Does this sound decent??

[HydrantC12]

Hey guys. I am curious if you guys can suggest anything to improve my drum sound. So any tips or input would be awsome. I play in a hardcore/technical band and this is this first time im really sitting down and doing a recording session with my band..

Mics..
1 - Snare
1 - Kick
2 - OH...X-Y

Here is the drum track..

http://www.groupsofpeople.net/Drums.mp3


And if you need an idea what the actuall song sounds like here is one with the whole band playing. This is when we set some mics up and recorded it at practice. I then added some VOX in after. I know it might not be some people's cup of tea..but its just the drum sound above im trying to improve..thanks!

http://www.groupsofpeople.net/Groups...20Disabled.mp3

[CanopuS]

Sounds really good to me. I'd be interested in a few things:
What mics did you use?
What position did you use them in?
What's the room like that you recorded in?

Well done, sounds really nice in my opinion.

[HydrantC12]

thanks canopus..

Well i used a d112 on kick...positioned about a foot from the beaters

Sm57 on top of snare...normal positioning

2 Mk012 as overheads..XY positioning

My room is an unifnished basement...I put some blankets up because there was some ambience...

Any more input would be awsome guys..thanks

[CanopuS]

Cool. Just wondering (sorry this is a bit of a lame question) - how many blankets did you use (surrounding the whole kit?) - the reason I ask is cause I was trying the same the other day but I was still getting a "boxy" sound, so I'm not sure whether to create a completely dry sound around the kit or not. If I could get drums to sound like that though.....

Cheers

[ecktronic]

Yeah, nice considering the room you used. So do blankets really make a big difference? Fast kik drum work.

fancy commenting on my drum track?

SITBACK
http://www.soundclick.com/util/strea...D=1364217&q=Hi

[HydrantC12]

For blankets..i put 1 above the kit...1 to the left and 1 to right..and 1 behind it...left the front open so the drummer was looking at the wall..i dont know..this way just seemed to work pretty decent i suppose


sorry ecktronic..im on my girlfriends laptop so i cant listen to your track cause she deosnt have speakers...but ill give them a listen when i get home and ill post...thanks guys

[HydrantC12]

they sound pretty good ecktronic..i think maybe the overheads could come down a tiny bit though..good work

[Cloneboy Studio]

I'd like to hear a slightly fatter snare. Kick will need to come down in the final mix, because it's the loudest thing. Everything sounds pretty decent though.

[HydrantC12]

ok...cloneboy, any ideas how to go about doing that??..im basically a newbie...


any other input guys would be just grand.thanks

[CanopuS]

Darn, that snare sounds pretty fat to me already, it makes anything I've achieved look wimpy - I'd be interested to know how one can "fatten" up the snare sound they get.

[Cloneboy Studio]

Fat snares are the result of:

1.) Hard hitting drummer
2.) Properly tuned snare to get that sound (slight detune of lower head)
3.) Good mics and placement (make sure the snare is fat in the overheads)
4.) Preamps that err towards fatter sounds
5.) Good converters or recording to analog tape (with saturation)
6.) If in digital use an analog/tape saturation plugin effect
7.) Proper compression (optic compressor plugins are my fav)
8.) Proper EQ (I like to suck out around 500hz, boost around 250hz, and boost at 5khz)
9.) Proper levels in the mix

Don't over compress or over EQ. Compare the effected snare to the original track to make sure you ARE improving things.

[teainthesahara]

Originally Posted by HydrantC12

Hey guys. I am curious if you guys can suggest anything to improve my drum sound. So any tips or input would be awsome. I play in a hardcore/technical band and this is this first time im really sitting down and doing a recording session with my band..

Mics..
1 - Snare
1 - Kick
2 - OH...X-Y

Here is the drum track..

http://www.groupsofpeople.net/Drums.mp3


And if you need an idea what the actuall song sounds like here is one with the whole band playing. This is when we set some mics up and recorded it at practice. I then added some VOX in after. I know it might not be some people's cup of tea..but its just the drum sound above im trying to improve..thanks!

http://www.groupsofpeople.net/Groups...20Disabled.mp3

You know, that wasnt my favorite musical style, but its refreshing to hear a drummer do so many cool fill's during a tune..drums sound good man...

[HydrantC12]

Originally Posted by Cloneboy Studio

Fat snares are the result of:

1.) Hard hitting drummer
2.) Properly tuned snare to get that sound (slight detune of lower head)
3.) Good mics and placement (make sure the snare is fat in the overheads)
4.) Preamps that err towards fatter sounds
5.) Good converters or recording to analog tape (with saturation)
6.) If in digital use an analog/tape saturation plugin effect
7.) Proper compression (optic compressor plugins are my fav)
8.) Proper EQ (I like to suck out around 500hz, boost around 250hz, and boost at 5khz)
9.) Proper levels in the mix

Don't over compress or over EQ. Compare the effected snare to the original track to make sure you ARE improving things.

Thanks man..Thats some great advice. Im gonna still screw around with the compression and eq and use your input too.

I ran my snare into a grace 101. Can you recomend me anything youve had experience with that kicked ass on snare?

Ill def keep all of what you said into the back of my mind when doing final mixing and future tracking. And thanks for the complement teainthesahara

[Cloneboy Studio]

Honestly I've gotten a fat snare mainly through the fact that I tune the snare to sound big, point my overheads (3 of them usually) AT the snare, undermic the snare, and put a condensor on top of the snare about 8" from the snare (although THAT picks up a ton of bleed).

My main goal in life is to get a big snare sound. Big kicks are easy to get, snare is difficult.

[HydrantC12]

Originally Posted by Cloneboy Studio

Honestly I've gotten a fat snare mainly through the fact that I tune the snare to sound big, point my overheads (3 of them usually) AT the snare, undermic the snare, and put a condensor on top of the snare about 8" from the snare (although THAT picks up a ton of bleed).

My main goal in life is to get a big snare sound. Big kicks are easy to get, snare is difficult.

Yeah i was thinking about undermicing the snare...damn..i gotta get myself some more mics...i hate being poor :/

[Cloneboy Studio]

Undermiking a snare is okay. The main reason I do it is for THUD with a dynamic mic, because I have been putting condensors on top these days and those don't get that percussive beat down that a dynamic can get. Of course, the dynamic can't really get that bright sound everyone seems to want from me.

Make sure to put the bottom snare mic out of phase, and in a place where the drummer won't accidently kick it. Dampen the snare wires a bit too, unless you want to hear a lot of rattle (or gate the undermic).

[Pro Tools User]

Originally Posted by Cloneboy Studio

Don't over compress or over EQ. Compare the effected snare to the original track to make sure you ARE improving things.

Cloneboy makes a very good point. I have found myself trying different settings and end up loosing what the original sound is supposed to sound like. Then its back to the beginning to find out I have made it sound worse. But then again this is how you learn what to do and not to do.
Im done rambling.

[Cloneboy Studio]

Originally Posted by Pro Tools User

I have found myself trying different settings and end up loosing what the original sound is supposed to sound like. Then its back to the beginning to find out I have made it sound worse.

Everybody does that early on. Heck, it is still possible to do it if you are experienced... you have to keep your wits about you at all times.

That's why a lot of 'quick mixes' sound better than a 'full mix'... you don't allow yourself time to screw things up.

[nascentjunkie]

well i like the sounds you got for the kick/snare. Very good in my opinion. Toms sound pretty damn good too actually. But i'm not sure if i like all the cymbals. I just wish there was more of a seperation between them. Otherwise everything else sounds pretty good. Drummer was pretty damn good too. Good job.

[HydrantC12]

Originally Posted by nascentjunkie

well i like the sounds you got for the kick/snare. Very good in my opinion. Toms sound pretty damn good too actually. But i'm not sure if i like all the cymbals. I just wish there was more of a seperation between them. Otherwise everything else sounds pretty good. Drummer was pretty damn good too. Good job.

Thanks man...For cymbals, do you mean like pan them harder left or right?? If you have any suggestions let me know...

[fritzmusic]

Great tracks! Very tight playing. I dig the song too and it IS my cup of tea. Please private message me when you have the full recording done. I'd love to hear what this sounds like fully recorded.

I loaded them both into the audio editor today, played around with some plugins. I tried a touch of small room reverb and a plugin called "More Stereo" and the drum-only track sounded ALOT better to my ears. You seem to have captured everything beautifully but you're about 95% done with this track.

Here's WHY:
The drum sounds in the drums-only track are just far too dry and sterile (even for that "in your face" sound) although the playing is truly outstanding. The kit as it is, sounds like a collective of well sampled drums all set to dead centered pan although I'm sure you properly panned your mics accordingly at the mixer. If you correctly apply some stereo imaging with some light room reverb, it will slightly offset the snare drum, toms and cymbals out aside from the imaginary straight line behind the bass drum to form an aural "image" of a real drumset being played. By offsetting a little, it makes everything more defined and sounds like a real drummer behind a real kit with X,Y micing in a real room (which is sort of why we X,Y mic). That's one of the factors that sets apart a convincing drum track from perfectly sterile samples. You do want your listeners to know it's a real drumset played by a real drummer and any home recordist producer worth their weight on here would probably agree on the importance of realistically creating an image.

Hope that helps you out. Keep up the good work.

[Drumass]

Yo I'm the drummer on hydrantc12's recording...thanks for all the compliments. Although i know i could play better, it makes me feel good and want to play drums even more when i hear or see people enjoying my drumming...I thought the recording came out pretty decent but it could be better...Hydrantc12 and I will use all of your imput to help make the final track rockin. thanks for the help and you all will be hearing the final cut of Cain Disabled by Groups of People.

[darnold]

Sounds pretty good especially if its your first attempt.

My main concern was the snare not having enough low end punch. The high end is good but youd be surprised at how easy it will get lost in the mix without the low end punch.

Its hard to say how its really going this early in the mix. Drums suck because theres alot of guessing involved . Its easier to guess with experience. But dont make any EQ now because i promise you will change it after you add everything else in there. So dont do anything destructive.

Danny

[thajeremy]

Originally Posted by Cloneboy Studio

My main goal in life is to get a big snare sound. Big kicks are easy to get, snare is difficult.

Could you give us some tips on getting the BIG KICKS then?