Close mic the kick and snare.

[chrisp2u]

Originally Posted by mikgag

We record our band practices/songs LIVE, in a very good sounding room(dead). We play heavy/rock/punk/metal/loud.

drums - The drums are recorded using a PZM "room mic" on one of the walls and actually sounds really friggin' good, however, I'd like just a little more definition/volume from the drums without turning up the PZM and introducing more room sound into the mix. These are the solutions I'm thinking of, and would like opinions on which would work best:

1) spaced pair (Recorderman) (a little worried about room bleed, and setup time)
2) spaced pair, but in front of drums, hopefully reducing bleed, but might be a little "cymbal heavy?)
3) 1 mono omni overhead behind drummers head, pointing down at kit.
4) 1 stereo condenser behind drummers head, pointing down at kit.
5) something else? ORTF? second PZM behind the drummer?

First, and you may already know this, a dead room does not necessarily mean a good room... you can still have hyped low freqs, standing waves and other weirdness depending on the size and shape of your room.

I recently tracked some drums in a basement with minimal sound deadening using recorderman (SP C4's for the OH's), a bass drum mic (shure beta52), an Audix i5 under the snare, and an AT4050 about 5 feet out in front of the kit. I was actually surprised at how good it sounded. Was my first try with recorderman. Was pretty easy once you get it.

I've also had decent results in the same situation as you describe... my band practices in a soundproof room which is about 11 x 23. I've tried ebery method you've mentioned with usually decent results. Honestly, the only way to really know is to try them all.

I actually liked spaced pair pointing down just inside the cymbal edges... seemed to get more drums and less cymbal... depends on the kit setup, mic and pickup pattern though. I've actually left it setup as ORTF (just inside the cymbals) for a while now, with only 1 other mic in the bass drum. I prefer stereo drums, so I tend to shy away from the mono overhead stuff unless other stuff is close mic'd which I never really do.
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c

[stitchbass]

We find it essential to close mic at least the kick and the snare and we use 2 overhead condenser mics behind the kit pointing down to the left and right shiny paiste's the drummer has.

the guitarist mics cab, I mic my 4x10s and use di, and the singer tries to stand away from those cymbals and so he doesn't feedback (small roooom!).

We like the results of this setup for recording our jams and ideas live very simple and everything comes out pretty clear with the right eq...