DRUMMER ’ SPERSPECTIVE
RECORDING DRUMS IN YOUR CHURCH
So your church wants to do a record . Or maybe you ’ re working with your team or other musicians and they want to get songs down on tape . HA !!! … I mean the hard drive . Either way , let ’ s look at several ways to record drums in a typical church . For this article we are not going to focus on a large , contemporary , megachurch . We all get to see that a lot on YouTube or DVD ’ s from artists or large ministries that do live recordings . Those are really impressive , but I want to talk about what most of you probably are dealing with in your world .
If you are recording in a venue that is the average church building you probably are dealing with a one to three hundred seat auditorium . Whether old or brand new construction , most of the time these building are not designed for modern worship bands . Usually the acoustics are not really “ band friendly .” Sorry drummers , that ’ s just the way it is . But there are ways to get a great recording even in these situations .
To do a truly “ live recording ” is a major challenge . This would be recording the vocals , band , and congregation all at the same time at a special event . In a small room I think it ’ s good to use a drum booth / cage / Plexiglas … etc . Sorry friends , I know that ’ s not ideal , but it is the only way to get as much isolation as possible . The key is to allow breathing room around the kit . Don ’ t make the booth too small and too tight around the drums . There should be easy walking space around the kit , and the top should be at least six or seven feet tall . This still allows sound waves to move around the kit and will give you a pretty realistic recording of the drums . Although this is a drum article I also recommend the rest of the band go completely direct into the system and not use any amps if possible . Yes , for bass players too . If other players must use amps they need to go in back rooms or at least keep the volume super low . Keyboard players should go with all digital instruments . Only if you ’ re doing something truly symphonic or for classic piano styles would I mike a real piano .
The team should also use all “ in-ear ” monitoring . NO live speakers on stage . If this is new territory for your worship team then I would take some time to adjust to the new technology . If you absolutely have to use monitor speakers you will have to try to keep your monitor levels down as much as possible to get a clean mix . The drummer should still try to use their own mixer and headphones , even if the other players do not . Please try ! Remember , the more audio bleed you get into your microphones from loud monitors , the more it will make mixing the project a big challenge . Of course if you get all amazing performances from the whole team and don ’ t need to do any tweaking or overdubbing then you can make it work . But that is a rare case , unless your team is a welltrained , well-rehearsed group of professionals .
In a situation where you ’ re just recording in the church without doing an event I recommend pulling the drums out of the booth and setting up in the middle of the platform away from any walls . The rest of the band can set up at a distance from the kit to give maximum separation . I would still recommend going “ line direct ” from pre-amps for other instruments and putting the singer or singers in an isolation booth . Then you can make use of a combination of close miking techniques along with using some room mikes to create a great natural room sound to the kit . * Check out the photo of a session I did in Nashville in a chapel on Music Row .*
CARL ALBRECHT Professional drummer for over 30 years , playing with Paul Baloche , Don Moen , Ron Kenoly , Abe Laboriel & Friends , LeAnn Rimes and many others . He ’ s also a clinician , author & pastor . www . CarlAblrecht . com
Even on a smaller budget many churches can afford to get audio gear that will allow them to start recording services , special events , and even scheduled studio projects . Some of the new digital mixing consoles are fully equipped with recording software . It ’ s good practice for a
music team to step into this level of work . Let it be inspiring not frightening to push your team and your drumming to the next level . As you start working on this level of musical development you ’ ll not only be challenged , but you will also be inspired by the growth in your drumming and in the skill of the whole team . Keep learning ! Keep growing ! Be faithful !! – Peace , Carl
Jul � Aug 2016 WorshipMusician . com
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