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Putting it on Tape:
Our microphone count is now up to six, so if you are tracking, lay down one mic per tape track, again, without processing.
In your monitor mix, or if you are making a direct-to-stereo recording, carefully pan the two new elements into the stereo
soundstage at positions that match their actual positions in the drum set as seen from the front.
Going for Broke -- Micing the Whole Set:
Occasionally you will come across a job where the producer and drummer want everything to be miced. This is fairly com-
monplace in high-level music reinforcement, where musical details can get lost in large performance venues. In recording,
it doesn’t happen that often, but may be needed for an extended solo passage where drums will be added later.
The normal procedure here is to lay down a so-called “scratch track,” which is played by the drummer and is used for sync
purposes later. It will not appear in the final mix. Then, either on spare tracks or on another tape machine running in sync,
the drummer will play alone in the studio with a suitable monitor mix on phones. The studio will normally be bare, and addi-
tional spot mics will be placed on the cymbals (three mics) and on the toms (three mics). Mic the toms as you did the snare.
The studio will normally be adjusted to be somewhat more live than usual, and additional mics (perhaps four more) will be
used to pick up room sound. These “house” mics can be dynamics or condensers. Finally, another OH stereo pair will be
placed another 2 feet or so above the basic OH pair.
With the drum set we have been using here, this will bring the total mic (and track) count up to 18:
1. Primary OH pair: 2
2. Secondary OH pair: 2
3. Cymbals: 3
4. Toms: 3
5. Hi-hat: 1
6. Snare: 1
7. Kick drum: 2
8. Room mics: 4
Note that there are four stereo pair here: two OH pairs and two house pairs. The definition of a stereo pair is this: if you
pull up only a stereo pair, panning it left and right, you will hear a continuum of sound along the stereo stage from left to
right. These are vital ingredients and cannot be concocted later on from any of the mono tracks you have laid down. They
will come in very handy later on in the mixing process.
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