Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

How to Record Acoustic Drums With A Compact Setup in 2024

08/06/2024

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
LINK: https://apogeedigital.com/blog/how-to-record-acoustic-drums-with-a-com...
See more stories from apogee

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

31/03/2026

Boris FX Acquires Vegas Pro, Sound Forge, and Acid Pro

Boris FX Acquires Vegas Pro, Sound Forge, and Acid Pro Jessie Electa Petrov March 30, 2026 0 Comments The acclaimed VFX developer bolsters its award-w...

31/03/2026

Berklee India Exchange Presents Anirudh Varma Collective

Berklee India Exchange Presents Anirudh Varma Collective The collective will present a workshop on Hindustani classical music and a concert in collaboration w...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Manifold to Demonstrate 400GbE COTS FPGA Support

Manifold Technologies, a Germany-based provider of cloud infrastructure for live broadcast production, will demonstrate support for 400GbE COTS FPGA accelerator...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Boland Communications Introduces QD-OLED Series Monitors

Boland Communications will introduce its QD4K315HDR10, a 31.5-inch QD-OLED monitor, at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C3519, April 18-22). The company is also introducing...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: PTZOptics to Showcase Move 4K and Horizon Platform

PTZOptics will demonstrate its Move 4K PTZ cameras and Horizon web-based control platform at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N1902). Move 4K with Horizon is now available...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Net Insight to Showcase Updated Nimbra Edge

Net Insight will demonstrate the next version of Nimbra Edge, its orchestration and control layer for live media services across multi-domain environments, at N...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Appear to Showcase Live Production Processing

Appear ASA will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W1531, April 19-22, Las Vegas). The company completed an IPO in November 2025. Our customer-first approach is ...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Harmonic Announces New Live Sports Streaming Capabilities

Harmonic has announced new capabilities for its sports streaming platform, covering multiview, programmatic advertising, in-stream advertising, and content wate...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Ateme to Showcase GenAI, Agentic AI, and Streaming

Ateme (Booth W1723) will demonstrate broadcast, streaming, and AI-driven media workflow solutions at NAB Show 2026. GenAI and Agentic AI Ateme will demonstrat...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Bitmovin's Player Web X Adds Advertising Support, Vertical Video, and Proprietary ABR Algorithm

Bitmovin has announced new capabilities for Player Web X, its web video player, ...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Brazil's Minister of Communications and FCC Commissioner To Speak

The 2026 NAB Show (April 18-22, exhibits April 19-22, Las Vegas Convention Center) will host Brazil's Minister of Communications, Frederico de Siqueira Filh...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: EVS To Showcase Expanded Live Production Ecosystem

EVS will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N1841), highlighting new products and updates across its live production portfolio, including the debut of T-Motion med...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Solid State Logic To Demonstrate Expanded Virtual System T Platform

Solid State Logic will demonstrate its virtualized System T platform at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C6907). Demonstrations will include the VTE1 virtual DSP engine, ne...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: Globecast To Showcase Managed Media Services Approach

Globecast will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W3335), highlighting its hybrid service model spanning satellite, IP, fiber, and cloud. The company will demonst...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: IP Showcase Returns as IPMX Moves to Deployment

The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA), and the Video Services Forum (VSF) have announced that the IP Showcase w...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: BBright To Demonstrate Single-Stream ST 2110 Playout

At NAB Show 2026 BBright will present a demonstration of its One Stream for the World concept, showing how a single ST 2110 playout stream can simultaneously ...

30/03/2026

NAB 2026: OpenDrives To Demonstrate New Storage and Edge Products

OpenDrives will demonstrate new products at NAB Show 2026, with two locations in the West Hall: a pod (W3443-E) in the Sports Business Hub and a cabana at W1158...

30/03/2026

Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Hosts 90th Master Tournament With Host Terry Gannon

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and repo...

30/03/2026

Op-Ed: Preparing for Agentic AI in Live Sports

The economics of live sports streaming have changed. New rights models, cloud production tools, and lower-cost distribution have made it possible for high schoo...

30/03/2026

Movimento Strings from Sonora Cinematic

MPE-capable chamber strings library announced Alongside their collection of Kontakt instruments, Sonora Cinematic have been steadily introducing a series of...

30/03/2026

UJAM release Groovemate Latigo

Latin-inspired percussion instrument announced Built on a newly developed engine and interface, UJAM's latest instrument has been designed to create Lat...

30/03/2026

Best Service launch Desert Winds

Latest Eduardo Tarilonte collaboration announced The latest library to join Best Service's ever-growing range includes four solo wind instruments that c...

30/03/2026

SOS Music Creators Survey 2026

We want to hear from you! Complete our SOS Quick Survey and enter the prize draw for a chance to win one of three $50 Amazon vouchers! Sound On Sound carri...

30/03/2026

Government of Canada Selects MAS for Strategic Tanker Fleet Sustainment

CC-330 Husky. 2024 Eric Desbiens Photography. Used with permission for the announcement and related communications. No residual rights....

30/03/2026

L3Harris Included in MDA Space Solution for RCN ISTAR Program

L3Harris Technologies will provide WESCAM CMX -8 sensor systems for integration on new Uncrewed Aircraft Systems from MDA Space, enhancing the Royal Canadian Na...

30/03/2026

EVS to Debut T-Motion Robotics at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/03/2026

SDVI To Feature New Rally Media Supply Chain Management Enhancements

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/03/2026

Boland Communications Introduces QD4K315HDR10 QD-OLED Series Monitors

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/03/2026

Mileto Tecnologia accelerates streaming growth with Synam...

Synamedia today announced that Mileto Tecnologia, one of Brazil's largest pay-TV operators, has chosen the Synamedia Go platform to support its rapid OTT ex...

30/03/2026

FOR-A's Software-Defined, AI-Powered Development Advances with Nippon TV and NVIDIA Technology

FOR-A's Software-Defined, AI-Powered Development Advances with Nippon TV and...

30/03/2026

Give Your Astrophotography REAL Depth - After Effects Tutorial

Give Your Astrophotography REAL Depth - After Effects Tutorial Graham Quince March 30, 2026 0 Comments In this tutorial, I talk you through the full w...

30/03/2026

Alfalite returns to NAB Show alongside FOR-A, showcasing LED solutions for broadcast and mission-critical environments

Alfalite returns to NAB Show alongside FOR-A, showcasing LED solutions for broad...

30/03/2026

WideOrbit Announces New Name, New Features for Flagship Radio Automation Software

Introducing WO Aurora WideOrbit is pleased to introduce WO Aurora, a new name fo...

30/03/2026

Sky announces changes to its Diversity Advisory Council

Sky welcomes Karen Blackett CBE to its DAC and thanks Baroness Prashar and Ndidi Okezie as they step down after five yearsMonday 30 March 2026 Sky announces ch...

30/03/2026

Netflix Announces the Reunion for Love is Blind: Sweden Season 3 - Premiering April 2

Back to All News Netflix Announces the Reunion for Love is Blind: Sweden Season...

30/03/2026

Netflix unveils new images from the second season of 'Gangs of Galicia'

Back to All News Netflix unveils new images from the second season of Gangs of Galicia Entertainment 30 March 2026 GlobalSpain Link copied to clipboard Do...

30/03/2026

The Latest on Netflix Anime, Unveiled at AnimeJapan 2026

Back to All News The Latest on Netflix Anime, Unveiled at AnimeJapan 2026 Entertainment 30 March 2026 GlobalJapan Link copied to clipboard From romance an...

30/03/2026

KBRO Leverages Harmonic's Fiber-on-Demand Solution for Network Upgrades

Leading Taiwan Broadband Operator Drives Fiber Deeper with Harmonic SAN JOSE, Calif. - March 30, 2026 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that KBRO, a lea...

30/03/2026

Top 10 Reasons Government Meetings Need Transcriptions (and Why It Matters More Than Ever)

Tyngsboro, Mass., March 30, 2026 - City councils, county commissions, school boa...

29/03/2026

Victory+ Turns to Creator Economy, Bringing In Popular Women's Sports Influencer Coach Jackie J to Host Live NWSL Alt-Cast

Cloud-based production, real-time engagement, and creator-driven storytelling ai...

28/03/2026

Harrison launch LiveTrax 3

Now features DiGiCo console integration Harrison's live recording and virtual soundcheck software has just reached its third major version, which among ...

28/03/2026

Sonora Cinematic launch Movimento Strings

MPE-capable chamber strings library announced Alongside their collection of Kontakt instruments, Sonora Cinematic have been steadily introducing a series of...

28/03/2026

Globecast Reimagines Managed Media Services for a Hybrid...

Globecast, the leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, will showcase its reimagined approach to media operations at the 2026 NA...

28/03/2026

Fubo Inks Deals for More Baseball RSNs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

SVG GameDay, Ep. 9: Chicago Cubs' Chris Simonson - Flying the W at Wrigley Field

In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...