Recording drums as seperate elements?

Ok I'm working on a new project and for one of the songs I think it will suit the track to have the separate elements of the drum set (in this instance kick, snare, hats, ride and crash) recorded separately; and by that I mean tracked one at a time. I'm doing this primarily to be able to mess with the ambience of each element during the mix using automation and FX and build up an exaggerated, un-natural drum sound. I'm thinking 3 tracks for kick; in, out & Room. 3 for Snare; top, bottom & room along with a direct and room mic for each of the cymbal elements I'm the drummer so I have confidence I can perform the parts as required. So I'm wondering if anyone has attempted something similar to this and has some advice or tips for me before I start. Thanks, Andrew.

That's been a common method in disco days. The Munich guys (Moroder et al) recorded one element at the time in order to make everything as punchy and controllable as possible. Drummers went mad, but "it worked" :)

Just a question, not a comment: Would the use of trigger mikes and a trigger to midi box create similar results ? The unnatural drums would then be heavily processed samples, as I doubt that after processing anything from the original recording will remain ? I ask this because I am no drummer .....

I have done that on various projects to enhance isolation and control of different kit elements.I found that having only the drum being recorded in the space one at a time eliminated any sympathetic resonances/vibrations.So no cymbals/hats in the room until needed,set up one drum at a time to record then remove after.If that is too much hassle then use blankets over the elements not being recorded as dampers.

It seems you only want to keep the feel integrity of the performance .If so you can use appropriate software to isolate the peaks for triggering samples.This can be done using reaper or you could use something on this link

Andrew, Go for it man you have the vision, see what happens! I'm in favor of the self-imposed restrictions to inspire work and creative thinking too. Love yer Chronic Town avatar

It's been done. You can use that technique if you are getting a lot of bleed from the rest of the kit. I saw on TV where Dave Grohl and another drummer simultaneously recorded the entire drum part with two drummers in separate studios. Dave played the snare, kick, and toms, while the other guy played the high hat and ride cymbals.

I do this all the time with MIDI drums (!!!) because : - I can't play worth shit / tight enough to handle all the drums and cymbals at the same time - I have an Alesis ControlPad with only eight pads, which arent nearly enough to handle everything in a kit in one go Go for it , and let us know / hear the results :)