Recording drums — Overheads and the ORTF technique

Overhead microphones are an integral part of capturing a quality drum kit sound. They provide the richness and power to the recording, whereas microphones close to the drums capture the bite or attack sounds. Using the ORTF technique, one can mimic the position of human ears giving a natural sound to the recording. This is done by positioning the microphones at a specific angle and distance from one another.

Key Takeaways:

• The role of the overheads is basically to capture the sound of the cymbals as well as the stereo image of the whole kit.
• I recommend you to place the mics behind the drummer, clearly above his or her head and tilted towards the upper rim of the first drums.
• Note that while the kick is well centered, the snare is slightly to the side.

“There are several ways to record overheads. We we’ll see the most common here. However, we had to strike a compromise during the recording sessions for this chapter”

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