Drum Tracking

[Malcolm Lozada]

Phaserelationships are much harder to match the more microphones you put in front of the source, one because there's only limited space close to any instrument, and secondly the further the microphone is away from the source, the longer the sound takes to reach it. This is shown in the wave-forms as you record, and only a few milliseconds can make a huge difference in the mix.

One way of figuring out if something is out of phase is by using the polarity invert switch on most preamps, especially modern ones. A good example for this is snare drums. Because when the stick hits the snare, the microphone aimed for the top of the snare captures the skin moving away from the microphone (downwards first).

The inside mic on a kick is often placed middle to close to the inside skin to pick up the beater slap. The outside of the kick, typically is either up close to capture the low end lost from the inside microphone, or roughly a foot (12 inches) away from the outside skin to pick up more body and resonance, whilst also trying to limit capturing much of the entire kit. There's a noticeable difference in the speed that one mic will pick up compared to the other, because of the distance between the capsules inside and outside the kick..

To avoid the sound of kick flam (two quick hits just out of sync with each other), and also being out of phase, a mix engineer will usually gate first, then move the audio of the later sound (typically the outside microphone) back to a place where the transient (the initial attack of the wave form) matches up to the transient of the other mic and with the wave forms moving in the same direction. This way, the sound is in phase and usually in time with the overheads as well giving you all elements of the kick - body, click, and thump.

The 4ft rule is one that's easy to follow; simply - the capsules of the microphones need to be 4ft away from the center of the snare (I like to mark out a dot on the skin to line up my tape measure), and 4ft away from each other. This gives you a wide spread of the array of cymbals, a huge sounding snare, and capture of position of the toms in terms of panning them.

Mic placement is obviously important when drum backtracking / tracking. For example, if you have a two mic recording set up (one dynamic mic and one condenser mic), a good start would be to have the dynamic mic in front of the drums and the condenser above the drums.

The proximity of the mics from the drums will play a huge part too. Inevitably the closer you place the mics to the sound source the tighter and more direct the sound will be. The further away you place the mic the more roomier / ambient the sound will be.

Furthermore, phasing or polarity issues can occur with certain microphone placement. This means that the sound waves / wave forms from the source reach the microphones at slightly different times due to the distance or placement. Likewise, if 2 mics are on one instrument; such as the over and underside of a snare drum. One mic will have the sound moving away from it and the other will have the sound moving towards it. For more in-depth knowledge on this issue read more here.

You may find the artists or producers that hire you for online drum backtracking / tracking may only require the raw drum files / tracks. This is due, in part, to them wanting to process the drum stems (group of drum tracks) themselves.

Rehearse each song you will be recording from start to finish again and again. If you mess up particular parts, focus on the tricky bits for a while until you have ironed them out. Get your fills in order. Once you have corrected the parts you messed up, go through the whole song again and make sure you get them right first time, every time.

Get comfortable playing the songs alone and listen to the nuances of your playing. You might end up recording in less-than-ideal listening conditions and could need to rely on your sense of song structure rather than the other instruments. Make sure you are solid throughout the course of drum tracking.

Make sure your band has enough rehearsals leading up to the drum recording session so that you gel together. Regardless of how you are planning to record, rehearsing often and with focus will help your band improve immensely.

Make sure each other member is also well prepared and on the same page in regards to song structure and dynamics. Make any important decisions as a group BEFORE you get to the recording studio. Recording rough demos and listening, making notes and agreeing on changes together can really help improve a song before you get to the studio.

Recording drums in a studio calls for a lot of mics to be placed around your kit. Often you will be asked to adjust the position of certain toms, cymbals or stands so that the engineer can put microphones in the optimal position. Prepare yourself for anything by practicing with your kit rearranged a bit to compensate for this.

Being a little flexible can not only help for drum tracking in the studio but also for those crazy live shows where your stool starts to wobble and your hihat creeps forwards to the edge of the drum riser. Be prepared!

Start by drumming for an hour with only short breaks in between songs. Then play each song over and over again 4-5 times. That is a realistic number of takes for recording drums. Rehearse the whole album like that at least 3 times a week and get into shape. Then nothing can stop you!

When drummers record music, they often get lost in a song because they tend to play repetitive parts or rely on other instruments for guidance. Some more progressive styles of music have complex or lengthy parts that can trip you up. You want to avoid getting lost while drumming in the studio.

You can really hold your own by writing out each part on a drum chart that you can follow while tracking. Or better yet, write out notation for the entire song. Whatever works best for you to understand what you have to play and when.

Are the cymbal hits in good relation to the rest of the kit? Remember cymbals can generally played softer in the studio for a good balanced drum sound. The overhead mics are going to be dialled in for the loudest transients, so practice hitting the drums solidly and the cymbals softer.

To really get a look at how you are performing, record a video of yourself playing and you might be able to see what techniques you need to improve. Picking out any bad habits in posture or movement will be a lot easier to assess on video.

Are you keeping time, rushing or slowing down? Does your tempo map still fit the song or does it need changes? Can you manage to hide the click every time? If you plan to record to click, you really want to nail it.

Not only you need to be prepared, but all those taking part, working with you and for you must be on the same page. The more questions that are answered before the drum recording session, the better you can use the time in the studio for drum tracking.

Even if you are not recording to click, you should at least know at what tempo you are starting the song at. If recording live, you should get counted in at the right speed. It will also assist the engineer later on for any drum editing tasks.

If you are recording to click and your song requires several changes in tempo or meter, you really should map it out well ahead of time. Create a tempo map and practice with it as a group and by yourself. Once you have it finalised, send it to the recording engineer. He will probably need to create his/her own version in his/her DAW to fit in with the studio workflow.

There are a few types of guide tracks you can use to orientate yourself in a song. Either you record each (or each important) instrument as a demo version to play along to or you use a set of audio cues along with your click track. You could even have both if that gives you the most security while playing.

Once you have the guide or click track mapped out with all markers and cues, take time to get really comfortable practicing with it so you are ready to go when it comes time to hit record in the studio. Put yourself under a little pressure to simulate the recording experience and you will be much better prepared for your drum tracking session.

What kind of drum sound do you want on your record? Do you want a bombastic, larger than life sound with lots of room reflections? Or a tight and controlled kit with little sustain? Do you want the snare and toms to ring out, with a lot of punch and oomph, or would you rather a snappy kind of sound where the snare cracks and the kick drum smacks?

There are so many ways a drum kit can sound and it depends on a myriad of combinations between the instrument itself, the recording techniques, the microphones, the room AND the mixing stage. Getting your ideal drum sound communicated to the sound engineer before you hit the studio will bring you a lot closer to the desired result from the very first drum recording session.

The best way would be to name 2 or 3 bands, albums or songs that feature the drum sound you envision for your record. I find it also helps to describe any combinations of sounds that might come to mind. Get descriptive, it will only help your engineer understand what you want better and faster. Being on the same page sonically from the beginning of a project will save you a lot of hassle later on.

Unless they are less than 4 weeks old and in good condition, you will definitely need to replace those drum heads. The difference between old and used batter heads and fresh ones will make or break your drum recording. With new drum heads you can make an average kit sound amazing in comparison and vice versa. A decent kit with old heads will sound like crap.

Experiment with different tunings and pitches until you find something that fits your taste and style. If you are really struggling, you can invite someone you trust with the job to come to the first day of recording and do it for you. But chances are the studio engineer will be more than willing to give you a hand.

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