DIY Recording Tips: How to Record Drums

As with recording any live instrument, it can be a struggle to get the right sound if not done the right way. That's why when recording drums you should always go thru the proper steps to ensure that you get the crisp clear sound you're looking for. Drums and Piano's are the two hardest instruments to record the right way due to the amount of time and attention that goes into it. Below I will list step by step on how to record drums "the right way"

Materials: Drums

Instrument Microphones

Recording Equipment

Step 1: Start off by being in a warm room. When in most professional studios you might notice walls smothered in wood boards or wood paneling, this is the drum room. Having the wood on the walls will create a natural reverb effect. Also make sure that the room you're recording drums in is blocked off from the rest of the studio. Not blocking the room can cause other instruments in the studio to leak thru your drum recording.

Step 2: Next you're going to need to Mic up all the drums. Just as a standard rule, have at least 4 mic's but no more than 7. For the advance recording, make sure every drum and cymbal is miked separately. The most important drums to mic are the snare and bass drum because this is where all your "feeling" is. Also attach a separate mic to a boom stand and hover it over the whole drum setup. Remember that the bass drum mic should be inside the drum and not next to it or on the side of it. Continue placing mic's 2 or 3 inches above the drum heads. (Note: Placing mics behind drums will give you a "boomy" recording.)

Step 3: Set up your recording software if using computer and know that you plan to record on different tracks. Each drum mic should go on a separate track to make mixing more easily in the long run. If you're using an 8 track this may not be an option, but you can be resourceful by using 8 or 12 channel mixers and hook it into your 8 track.

Step 4: Work and practice on getting the proper sound in the mic from your drums. You don't want to have to correct the mix later so try to get your sounds just perfect. If the sound doesn't come out crystal clear or sounds distorted, try putting the mics closer or farther away. Another method would be to simple move your drum setup to a different part of the room.

Step 5: One of the last steps after recording the drums is to set effects. In this case we're going to set the Gate effect. The "Gate" feature helps with elimination of distortion and unwanted ambient noise. Tweaking it just the right way will stop bleeding between mics and cuts the sound of an instrument after it's been played.

Step 6: The final effect would be to add reverb. Choose a point in your mix to where you want the reverb to be. It's really up to you if you want a wet or dry mix so try experimenting with both.