Handbook for Sound Engineers

586 Chapter 16

microphones without the overhead microphones even
being on. The amount of cymbal leakage will be deter-
mined mostly by the drummer’s technique and balance,
with the room characteristics also being a factor.

Other Drum Micing Techniques. Close micing every
drum is only one method. Another is to use relatively
distant microphones to pick up an overall drum sound,
Fig. 16-179. This, of course, results in much more room
sound and possible leakage from other instruments. It
also requires that the drummer play all the drums, and
particularly the cymbals, in the proper balance. The
engineer has much less control of the sound. This
approach will not be successful in poor rooms, nor with
drummers who do not correctly balance their various
drums and cymbals. But in a good room, with a good
drummer, the sound can be quite natural and often very
powerful. A common technique is to use two overhead

microphones, placed in such a way as to capture the

natural sound and balance of the drum set. Some experi-

mentation will be required to find the proper place-

ment. Usually a separate bass drum microphone is used

as well, to give the bass drum better definition and more

punch.

16.13.4.3 Piano

Pianos are often recorded in stereo and can add width

and a greater sense of space if done properly. Multiple

microphones spread all over the sounding board may

seem like an ideal way to pick up the full piano sound,

but this procedure can lead to a very artificial and

distant sound when heard in mono.

First, be certain that a stereo piano is really desirable.

In multitrack recording, are there sufficient tracks avail-

able? And is the piano sound required to be so big? A

mono piano can often have more punch and might be a

better choice.

For a mono track, one microphone is usually all that

is needed. For stereo, a pair of adjacent directional

microphones will probably suffice. In micing either a

Figure 16-177. Bass drum micing.

Figure 16-178. Bass drum micing.

Approx.

45"

(^1) / 2 " to 2"
Snare drum
A. Above drum.
Tom-tom
1" to 12"
No bottom head
B. Below drum.
Alternate
position
2" to 3'
Figure 16-179. Distant drum mic’ing.
10 ft or More
Crash or ride cymbal Floortom-tom
Tom-tom Bass drum
Optional BD mic Tom-tom
Crash or ride cymbal Snare
High-hat cymbal
A. Coincident microphones.
Crash or
ride cymbal
Tom-tom
High-hat
cymbal
Floor
tom-tom
Bass
drum
B. Overhead spaced microphones.
5 ft to 8 ft
5 ft to 8 ft