How to Mic a Drum Set

I'm going to explain some techniques used to mic a drum set for live performance. I am not, however, going to get into the details on how to mic the kick drum in this article.I devoted an entire page to the kick drum by itself because of its great importance and role in the music. Once you have the kick right, move on to the rest of the drum set.

Lets start with The Snare and Toms:

If you own a drum mic kit then you should have clamps and mics for each of your toms and the snare. However, some drummers have bigger drum sets then others. Some have four toms, two floors, a couple snares, and maybe even 2 kicks. Obviously your standard drum mic kit wont have all the mics needed for such a big set or you may not have a kit at all.If you don't have one, try using a Shure SM57 mic for the toms and snare. It is a moving coil mic and a lot of guys I know like to use it.

Place your mic 2 inches above the rim of the drum head at a 45 degree angle towards the center of the head. Hit the drum and see what it sounds like. If your getting a "thud" then your mic is too close. You may want a brighter "pop". Moving the mic slightly farther away should give you that brighter sound your looking for.

Be careful though. The drum set is a loud instrument and you want each mic to only pick up the sound of the drum it is miking.If your mics are too far from the drum it will pick up the sound of the other drums of the set, like the kick or the cymbals.

Be sure to place the microphones out of the drummers striking path. When your into the groove, the last thing you worried about is hitting the mic with your drumstick.

Hi-Hat Cymbals

For the hi-hat you might try a condenser mic with a low trim frequency so that you get the bright highs your looking for. The Shure SM81 is a good mic for this. Place the mic about 4-6 inches above the outside rim of the hi-hat and face it down. Condenser mics have a power boost on them and can be very sensitive. Make sure your not picking up too much of the snare or toms through this mic.

Overhead Cymbals

You will need 2 boom mic stands and 2 condenser mics for the overhead cymbals. One for the right side and one for the left. Place the mics around 2 feet above the cymbals and pointing down. If you have more then one cymbal per mic,then you should place the mic in the middle of the cymbals. A good mic to use is the Shure KSM32. I have also seen the AKG C1000 used for this.

These are the basics for setting up your drum in a live performance. Play around with it all and find what works for you.