The drums are the heartbeat of any recording and the secret to a great drum sound that anchors the song is the drums themselves. Here’s a quick checklist from my The Recording Engineer’s Handbook 3rd edition that will help you get a great acoustic drum sound in the room.
“Now that we’ve looked more closely at what it takes to make a drum kit sound great, here’s a simple checklist to follow before you set up any mics.
- Have the heads on all the drums been changed? Be sure to change at least the top heads before recording
- Have the drums been tuned? Are they tuned to work with the other drums in the kit?
- Are there any sympathetic vibrations occurring? Tune the drums so that any drum that’s hit does not cause another to ring.
- Is there an unwanted ring? Suppress it with tape, a muffling ring, or MoonGel.
- Is the hardware quiet? Spray with a lubricant like WD-40 if not.
- Is the level of the cymbals all the same? Balance the level with lighter or heavier cymbals as needed.
- Is there another snare drum available? A song may call for a different snare drum sound.”
If you follow the above checklist, you’ll find that your drums will sound so much better before you even place the mics.
