Recording methods for rock drummers have changed drastically since the days of simply setting up the drumkit in the studio drum booth and plugging in microphones. Some drumkits don’t even fit in a drum booth—mine, for instance. Drummers today go from enclosing the set entirely with sheets of plywood and using numerous microphones, to simply setting up the drumkit in a room and using only two mic’s to record with. The latter method has been used successfully on many recordings, and offers a very quick and simple mic’ setup for the engineer. However, there are drawbacks, such as not having any control over individual drums, and finding the correct positions for the mic’s. I use the plywood method, enclosing the entire drumkit—including a roof—with sheets of plywood (leaving, of course, a viewing window through which the other members of the band can be seen). Then I mike each drum individually, […]

July 1986 Issue