Please critique my drum sound!

badgerer

badgerer

New member
Hi there,

http://www.nowhereradio.com/tomewer/singles - the track called "Drums".

This is the drum sound I've got at the moment.

What I'm thinking: don't know what the hell is going on with the snare! It sounds more like a tom, and I don't really know why. I think the toms sound pretty good? Cymbals ok... as are the hi hats i think. Kick drum might need a bit more boom? At the moment it's got no head, with a pillow inside, should I try and have less surface contact with the pillow for a more airy sound?

I've got two Sm-57s - one above and to the right of my right shoulder, the other about 3 inches off the snare; and a D112 on the kick.

Thanks in advice for your help, I'm new to this as you might've guessed!

- Tom

P.S. yeah i know I'm not that good, I've only been playing 6 months self taught so no comments on playing ability please! :P:D
 
Your snare needs to be re-tuned for sure. You'll get a much better result if you use a pair of condensers for overheads. :D
The d112 should be fine for the kick (use one myself as well). Your kick needs te be tuned and sounds to "dead", The pillow should only toch a small part of the head. Try a resonance head with a hole on the back side and toy around with the mic (inside, oustide, close to batter, away from batter, ...)
you'll find a lot of tuning guides on the internet, if you search in google for example

what preamps/mixer do you use ? what soundcard ? these two are very crucial in your chain.
My drums sounded the same like yours until i bought an 8input soundcard with a descent A/D converter

greetz
 
Drum sound bigot in effect

Sounds like ass.:D

First thing to tackle is your kit:

I agree about the snare tuning. Crank them heads down tight, and loosen the strainer. What kind of snare?

I never liked kickdrums without the resonant head on.

Second thing to work on is your room. What kind of acoustic treatment do you have in there? Don't just hang a bunch of blankets up, that'll only make it muddy sounding.

Third issue is mics:

You definately need some condensors for overheads, and you'll probably discover you need new cymbals shortly after that. And new heads. And new drums. And a new room.....

:rolleyes:

Recording real drums is a big 'ol can-o-worms to open. No wonder so many people use samples/loops.

Here's a good page on the proper care & feeding of drums.
 
fazil said:
Your snare needs to be re-tuned for sure. You'll get a much better result if you use a pair of condensers for overheads. :D
The d112 should be fine for the kick (use one myself as well). Your kick needs te be tuned and sounds to "dead", The pillow should only toch a small part of the head. Try a resonance head with a hole on the back side and toy around with the mic (inside, oustide, close to batter, away from batter, ...)
you'll find a lot of tuning guides on the internet, if you search in google for example

what preamps/mixer do you use ? what soundcard ? these two are very crucial in your chain.
My drums sounded the same like yours until i bought an 8input soundcard with a descent A/D converter

greetz
Click to expand...

The mixer's a Behringer MX2642A, the soundcard's an Audiophile 2496. I can't afford to spend any more money right now. I've cut the lows on the snare and that's helped no end. The head's a bit battered as is the snare wire, so I'm gonna get those replaced and see how that helps.
 
Definately get a pair of overheads. You Behringer mixer is a more advanced model than mine, it'll have phantom power equipped. I've heard of people getting surprisingly good drum sounds with 57s, but not many would recommend using them...try a pair of Oktava MK012s, that's what I'm using. Heres a sample of my drum sound:



The owner of the drums re-headed everything but didn't tune em up. They're really muddy too, eh.

Hope I could help.
 
Re: Drum sound bigot in effect

M.Brane said:
Sounds like ass.:D

First thing to tackle is your kit:

I agree about the snare tuning. Crank them heads down tight, and loosen the strainer. What kind of snare?

I never liked kickdrums without the resonant head on.

Second thing to work on is your room. What kind of acoustic treatment do you have in there? Don't just hang a bunch of blankets up, that'll only make it muddy sounding.

Third issue is mics:

You definately need some condensors for overheads, and you'll probably discover you need new cymbals shortly after that. And new heads. And new drums. And a new room.....
Click to expand...

That site's looking good, thanks! I need to get a new snare wire, and a new head for the snare too (I've had the head since I bought the kit). Not sure what the snare is...it came with the kit, CB drums, only £300. It's 14", looks about 6" deep?

Treatment for my room...what kind of budget things could I do? Bearing in mind this is a bedroom...

I won't be able to afford condensers for some time, what are the cheapest ones you would recommend?
 
For room acoustics check out this link. After you read up on that a bit you might want to post any specific questions you have in the Studio buiding & display forum here. This stuff is as much art as science (like recording) so you want to explore as many options as you can before doing anything major.

The basic idea is to treat the problem frequencies, but not to make the room too dead.

Yes, the Oktava's are good budget overheads. Just make sure you check 'em out good, or get a matched pair as the sound varies on those quite a bit. The Marshall 603s, and Behringer ECM8000 are also good. The ECM's are omnis, and will pick up more of the sound of the whole kit & room. They are quite a bargain though at about $35 apiece. They also work good on guitar cabs.;)
 
Put an Aquirian Super kick head on your kick and leave the resonant head off and tune your batter head down low until it ALMOST warps. Put a small 1' 1/2 X 1' pillow in there a let it touch the head. Then put your d112 about an Inch outside facing the beater. Then run it trough a compresser. Tune your snare up tight and run it trought a compressor to!



zeke
 
Your drums don't sound that bad. My drums never sounded like that 6 months into my drumming life. Your snare is the worst part obviously, and the replies so far have been good. Crank down that drum head. Put a sm57 on it with a compressor. You can get a Berringer compressor pro for $109 plus tax. By a rim clip for the mike.

I prefer a rear bass drum head with a hole in it. You'll probably get a better sound with the mike inside it. When I was totally cash strapped I used to put a cheap mike next to the beaters and it sounded pretty cool.

Good luck.
 
remo_marbleblue said:
You can get a Berringer compressor pro for $109 plus tax.
Click to expand...


The last time i looked in my Musicians Friend (or in any of my music mags) a composer pro was $89

Even cheaper on ebay. I got 2 composers for $50



Zeke
 
I think you should invest in a new kit. I agree with everyone regarding your snare, but the toms aren't all that bad sounding. If you're looking for a kit that delivers yet is easy on the wallet, I recommend either Tama's Rockstar Custom, Yamaha's Stage Custom, or Pacific's CX series. They all run at about $599, which isn't a bad price considering what they each offer. If you want the all-out deal between the three, I'd go with the Pacific CX drums because the kit comes with hardware, along with the upside of all-maple shells.
 
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