If you have 3 mics, what do you do? One bass drum, one snare, and one room! If you want to get specific about it, the ideal would be:
- A dynamic mic, like a Shure SM57, for the snare.
- A cardioid dynamic microphone, like an AKG D112, or a supercardioid, like a Shure Beta 52A, for the bass drum.
- And maybe a nice room mic, like a Coles 4038 Ribbon Microphone, or any trusty condenser mic.
But any 3 good microphones (either dynamic or condensers) can do the job, as long as you're pointing them in the right direction. Use the pads if you’re using condensers too close to the source. And balance your playing!
You can get very far with only these 3 mics in terms of sound, and it’s a fantastic place to start if you’re on a budget and want to start recording.
- Regarding the snare mic, remember to start at 3 fingers in height from the head and to point the mic to the center of the drum. Adjust angle and height from there.
- For the bass drum, probably start with placing the mic inside—or just outside—the bass drum, in order to avoid a lot of room bleed.
- For the overhead, place it around 2 feet above the cymbals, pointing straight down to the kit. Move it further or closer depending on the sound you’re looking for and make sure you have no phase issues.
Pros of this technique:
- It is easy & straightforward. No complications, you pretty much know what to do and what each mic should pick up.
- Good all around sound.
- You’re able to compensate—a bit—your balance. Given that you have bass drum and snare mics, you’re able to boost any of those should you need to, so this setup is a bit more forgiving than a “room-mic-only” technique.
- Mono compatibility. Don’t overcomplicate things. Keep everything in the middle and focus on the sound. You get 3 signals, get the best sound possible out of them.
Cons:
- Not stereo. If you have everything in the middle with 3 mics picking up different instruments of your set, then your chances to do a stereo mix with this are slim to none.
