Audix Creator, professional drummer, and University of Kansas professor Brandon Draper recently made a short video with drum student Nick Velicer. Using a single Audix A133 Large Diaphragm Studio Condenser Microphone, they capture a full drum kit in four different positions.
Position 1: Overhead
Placing the A133 on a boom arm and extending it above the drum kit about 4 feet overhead – basically over the center of the kit – provides an airy, clean sound, with a sharper snare and hi-hat tonality.
Position 2: Room
Pulling the A133 back about ten or fifteen feet from the front of the drum kit, approximately head level from the drummer creates a thicker, deeper sound, with a bit more emphasis on the kick drum and a subdued snare and hi-hat.
Position 3: Center – Shell
Moving the A133 close up between the two rack toms captures a tighter, dryer sound, with a more crisp snare tone and a rounded, fuller kick drum tone.
Position 4: Behind
With the A133 positioned just behind the drummer, to his right side by the floor tom, the mc captures more of what the drummer might be hearing, with slightly more of the intricate details of the snare and kick drum coming through.
