Close Micing.

[Jaymzzb]

Hey everyone,

Anyone have any experience close micing cymbals?

I'm doing some recording with my band this weekend and I'm thinking of trying to isolate the cymbals a little more than you can in the overheards just so I can manipulate them a little more in the mixing stage if necessary.

Is this a good or a bad idea?

How do you mic your cymbals?

Thanks,
James.

[gypsy101]

not close micing,no.
what mics are you using?
if you want to isolate them more why not mic them more from the front so you don't catch the snare & toms so much.
there are a lot of vids on cymbal mic technique on YouTube that are pretty helpful.

from about the 5 minute mark-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juhu3PyxSBo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF05XpgnfPI

another good vid-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF05XpgnfPI

[bbdrmz]

I've put them 2-3" from the bell of the ride with no problem. But, for crash cymbals they tend to start sounding washy (like you have chorus on them) up too close. HH, and ride should be fine. Just don't be clippin.

[Jaymzzb]

Thanks for the tips guys and videos guys.


I did the recording this weekend and tried a few different placements of the mics, I settled with around 12" away from the crash and around 12" away from the ride with both mics pointing towards the front edge of the cymbals.
They sound pretty decent and its nice to be able to manipulate the cymbals a little better without having too much kit.
I used a Mono overhead too as an ambient mic (and a backup incase the two close mic'd overheads sounded rubbish!)

Thanks again