How to mic a drum kit with Shure Mics

[Kitus57]

Love the "please steal from the gear room!" haha

[jkjacko]

Cool video, good information.

[HandPeopleHandPeople]

What do microphones for drum sets plug into? amps?

[shazibIsMySon]

ok this is just scary

[lfcanishlfc]

This may sound like a stupid question, but I'm new to drums and need an answer a.s.a.p. please.

When you mic drums do you only get the good through a computer or is there something you can buy to plug it in too an guitar amplifier?

And when I play will hear my drums the way they are or the drum mic effect?

please if you know and are 100% please reply

[nazizombie42]

I knew this guy before he was famous... North Auckland Toyota shirt rings a bell

[AlexjBartlett]

it's too bad he has no videos of him drumming

[AntonC1888]

you're insane but brilliant, this is how all "how to" videos should be done

[aaronalwines]

I know this may sound like a really stupid question but i cant find anywhere on the internet that can answer it most likely cause its so basic. My question is what are drum mics for ? intially i thought they were for live preformances so that you can get your drums to sound louder, but i've seen them used in studios for recording. I get using mics to make the drum louder since mics amplify sound but i dont get how you used mics to record. How is the sound recorded and what is it recorded to ?

[Insanea7x]

in a studio you record it to a computer and edit it on there

[JakeSmaszcz]

drum mics are used in studios to record drums. the mics are all plugged in to a mixer which combines all the mics into 1 file then you can just edit the sound from there.

[explodingpimp]

Just makes it sound better. Not necessarily louder.

[Hysteriaqwerty]

when using them live yes it makes them louder...but when when recording with them you mic each drum and run them into a mixer or preamp interface and into a computer. there you can edit and add eq's to each individual drum or cymbal differently...you can make crappy sounding drums pretty good(if your drums sound crappy...mine don't)

[HeavyDude3000]

great Video, informativ! Thx

[ubetcha13]

this is a great video especially the voice over!

[LudwigDrummr]

can you make it into a....non musical, ahaha

nahh its great thanks

[Primus1881]

hey man great vid, but what if i just want to record music onto my computer. i have a 5 piece set and a few cymbals, i just need to know if theres like a mixing board that has like a connector to a computer so i can have the music i play on the computer.

[teggykid952]

im looking at a peavey pv8, but you might need the next one up since you use a 5 piece. i play a 4

[Skat3xxAndrex]

hey man the overheads mics are for cymbals????

[notjareth]

Overhead mics are used to capture a stereo image of the entire kit.

[airsoftguitardrum900]

and for snare buzz and stuffs too

[julioalex922]

@Skat3xxAndrex condensers are primmary for cymbals..acoustic guitars and some for vocals......(im not saying its just for that...)

[SuperSoulDrummer]

@Skat3xxAndrex .

Overheads are actually the most important mics for recording drums. For live performance, i use just 2 overheads and a bassdrum mic and it sounds awsome! For studiorecording i use also the snare and tom mics. The overheads will get your kit sounding really full and professional in the studio!

There are seperate mics for recording cymbals but working with just the overheads is already very satisfieing!

[daryl142003]

nice vid dude, will we be seeing any vids of u playing this kit through these mics in the future? i'm considering buying these but hearing them would be great first

[notjareth]

If you are planning to purchase any mics it is best to hear them in a real situation, not compressed to death via Youtube.

[awesomedrummer4]

im stuck, can u help me? I hav got my mixing board and my mics but do i plug the mics into the mixing board which that plaugs into the amp?Plz help.

[notjareth]

Plug the mics straight into the mixing desk, then you can run the Stereo L/R to your amp (or first through any compressors, effects, crossovers if you have these.)

[cashmerestaten]

all the micing vids that ive seen u have to edit the sound after you record so it makes the drums sound normal when you play it live but edited when u play it back. is it possible to make it sound really nice while ur playing live? sorry if this is a confusing comment but if u understand could u help me out

[notjareth]

Yes if you are playing it through your headphones or pa, you can use lo pass filter on the hi hat, you can gate each mic and add reverb, you can compress each mic, but EQ is probably your most effective tool for molding the sound to your taste.

[starash06]

i found this video very helpful

[xavcassard16]

Can I use the PG56 for micking a guitar amp ?

[notjareth]

You can, most people would use an SM57 or/& Sennheiser e609, but if it gets the sound you want or you don't have anything else available use it.

[xavcassard16]

Thank you I'm a drummer but i have a live my band in one week and my guitarist don't have any mic for his amp so i can bring a PG56

[runishit]

nice video!

nice dead kennedys shirt!!!!!

[seanmurray90]

diggin the vocals :) 

good video

[ameliorate2695]

if you didnt talk like that in that back i wouldve stopped watching ages ago

[Bubbles4uk]

hah love the singing style voice over

[losingiswinning]

I really enjoyed this

[kanmanop]

does it matter what kind of speakers and mixer you use?

[bbathtub101]

not really

[floopy]

thanks man. i realise how odd my posts sounded :)

I think i shall discuss with my teacher and see if he can go into detail with this confusing area

[floopy]

sorry to post agin but what my real question is, how can i simply make my drums louder in a live situation, like im playing a band now and my bass drum can almost never be heard when we jam, so i dont want to know how to mix it on a computer want to know how to make the kit, as a whole, louder.

i hope you can make sense of that :)

[notjareth]

1.If ur struggling equipment wise & u only need to boost the kick, u could try using a low end(frequency) mic &send it straight into a bass amp or maybe even a guitar amp( I haven't tried this, but if u are desperate), u will probably need a female XLR to male instrument connector lead to do this(assuming you are using a mic of reasonable quality & ur bass amp doesn't have an XLR input), or just play the rest of ur drums very , very quietly. contd.

[floopy]

could someone please help me here.

I have been drumming for a year but dont know anything about micing.

Is there any way i can simply use the mics in a simple cheap way? i have absolutely no idea how to use a "mixing board" and they confuse me a great deal, i just wish to make my drums louder in a live setting and is there any way to do this easily without messing with the extreme confusion and cost and space of a mixing board(or what ever it is you use for this)

[notjareth]

2. To make the rest of the kit louder assuming ur not concerned about hearing a stereo output 1 dynamic mic (as ur desperate, a condenser mic would be more suitable, but this would require phantom power) directly above the kit would capture everything but the kick to some degree.

Good luck.

[tctebsrules]

lol

[DavesDrumCovers]

i know u were trying to be funny and stuff but the vid really helped thanks

[seventeen17van]

excellent video! so unique, i love it.

hey, i was wondering, if i wanted to bet that sound where, when you hit the toms, the sound will go from the left speaker and pan to the right speaker as you drum from left to right...if i have two oh's picking up my toms and cymbals, will the sound play from left to right relative to where the mics are in relation to the drums?

also, what is phantom power?

[seventeen17van]

get*

[DoriusAbacus]

would i need more overhead mics if i have more cymbals?

because ive got hihat, splash and crash on the left. a crash in the middle and a ride, chinese and another crash on my right

[notjareth]

Mic it so you get the sound you are after, it is very common to mic the hihat, it may be best to position your oh's to best capture all of your cymbals, but if you feel it is not getting the sound you want you can add as many mics as you like,

remember the more mics the more bleed and delay issues, but experiment with whatever you have access to.

[hellooben]

what do they cost?

[syth506]

Umm this might sound noobish but i am where does it all plug into like a an amp or something ?

[notjareth]

SEE METALHEADRAPPERS question above, Hope it helps.

[simplyunclassifiable]

@syth506 Buy a mixer. You plug all the cables into a mixer and the mixer creates one sound from all the instruments. The Behringer Xenyx mixers are cheap and get the job done. You'll need one more cable to put it into your output source (computer, amp, speakers).

[SuperSoulDrummer]

@syth506

all the xlr cables are going to a sounddesk where you can equalize all your mics seperatly. That sounddesk could have an amp built in.

[NicoSuave425]

If you have 2 rack toms is it fine to place a mic in between them? Or where should I place them?

[notjareth]

If you don't have access to another mic it can work to place 1 mic between the two toms, the biggest problem with this is when you come to pan your mix you can't spread the sound of the toms at all, also EQ and Compression can be compromised,it is best to ensure both toms have the same release time.

[drummerboy54321]

yh it should b but i it best to get another

[epiphone908]

lmao. good though

[gardenchild4life]

Dude, this has majorly helped me with a Music Technology assignment for college, thank you ^_^

[chazmanian12]

That video didn't really help me but it was quite funny

[Lebreton566]

this video gives me nightmares

[metalheadrapper]

where are the mics connected to?

[notjareth]

In a live situation you will probably be connecting the mics to a multicore or via a splitter box to the multicore(For side stage monitoring desk)and the other end of the multicore into the mixing desk, or if you are in your bedroom just straight in to the back of your mixing desk or 4/8 track recorder(You may only be able to record 2 tracks(mics) at a time with the 4/8 track.)

[eddyafritz]

i only have to save up an other $600-700, I want these mics with a usb mixer then i will be set!!

[BlackHawk2029]

i suggest firewire. usb mixers sum everything into two tracks, left and right. firewire will record each track individually. you may need a firewire card for your pc, but that will only cost you about 25 bucks

[eddyafritz]

how much does a good firewire mixer cost for macbook? ive been looking at a 12 input mixer at G.C. for $80 and use one of my cords to plug into my input on macbook.

[BlackHawk2029]

well as long as your macbook has a firewire port, the alesis firewire mixers will do ya just fine.

[eddyafritz]

ok, thanks for your info;)

[BlackHawk2029]

no problem. always a pleasure to help out someone just getting into it.

[misterviet]

Well, from what I hear, Alesis has a new line of USB 2 mixers that compete just as well with the firewire mixers. I'm not so sure how it is though. I know it uploads all tracks individually.

[vikingita]

This video is fantastic! Bye bye!! ...from a sound engineer far away in Italy.

[feras1006]

Do I have to make a hole in the bass-drum front head to mic it?

And by the way that video is really helpful!

[notjareth]

Not necessarily, its all about capturing the sound that you want, so experiment with hole and no hole, even try removing the front head entirely, and experiment with your microphones positioning, it doesn't matter what it looks like, its all about capturing the sound you want. There are no rules.

[feras1006]

You're awesome! thanks for the tip.