Drum recording interface.

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Slowy
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Drum recording interface.

Post by Slowy »

This is probably a hackneyed topic which I really don't understand.

Our drummer is looking for a recording interface. He's got a DW kit, all the mics and wants to connect it all to his recording software. Don't know what he's got but the band uses Cubase so that's where I'd start.

So does anybody have a suitable item available? What is a suitable item to begin with?
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Re: Drum recording interface.

Post by griff »

Anything with lots of inputs. A mixer than can record maybe? We use a Behringer XR18 for drum recordings. The preamps are decent.

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Re: Drum recording interface.

Post by jeremyb »

Buy a drum machine :lol:
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Re: Drum recording interface.

Post by Kris »

Id say get one of the zoom units-they can record both sd and usb and go all the way up to 20 inputs.I dislike close miking personally so hopefully he wont want more than 16 tracks as he'll wanna hear every single piece in the mix

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Re: Drum recording interface.

Post by Slowy »

jeremyb wrote: Mon Oct 10, 2022 8:28 am Buy a drum machine :lol:
Malcolm is a drum machine.
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Re: Drum recording interface.

Post by NippleWrestler »

This helped me:

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/ho ... cord-drums

Basically:

Tune the kit.
Mic the kick.
Mic the snare.
Add any overheads.
Extra mics if you want.
Add compression on the individual inputs.

You need an interface with 1 input per mic used.

Then the interface goes into the DAW.

You'll want an interface with enough inputs and just ride the gain controls to not clip the signal.

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Re: Drum recording interface.

Post by crowbgood1 »

It's amazing what you can do with 3 mics. Overhead, snare and kick.
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Re: Drum recording interface.

Post by NippleWrestler »

crowbgood1 wrote: Mon Oct 10, 2022 9:58 am It's amazing what you can do with 3 mics. Overhead, snare and kick.
Absolutely. And if you've a spare mic, pulling it back a ways and getting some of the room sound low in the mix is good for adding 'space' to the drums too.

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Re: Drum recording interface.

Post by olegmcnoleg »

Slowy wrote: Mon Oct 10, 2022 8:06 am This is probably a hackneyed topic which I really don't understand.

Our drummer is looking for a recording interface. He's got a DW kit, all the mics and wants to connect it all to his recording software. Don't know what he's got but the band uses Cubase so that's where I'd start.

So does anybody have a suitable item available? What is a suitable item to begin with?
How many mics?

Agree with the post above that you can do a great job with 3 mics...well 4--bass, snare and two overhead mics at either side of the kit to give you a bit of a stereo field. If you go with that then you need a recording interface with 4 channels. Such as a Focusright Scarlett 4i4 (or Claret 4-pre if he is feeling flush). This will happily work with Cubase to give you 4 separate drum tracks. If you want to record every drum & cymbal separately (so you can adjust them individually in the mix) then you are going to need several more channels. That gets spendy real fast.

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Re: Drum recording interface.

Post by Slowy »

I'll find out how many mics he has. The drummer in my other band has 7 mics but his kit was a Santana touring rig. It's way more than any mortal requires.
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Re: Drum recording interface.

Post by crowbgood1 »

Slowy wrote: Mon Oct 10, 2022 11:25 am I'll find out how many mics he has. The drummer in my other band has 7 mics but his kit was a Santana touring rig. It's way more than any mortal requires.
You can do big kits with minimal mic's. Overhead will capture some good stuff but do some research if you are going stereo on top. One of my favorites is the ORTF, but there are a few to choose from, all giving different sounds.
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Re: Drum recording interface.

Post by bender »

While my preference is 4 mics on a drum kit, I’d say get something with 8 mic inputs. He won’t regret having too many, but he will regret not having enough.

Focusrite and MOTU are my go to recommendations. Presonus are ok, but I’ve found their mic preamps can be a little on the thin side.

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Re: Drum recording interface.

Post by Mikeincarnate326 »

If it's for basic recording, this could help? The Yamaha EAD 10

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail ... ger-pickup

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