Recording a Dejembre?

[TA112]

I do a lot of acoustic recordings and I have 2 Dejembre's. 1 is a Remo that is big and gives a good bass and snare sound. The other is smaller and just gives high snare sounds. I'm thinking I am going to have to double mic the big one: 1 on bottom and one on top. But, is there a better way? And also I'm doing a live gig next weekend with my drummer playing it. What would be the best way to mic it in that scenario? Thanks ahead of time.

[boo]

I believe you mean a djembe. I have miced them with two mics, one off the top and one toward the bottom. I've also gotten good results just off the top. You'll need a mic that can handle high spl's. I've used an sm57 successfully.

[paul999]

I like a condenser on top like an sm-81 and a yamaha sub kick at the bottom or D112.

Live 57 on top should do it.

[Audio~Geek]

When it comes to miking anything, I have a simple rule I follow.
Where does the sound come from? Put a mic there.

Have your drummer play, walk around him and figure out where it sounds best.
With djembe theres 3 general areas where different tones come from.

Directly above the skin
The rim of the skin
Bottom

for the top you can put it a dynamic mic straight on, or pointing along the top skin if you want more articulation for the hands and more of the overtones.

Consider a mic further back in the room for space/natural reverb etc.

Add another dynamic just inside the hole on the bottom for more 'body' if you need it.

Always consider what the role of the instrument is, is it a solo instrument, something in the background for rhythm or texture?

A Djembe can take up a lot of bandwidth and if you don't really need a huge Djembe sound for the song, mic it accordingly.

[venuestudio]

One mic on the top should work fine in a live setting. I would use a 421 if you have it, otherwise a SM57 or D2 is fine. If you plan on putting it through the monitors don't put a mic on the bottom. You will get feedback most likely. You will get plenty of low end off the top. Put the mic 4-6" away from the top pointed at the center of the drum head. You will get the sound of the drum as well as the slap of the players hand.

[brandondrury]

Beta 91 on the bottom and whatever I'm in the mood for on top. (Maybe a 57, maybe an AT4050....I like it on percussion for some reason although I don't record much percussion).

Brandon