Recording Cheap Drums Cheaply

I need to record a cheap drum kit and do so without spending much money. I have everything the microphones will plug into worked out, I just don't know what microphones I need, how many I need, where to put them, or anything like that. I've found two options that seem to be in my price range of about 150-250 dollars. One is the recorderman method of hanging to mics above the set in the right place, and another is something I guess Neil Peart tried, by taping a microphone to his chest. This is just for a demo, so it doesn't have to sound fantastic. I just need alright sound.

It's for a demo? hmm, ok. Tell me what mics you have. and we'll see where they should go.

We don't have any mics. Our vocal mic got stolen, so we're left with nothing. It's a pretty blank canvas, so any kind of help at all as what we're after.

Okiedokie, Lets do three mics. One on the kick, in front low just opposite of the beater. One just above the snare and then an omni directional on your chest. A camera lavalier mic does well for that.

The snare could be a SM57 or something equal, and the kick could be whatever you can find.

The lav on your chest will peg out pretty quickly so dial it down, but it will pick up the cymbals.

Once you get it dialed in and recorded, some simple compression will tighten up the kick and snare, then use the lav sound channel to fill in the rest.

You could do this all with RatShack mic's for under a hundred bucks and come up with a decent demo.

Thank you so much for your help. That looks like the way I'm going to go. I'm not so in with the technical jargon, but I know somebody who is so we're good there. The snare drum has a pretty deep sound to it, most people probably wouldn't like it but it does our sound justice, so I was wondering if there would be any differences due to that or is it all the same when we're just going for a demo?

Not really any difference, the mic on the snare is close to the skin, to capture the strike. The mic on the kick will also hear the snare's strainers as will the lav mic pinned to your chest.

I've used variations of this setup on several drum books published by Alfred through WorkshopArts. It works and when mixed right, sounds pretty good.

To record drums
you really need
bass drum mic
overhead mic
snare mic

the bass drum can use any mic over 20 bucks
the snare needs what he said a sm57 mic
but the pin to the cheast thing i say "no"
it will have nose in the background man

us a overhead mic
thats a overhead stand with a mic

like any condinser
a sm57 may work but i would use
a mxl studio vocal mic
its only 65 bucks bro

only $185 all