A guide to recording studio quality drums with only four microphones

Consider this a brief guide, compiled over the course of some serious, super late night YouTube research – for those of you who have always found the process of drum recording at home to be a head scratcher.

I settled on getting an Audient iD44 – a four channel interface with high-quality preamps from Audient’s larger consoles, dedicated guitar DI inputs, USB-C and expandable ADAT connectivity (for extra channels later on).

Yes, the only issue was that it was just four channels, but after much talk with people in the know, the advice was that I work on being able to get a decent sound with just four mics.

Yes

There’s a bunch of DAW options available, but you do need one. I went with Logic.

The only mics I had were a Rode NT2 large diaphragm condenser, an Audix D6 that I use in my bass drum when playing live and a couple of Shure staples – an SM57 and Beta57 as well as a Sennheiser 935 vocal mic.

I figured I could get something happening with these microphone selections then a great producer friend of mine Mitch Cairns mailed me out a matched pair of MXL 603S mics pencil condensers and I was suddenly in the game.

I decided to use my vintage ‘60s Ludwig Super Classic and to try applying some of the recording techniques I’ve learned over the years.

I thought it would be easier to go with a dampened, deader sounding kit – tape/tissues on the snare. Toms too, applying dampening where needed to get a note but keep it controlled. It’s really an experimenting game here. But where do I place the mics?

Glyn Johns the recording man?

My first attempt at recording the legendary Glyn Johns method, as it is only technically a three-mic affair. It’s a fairly live sound and generally relies on a larger, great sounding room – which I don’t necessarily have.

The first is approximately 1-1.2 metres directly above the snare drum and the other measured equal distance from the snare drum 90 degrees just past the floor tom. The distance from the mics to the snare drum is crucial so that the loudest sound on the kit hits the mics at the same time and this avoids phase issues.

The idea with Glyn Johns is to achieve a simple but balanced ‘image’ of the drumkit in the mix. The snare drum should sound in the centre of the image with the rack and floor toms at even volumes.

I actually found that the floor tom was usually louder than the rack tom, so the second mic often required some moving. I always maintained that equal distance from the snare. Speaking of the snare drum, I decided to cheat here and actually close mic it because I really loved the idea of being able to manipulate the sound individually from the overheads. I experimented with different mics but an SM57 usually got the gong.

Likewise, because I didn’t have two large diaphragm condensers, the matched pair pencil mics were substituted for the overheads and they worked well. I actually tried using the Rode NT2 on the bass drum for a more natural sound but generally anyone I recorded for preferred the scooped vibe of the D6 on the kick.

The thing is, the more I experimented with mic placement, the more I moved that floor tom side mic and really, it ceased being the Glyn Johns technique. I didn’t love my room sound/ ceiling reflection that much and wanted to bring the overheads closer a little for more toms, but then I usually got more hats. Then I stumbled on another technique called Recorder Man. Place the first overhead straight over the snare or even pointing directly between the snare and the rack tom at a distance of two drumsticks high. Place the other overhead the same distance but behind the right shoulder –if you’re right-handed – pointing back at the snare drum.

Now, even though that mic is behind you, the hi-hats can’t bleed through that second overhead as much and because it’s a little higher, the floor tom isn’t automatically louder than the rack. It’s a great compromise overall!

Overall

There are many other techniques including a simple XY configuration, but I did like the idea of being able to independently move those overheads. At one point I even just close mic’d the toms with the pencils and had no overheads! With towels on the drums, that was actually awesome.

In Logic, I’d apply some basic EQ on the mics – usually a gentle high pass filter and then just pulling out nasties here and there. I’d apply some compression and experiment with parallel compression.

Overall, the technique/s above yielded a natural sound overall, a good base to play with and definitely got me in the recording game. I’m hooked!

WORDS BY ADRIAN VIOLI AND PAUL FRENCH