data-object-fit=cover data-lazy-srcset=https://apogeedigital.com/app/uploads/2024/06/Drums-Blog-.jpg 1440w, https://apogeedigital.com/app/uploads/2024/06/Drums-Blog--300x131.jpg 300w, https://apogeedigital.com/app/uploads/2024/06/Drums-Blog--1030x451.jpg 1030w, https://apogeedigital.com/app/uploads/2024/06/Drums-Blog--768x336.jpg 768w, https://apogeedigital.com/app/uploads/2024/06/Drums-Blog--450x197.jpg 450w data-lazy-sizes=(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px data-lazy-src=https://apogeedigital.com/app/uploads/2024/06/Drums-Blog-.jpg />
Share this article
width=32 height=32 data-lazy-src=https://apogeedigital.com/app/themes/juniper-theme/src/img/icons/facebook-purple.svg />
width=32 height=32 data-lazy-src=https://apogeedigital.com/app/themes/juniper-theme/src/img/icons/twitter-purple.svg />
width=32 height=32 data-lazy-src=https://apogeedigital.com/app/themes/juniper-theme/src/img/icons/linkedin-purple.svg />
How to Record Acoustic Drums With a Compact Setup in 2024
Drums are one of the hardest instruments to record when you consider just how big they are. Unlike a guitar or saxophone, you have multiple components that need to be heard clearly through a mix, so you typically need several microphones.
However, it's easier than you think to get a great drum mix with a compact setup. In this guide, we'll explain how to get a decent drum recording with just two microphones and Symphony Desktop.
Here's everything you need to know.
How to Record Acoustic Drums with Apogee Products (5 Steps)
Space
Before looking at any gear, you need to set your space up optimally. The better position your drums are in, the easier it will be to get a good drum recording.
Our biggest suggestion is to face your drums away from a wall. If they're directed at a wall, the cymbals and shells will project sounds against it. Those sounds will bounce off quite aggressively, causing a bad room sound.
By facing your drums away from the wall, you cut down on the number of ugly frequencies.
You should then do your best to insulate the room. You can do this by hanging sound panels on walls or filling the room with a bit of furniture.
Sound insulation can get really expensive, but the basic principle is that you want to stop sound from bouncing around the room. It could really help to just bring in a couch, as that will absorb a lot of sound.
Microphones
For the sake of having a compact setup, we're just going to use two microphones. Something like an sE Electronics sE7 would work well as an overhead, while a Shure Beta 52A would work well as the kick drum mic.
For the overhead mic, you'll need to set it up above your kit. Position it above the ride cymbal, and make sure it's in a diagonal position from the snare drum.
If the mic is too high, you're going to get more sound from your cymbals. If it's too low, it'll pick up more of the drums. It also may get in the way. So you just need to play around to find the best height.
Set the kick mic up inside your bass drum if it has a port hole. If it doesn't, position it a few inches away from the resonant head, but make sure it's in the middle.
Audio Interface
The Apogee Symphony Desktop is a great audio interface for drummers, as it includes two pre-amps that you can connect the mics two. This will set you up with the two-mic recording setup.
When you've connected the mics to the interface with XLR cables, make sure to get the right gain levels. This means that they should be loud enough, but they shouldn't peak when you strike the drums.
You can then fine-tweak the settings to whatever sound preferences you prefer. Remember that placing the mics and getting good gain settings is more important than how you mix them later. It makes mixing much easier.
One of the big benefits of the Symphony Desktop is that it includes on-board processing with a variety of plugins. This gives you extra tools to shape your recordings.
Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
Your next step is to use a Digital Audio Workstation to have control over the recorded sounds being sent through the interface.
The most popular DAWs are Logic Pro, Ableton Live, and Pro Tools. Those all cost a bit of money, so you can use Garage Band or Audacity if you want something free.
When using the DAW, you'll need to set the preferences so that the Apogee Symphony interface is the primary sound source. You can then create two tracks for the overhead and kick drum mic.
You should be able to record the drums and hear what they sound like.
For example, if you're struggling to get good low-end from your mic positioning, you can add the Pultec EQP-1A plugin to better shape the recording.
Mixing
Mixing is incredibly subjective, and some drummers prefer certain sounds over others. However, there are a few things to do when you start mixing the sounds.
The base sounds coming through the microphones aren't optimized well, so you can use the interface to edit them to sound a lot better.
You basically just want to clean up any frequencies that make your kit sound bad. You can then boost certain frequencies to get louder and more powerful sounds. Add a bit of reverb to really spark up the sound quality and you're golden.
From there, you have your recording setup sorted. Just save all of your settings to use as a template. You can then record your drums in the same way every time you go through the motions.
FAQ
Do You Need a Mixer to Record Drums?
No, you don't need to use a mixer. Most drum recording setups just use an audio interface, which channels the signals from your microphones through to your computer. You can use a mixer as an extra step to control those sounds, but it's not essential by any means.
How Do You Get High-Quality Drum Recordings?
There are a few vital things needed f
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the First Look for Land of Sin' - Premier...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
data-object-fit=cover data-lazy-srcset=https://apogeedigital.com/app/uploads/2024/06/Drums-Blog-.jpg 1440w, https://apogeedigital.com/app/uploads/2024/06/Drums-Blog--300x131.jpg 300w, https://apogeedigital.com/app/uploads/2024/06/Drums-Blog--1030x451.jpg 1030w, https://apogeedigital.com/app/uploads/2024/06/Drums-Blog--768x336.jpg 768w, https://apogeedigital.com/app/uploads/2024/06/Drums-Blog--450x197.jpg 450w data-lazy-sizes=(max-width: 1440px) 100vw, 1440px data-lazy-src=https://apogeedigital.com/app/uploads/2024/06/Drums-Blog-.jpg /> 
