B8's aren't that good, but I think they're the best of the "cheap" cymbals. Every company makes an entry line, and the B8's sound the best by far to me. It's hard to recommend crash cymbals as they're all vastly different. They can be thin, medium, heavy, dry, washy, fast, slow, etc. I'd say look for something in the 16"-19" range and basic. No "rock" crashes or "fast" crashes or anything like that. Just look for a basic crash from any of the major companies that's not an entry level model and you'll do fine.
dark hollow
- Thread starter heatmiser
- Start date
B8's aren't that good, but I think they're the best of the "cheap" cymbals. Every company makes an entry line, and the B8's sound the best by far to me. It's hard to recommend crash cymbals as they're all vastly different. They can be thin, medium, heavy, dry, washy, fast, slow, etc. I'd say look for something in the 16"-19" range and basic. No "rock" crashes or "fast" crashes or anything like that. Just look for a basic crash from any of the major companies that's not an entry level model and you'll do fine.
Tuning toms can be difficult, but it's worth taking some time to experiment with different tensions on the heads and they may need to be dampened with some gaffa tape. You'll know when they're in tune because they won't sound awful!
For a cheap all-purpose crash, I'd look at/listen to second-hand cymbals in your local music shop. Some smaller ride cymbals make excellent crashes.
Beautiful song/mix by the way.
heatmiser
mr. green christmas
Thank you! Yeah, I'll keep messing around with those toms. Right now the difference in pitch from one to the next is so pronounced that it sounds kind of random. Not nearly so straight-forward as tuning a stringed instrument - that's for sure.
maximusbs
Brad Smith Music
Sounds pretty good man! It has a very natural, live feel to it- I could almost hear the clank of beer mugs in the backgrounds 
...or was that the cheap ride cymbal?
JK, I just bought a B8 18" thin crash (per Greg's advice, and my tiny budget) and I think it sounds pretty good. Anyway, nothing jumped out at me and it was a pleasant listen. It did make me a little thirsty for a beer though...
...or was that the cheap ride cymbal? JK, I just bought a B8 18" thin crash (per Greg's advice, and my tiny budget) and I think it sounds pretty good. Anyway, nothing jumped out at me and it was a pleasant listen. It did make me a little thirsty for a beer though...
heatmiser
mr. green christmas
Sounds pretty good man! It has a very natural, live feel to it- I could almost hear the clank of beer mugs in the backgrounds
Thank you, and congratulations on your new CD!
Hmmm...at least a few beer-related comments. I can assure you I was entirely sober while putting this together!
Thanks again.
maximusbs
Brad Smith Music
........
Hmmm...at least a few beer-related comments. I can assure you I was entirely sober while putting this together! ....
Hmmm...pitty!
heatmiser
mr. green christmas
yeeeee hooooo!!!
I believe the expression is "yeeeee haaaaw!!!", but I could be mistaken.
heatmiser
mr. green christmas
Hey, thanks macle! Yipee! I love questions!
There are 5 mics on the drums:
2 matched behri C-2's ($60 !) for overheads. One above the smallest tom pointed at the center of the snare 3' away. The other a few inches above the outer edge of the floor tom again pointed at the center of the snare 3' away.
I used an old AKG D200 E1 (cheap '80's dynamic) on the snare and I used an SM_57 on the kick.
I also placed a studio projects B1 LDC as a room mic about 8' in front of the kit at tom level (the only advice of greg's I ignored).
I did not apply any reverb or effects although I think I compressed the kick and room mics a bit and I did a little EQ after the fact on most tracks.
I started this with a basic boom-bap beat on a boss drum machine. Did scratch tracks with guitar and vocals. Then I went back and retracked the guitars and re-did the vocals. I then recorded the bass.
I then tried to play what I thought was a straightforward country beat on my kit that followed the drum machine (boom-bap, boom-bap, etc.), but it wasn't working. I tried like 10 takes!
Then I decided to mute the drum machine and just play something more relaxed and came up with this in one take.
I then went back and re-did the vocals one last time to try to fit the new beat better.
Phew. Probably more than you wanted to know, but I do think it is kinda interesting how minimal this is compared to what I usually try to do. Thanks again!
macle
New member
Hey, I just went to Amazon and bought those mics! Probably the most impulsive gear purchase I've ever made (the fact they're only 60 dollars for a matched pair helped, but usually I agonize over every purchase no matter how cheap and then hate whatever it is anyway).
Thanks also for the info on how you did the tracking. I'm always trying to figure out a good way to do the one man band thing...click track, no click, vocal first, drums first and all that.
Great job, and thanks for the mic tip!
theD1CKENS
*insert clever title here
this is a good tune. Liked it a lot. I'd like to hear the "lead" guitar a little more, and maybe slightly less bass. it's more of a personal preference, tho
heatmiser
mr. green christmas
Thanks a lot! I agree that the bass is a bit over the top and the lead guitar is lower than one might expect, but a previous mix where those things were reversed didn't work as well for me, so I think I may leave the levels more or less as is. Appreciate the comments.
Are you sure you have the right link?
Thank you Trip. This is the most bare-bones thing I've done in a long time and I feared a lot of things would be exposed as a result. I'm glad you gave it a listen and that it's sounding good for you.
heatmiser
mr. green christmas
Thanks much arcadeko. So, the consensus seems pretty positive on this one, which is surprising to me, but reassuring nonetheless.