How To Record Drums With 4 Mics: Eric Valentine Method + Overhead

This technique has the Eric Valentine approach with a little Glyn Johns. The basis for this approach is the following:

1. Place the 3 font mics (left, center and right) equidistant from each other. 
2. Place them around 3 feet off the floor. You don’t want to place them too high, otherwise you’ll lose a lot of low-end. 
3. Make sure you’re pointing them towards their corresponding section of the drum set.  
4. Place an overhead about 40 to 50 inches above the snare drum, facing down, so it captures the entire, if not all the drum set. 
5. Make sure each microphone is equidistant from the snare. 

Center mic should be at the same height as the “side” mics. Floor included for perspective.

Pros of this technique:

• A holistic sound of the drums, with great stereo image possibilities with the left & right mics, with a centered mono signal and the overhead.
• A lot more drums and snare, given that the overhead is pointing downwards, just like the Glyn Johns method. 

Cons:

• Your bass drum might still sound a bit dry, so be mindful of that when you EQ this mix. 
• With this approach, the sound relies heavily on the drummer’s balance and the room’s sound.