Drum Recording Techniques

Name: Drum Recording Techniques
Rating: 4.4 (40 reviews)

How to Produce Great Sounding Drums

Created byMatt Hayes, Wyatt Oates

Last updated 6/2018

English

What you'll learn

Improve the quality of your drum recordings
Understand sonic variations of microphones
Properly set the controls of a compressor or equalizer
Create a rough mix of drum recordings

Course content

6 sections • 21 lectures • 2h 13m total length

Introduction3:15
Your instructors, Wyatt Oates and Matt Hayes, introduce themselves and then walk you through the layout of this course.
Interview With a Drummer5:21
Get some tips from producer, studio owner, and drummer... Tanner Hendon!
Microphone Details7:34
Take a closer look at the specific microphones used on the drum set in this course. Models, classifications, polar patterns, and more is covered in detail.

Microphone Placement13:30
Positioning the microphones around the drums is one of the most important aspects of recording. It has a huge impact on the quality of the sound. In this video, Matt and Wyatt explain the placement and how it affects the sound of each drum and cymbal.
Pro Tools Setup7:07
Some recommendations on how to organize your recording software (Pro Tools is used in this course), create the drummer's headphone mix, panning and fader levels.
Microphone Shootout: Part 18:01
In part 1, listen to each of the close microphones to hear how each one affects the sound quality of the drums.
Microphone Shootout: Part 25:22
In part 2, take a look at some techniques for positioning the overhead microphones. Then listen to a couple different models of mics to hear how they affect the sound of the drum kit.

The SSL Console Overview6:05
A quick look at the controls on a SSL mixing console. EQ, compression, noise gate, and routing options are described in this video.
Kick Drum7:29
How to apply equalization and compression when recording a kick drum.
Snare Drum6:27
Take a look and a listen to some EQ and compression techniques for recording the snare drum.
Toms8:33
A quick demonstration of using equalization and compression on toms.
Recording3:50
Listen to how it all comes together. Recording drums for a song becomes much easier, and sounds much better, when the preparation is done with attention to details.

Glyn Johns Technique Explained4:19
Music producer/engineer Glyn Johns created a practical drum recording technique that uses only 3 microphones. In this video Wyatt and Matt explain how to set up the microphones for this.
Glyn Johns Technique Recording2:32
Listen to how the Glyn Johns technique sounds. There is no equalization or compression used in this recording so you can hear the raw sound of the 3 microphones.

Mixing Part 1: Editing7:43
Editing the drum tracks can help improve the clarity and remove some of the bleed between microphones.
Mixing Part 2: Kick Drum9:32
One method for processing the kick drum in the mix.
Mixing Part 3: Snare Drum4:35
One approach for shaping the tone of the snare.
Mixing Part 4: Toms4:20
A technique for mixing the toms.
Mixing Part 5: Cymbals and Overheads5:07
How to process the cymbal microphones and overheads for the overall drum mix.
Mixing Part 6: Drum Bus and Reverb10:54
Processing a drum subgroup and adding additional effects are covered in this video.

Requirements

Knowledge of Pro Tools is recommended
Basic understanding of signal flow
Microphones, preamps, and other outboard gear

Description

An acoustic drum set is one of the most complicated instruments to record, and many audio schools do not teach it with much detail. A drum set has many pieces and each drummer arranges their kit differently. It can be an intimidating task to record.

This course aims to simplify this process by breaking down all of the variables that go in to recording a drum kit: from working with your drummer to choosing how many microphones to use, which microphones to choose, where to place them, and how to use effects when recording. A modern approach to recording drums is illustrated, as well as the classic Glyn Johns technique. Plus after the recording is done, editing and mixing is covered too.

Whether you have recorded drums before and were not happy with the results, you know how to record drums but want some new insights, or you have never recorded drums but want to learn, you should gain a lot from this course. Thanks for checking out "Drum Recording Techniques!"

Who this course is for:

Musicians, engineers, producers and artists who want to record great sounding drums

Drum Recording Techniques

What you'll learn

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Course content

Introduction3 lectures • 16min

Setting Up The Studio4 lectures • 34min

Pre-Tape Processing5 lectures • 32min

Glyn Johns Technique2 lectures • 7min

Post-Production6 lectures • 42min

Conclusion1 lecture • 1min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: