Drums…where do I start. Drums are my favourite instrument to record. Every kit, and every player are different, and present their own unique challenges. It is exciting, and a little bit scary! Here are some helpful tips that I have picked up that will step up your drum sound, and make recording them a little bit easier.
First of all, having new drum heads and skins on a kit will ensure that you get as much clarity and volume from the drums as possible. Just like guitar strings, the new heads will need to be played in, preferably a few days before the session. The type of drum skins being used will also alter the sound. Coated skins are great for a warmer tone, where as uncoated two-ply heads will give you a punchier, brighter tone, and single-ply will give an even brighter sound with less decay.
After the heads have been chosen, it is time to tune the drums. Make tuning adjustments by turning pairs of opposite lugs. This prevents the head from being moved off centre when tightening. When tuning toms, if you tune the bottom, (resonator), head lower than the top head, it will have a slight drop in pitch with a healthy amount of decay. This is generally used for rock drums. If you tune the resonator head higher than the top, it will have minimal decay, and if you match the pitch of the top and bottom heads, it will give you a very true tone with loads of decay. (Mainly used for jazz).
Next comes the kick drum. For most styles of music, the front head of the kick provides a nice full, warm thick kick sound. However, for heavy rock/punk/metal, you may want to take the front head completely off, to be able to get the microphone right inside to get the click and thud needed to deliver that “Spartan kick to the chest” sound! With either option, it is helpful to put a blanket or similar over the kick drum/kick microphones. This will help to isolate the sound and keep out unwanted cymbal bleed allowing you to bring out more of the top end click of the kick.
When miking up cymbals, it is important to know how the sound resonates from them. If you were to put a mic parallel to the cymbal, you would get an extremely harsh, unpleasant sound. If you point the mic directly down at the cymbal, you will get a much smoother even sound. I prefer to get the mics positioned somewhere in the middle. A 45 degree angle will give a nice cutting sound that delivers a lot of impact, preferred for heavy rock.
When you are recording drums with a click track, learn the song so that you can dip the click down in the drummers headphones during the gaps. This will eliminate any click bleed in the drum/overhead mics. There is nothing worse than spending countless hours trying to edit out click bleed in a drum track. It is also helpful to low-pass the click in the drummers headphones.
After you have set up, and miked the kit, always take a mic that you have left over, and experiment. Toss a “wildcard” mic in a hallway, a corner, under the drummers stool, ANYWHERE! You never know what amazing sound it could pick up and add to your drum sound.
Finally, bring everything that the drummer will forget. The drummer WILL forget. This includes a drum key, Moon Gel, extra blankets for the kick, gaffer tape, and some oil for squeaky hardware. You will be a lifesaver!
