dynamic on the hi-hat & cymbal miking

[Jim]

My experience is that condensers on the hats produce trashy white noise and upper freqs that has to be eq'ed or attenuated later, so I'm experimenting with using dynamics instead. The sound is mellower and doesn't need as much eq. Plus, dynamics seem to reject spill better than condensors.

Anybody else do this?

Another experiment: Since all mics on a kit pick up a bit of the snare anyway, I point my OH & hat mics right at the share. That way, the snare sound that does get picked up is cleaner, sharper, more defined and less muffled. And the cymbals sound mellower as well, since they're picked up slightly off-axis.

Make sense?

[resolectric]

My experience is that condensers on the hats produce trashy white noise and upper freqs that has to be eq'ed or attenuated later, so I'm experimenting with using dynamics instead. The sound is mellower and doesn't need as much eq. Plus, dynamics seem to reject spill better than condensors.

Anybody else do this?

Yes and no.

It all depends on the condensers you're using.
Their sensitivity can be too high for the powerful transients and high frequency harmonics present in hats, or in cymbals in general.
Quite often the solution is to pad the signal in the mic itself (when they have a pad attenuator option) and not in the mic pre or console since by then the signal would have already saturated the condenser's circuit.

So, if the capsule can hadle the signal and its transients (that is: assuming the capsule can handle the source's SPL) you can try attenuating the signal with the mic's pad. Or capture from a distance, not so close to the source.

Also, the different result with dynamics is often the result of their lower sensitivity. They also may sound smoother, mellower and more pleasant to the hearing because their frequency response tends to show a roll-off in the highs, at least when compared with most condensers.

Another experiment: Since all mics on a kit pick up a bit of the snare anyway, I point my OH & hat mics right at the share. That way, the snare sound that does get picked up is cleaner, sharper, more defined and less muffled. And the cymbals sound mellower as well, since they're picked up slightly off-axis.

Make sense?

I don't use hi-hat mics. I place two mics on the snare (a dynamic on top and a condenser on the bottom) and the top mic is placed in a way that i know its pickup pattern will capture most of the hi-hat sound from one of its rear/side lobes.
The resulting sound is very well balanced with the level from the direct snare sound and is quite natural, not requiring any (or nearly any) equalization.

A Shure Beta 57 has a magnificent pattern for this use if you place the mic on a diagonal from the snare's skin, facing to the area in the skin where the drummer hits the snare and with its back (xlr side) to the Hi-hat.
There are other good mics for this. It all depends on the sound you want to achieve, and the drum kit being miked.

[David Polich]

I'd say it depends on the sound you're after - but in general, using a pad on the mic to attenuate the level is a good idea if you're getting an overdriven hashy sound - or back the mic a bit away from the hat.

Me, I generally don't like the sound of a dynamic on a hi-hat - the top end is too smeared and dull. I like bright hats and cymbals with lots of detail, which I've never gotten from a dynamic mic. You can always take out what is there, but you can't add in what isn't.

Classic OH mics are AKG 414's - always a great sound, IMO. And a Neumann condenser on the hi-hat..I always get a good result with that.

Your mic pres and converters are also a HUGE part of the equation - the mics are only half the story.

[BradLyons]

The biggest trap many fall into when recording drums is having the wrong levels---TOO hot, that is. When recording say vocals or guitars, you're trying to get the hottest signal before clipping. This is often a single track by itself that is isolated, but drums you're recording multiple instruments with multiple mics. It's about getting a good mix at the source. When recording hi-hate, dynamics are NOT a good idea because they generally have more of a harsh sound. Of course some condensers can produce the same results. It's also about the the pre you're using, too.

For hi-hat, my preference is the AKG C451B....but a Beyer Dynamic M160, Shure SM81 and Neumann KM184 are also excellent choices. The Earthworks SR30 (I think) is a great choice, too. I might have the item wrong, but it's a Cardiod. Placement and gain are quite important, understand that the sound of the Hi Hat is going to vary from one model to the the next....where you place the mic and how the drummer hits it will drastically affect this. My best advice when recording drums is let the drummer just play, put on some headphones and play with mic placement while he's playing.

IMHO Earthworks TC30K's or Royer ribbons are going to be your best bet for drum overheads (I'm working on a project over the next few months where I"m recording various mics and pres for drums to show how drastic each choice sounds).

[zara_drummer]

I agree with Brad on this...recording drums is more about the overall mix.

I tend to look at drums as one instrument as a whole. Nothing over shadows the other...cept I like the kick and the snare to be tight and present!

My preference on the hats are an Oktava MK012 with the 10db pad. I generally place the mic facing down on the hat and away from the drums on the opposite side of where the drummer hits the cymbal.

I once did a session and the engineer put the mic so close to where I hit hats that I ended up hitting his KM184 multiple times. He insisted that I alter my playing style to his micing teqnique....After a little one-on-one we adjusted the location of the mic...


Seriously though I didnt really care for the sound of the KM184 on my hats...It might have been the whole experience though...who knows...

[3rdeye]

My experience is that condensers on the hats produce trashy white noise and upper freqs that has to be eq'ed or attenuated later, so I'm experimenting with using dynamics instead. The sound is mellower and doesn't need as much eq. Plus, dynamics seem to reject spill better than condensors...

I do record with a mic on the hihat but I only use it when the part needs it and that would be almost always a closed hihat part with fills and rolls a'la Carter Beauford.

For open hats and all the heavy stuff it's never been necessary for me to use the HH mic.


The sound also depends a lot on what preamp/mic combo you're using, and the relative distance to the hat. On the last project I recorded I used an Audix condenser on the hihat and ended up adding some highs on some of the songs where we used it.