Place one cardioid condenser microphone as an overhead pointed down at the drums from a distance of about 4ft. Try to place it in the middle of the kit, so you have a balanced sound capture.
When using this technique, go easy on the cymbals. If you go too hard on them, especially the crashes, it will sound out-of-balance.
Pros to this technique:
- Once you find the right height for you, set it and forget it.
- Great approach to find out how to best set up an overhead mic and work with it to adjust your drumming balance.
Cons:
- As a stand-alone technique, this one can be tricky. Given the mic position, lots of cymbals and a good rack tom presence is characteristic of this approach. Use with caution.
- Dry, thumpy and lower on the mix bass drum, given its distance to the mic.