Most drummers with home studios are always in search of getting the best sound without have full-blown studio recording equipment handy. It's all about knowing what you have, and how to use it. This article will demonstrate how I achieved my drum sound when recording. This is my sample track:

 

Microphones

It is very hard to get a crisp, clean recorded sound with a low-cost recorder. You'd be surpised how much a decent microphone can change your drum sound into something much more full, and clean. In the sample track listed (https://drummerconnection.com/?q=node/489), the only mics used in that recording were (1) Shure 57-directional for the (Snare), a Samson Q-Kick mic(Bass Drum), and (1) Samson C01 Large Diaphragm Condenser(Toms and Cymbals). All microphones used were cost effective and of high quality. This goes back to making the best out of what you have.

 

Setting/Room

The first main factor in getting a good sound when recording, is the setting/room. In most people's case (or in my case) it was my living room. The room happened to have a very tall ceiling, so the drums had the tendency to resonate better. To attain a large/fat/resonate tone out of your drums, try a larger room. For a tightly focused birch sound, go for a much smaller room with very little ambience. As far as kit placement is concerned, it is a time consuming process, but the result is worth it!

 

Tuning

Probably one of the most disputed issues of drum recording. It all comes down to personal preference. That in itself is another time consuming task. For the sample mentioned earlier, the following drum sizes were used:

-10 rack tom

-14 rack/floor tom

-22 kick drum

-14X5 Pearl Chad Smith snare drum 

I tuned the toms starting with the bottom head and tuned it to the desired pitch, then proceeded to tighten the top head to the same pitch or slightly under the bottom head pitch. This gives the drum a great amount of resonance while having the pitch, not to mention the attack and punch of the 10" and 14" fast tom sizes. Heads used were Remo Coated Ambassadors on the tom tops, and stock bottom heads.

As far the kick drum is concerned, it's all about the kind of bass drum sound you want. The three most versatile kick drum heads for recording in my opinion are the Aquarian SuperKick I, The Evans Emad, and the Remo PowerStroke III. They are all perfect canidates for recording and achieving that big, bad, boomy kick sound, or that tight, funk kick sound.

The snare drum is the most complicated drum to handle in the recording process. You want to make sure you have everything right; the pitch, the volume, snare wire tension, overtones, etc. After all, it is the most unique part of your drum setup. It is also the most heard drum. Tuning the snare is mostly controlled by the top and bottom heads, but the most over-looked component would be the snare wires themselves. They can actually help get that "snare" sound you've been looking for. But back to the heads, to get the right amount snare wire "loudness" you can control that to some degree by tightening and loosening the bottom head, and the rest is changed by the snare wires.

 

Making the Connections / Recording the Audio

This is the more technical end of recording. You must start with a mixer to plug in your microphones. A mixer initially lets you set the volume level, EQ, and on some mixers the effects of each drum/mic you plug in each channel. Fine tuning of your recorded drum sound starts here. It's always good when setting your individual drum's EQ, to start at neutral/flat, then go from there until you get the sound you like. As far as choosing mixers go, I suggest you get one with plenty(or more) inputs/line in's. THIS IS A MUST- if your using any kind of condenser microphone, you need a mixer with "phantom-power". This is the little electrical current sent to power the condenser mic.

 

The Recorder

Laying your sick track comes down to what format to you want to record it on. (cassette, track recorder to CD, or even the more expensive Pro-Tools) For my record I used a 24 track recorder seen at any local Guitar Center. There are many types and sizes of track recorders, all simple and easy to use, once you get to use to it. The most expensive way to really to get a top-dollar recording, is to use Pro-Tools. This program is very expensive and is hard to use for the person that isn't computer savy. In some or most cases, as long as you can line-out from your mixer to any recording device with a line-in, you have a recording to call your own. It's just what you make of it.