Miking Your Drum Set

Before You Place Your

Microphones

• Listen to the whole kit & identify strengths & weaknesses

• Locate the best place in your space for the drums’ sound

• Install new drum heads & use new drumsticks

• Tune your drums-properly & with care

• Choose mics wisely, ones that are suited to parts of the kit

Kick & Snare: The Heart

• Place the mic 20-70 degrees against the drum head

• Avoid placing it too close to the head

• Place to reject phase/bleed as needed

• Mic bottom snares about 2 inches away

• Phase invert your bottom mic!

Snare Drum

Kick & Snare: The Heart

• Dampen the inside of the kick to avoid resonating overtones

• Miking Inside: Place mic 2-12 inches from batter head, off-center

a bit

• Dampen batter head as necessary

• Miking Outside: Place mic 6-36 inches from outer head, off-

center

• Use a pop filter as needed & listen for phase issues if using 2

mics

Kick Drum

Tom-Toms: The Notes

• Get all toms in tune with each other (typically 3rd notes)

• Dampen toms as needed, bottoms & tops; listen for bad

resonance

• Top: Place mic 1-6 inches from top head, at 10-90 degrees

• Bottom: Same as Top; or, remove bottom head, place 1-10”

away

• Reverse phase of Bottom mics

Toms

Overheads/Ambients: The

Detail

• Honor the 3:1 rule to maintain phase coherency

• Place mics out of drummer’s stick reach (drummers standing

height)

• Keep mics equidistant from both snare & kick if possible

• Ambient: Listen for reflections at where you place the mics

• Honor the 3:1 rule to maintain phase coherency (Seriously)

Overheads

Remember:

• Honor the 3:1 rule to maintain phase coherency!

• Choose microphones that are right for the job

• Make the kit sound as good as possible before you mic it

• Record in the best treated, desired acoustic environment

• Experiment & have fun!