Place a condenser microphone pointed at the back of the kit directly over the drummer's head.
This technique intends to capture the drummer’s POV sound—in mono, of course, since it’s one mic.
Pros to this technique:
- Pretty straightforward: just place a mic on top of your head.
- If you like what you hear when you play, then this approach will be in the direction of what you hear. Of course, better microphone, better sound capturing.
- If your drums sing and you’re balanced, this approach will sing too.
Cons:
- As when you play, if you’re too loud on your cymbals, your ears suffer. This technique will too. Balance is key.
- The bass drum might sound dry and away, since it is the furthest away from the microphone.