Hi !

I've always use XY for the Overhead technique to make my record (i'm not an ingeneer... just learning). I'm doing mostly loud rock, post hc, indie, emo ...
I've never experimented others techniques ... what are the other way to record OH please ? For example for my band (we are doing a mix of post hard core & pop) what is the best technique to use ?
We use Zildjian Crash Zcustom serie 16" + 18" and Avedis custom 20" for the ride & 14" hi-hat.
This time I will make our record with C414 or C451 ...

So what are the avantage & disavantage of the XY technique ? and other for the others ways ?

Thanks for any answer . n i c k

something else to try would be to take two c414s, put them in figure 8, and position them like this for a roomy sound.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/chris.burm ... cident.htm

I love spaced pair...... Always have. I find I get the best stereo image. I know XY, MS, and Blumlein are supposedly superior in some ways, but I get great wide stereo with just a simple spaced pair. Especially if you are beginner-ish it's simple to get a good sound. I keep my overheads kind of low (18" -2' above the cymbals).

i love coincident or near-coincident pairs in front of the kit a few feet. i think cymbols sound best mic'd with some distance (especially when they are kinda harsh like Zildjian Zs) and i like to get a lot of drums in the 'overheads' to thicken up the close mic sound.

Thanks for the asnwers ... but in the figure of 8 where do I put the mics ? in the front of the kit ?

Another vote for spaced pair. For some reason it sounds more natural to me than XY, and seems like a good compromise between superwide stereospread and more of a mono sound. Usually put the mics at about tom leve or lower, I hate doing seperate cymbal mics. Prefer the minmal approach..

I've used a variation on a spaced pair which i've quite liked for a while now. I use two cardioid large diaphragm consensors (rode nt2, mann mt21 - nothing special) in a spaced pair, just above the cymbal level, and about 6' out from where the drummer is sitting. In combination with this, I use a matched pair of small diaphragm omni condensors (rode nt5, oktava mc012, earthworks - if ya got them) as an XY right on the floor (on some foam to avoid floor vibration) pointing right at the drummer's stool. I've found the cymbal wash from underneath the cymbal is too much if you place the spaced pair beneath the cymbal line, and the room sound from the rest of the kit is too attenuated to be of any use. You can isolate the cymbal sound from the room sound by taking the small condensors out of the mix.

This is, of course, subject to being careful about mic placement. Listen, adjust, repeat.

Ok thanks for all the answers ... i will surely go for spaced pair ... I will use a pair of C414 + 2 * C451 (on hi-hat + ride) and a U87 in the front of the kit about 4/6 feets away. I'm a little bit affraid of phase problem with spaced pair but since I cut a lot of bottom on OH I hope there won't be too much of it .
I've read somewhere that you need to put the two over head at equal distance from the snare to avoid phase problem with snare .... it's right ? and how about the kick drum & tom ?

Thanks for all of the answers .
n i c k

That is correct about equal distance from the snare. Just remember to check the phase by switching it on the close snare mic. If you cut loads of bottom out of the overheads then you should have little or no problems with the kik and toms phase wise (though it's worth checking).

After all the suggestions, I would suggest sticking with the xy for the kind of music you're doing. When placing the mics, imagine a line between the second tom (assuming your drummer has three) and the snare drum and treat that as your centre line so your mics are pointing directly left and right of it. the reason for this is it will more accurately represent where you are likely to pan the close mics and help get a tight focussed image with minimal phase problems.

Bring up your overhead mics and listen to them. Then introduce the close mics one at a time (checking phase on all of them) and pan them to where they appear in your overheads.

Spaced pairs are good and the image will be wider, there'll be a hole in the centre for the vocals to sit and the kit will probably have more personality but it won't be as "neat" which can be really handy when trying to get drums through heavy guitars.

Thanks for your answers. i think I will try the two technics to see what is the best one for me .
Thanks for all the precision .

See ya . nick .