Two Mic Drum Recording Shootout // What's best for recording drums with only two microphones?

Today we're trying four popular techniques for recording drums with only two microphones. We're not necessarily going to crown a winner, but hopefully you'll be able to decide what works best for you.
Gear used:
AKG 414 XLS
DW Collector's Series Santa Monica
Meinl Byzance cymbals
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[@Marius-vw9hp]

I never realized how cool the over-shoulder approach sounds. Will use it today - im sure the drummer will love that as well.

[@danepaulstewart8464]

Over The Shoulder for the win. In a mix of a song… every time.

[@aftertheendtimes]

Great video with great ideas, Thanks🥁

[@andreswartzdrums]

This was very helpful, just bought my first mics and excited about experimenting with all these and other placements. Thanks.

[@ColeParamore]

Glad it helped, thanks for watching!

[@steverok67]

Impressed, especially with the spaced-pair overheads. Add a kick mic and I think this will do the job. Thanks for the video demo.

[@hanscfs]

This is gold! Your mic is very pricey but I'll look for a similar option. Thanks!

[@ColeParamore]

You can use any large diaphragm condenser and you'll get very similar results. Try a couple of AT2020s or MXLs and you'll be golden!

[@SKragseth]

Yo Cole!

[@area51pictures]

Do a Wurst in Mid-Side! It's AMAZING. Mid gives you kick + snare. Side gives you toms + cymbals. The other awesome one is doing Mid-side in front of the kit. Thats the Albini method for lack of nomenclature. Favorite here is the over the shoulders. Gorgeous detail and punch.

[@ColeParamore]

Never tried that, good tip!

[@joshuavanderveen6739]

Just tried this! Immense separation for the toms and the cymbals, but only by degree of severe phase issues. Would you be able to elaborate on your experience with this technique?

[@geoffreysmith4618]

Really great comparison video. I don't know why you don't have more likes. Keep it up.

[@ColeParamore]

Thanks so much!

[@geoffreysmith4618]

@@ColeParamore I may have missed it but what audio interface are you using? I am about to get my first AI and was looking at the EVO 8, Audient ID44, or Arturia Audiofuse Studio. Each have 4 mic Pre’s. I will be using a Mac. Any opinions on those? I am relatively new to recording but familiar with guitar software. I also play some electric and acoustic (blues, folk, stuff). But I am mainly a drummer and would like to do some drum covers for my own refinement and maybe post to YT.

[@ColeParamore]

@@geoffreysmith4618 I think they're all great choices honestly. The Audients I've heard good things about. Pretty much all the companies out there these days are putting out really solid, clean sounding preamps/interfaces so I'd just go with whatever you can get the best deal on!

[@MrFelo17]

Great video, the only problem I have is that I don't have 2 identical microphones. I have a Shure SM57 and a SM58, also a MXL condenser mic.

[@ji_yink]

no worries, make art with whatever you have. the result can still be fun and enjoyable. i dont have identical mics either but i just use them in all sorts of funny positions. there are no rules to this :)

[@Namelessforever_]

@@ji_yinkI love your comment. For way too long I got caught up on “i need this gear etc”. When I finally started with what I had I realized it was enough 😊

[@Evolutioncity]

Do you feel like it’s important to get a “matched pair” or overheads? I wanted to buy one AKG 414 and get another later, but not sure if it makes that big of a difference. Love the videos my man!

[@ColeParamore]

I'm sure some folks would argue that it's very important, but I've never found that to be the case. All my pairs of mics have been non matched and I've never had any issues. Funny you mention actually, I'm selling my 414 XLS pair and keeping a pair of B ULS and people have asked the same thing.

[@Evolutioncity]

@@ColeParamore At the end of the day I’m not recording for records or anything, so I can’t see how the matched pair would make that big of a difference. I appreciate your comment! How much are you selling your pair for? I’m finally trying to get into the world of recording drums and figure I’d get something good rather than have to upgrade in a couple years. It’s probably out of my price range, but it’ll show what I have to shoot for! Haha

[@ColeParamore]

@@Evolutioncity Shoot me a DM on Instagram! @coleparamoredrums

[@Marius-vw9hp]

"The Recording Engineers Handbook" (Second edition) actually says on page 145: "Looking at the drums, place a large-diaphragm condenser on the ride cymbal side and a different model large-diaphragm condenser on the hihat side, both about 4 to 5 feet away. The dissimilar mics give a really nice spread from side to side, and when placed properly, provide the character of both mics in a mono playback"

[@rist98]

It depends on your goals. Generally matched pairs are used for main mics for classical recordings, orchestra, choir, etc. Its meant to have both mics have the most similar sound that they could have, so that the stereo recording has a maximally uniform sound. For pop/rock or what ever more unnatural sounding(heavily mixed) music, the goal when recording can be very different. As someone said, you might even want different type of mics on each side, for more stereo separation or maybe to accomodate the different cymbals with the respective mics.

[@David13Rome]

Not sure how you can do a test like this and exclude XY. In my own use XY sounds great without the phase issues of the spaced pair.

[@ColeParamore]

With the exception of the spaced pair, this is meant to be a comparison of placements you might try with only two mics and no others. XY works great for overheads, but is rarely what I would go to if I literally only had two microphones to use on the kit.

[@David13Rome]

​@@ColeParamore Just because you wouldn't doesn't mean other people wouldn't. In fact, in a recent poll on the Pro Tools expert site XY is the most popular and widely used stereo making technique on drums. True most of us are using additional mics. Personally, I would never mic up drums with only two microphones anyway. I doubt very many other people would either if they were trying to actually make a good recording Which makes the whole idea of using two mics only kind of not that helpful anyway. In some cases, I could see getting by with three mics which would be my absolute minimum. Most of my peers would consider three mics a minimum for drums anyway. With that said, I would suggest that limiting XY to just overheads is missing out on a lot of options. I frequently run a pair of 414’s in XY directly in front of the drum kit about 26 inches from the floor Centered on the kick. You can experiment with the height if you want to change the sound. It also wouldn't be a bad idea to experiment with Figure 8 Omni if you want to pick up more of the room. But I pretty much stick with cardioid. You should try it. You might be surprised how good a kit sounds a couple feet in front of it. I often use this pair to blend in with the rest of my mics. In light of what I'm talking about... Yes XY should absolutely be included in a test like this.

[@ColeParamore]

@@David13Rome To touch on a few of your points: -The really isn't a "should" or "shouldn't" for what's in a video if I'm not being commissioned to make it. -I'm quite familiar with the use of all the different polar patterns and XY techniques. Obviously I could have included micing methods ad nauseam but that really isn't the point. -Whether or not exploring the use of only two mics is useful is up to each individual viewer. The practice is far more common than you've alluded to, and useful to consider for engineers just getting started and pros alike. -It bears repeating that I didn't make this video for an individual, so it's entirely possible you're not the audience. If you like XY in a variety of situations, that's fantastic. Go ahead and make a video and contribute to the conversation! I'll continue to make free content for the folks who enjoy it here, and I'll be happy to watch what you put out as well.