At J3T Drum Tracks I record drums and percussion tracks for a huge range of musical styles, each needing specific microphone placement to capture the authentic sound that each song needs and deserves. In order to achieve this I have a total of 15/16 microphones (depending on the amount of toms) which are on record for every session. These range from vintage valve and ribbon room/ambient mics to close up mics around the kit.

Recording with this amount of microphones gives my clients multiple options when mixing in order for them to achieve the sound that their song needs.

So while the mics usually stay in the same positions, I do choose different snare drums, cymbals and tom sizes, drum muffling and tunings for each song. Getting the correct sound at source is vital for a great recording.

The 3 audio clips below demonstrate some of the mixing variations using combinations of the 15 microphones around the kit and room.

Use headphone for a better experience

Download these multi-track 24bit/44.1hz stems, load them into your DAW and have fun mixing.

Note that I use some gentle processing on these stems to give them some added colour. If you need your project stems without processing then that is absolutely fine. Just let me know.