Drum Recording - Room Mics

[rockerdude]

sure.....ok........

[paul999]

In general the problems I have had with room mic's is that when they sound crappy and mono with too much low-mid range are as follows.

BTW Rockerdude when I said this I was not specifically reffering to yours.(not sure if that was clear). When I record room mic's that do not sound good/flattering tho the drums on there own I rarely find them useable in a mix. The only single room mic that I have heard that meets these requirements is a u47 (my wunder C7 boutique mic comes pretty close to this but still no cigar).

Cheers bro.

[paul999]

Question to all who posted clips in this thread. Did you phase align your room mic tracks on these posts?

In my clip I actually got rid of the delay and pulled the room mics wave forms right up to the same position as the O.H's I have found I can use a lot more of the ambiance with out it taking over when I do this.

[brandondrury]

In my clip I actually got rid of the delay and pulled the room mics wave forms right up to the same position as the O.H's I have found I can use a lot more of the ambiance with out it taking over when I do this.

That's one possible trick that everyone should have up their sleeve, but I don't use it very often. I often do the opposite. I often delay the room mic even further. It's just another creative possibility.

When I record room mic's that do not sound good/flattering tho the drums on there own I rarely find them useable in a mix.

If the room isn't adding anything good, there is no point to using it. I agree. I really doubt, however, if a vintage U47 is the single magic secret to room mics however. I'd be more inclined to adjust the room first. I rarely hear or see people using 47s on rooms. I'm sure it happens, but Royers have dominated this role in my limited view of big boy land.

When I toured Blackbird Studios (biggest studio in Nashville) when I clapped my hands in these rooms I said, "Holy shit!". (Note: Even "Holy shit!" sounded awesome!) There was something TRULY magical about the sound of these live rooms. There wasn't a hint of the low mid murk we hear in practicallly all the facilities us home recording guys are stuck recording in. NONE! When you hear the Enya like vocals with the giant reverbs on them, that's what you hear in these rooms....at least it's pretty damn close.

One room had this side room thing (maybe 8'x10' with adjustable ceiling) that was robo robo robo live. It acted as a reverb chamber for the main room. I have no doubt that putting a mic in there or even in the ballpark of that little side room with the door closed a bit would be absolute perfection for snare decay on slow tempo ballads and such. It was breathtaking.....and frustrating knowing that I had to deal infinitely greater challenges.

This experience has led me away from putting too much emphasis on the mic in this particular application since rooms tend to vary by about a billion percent.

Brandon

[paul999]

Thanks for the vicarious tour of blackbird studio's.

My u47/ wunder C7 comment was not very clear. I believe it was/is fairly common practise to use a U47 about 6-10 ft out in front on the kick or higher to capture the meat of the drums and the room at the same time. I never really thought about this being basically a different subject when I typed it. Sorry for the confusion.

[mindundermatter]

When I toured Blackbird Studios

Yeah, I've been there too. That place is amazing. For those that aren't familiar, the White Stripes and The Raconteurs both did their most recent albums there, just to name a few. They have a couple SSL consoles, Neves, and the biggest API ever built. Check it out: Blackbird Studio - A premiere recording studio in Nashville, Tennessee.

[TonyB]

Originally Posted by brandondrury

When I toured Blackbird Studios (biggest studio in Nashville) when I clapped my hands in these rooms I said, "Holy shit!". (Note: Even "Holy shit!" sounded awesome!) There was something TRULY magical about the sound of these live rooms. There wasn't a hint of the low mid murk we hear in practicallly all the facilities us home recording guys are stuck recording in. NONE! When you hear the Enya like vocals with the giant reverbs on them, that's what you hear in these rooms....at least it's pretty damn close.

Brandon

Wow, I'm jealous! What I wouldn't give to have a studio like that! Of course, it would bring out all my faults much quicker! UGH.

[brandondrury]

Is that room fairly dead? I've never recorded in a room that huge. I was expecting a enormous decay, but it's actually not nearly as over the top as I was expecting.

No doubt about it, I dramatically prefer the room sound! That's a cool sound for no use of EQ or compression.

Brandon

[magno]

That sounds awesome. Perfect.
What kind of drums were you playing? the kick drum sounds especially wicked.
Where was the room mic placed?
I'm still waiting for your www to come online so I can check out your studio.
Can you see the curvature of the Earth in there? hahahah

[rockerdude]

Magno,Thanks!My website is being re vamped at the moment so shes down.If you PM me with your e-mail I will send you some pics of the setup.
The drums were a yamaha tour custom kit.It's my studio kit so they are tuned well and always have new heads on em.I use zildjian A customs.
If I remember the room mic was about 15'to 20'feet away from the drums in the big room I used a audix d6 on the kik.This was a raw post with no eq,compression or anything ,just drums.I am working on one of my tunes at the moment so you will get to hear this in action soon....Rob