Drum Cymbal "Ping Pong" Issue

[Lowell - 3forparkerParticipant]

I've primarily been using an ORTF type setup on my drum overheads, centered over the snare. But I wanted to experiment to see if I could get a better stereo image while keeping the snare centered. With several other techniques, mostly spaced pair and recorderman (basically the way Warren shows his set up in one of his drum recording videos on here), I get a weird unwanted stereo effect with my two crash cymbals... sometimes it's a back-and-forth "ping pong" sound, and sometimes it's more of a "drift" as the cymbal seems to move from one side to the other. I guess it could be blamed on phase, but I checked that, and they seem to be in phase, and the issue occurs even when just the two overheads are soloed. Attached is an unprocessed piece of test audio - using Warren's recorderman configuration - where I play a basic beat and use each crash. It's a typical setup, with one crash over on the left near the hi hat, and the other on the right by the ride.

I'd appreciate any input on what causes this... no issue like this with ORTF. Thanks!

Lowell (3forparker)

PS - Mics are sE8 matched pair on overheads and toms, with an sE V7x on snare, and Beyerdynamic D71c on kick - just in case that matters.

• This topic was modified 5 years ago by Lowell - 3forparker.

[ChrisWParticipant]

I'm getting a similar issue with my hihats jumping across my speakers when I play an open note, although I'm using xy. I've heard the phasey sound in cymbals can be a common problem in glenn johns type techniques when a mic is facing an edge of a cymbal rather than most facing the top of it. Maybe see if the mic is angled to face the edges of the cymbals when they move when being played? I can't think of anything else than that.

Overall it sounds good, but I see what you mean about the drifting thing.

[Lowell - 3forparkerParticipant]

Hey, Chris - thanks for the response. I think you're right about it being a cymbal edge thing. And you're right about calling it glenn johns instead of recorderman. I had set it up exactly the way Warren described, but my cymbals are obviously going to be placed a bit differently, and that cymbal edge thing is likely the problem. For now, I've gone back to ORTF, but this time, set it up at a bit of an angle, so that it lines up with both snare and kick. I also tilted them a bit more so that they aren't just aimed straight down - but instead aimed at the kit in general. Thanks for the help!

[ChrisWParticipant]

They're two are still in the same family of techniques. I just think the cymbal edge issue is often more apparent in Glenn John's since it's more parallel with the cymbals, but I'm guessing there's still potential with it in Recorder Man.

It still could be something else too though. I'm still sorting out a similar issue but with XY strangely, it makes me think I'm having room acoustic issues.

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