Achieving crystal-clear drums without triggers
Let’s be clear from the outset: we are not inherently anti-trigger. They’re excellent tools with a wide range of applications, particularly on recordings that embrace digital timbres. In rock and metal applications, triggered drums allow for extreme precision and clarity; the tradeoff is that they can make a mix sound sterile and over-labored, sacrificing the spontaneity and happy accidents that make the best drum performances what they are.
How, then, do we achieve ultra-clear drum sound without relying on triggers? We’ve identified nine key variables to consider that will result in a recording that doesn’t sound like it was composed in a MIDI lane.
Microphone selection
Of course, before getting into any finer details, we must consider which mics to use. Your options here are endless and encompass a variety of price points; ultimately, the best mics are the ones you can comfortably afford. A set of Shure SM-57s, which individually retail for $100, will get you a long way.
But if you’re looking for specific recommendations, here’s a selection of different mics for each part of the kit:
Snare (Top): Shure SM57, Beyerdynamic M201TG, Telefunken M80. All emphasize upper mids (2–7 kHz) for crack while minimizing harshness.
Snare (Bottom): Shure SM57, AKG C451B. Condensers add brightness and articulation; dynamics add controlled sizzle
Toms: Sennheiser MD 421-II, Shure Beta 98AMP/C, Audio-Technica ATM230. The Sennheiser is the industry-standard for attack and fullness. The Shure: compact, clear, great for fast metal. AT: tight, punchy, controls bleed well.
Kick (Inside): AKG D112 MKII, Shure Beta 91A, or Audix D6. All prioritize beater click (3–6 kHz), fast transient response, and mid clarity.
Kick (Outside): AKG D112 MKII, Electro-Voice RE20, Shure Beta 52A. Each option will add low-end, body (50–80 Hz) and roundness.
Overheads: Neumann KM184, AKG C414 XLS, Shure KSM137. These options are transparent, have fast transient response for cymbal clarity and realistic stereo imaging.
Room Mics: Shure KSM44A, AKG C414 XLII, or ribbon mics like Royer R-121. Condensers are crisp and modern. Ribbons offer dark, weighty body for explosive compression later.
Microphone placement
With an array of mics at your disposal, your next step is to nail their placement. We’ve provided ranges of distances and angles to use; your ear’s response to the recording environment will guide you to the best results for your particular use.
For snare tops, you’ll want to place your mics 1 to 2 inches above the head, at a 30 to 40 degree angle; the goal here is to maximize the crack while reducing hi-hat bleed. You’ll also want 1 to 2 inches of clearance on the bottom, angled away from the kick to get the best snare wire capture.
Toms will also require 1 to 2 inches between the mic and the head, pointing directly at the stick’s point of impact. This preserves the attack, a running theme here; this is the primary driver of a clear, unmuddied mix.
The goal for the kick is the same, albeit with more clearance required. Inside, the mic should be positioned toward the beater’s impact area for maximum click and definition. Outside, you’ll want anywhere between 2 and 6 inches from the resonant head to ensure the resonance/boominess is captured.
Overheads are where you can get a little more free-form. The classic solution is to use a spaced pair of room mics for a wide stereo image with defined cymbal separation. You may also consider the ORTF method, which opts for two room mics spaced precisely 17cm apart at a 110 degree angle. This tends to be better for busy arrangements, and limits phasing problems.
You can experiment the most with the room mic setup. The simple solution is to set them up between 6 and 12 feet from the kit at chest height. You could also opt for using a cheap microphone (consider widening your standards of what “cheap” means to you — you would be surprised how many recordings feature Rock Band mics!) placed 1 to 2 feet off the ground. You could even get stranger with placement and place a few ribbon mics in a nearby hallway for some ghostly overtones.
Pre-amp color
While mics will do plenty of heavy lifting clarity-wise, the character of the sound is first determined by your choice of preamp. Your options here are endless, so we’ll tell you what we use: the Millennia HV-3D, which has the right balance of clarity and forward frequencies when the drums are active. If you want to opt for a software solution, Slate Virtual Mix Rack’s US A and Brit 4k E models are both formidable options, with the former offering greater punch and the latter high clarity and sheen.
Track-level EQ
The advice in this section applies no matter what you’re using to adjust EQ; that said, we like to go the plugin route for this purpose. Solid State Logic’s Channel Strips, Fab Filter Pro-Q 3 and Maag EQ4 are all formidable across different applications. But even if you’re using rack gear, you can refer to these general guidelines for EQ’ing each kit piece.
For kicks: add thump by boosting around 60 to 80hz; remove boxiness by cutting 250 to 350hz; add additional click and definition by boosting 3 to 6khz.
For snares: increase body and weight by boosting 120 to 200hz; mitigate muddiness by cutting 300 to 500 hz; increase crack/stick attack by boosting 2-4khz; add air and sizzle by adding 8-12khz.
For toms: add body by boosting 80-120hz; remove mud by cutting 250-400hz; boost 3-5khz for clearer attack.
For overheads: add a gentle high shelf at around 10kHz-20kHz, and add a high pass filter around 150-250hz to remove most kick/snare bleed.
Finally, for rooms: add a high-pass filter between 80-120hz with a soft slope; add 5-8khz for clarity to taste; and notch out any unwanted room resonances.
EQ in context
Once each piece is handled, you’ll have to fit it all into the broader mix. This means considering frequency ranges that, unprocessed, are shared across other instruments in the recording.
The relationship between the kick and bass is a frequent source of frustration and muddiness. Get around it by creating a dip in the kick where the bass needs space, (80-200hz) and then boosting that exact region on the bass track. Then, do the inverse, boosting a range in the kick and carving it out from the bass.
Snare not cutting? Boost 2khz and 3-4khz, then dip the guitars in those same areas. Your snare should instantly sound clearer. Likewise, if you’re losing kick click to the guitars, boost 3-6khz on the kick and dip the guitars in the same range.
Cymbals not ringing quite right? Add sheen to them with a simple high shelf at 10-20khz on the overheads for instant shimmer.
Compression
The general rule of thumb for compression in most styles of rock and heavy music is that the attack and release on the compressor should be fast for clear shaping of transients. The Universal Audio 1176 and API 2500 are higher-end hardware solutions, while FabFilter Pro-cm will cover most uses cases on the software front.
Regardless of the specific compressor, you’ll want to adhere to the following simple guidelines: roll back the attack by 3-6ms to let the transients breathe. Adhere to a 4:1 or 8:1 ratio for your release, which should be quite fast. Leave compression off for your overheads; at most, be extremely gentle and only add 1 or 2 decibels to preserve the natural clarity of the cymbals. For room mics, go nuts and smash them. This will ensure an aggressive sound with a lot of glue for the mix writ large.
Saturation
Selective saturation is the key to bringing out interesting overtones and harmonics. We use the Black Box Analog Design HG-2 for these purposes, but the Soundtoys Decapitator is a $70 saturation plugin with a ton of versatility and a variety of different modes that are suitable for each piece of the kit. We like modes A, E and N for snares, the bassier A and E modes or kicks and toms, and N mode pushed to its extremes for room mics.
Drum bus processing and saturation
The tightening and fine-tuning of your mix happens in this stage, and is the point in the process where you’ll really start to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s these fine details that will add all the unplaceable oomf that makes great drums stand out.
The goal of EQ on your drum bus is more or less to find resonant whistles and shrieks. Create a very narrow EQ band and sweep through frequencies until you start hearing unpleasant sounds (or, at least the kind you don’t want in a mix). Cut -3 to -6db from these areas. Alternatively, you can use a plugin like Soothe2, which essentially does this for you.
Compression on the bus is as simple as adding 1-4db of gain reduction combined with a medium attack and fast release. This will glue everything together without nuking your transients.
Saturation at the end will add a lot of additional character to your sound. You can get as creative as you’d like here, including bouncing everything to reel-to-reel for analog tape saturation. Plugins like Slate Virtual Tape Machines and Softube tape are digital options for a similar effect, though obviously if you’re looking for a true analog sound you will want to start spending time at the flea market. Regardless of your solution, the goal is to slightly soften your peaks, add a little lift and increase cohesion during busy sections of your tracks. The key is to use sparingly; 1 to 3 dB of saturation will get you far, while too much will just muddy your mix.
Wet FX
Now for the most exciting (and frequently overworked) part: reverb. If you choose to add reverb after the fact, you must always ensure that you’re sending it via an AUX return rather than inserting it directly. This will keep your hits crisp while adding additional dimension.
As for which pieces of the kit to send, leave the cymbals out. Reverb is ideal for snares and toms, but anything else will turn your drums into a smear. You can occasionally add some reverb to your kick as well, but be sure to use a very gentle touch here.
10-40ms of pre-delay will ensure that your transients aren’t destroyed by an immediately blooming reverb. If you’re recording metal, you’ll generally want a short decay. Once that’s all dialed in, adjust the overall return level until things start to sound cohesive.
All told, there are a litany of variables to consider when trying to achieve a high level of clarity when recording drums. The key, ultimately, is to be intentional at every stage in the process, and to really use your ear to understand what’s working and what isn’t. Nothing is ironclad; experiment with everything we’ve suggested here to find the solution that works best for your environment, gear and whatever is being recorded.
