Five Techniques for Stereo Miking Drums | Shure Blog

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Five Techniques for Stereo MikingDrumsBy Matt McGlynn

A single pair of multipattern condenser microphones can provide at least five distinct overhead drummiking choices with surprisingly different sonic characteristics.

To demonstrate these different sounds, we recorded a drum kit with a pair of KSM44A overheadmicrophones five different ways. The drums, the room, the preamps, cables, and composition remained thesame. The only variable was the position of the microphones (and in one case, the polar pattern).

How different can a single pair of microphones, in the same room with the same drums, really sound? Asyou listen to the tracks below, consider the following:

Width of stereo field

Mono compatibility

Susceptibility to comb filtering / phase coherency problems

Amount of ambient or room sound captured

Ease of setup

XY/Coincident Pair

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The XY or coincident pair approach wins points for its guaranteed mono compatibility. Because the twocapsules are so close together (coincident), sound waves from every drum and cymbal impinge upon thetwo mics diaphragms nearly simultaneously, avoiding any risk of comb-filtering due to partial cancellationof out-of-phase waves when the two OH tracks are heard in mono.

A consequence of coincident positioning is that the resulting stereo field is narrow, even when the two OHtracks are panned hard L/R. This is a good choice for arrangements in which the drums play a supportingrole, or when mono compatibility is critical.

Overhead microphone height is an important consideration in this and every technique. If the mics are veryhigh, the capsules will point straight over the sides of the of the kit, essentially putting the entireinstrument off-axis. This will result in an overly roomy sound.

Lowering the microphones, or using an angle less than 90o can result in a more direct sound, although thekick and snare will always be off-axis.

Regardless of height, I recommend mounting the XY array directly above the snare drum, to ensure thatthe snare is centered in the stereo image.

Mid-Side

The M-S technique, like XY, ensures mono compatibility. And like XY, it produces a relatively narrowstereo spread.

A primary benefit is that the perceived size of the space can be changed at mix time, by varying the amount

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of side channel in the mix. This is often described as adjusting the stereo width, but to my ear the drumkit doesnt get any wider. The high and low toms dont get farther apart. The room gets bigger, but thedrums sound less direct.

The challenge of M-S is that one of the two microphones is not pointed at the drum kit. The figure-of-8 micis positioned so the drums are in the mics null point; the microphone hears only reflected sound. If you arerecording drums in a small or untreated room, chances are this reflected sound is not what you want onyour record.

But if the room does sound good, M-S is a great way to combine a dry, direct sound the Mid mic with asmuch room ambience as suits the rest of the production.

Recorderman

The Recorderman technique is probably the newest and least-known technique here, although it isconceptually similar to the overhead configuration of Glyn Johns more-famous approach.

It requires two Cardioid microphones. One is suspended 32 above the center of the snare drum, pointingstraight down. The other is positioned near the drummers right shoulder, pointing directly at the snaredrum from 32 away.

This technique requires that the kick drum is also equidistant from both microphones. This can be checkedby taping the two ends of a length of string to the center of the snare and kick drums, respectively. Pinchthe string together at the point where it touches the mic above the snare, so that both legs of the string aretaut. Move that point of the string in an arc toward the drummers right shoulder to find the perfect locationof the second microphone at a point where it, too, is 32 from the center of the snare, and equally distantfrom the kick as is the first microphone.

The two tracks are panned L and R, although not necessarily 100%. Extreme panning of Recordermanoverhead tracks can leave a hole in the middle of the stereo field.

Mono compatibility is not guaranteed, except for the kick and snare.

Because the microphones are relatively low, they will hear primarily the drums themselves. Cymbals willbe understated, as will the sound of the room.

This is therefore a great way to combat some of the problems that plague live drum recording in home orproject studios:

Small, untreated rooms that dont sound great

Untrained drummers who bash their cymbals

Even in large, purpose-built studios, the Recorderman technique is a useful way to capture dry overhead

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tracks that can be supplemented with more-distant ambient microphones, should the arrangement call fora roomier sound.

ORTF

With a stereo bar, ORTF becomes very easy to use. Once the two microphones are locked into position with capsules 17cm apart, at 110o the single stand can easily be raised, lowered, or angled to tune the arrayto best suit the size of the kit, the sound of the room, and the desired amount of ambience in the recordedtrack.

Due to the wide spread of the microphones, it is likely that most of the drum kit will be between them, off-axis. This approach, like mid-side, is less likely to succeed in a small or untreated space, because themicrophones will mostly hear reflected sounds. Moving the array closer to the drum kit, whether frombehind or over the top, will result in a drier sound.

The ORTF stereo image is wider than XY, MS, or Recorderman, but not unbelievably so. Perhaps becausethe microphone position simulates human ear position, the resulting stereo field seems very natural andrealistic, and generally collapses to mono without significant problems.

AB/Spaced Pair

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The AB or Spaced Pair approach is among the simplest stereo techniques to understand, but it presents themost problems in practice.

Because the microphones are far apart, AB arrays are susceptible to comb filtering. The risk can bemitigated somewhat by keeping the two microphone capsules equidistant from the center of the snaredrum but even then, the mic placement should be auditioned (in mono) to reveal possible problems withthe kick, toms, or cymbals.

Aside from phase-coherency challenges, AB is a powerful technique, with a large palette of sonic colors. Bylowering the array, or angling the microphones in toward the center of the kit, room sound can beminimized. Conversely, there are numerous ways to use an AB pair to capture a roomier, indirect sound: byraising the microphones, moving them further out toward the sides of the kit, angling them to pointstraight down, or changing from Cardioid to a wider polar pattern.

AB arrays can produce a wide stereo image, simply because drums or cymbals very near one of the twomicrophones will be perceived to come from only that side of the stereo field. This can result in anunrealistically large-sounding drum kit, if the overhead tracks are panned 100% L/R.

Head to head Comparison

Heres how the techniques compare:

Cheat Sheet

To minimize room sound, lower the OH microphones and point them toward the center of the kit.

To maximize room sound, raise the OH microphones, angle them away from the drums, or use widerpolar patterns.

To minimize cymbal sound, try Recorderman.

To ensure mono compatibility, use XY or MS.

For the widest possible stereo spread, use AB.

Avoid phase coherency problems with kick and snare by keeping them centered between the OHmics.

Dry overhead tracks can be optionally supplemented with room mics.

A pair of cardioid mics provides several distinct, viable OH sounds.

Multipattern LDCs provide even more options.

About Matt McGlynn



2009-2014 Shure Incorporated All rights reserved.

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Matt McGlynn is the founder of RecordingHacks.com. The site contains a searchable archive ofspecifications and insider information for over 1000 microphones, both contemporary and vintage, as wellas in-depth reviews, a microphone sale-price finder, and a frequency-graph overlay comparison tool.

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