Drums sound HORRIBLE

T

TheMajorMiller

New member
Any ideas on how to fix this? The link will lead you to mixes of a song I recorded recently and the drums sound weak, thin, dead...

Mix #1 seemed to have too much kick, not enough snare and overheads too low in the mix. Mix #2 lowers the kick & guitar slightly, raises the snare (perhaps too much) and overheads (also, possibly too much).

They sound okay by themselves, but when everything's mixed down they sound horrible. To me, it seems like they're lacking something in the overheads (AKG C460s, X-Y pattern roughly 4 feet above the center of the bass drum)... :confused:

Any suggestions? Sorry this explaination is so vauge, I'm just frustrated... :mad:

World's Worst Drum Sound
 
I think they sound good. I think it's the other instruments that seem to be lacking. The low end is kinda loose but the drums to me seem fine. It also might be that they are a little out front.
 
EdWonbass said:
I think they sound good. I think it's the other instruments that seem to be lacking. The low end is kinda loose but the drums to me seem fine. It also might be that they are a little out front.
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IMO, the guitar sounds horrible.
 
yeah wow defintly turn the drums down and they wont sound bad at all

the guitar sounds like a pussy right now so make that louder

and turn the bass up some too


but most of all just turn the drums down .......way to loud
 
Yeah, I think the guitar sounds horrible, too, but if that's what it's supposed to sound like, so be it.

The drums sound like they're out front just a bit too much. Nice tight kick sound, and the snare sounds good as well. The cymbals sound very shrill, though - not very substantial - kind of like fingernails on a blackboard, if you catch my drift.
 
Zaphod B said:
Yeah, I think the guitar sounds horrible, too, but if that's what it's supposed to sound like, so be it.

The drums sound like they're out front just a bit too much. Nice tight kick sound, and the snare sounds good as well. The cymbals sound very shrill, though - not very substantial - kind of like fingernails on a blackboard, if you catch my drift.
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I think if they were mixed back a bit the wouldn't seem so harsh. Maybe a little EQ to smooth them out.
 
Hi. I like the tune.
My suggestions would be to turn down the kick some & use a limiter on it to bring it back in. Turn down the overheads and trim the very top end treble back with eq. Use a little reverb on the snare but keep it up in the mix, maybe compress it some but don't take away the attack, the snare is driving the rhythmic pulse of the tune. I agree with others previously, the guitars sound thin. Turn up the the guitars in the mix and add a little low-mid eq boost to fatten up the guitars some.

I believe that everyone's suggestions to your post revolve around the same issues, the drum overheads are loud, the kick is loud, the guitars are thin. EQ'ing can only do so much, the sounds are as they were recorded. Make changes and do what you can with it.
 
Maybe you should upload the drum track and let someone add a guitar track to it and see if there is any improvement. I think the guitar sounds pretty bad also. I think what everyone has posted so far is dead on.
 
I think the kick and the snare sound great. Maybe just fatten the snare a little...What mics/setup are you using? I've been experimenting the last few days with drums and haven't come up with anything worth keeping yet. (using a Shure Beta 52 and sm57 for kick and snare)
 
Much better...the drums are still too hot, especially the snare. You've subdued the cymbals a bit, they sound better. I'm hearing something that sounds like small-room reflectivity - did you add that, or is that just something you have to deal with?

Bring the bass line up a bit, that may help mask the cymbals a bit more

The guitar still sounds like ass. :D

Good job, keep at it!
 
Thank you, sir.

Agreed, the snare is hot, and not in a good way. Heads need changing BADLY.

Small-room reflectivity? You win a prize. My project when I get back from New Orleans this weekend (Shellac!!!) is to work on treating my box I call a studio.

Maybe I'll post another mix later with NO GUITAR. It's becoming the bane of my existence...The more I hear it the more I cringe...YUCK!
 
solo169 said:
I think the kick and the snare sound great. Maybe just fatten the snare a little...What mics/setup are you using? I've been experimenting the last few days with drums and haven't come up with anything worth keeping yet. (using a Shure Beta 52 and sm57 for kick and snare)
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2 AKG C460s for OHs, SM57 on snare and...uh...a Shure PG57 in the kick. I know, it sounds odd, but I'm getting a good sound with it, so why rock the boat?
 
Your new mix sounds much better. Drums still sound very forward. Even if you're not thrilled with the guitars, they need to be louder to balance better with the drum kit.
 
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