How I Recorded Album-Quality Drum Tracks In A Crappy GARAGE

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Bobby out here trying to topple the entire recording industry. If he goes missing, we'll know why

Got my subscription. This is exactly the sort of thing I've learned over progressing to high level mixing over the last few years. What it sounds like is what it sounds like. With a good sources, everything can work with everything with enough knowhow. Bravo.

This also a testament and puts major perspective on how much we can accomplish from a limited funds/gear perspective. You said that you prefer these situations for recording but there was a point in time where the only option was the big studio for album quality. So thank the tech gods for so much progression and advances in recording!

I'd be interested in listening to a mixed recording from your studio and then from your garage (not knowing which is which) and then we can decide which is the better of the two. I think that would definitely prove your point. Thanx for everything you do for us.

It's refreshing to see this, a lot of other audio recording channels & forums make recording drums so intimidating, and they make it seem like you can't get decent quality tracks without spending numerous thousands of dollars. I like the approach of working with the gear you have.

The method of using a cheap live digital mixer as your interface is a legendary tip that not many people seem to realize is a great solution in most cases. I own an M32 that I use at home in exactly the same way.

You forgot to mention one thing that contributes to this great sounding recording. The drummer.
This dude is a killer player.

As a highly prolific and terribly untalented basement recording artist, I greatly appreciate this video and your approach…..great tips and advice and thank you for the free download……my e609 and AT2035 salute you sir……

I also love drums in cinderblock rooms. And totally agree with the idea that room mics sound good no matter what the room (they just might take some more EQing). You get real drums that sound like they were recorded in a real room, which I think is more and more important nowadays in the era of sample replacement and quantized drums. Home studios should really start utilizing what they have to get cool, unique sounds as an alternative to the pristine sound that is the “modern production” we’re hearing on what they call rock these days. So I’m all for everything in this video.
Another tip: those PZM mics are some of the best kick mics around. Stick it inside your kick drum on top of a blanket or whatever muffling you’re using in it, HUGE kick sound with lots of sub lows.
Also, if you’ve got a ribbon mic put it in front of the kit like 6-8 feet away 90 degrees off axis so the drumset is in the dead zone of the polar pattern and you’ll get nothing but room sound. Play with the height to adjust how much low end you want. Even just that one mic blended in with the close mics will make the whole kit sound like what you’re actually hearing live in the room while the drummer is playing.

Garages are super cool to record drums.
Great ER reverb, much better than a dead booth in a studio.

I used to have a 3000 square ft facility here in Denver. Ive made a mobile rack with 32channels of PT HDX and preamps. I can travel and make records in unique places now. Ive traveled all over the US now and can honestly say. Its more fun than being trapped in a studio.

This may be a stupid question but how do I get each individual microphone input represented in what seems to be its own channel in my DAW? like as shown at 6:56. I can only get a stereo input that only shows up as one track, even though I have 5 microphones plugged into my board, and I have to do everything on that.

My band recorded our last EP ourselves, and we used a reflective room (old converted garage). Got some good results. We're going to do the same thing for our next album with a bit more knowledge, and some slightly better gear (still fairly budget). Hoping for a killer product without the pro studio costs.

Meant to tip before but it crashed my browser. Excellent video - very inspiring and brilliantly put together. Thanks again

Love this! I often record in untreated rooms with natural reverb. Always seemed more natural than playing in a dead room and applying reverb in post. Work with what ya have mindset!

I really admire your creativity. This is a very clever approach to recording with astounding results. Great work! 👍

A couple of important things (imo) to note that were not brought up:
1.) Even IF you're lucky enough to have access to a garage or other large enough space for this, that doesn't mean your neighbors will be happy about drums being played loudly over and over again for tracking (something that is hard to avoid when you're in a non sound treated space).
2.) Continuing off of sound treatment and isolation, you might also have to worry about the sound of vehicles/traffic and other unwanted sounds if all the separates your room mic is a thin garage door. Nothing like a random car horn, alarm, or motorbike to ruin a take.
3.) I counted 14 mics total. Sure, this is not as many as a pro-studio might use but it's also not "only a handful of mics".
I agree with the ethos of this video. Recording should be accessible and not some mythical, expensive, or unarchivable thing for musicians. These 3 things I listed are just potential issues some might run into.
Yes, 100% the source [a good musician with a good sounding instrument(s)] is certainly the most important variable when recording.

I just downloaded your PDF. I always love scheduling books/personal philosophies on recording methods. Engineers who release those kinds of things always get an instant sub from me because it's like having your college professor in your pocket.

The drums sound pretty good.. what I used to do with room mics is key them in on the kick and snare mics so they just open when they are hit … we used keypex gates but with plugins you can just sidechain it

Love this! Sounds killer

My band recorded two albums in a studio converted barn in 1996 & 1997. (There was a cow shed next door). It was the most basic set up ever. The mic’d drums came out killer, but I can’t recall the close mics we used, but I know we used two RadioShack PZM flat mic as overheads that were stuck to the ceiling. The guy recording us swore but these cheap mics for ambience.

It's about time people wake up and realise, the entire industry post analogue is riddled with clever marketing and lies.
As someone who has been recording as a minimalist (small sudio) for almost 20 years now, you dont need fancy speakers, rediculous treatment, expensive microphones, bold claim software, all you need is a pathway to deliver what you hear in your head to the consumer.
Digital amp sims have NOT got better in years, theyve just got clever at selling them to you, Drum programs are barely changing right now, its just endless samples that confuse you.
You can make top records in any circumstance, the question is, understanding the space, and adapting accordingly, if you have that talent, you are golden.
Nice video my dude :)

This is a breath of fresh air. I have some of this gear already, and feel more confident with the use of this “junk” 😂. Learned alot and look forward to making some recordings. Thanks man!

Great video. I also have an unfinished laundry room surrounded by concrete walls which I have added some acoustic treatment but nothing to expensive. Maybe 100 bucks on foam for the ceiling and sides of the room but that's it. I like some of open natural sounds and close mics do a great job of getting the sound. Love the room mic techniques and snakes for suggested tips. Keep it going!

This video came at the right moment for me. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge!

Loved the drum sound...the snare is absolutely killing it.

Crazy how dry those close mics were given the space! Sounds really good 👍

Fantastic video! I’ve always had the same opinion that the room isn’t super important; my friends seem to think you gotta rent out a real studio for great drum sounds, but I’ve tracked drums in a completely drywall basement and got good results. The room mic setup you have is great, and I love the sound you got!

i like running my ride mic from underneath, tucked in close near the bell. Seems like it helps reduce bleed significantly, using the ride as a shield from the top side of the kit

Thank you for taking the time to produce this very informative and casually entertaining video.
Anybody who is hating on you at this point, should probably spend their time producing content instead of trolling people.

Very cool video. In my previous band we recorded our drummer in our practice space. It was so much fun and the results were pretty decent.

Dude you have become my favorite recording/mixing/production guy on RUclips. This information is helping so many people (especially those of us who don't have a ton of money to go to some fancy recording studio). From listening to you over the past couple years, I can confidently say our new album I'm wrapping up will be leagues better than our EP from 2021. Thank you so much! I hope you have exponential success as you go along.
☠🖤🤘

+1 on the room mics. They really should be the meat of your drum sound!

extra respect for still rocking the 2012 mbp! Still use mine as well with my presonus firepod

Awesome video my guy. Was recording some demos in a garage the other day and they really didn’t sound bad at all. Trying to find more solutions to getting the best sound with what I currently have. Videos like this give me more ideas.

I'd recommend if you want the room mics to sound like what the drummer is hearing, work out the distance and then delay the tracks to replicate the return journey to the drummer. Sound travels at just over 1ms per feet. The Haas effect occurs beyond 40ms, so ideally you will get the best results with room mics being greater than or equal to 20 feet away from the kit. A tip learned by watching videos of Steve Alibini recording.

I love the organic approach, even using digital tech. This video makes me want to build a studio

I'm glad that I stumbled upon your video. I have a small room with drums that i'm trying to learn how to record in. I have a Focusrite with Ableton Live Lite 12. I'll look for a defect analog emulator.

Great as always, Bobby!

Hi Bobby, when micing the cymbals as you do do you worry about phase alignment with the snare or does it not matter because you’ll high pass most of the snare out anyway?

The crashes/overheads sound great man, this is what the samples struggle with the most! Looking forward to the rest of the process :))

This is awesome Bobby!! I've attempted to record my drummer I got one track finished with lots of editing and drum samples. Mic placement is where I'm falling short . I need to get better results at the source! This is great insight on your simple approach! Great video.

Wow! Does Not look crappy to me!! Where I live this garage would cost me $1,000,000

I’m getting ready to upgrade my Steinberg UR22 to Audient Evo 16 so I can start tracking drums in my home studio. I use EZdrummer 3 for my demos. I write and record the bass/vocals/guitars myself. I found a killer drummer that played in Blue Man Group.
This video makes me feel like I’m on track with my plan for recording my music. Thank u🤘

Oh man I have almost all the same stuff... you can get super good sounding stuff for not that much. Also running Yamaha stage custom birches with aax cymbals - reasonably priced and sounds really good. Same mics too, just a couple different. Love it

this is the best video i have ever seen.

Nice job man, I'm a fan of these procedures as well. The only problem I experience with very budet friendly electronic components like the Behringer mixers, cheap monitors, etc. is their durability when using them a lot.
Greetings from Germany

Awesome video Bobby, looking forward to hearing the finished product 🤘😀

My philosophy for recording drums is simple: as long as the drums are good sounding and tuned correctly, you have the right mics for the drums (doesn't have to be expensive mics just as long as they sound good on the kit), you don't need a good sounding room. You don't even need a big room (the garden hose technique and micing the adjacent room works fine).

I love the different styles of content and how you demonstrate the method that you used to get those phenomenal results. Keep it up! 🤘🏼😎

Amazing video as always and definitely an eye opener for the gear obsessed…..

hey!!! We have the same Mac hahaha! I do home recordings too and on my last "studio space" the room is very small. I kinda glued some acoustic panels to control a little bit the high freqs. loved the video!! cheers from Mexico!!

is it a good idea to use one overhead mic for this type of environment? im not looking for this exact reverb like sound but something punchy and sharp. would that work out for that type of sound?

Excellent room sounds!

Bobby got them 🐐Skills that make EVERYTHING sound KILLER 🤓🍻🤘

You DID it mate! \m/

I’ve got those E3.5 monitors in my bedroom studio and they are fantastic

I often record my drums with 4 mics using My rehearsal room. I have a set of those Octavias for overheads an old 70s shure unidyne II For the snare and a CAD bass drum mic.

thanks alot buddy the recording sounds awesome thanks for all the tips

Maaaan this video is super inspiring; thanks a ton for making and showing all of your process!
I don't know if you'd consider continuing this video, but would love to see a video where you go through and show your EQing / processing of these room mics vs your overheads. My biggest problem right now is figuring out how to treat overheads vs room mics.. my room mics either have way too much low end to deal with, or can get too harsh.

Super cool video! I'm really curious what those AT boundary mics are doing to enhance the sound.

This is excellent

Very inspiring Bobby.
Question: Is the mono room mic (LDC) pointed at the wall (for reflections) or the drum kit (for more direct sound) ? 🤟

F@ck yeah! Well done bro

Awesome video as well as the stellar sound you have produced.

Really great stuff here. Basic question that I may have asked before - do you limit/compress/eq as you record, or do you record raw and add it later? Or half and half?

So crazy question but how do you keep those mics, especially the room mics, in phase? Do you not worry about it and use something like AutoAlign?

When you played the drums on your daw, how did you manage to get literally zero cymbal bleed in those tom mics? Unless you just cut out the parts where there was no toms being played / have a plugin with a gate etc.?

I’m a year behind the ball here but I would love to know more on why you chose the xr18 as your go to interface. I think it’s a great idea just would love more info on it!

Thank you for this video! I subscribed.

My only concern if I'll record like this in the future (or in any room that’s not acoustically treated), is how to deal with the neighbors?

I'm curious if your overhead/cymbal mic choice is "how you always do it", or was that decided after experimenting in that garage?
As in, if you recorded in a "good room" would you go traditional overhead method but a "bad room" requires close-micing each cymbal?

I am curious if you get any noise complaints from neighbors? I want to setup a drum studio but without any sound dampening in a quiet neighborhood, i feel like the garage is a no go

Very useful info here!!!❤❤❤ Thank you!

Excellent video, about to record my first project with my own band , been mixing and mastering for a while but first time tracking.any advice for recording drums in a 10x10 room?

I do mobile recording with mixing/mastering at home. I like open spaces like this. The studio is cool but something about recording in spaces like this feel more cooler and real. With gear of today you can record anywhere and still make it sound professional!!!

Newbie question , when tracking drums do i need to gate anything ? Or pre eq drums before sending it to daw during tracking ?

I’ve had an XR18 for over 4 yrs. Can’t believe more folks don’t use it in the home studio realm. Bought a refurb for under $600. Where can you get 18 I/O?! Match that with PSM-16s, and you’re tracking monitoring is checked off the list, all with two CAT cables.
Great vid, thanks!!!

I get very good mixes from an xr18, some 57s and a NT1 pair, a 52. Maybe 7 mic. Into a BS old Lenovo running Linux with reaper. I love the challenge and the savings.

This is massively helpful but I do have a question. We’re you able to use in ear monitors with the Behringer while recording?

Some decent good advice here 👍🏼

I'm not sure if it was said in the video, so apologies, but this works because drums are usually in the "Background" of a mix. If you did record in an "acoustically perfect" environment, you would very likely add reverb and delay in post to make the drums sound "big". However, not everything in the mix SHOULD sound "big" or big. Vocals for example would not do as well an environment like that basement, unless that's the vibe you're going for, which a lot of folks probably aren't. A good hack for that would probably be to record your vocals in your car or a closet full of clothes. Very cool video man and very cool way to challenge traditional recording concepts!

This is the acoustical definition of “if you can’t beat them, join them”

Love the video brother!! I got a question about your cymbal mics. I see how you use them purely for the cymbals, and not as overheads, capturing the whole kit. My question is, when you are mixing, do you leave all of those mics open, or do you actually edit them down like toms?? In other words, you only hear them when those particular cymbals are struck. Thanks brother.

Just recorded drums in my reflective dining room , with room mics lying on the floor in the hallway... It was the best sounding drum recording I've made BY FAR. This is so underrated as a technique! Not to mention that none of the mics cost over £150, and it sounded way better than a kit I mic'ed with Neumann mics in a studio...

Nice Bobby!

That’s a great drum sound!

Very cool!
We record all our stuff in a garage.
Going to take some tips from this.
Thank you!

Nice. My band is very DIY when it comes to recording stuff so I'll show this to our bassist/sound engineer to see if there are any nuggets of info he didn't already know about.

Can you post a link to your band's music?

nice video! where you able to phase check during setup?

Room mics for the win!

Ya those drums do sound killer. Good video

Thanks. Looking forward to the new King Kelly songs

Curious if you time align the room mics?

this is amazing!

Very interesting! Any chance we could get your input on recording drums in a small room, low ceilings, ect?

I wish more people would recommend the xair or other digital rack mixers (i have a soundcraft ui24r) for drummers on a budget recording. Nearly everyone at this level uses 8 channel interfaces like a Focusrite or Tascam and those mixers not only have more channels for not much more money, but they are great for mixing band practice, recording quick ideas without a computer, etc. I had no idea they were even an option until recently.

I can see the close mics and overheads going well, but there are some prices to pay with using room mics in a room with no acoustics.
You can “make up” for it in the mix, but it honestly just doesn’t match up with the quality of a real studio setup, or at least having some acoustics. Even some room reverbs tend to do really good in comparison when it comes to the final product IMO. There are a lot of factors to this however, such as the products, the user, etc.
You could easily make your own acoustic panels or use blankets, and easily improve the quality you would get out of your mics. You don’t need a fully decked out acoustic setup, but you can control and dial in that reflective environment you like to get a cleaner tone overall that you won’t have to make up for later.
I think even just makeshift bass traps themselves would help a lot after listening to the room mics.
The setup is unique, and I feel like that is apart of the art itself, so I cant really say what you’re doing is wrong, if anything I think it’s really cool that you’re doing this. I’d even encourage others to do the same, I even started off using iPhone demos to track lol.
Buttttt, as someone who records in the garage as well, I would personally aim for a little bit more control of the room. You could get a lot more out of your overheads and room mics using your current mic placements. I’m jealous of the amount of space you have as well lol.
Please don’t take this as harsh criticism, I think your doing good, I just had some opinions on some the claims you had about not needing acoustics.
I think it would make your life a little easier in the mix, especially on the low end. Maybe even nicer on the ears while recording.