17 4-Piece 6-8 Microphones
6 microphones is, in my humble opinion, the sweet-spot for a 4-piece drum kit in a small to medium sized venue. All of the drums are getting enhanced, and the overheads are now focusing primarily on the cymbal wash as opposed to a stereo image (remember, there is no rule that says you much use stereo for overhead microphones). This package was: 1 Kick-in, 1 Snare-top, 1 Rack Tom, 1 Floor Tom, 2 Overheads.
7 microphones is where we start to loose the magnitude of a difference between them. It is still noticeable, but let’s be honest the returns are diminishing. This package was: 1 Kick-in, 1 Snare-top, 1 Rack Tom, 1 Floor Tom, 1 Ride, 2 Overheads.
8 microphones. This is really where the guessing games start. It was the bottom snare. But this is where the packages really start to get personal in terms of choice. I could easily have been convinced to mic the hi-hat instead. This package was: 1 Kick-in, 1 Snare-top, 1 Snare-Bottom, 1 Rack Tom, 1 Floor Tom, 1 Ride, 2 Overheads.
