RECORDING Field Notes – One Mic, Two Mic, Three Mic… Drum Recording

Let’s be honest: Once we find a recording technique that works, especially for something like drum tracking, we tend to stick with it. The setup becomes familiar, reliable… comfortable. But every so often, the urge (or the challenge) arises to try something new. Maybe it’s part of a regular review of your recording habits, or maybe a client or project calls for a completely different drum sound than your usual approach.

Regular readers of this column know that I like to push myself—to question not only how I record, but why I do it that way, and what the results really mean. So in that spirit of curiosity, this month I’m exploring a simple but revealing question:

What if all you had to record drums were one mic, two mics or three mics in total?

Let’s find out.