When people first start recording drums, they tend to focus on the close microphones. The kick drum needs its own microphone, the snare needs another, then there's the toms, hi-hats and maybe even a microphone underneath the snare as well.
Before long, you've got eight or ten microphones around the kit and it feels like everything's covered.
The funny thing is, it's often the overhead microphones that end up doing most of the heavy lifting.
A good pair of overheads doesn't just capture cymbals, it captures the drum kit as a complete instrument. It gives you the stereo image, the relationship between each drum and cymbal, and much of the natural ambience that makes a recording feel alive. Get the overheads right and you'll often find the rest of the mix comes together much more easily. Get them wrong and no amount of EQ or processing will completely fix it.
Why overhead microphones matter
One of the biggest misconceptions is that overhead microphones exist purely to record cymbals.
They certainly capture the cymbals, but that's only part of their job.
Listen to a great pair of overheads on their own and you'll hear almost everything that's happening around the kit. The crack of the snare, the resonance of the toms, the attack of the kick, the cymbals opening up and, perhaps most importantly, how all of those elements work together in the room.
That's why many engineers start building their drum mix around the overheads before introducing any of the close microphones. The overhead pair provides the overall picture, while the close mics simply add focus and weight where it's needed.
They're also invaluable when checking phase across the kit. If your overheads sound balanced and coherent, it's much easier to blend in the close microphones without things suddenly becoming thinner or losing impact.
Choosing the right overhead microphones
There isn't one perfect overhead microphone for every session.
The right choice depends on the drummer, the room, the style of music and the sound you're trying to achieve.
If you're after a natural, open drum sound, this is exactly the sort of situation where we'd reach for the Sontronics APOLLO 2. Ribbon microphones have a wonderful way of smoothing out the top end without making the cymbals feel dull, and because the APOLLO 2 is a stereo ribbon microphone, it does a fantastic job of capturing the whole kit as one cohesive performance rather than a collection of individual drums. It's a setup that works beautifully for jazz, acoustic music, orchestral percussion or anywhere you want the drums to sound exactly as they do in the room.
For modern rock, indie or pop productions, we'd usually head in a different direction. A matched pair of Sontronics STC-1S microphones gives you the speed and precision that small-diaphragm condensers are known for, capturing crisp cymbals and plenty of detail without losing the punch underneath. Whether you're using an X/Y setup, ORTF or a spaced pair, they give you plenty of flexibility to tailor the stereo image to both the room and the performance.
The important thing is not to think about ribbon microphones versus condensers as a competition. They're simply different tools. One isn't better than the other, they just capture the kit in different ways.
Three overhead techniques every engineer should know
One question we're often asked is whether there's a "correct" way to position overhead microphones.
The honest answer is no.
There are several tried-and-tested techniques, but each produces a slightly different result. The best approach is the one that gives you the sound you're looking for.
X/Y
If you're looking for a dependable starting point, X/Y is hard to beat.
The two microphones are positioned with their capsules almost touching and angled towards each other, usually between 90 and 120 degrees. Because both microphones are effectively hearing the kit from the same point, phase issues are kept to a minimum.
You don't get the widest stereo image, but what you do get is a focused, punchy recording that translates brilliantly to mono. That's one of the reasons it's become such a popular choice in both studios and live recordings.
ORTF
ORTF opens things up a little more.
The microphones are spaced slightly apart and angled outwards to mimic the way we naturally hear a room. Compared to X/Y, the stereo image feels wider and more spacious, while still keeping the snare and kick nicely anchored in the centre.
If you're recording in a room with a lovely natural ambience, ORTF can do a brilliant job of letting that character become part of the recording rather than something you're trying to recreate later with reverb.
Glyn Johns
Then there's the famous Glyn Johns technique.
Decades after it was first used, it's still one of the most effective ways to record a drum kit with very few microphones.
One microphone sits above the snare while the second is positioned over the floor tom, with both kept exactly the same distance from the centre of the snare. Add a kick microphone and, if you like, a close microphone on the snare, and you've got a remarkably complete drum recording.
Because you're relying so heavily on the overheads, this technique really rewards a well-tuned kit and a drummer with good dynamics.
If we were using this setup, we'd be reaching for a pair of Sontronics ORPHEUS microphones. Their large-diaphragm design captures plenty of body and depth while still delivering the detail and stereo image that make this technique so rewarding to work with.
The important thing to remember is that these techniques aren't rules. They're starting points.
Don't be afraid to move the microphones a few centimetres, listen back and trust your ears. Some of the best drum sounds come from experimenting rather than following a diagram exactly.
Placement is just as important as the microphones
Over the years, we've seen plenty of people spend hundreds of pounds upgrading their overhead microphones, only to position them exactly where the old ones were.
More often than not, spending twenty minutes experimenting with placement will make a bigger improvement than spending another few hundred pounds on microphones.
Raise the overheads and you'll often capture more of the room. Bring them down and the kit becomes more direct and focused. Move them forwards or backwards and you'll completely change the relationship between the cymbals, snare and toms.
Small adjustments can make a surprisingly big difference.
It's also worth checking your overheads in mono before you start adding the close microphones. If something doesn't sound quite right, it's much easier to solve any phase issues now than once you've got ten microphones contributing to the mix.
Final thoughts
Overhead microphones do far more than capture cymbals. In many ways, they define the sound of the entire drum kit.
They establish the stereo image, capture the interaction between every drum and cymbal, and often become the foundation that the rest of your mix is built around.
Whether you prefer the smooth, natural character of ribbon microphones or the detail and precision of condensers, taking the time to choose the right microphones, and just as importantly, taking the time to position them properly, will have a bigger impact on your recordings than most people realise.
If there's one piece of advice we'd leave you with, it's this: start with your overheads.
Get those sounding right first, and you might be surprised how little work the rest of the kit needs afterwards.