Recording Drums – How to Mic Snare Carol
One of the most dominant sounds throughout the modern recording is, naturally, the snare drum. Panned right up the center, and 2nd only to the lead expressive… well, at least most of the time. How to put snares on a drum – Many ways in which we mic our own snare drum can be accountable for shaping not only the carol sound in a mix, however the entire mix itself.
With this tutorial we will look at mike types, some of the most popular microphones for recording snare, distinct approaches towards mic location, the resultant sound via each approach, and how you can apply them to a variety of producing situations.
The Number 1 Concept of Recording- There are absolutely no rules!
Subjectivity
The factors involved within capturing the drum sound include the space you recording in, the actual drum and drum minds being used, microphone selection, documenting gear (pres, interface, DAW, plug-ins), and ultimately, the actual drummer themselves.
Every sound engineer has their own method when recording, and they’ll vow by them. This doesn’t imply that their individual methods would be the only way to capture a musical instrument, it’s just what works best to them… in their room, with their equipment, with their ears, etc.
Discover what works best for you and your eardrums. Who knows, maybe you’ll create the next “big thing” intended for recording drums. As always, the choices are endless.
Snare Carol Mics
Dynamic-
The benefit of employing a dynamic microphone on the trap is its the ability to take care of high SPL (Sound Force Level). If you ever hold your mind next to a snare and still have someone wail on the scalp, you’ll have a better appreciation so it these mics go through (Not recommending that you do this involving course).
These are very robust mics and can quite practically take a beating, but despite their title, their collection is less dynamic than their counterparts. Dynamic mics tend to have a “softer” first-class and a “less weighty” base end, making them better fitted to “warmer”, high volume options.
Small Diaphragm Condensers-
Tiny diaphragm condensers (SDC) microphones, unfortunately, can’t handle the benefit SPL that dynamic mics deal with on a routine schedule, but if you have access to padding or perhaps output attenuation, these mics can render some rather awesome results on the trap.
SDC’s generally capture an exceptionally accurate and neutral appear and have a much “brighter” high class than dynamic mics. If used on the resonant edge of a snare drum, they will provide “sheen” and “sparkle” that you just can’t achieve for some other microphones.
Large Diaphragm Condensers-
Large-diaphragm condensers (LDC) share the improved top-quality detail as with the SDC, but being that they’re greater, this mic’s low-end reliability is uncanny. These mics can literally pick up actions from two stories previously mentioned or below.
As with the particular SDC, padding or result attenuation is necessary when using these kinds of mics to capture snare, nevertheless, the amount of detail you can attain is really astounding. These are most likely the least likely used mics for the snare, but in an increasingly subtle performance (when employing brushes for example) they are often a perfect fit.
Let’s examine some of the more popular microphones utilized in today’s industry for trap drum recording. We’ll collect these by price, in ascending order.
Audix I5-$99. 00
The Audix I 5 is a fairly new microphone stand but has quickly become popular for snare drum saving. It is tailored to be a multi-functional dynamic microphone and has a really pleasing boost in the upper-mid frequency range.
Shure SM57-$99. 99
You can’t have a set of snare microphones without the SM57. It has been the industry standard forever and is one of the most versatile energetic microphones available.
Rode NT5-Single-$219. 00 / Matched Pair-$429. 00
If you’re looking for a lot more “drum” than “head”, a tiny diaphragm condenser like the Rode NT5 could be just what you require. With an SPL rating of 143db, this mic will take a beating and still produce a unique, polished snare carol sound.
AKG C414 XLS-$999. 00
On the high-end in the mic spectrum lies the particular AKG C414 XLS, the industry large-diaphragm condenser distinguished in a drum recording. That mic opens the consistency spectrum wide open and makes for a very “real” interpretation of your snare drum.
These are just some of the many microphones that are intended for recording the snare carol. Depending on the sound you’re deciding on (and your budget) from any of the above examples can provide a superb snare drum sound.
Ever since we have some options, take a look at positioning the microphones.
Mic Placement
There are a great number of ways to mic often the snare drum, none specifically being better than the others. The particular approach you take is determined by the sound you want to achieve, as well as the resources available to you.
Keep in mind, the particular drum set is the most energetic instrument we have to record, and it also requires several microphones for capturing its full sound. These kinds of approaches focus on close micing the snare, but they are certainly not the only mics listening inside. Every single mic used on a new drum take plays a part in the end result.
Very simple, Yet Effective-
The most frequently used method for recording snare in a very home studio is a sole microphone, (usually dynamic) sharp halfway between the rim in addition to the center of the top crown, set approximately at a 30° downward angle just a half-inch or so above the head.
This approach provides a nice balance concerning stick definition and the precise overtones of the battered crown. This is why a 30° direction is used. As the mic’s “ear” crosses over the head, it has the periphery that captures the artilleries body, while its focus (where the mic is pointing) captures the stick explanation at the head.
By manipulating that angle, we can adjust the healthy balance between the two. If the microphone stand is angled more to the rim of the drum, the particular overtones are accentuated (more ping). And, if aimed more towards the center in the head, we get more adhere definition with less physique.
If you find you’d like to hear many drums and less of the brain, you can place the mic even further. Instead of just an inch through the head, aim for three in order to six inches. The additional the mic is through the drum, the less “snap” you will capture, but in come back, more body will be accomplished.
When using just a single shut mic on the snare, enhancing the distance from the head will help define the drum appear as a whole.
So far we’ve got an awesome representation of the top crown and the overall “crack” with the snare. The only issue with this approach is the lack of snare twine captured from just a sole mic.
Let’s see what happens when you add a mic to the resonant side of the snare.
Major & Bottom-
This method will involve two microphones that take both the top and underside heads of the snare carol. This allows us to use the most notable microphone to focus around the “head” and “stick definition”, while the bottom microphone targets the “snare wires” and also “body” of the snare. Inside combination, we can achieve a noise that resembles what all of our ears actually hear if playing a snare carol.
The same practice discussed within the single microphone method is utilized for the positioning of each top and bottom microphone. Each mic is targeted between the rim and middle of their respective heads, at a 30° angle, anywhere between a good inch to six ins away.
The only difference for this approach involves the placing of the bottom microphone. Attempt to mirror the positioning from the top mic with the bottom part mic as best you are able to (the focus, the position, and the distance from the head), this will allow for a more exact phase coherency between the pair.
Again, we can manipulate typically the angle, distance, and concentration of each mic to adjust the requirements each mic captures.
Whenever using this method, it is important to make sure that typically the phasing between the two microphones correlates with one another. If each of our top mics is in a cycle with its source, then the bottom level mic’s phase must be solved in order to accommodate the other. Recall, microphones are like ears, in this case, we have two “ears” pointing to opposite information.
In order for both “ears” to read the snare at the same time, we need to trick one of the ears straight into “hearing in reverse”. In order to reverse the phase of the particular mic, you can use the actual mics preamp phase change button (if available), or perhaps a phase reversal within your M. A. W.
The major advantage of micing the resonant mind along with the batter is that you will have two separate sources that you could blend to taste. If you discover the snare is inadequate “buzz” you can increase the obtain of the lower microphone.
Or even, if your snare is inadequate “pop” and “definition” you are able to increase the gain of the best microphone. Having the ability to adjust typically the gain, eq, and even compression setting of the mics individually improves your flexibility when mixing up the snare drum.
Upcoming, let’s experiment with the style of microphones used on both the top along bottom heads of our net.
Top & Bottom Hybrid-
To broaden our net “sound palette” we can employ any number of microphones and configuration settings to get just what we’re soon after. Dynamic mics, small-diaphragm condensers, and large-diaphragm informers each have their own unique character. By simply playing a bit of mix and match with your microphones, we can highlight individual characters to our liking.
Let us examine the different sounds we are able to achieve with different combinations associated with microphone styles. We’ll stay with common applications, but y experiment.
Dynamic Top and Bottom-
This is the most common setting when recording a heavy-hitting snare drum. It leads to a tight, focused, and dried-out snare drum sound that yields an aggressive strengthen with lots of “pop”.
Dynamic Best & SDC Bottom-
This particular combo can be used to capture a good aggressive sound as well, however provides more “sheen” inside the upper mid frequencies.
In this particular configuration, the SDC will do a great job at bringing out the particular “buzz” of the snare wiring and is well suited for capturing elaborate stick work such as progress, ghost notes, etc. The particular SDC may sound somewhat thin in comparison to a vibrant mic on the resonant crown.
SDC Top & Bottom-
This dual SDC setting is great for capturing a very shiny snare drum sound. But not only will it compliment the “buzz” of the snare wires, but actually will also bring out the “ping” of the drum and add considerably more stick definition (especially to get lighter playing). It may not as the go-to method for a heavy guitar player, but its results may wonder you.
LDC Top along with SDC Bottom-
With an LDC on the batter head, you could really open up the carol. Be mindful of transient peaks in addition to SPL when using this method. You could capture some great results by means of moving the LCD distance from the snare and making an effort more towards the spend of the drum.
This will start being active. extra “beef” to the low-end, while still capturing often the crack of the battered brain.
Keep in mind that LDC microphones will be needing extra attention when placement, as they can create off-axis caractère, and are prone to bleed from the other pieces of the kit. Total, this combo will result in a really “live” sounding snare, that may be big and bright, but actually will most likely require gating, in addition to subtractive eq.
Read Also: How You Can Record Your Music
