Recording - January 2015 - 18

photos, at the time of this session I wasn't
using a wide spaced pair, just the Glyn
Johns and C24 distant coverages.
Other possible 3-mic techniques include
either the stereo mic or wide spaced pair as
described above, plus a third mic somewhere in front of the kick. The possible positions are limitless-use your ears.

you move one of the faders up in the mix!
That can happen if you're increasing the
loudness of a mic that's phase-cancelling
another mic but was too quiet to cause problems before. Remember, the point of the 3
To 1 Rule is that sounds reaching the more
distant mic from a source aren't guaranteed
to be in phase with the ones reaching the
closer mic-they're just quiet enough so the
cancellation isn't problematic.
Once all your mics, preamps and pans
are set, do a final phase check. Monitor
in mono. Then, starting with your most
distant microphones first, add one microphone at a time to your mix, toggling the
polarity on the added channel to make
sure that each additional track makes the
mix louder and more robust. If adjusting
phase in this scenario doesn't appear to
change anything, then default to keeping
the polarity switch off (positive).

Of course positioning is dependent on
many variables, including the room, the
drums, the drummer, and the desired
"roominess" of the recorded signal. Walk to
the floor tom side of the drum kit and listen
for not only the sound of the floor tom, but
also to the general ambience of the kit;
around the line defined by the hat and floor
tom, try to find a distance and elevation that
gives the amount of focus/distance you
want, and place mic B there. For maximum
signal coherency for the snare sound, ceiling height allowing, place mic C above the
snare/hat, at a distance similar to the distance from the snare drum to mic B.
Once you've placed the mics according
to what your ears tell you in the studio, go
to the control room and bring these mics up
in your mix. Ask the drummer to play similarly to how he/she intends to play the first
track to be recorded. Pan mic A center, and
mics B and C left and right respectively, as
far as full left and right or at matched positions closer to center, if that's what your ears
dictate. If the drums sound too close or distant, or any other imbalances make themselves evident in the mix, go back out, or
better yet, ask a third person to go out, and
readjust the mic positions while the drummer
continues to play.

Do it like Glyn
We've examined 1-mic and 2-mic
setups; now let's consider a 3-mic setup.
The most famous 3-mic setup is known as
the "Glyn Johns" setup, because it was
popularized by engineer Glyn Johns (Led
Zeppelin, The Who, Rolling Stones), and
also sometimes referred to as the "triangle" technique.
In this setup one microphone (we'll call
it A) is positioned in front of the drum kit,
one above and to the side of the kit on the
floor tom side (B), and one above the
snare/hi-hat (C). The distance/elevation/
angle of these mics in relation to the drum
kit will vary with room size and with the
focus desired (close versus distant) in the
recorded presentation of the drums.
The most important consideration when
placing all three of these mics is to use
your ears and body. First, while you're in
the tracking room, ask the drummer to
play at a loudness consistent with the first
song you plan to track. Walk around the
room. Stand in front of the drum kit and
feel where the low-frequency power of
the drums-especially the kick drum, but
also the rack tom, snare drum, and floor
tom-convey the most power. While feeling the power, use your ears to check for
a meaningful (to the production) balance
between the various elements of the kit. In
my experience, this is usually at approximately 4 feet above the floor, anywhere
from a few feet out to as much as 8 feet
away from the drums, usually within a
couple of feet of the center line of the kick
drum, usually on the floor tom side.

Drummer Chris Pederson shot the photos
accompanying this article during sessions
held at Fantasy Studios, Studio A. Chris is a
member of the band Monks of Doom, a post
punk indie prog rock ensemble/side project
for members of Camper Van Beethoven and
Counting Crows. Since it's very hard to get
everyone on the same continent at the same
time, progress has been slow-hopefully the
album we've been crafting, The Bronte Pin,
will be released in early 2015, and if you're
interested you'll be able to hear these drums
at that time. Though many of the techniques
I describe in this article are exhibited in these

Condenser and ribbon mics are generally just too sensitive (especially too prone
to feedback) for live stage work, but are
the bread and butter of studio drum miking. Also, whereas live stage drum miking
techniques suggest ultra-close miking, in
the studio this doesn't have to be a foregone conclusion.
Drum kit close miking in the studio
tends to be one of the more contentious
topics of discussion among artists and
engineers. Some think it's a big waste of
time, others use it day in and day out.
Following is my preferred approach to

RECORDING January 2015

Close miking
Beyond the 2- and 3-mic techniques
we've considered thus far, the techniques
most often seen are either close miking or
combinations of close miking and the techniques we've already considered. Close
miking in the studio is related to, but in my
opinion shouldn't be the same as, close
miking for live stage. On a live stage, with
so much chaos caused by high sound pressure levels, multiple live mics for other instruments and vocals in front of the drums,
monitors onstage pointing back at microphones, etc., etc., the live sound engineer
faces different challenges than the studio
engineer, especially the potential for feedback. Therefore, when considering studio
close miking, it's best to erase the picture of
live stage miking tools and technique from
your memory. Think fresh, starting with your
microphone choices!

Recording - January 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - January 2015