Every drummer is different. We all like our drums and cymbals in a certain place so we feel comfortable. For example, some like to play with their cymbals set up pretty low. (See Fig. 1) But in the studio you sometimes have to get out of your comfort zone a little for the sake of the recording.
Figure 1: Low cymbals are close to the drum mics.[/caption]
A simple way to clean up your drum recordings is to raise up your cymbals so they are as far away from the snare and tom mics as possible. (See Fig. 2) You don’t have to get them so high that you have to stand up to hit them. Even just six or twelve inches can make a big difference. If you already play with your cymbals up high then that is one less change you need to make to keep the client happy.
