First attempt at recording acoustic drums - Rush YYZ cover

J

Johnka

New member
Hi All,

This is one of my first posts, but ive lurked for a while. I finally got some mics and an interface to capture my drums, so this is my first attempt at pulling it all together. The music is a multitrack from Rock Band, sans drums.

To me, everything sounds just okay. I'm looking for any advice (pre and post processing) that might help me dial everything in.

Video link:

YouTube - Rush YYZ Drum Cover

Please be sure to watch the HD version for the sound quality.

Thanks in advance!

Gear:
Gretsch Catalina and Renown maple
Pearl free floating maple snare
Remo Ambassador snare head
Evans EMAD bass drum head
Evans EC2 batter heads
Evans G2 resonant heads
Sabian Paragon 16, 18, 20 crash, 22 ride, 19 China
Misc Zildjian, Meinl, Paiste cymbals
DW 5000 double pedal
Mics: AKG D112 bass, Shure SM57 snare, DRM7 toms and overheads
M-Audio Profire 2626 interface
Logic Express 9
 
I think it sounds fine. Everything being personal, you could experiment with tuning (although the toms sound great to me), or maybe different heads, or maybe different mics. Try a subkick for some low-end thump. But really, there isn't that much to complain about. I'd be happy with this coming through the cans on playback.
You can try some processing, but it's easy to go overboard. Try compression, or some type of 'exciter'.
 
Thanks for the feedback, Ranjam. It's funny, I had my drums tuned exactly how I like them, but the snare sounds way too loose on the recording, and I can't seem to get it to sound right on the processing. So I tightened it quite a bit. I'll see how it sounds the next go round.

I'm very happy with the cymbal sound (thanks to the new Sabian Paragons I just got), but there's definitely work to be done on the kick, snare and toms.

I can't seem to get a big kick sound without the final result sounding distorted. It may be an issue of the microphone, although I recently upgraded to a AKG D112 and put the DR bass drum mic on a floor tom. It definitely improved the results, but I still can't dial it in like other recordings I've heard with a D112.
 
great playing. I think it sounds pretty good. I can't really come up with any great nit picks. I'm not a drummer, but to me that sounds fine.

So you just used 4 mics, or did you do up each tom too? I can't really tell from the video.
 
aaronmcoleman said:
great playing. I think it sounds pretty good. I can't really come up with any great nit picks. I'm not a drummer, but to me that sounds fine.

So you just used 4 mics, or did you do up each tom too? I can't really tell from the video.
Click to expand...

Thanks Aaron! I used four mics on the toms, some sharing two toms, one bass drum mic, one snare mic, and two overheads, for a total of 8 tracks.
 
I was never a fan of the D112. Try a Audix D6 and add a sub-kick. Compress it, and go from there. Try an Evans EQ pad, take the resonant head off, whatever. Experiment. You will likely be surprised that it might sound awful to you playing it, but it records great.
 
Nice playing!!. The drums sound a little bright to me. What was the set up of your overheads?
 
ranjam said:
I was never a fan of the D112. Try a Audix D6 and add a sub-kick. Compress it, and go from there. Try an Evans EQ pad, take the resonant head off, whatever. Experiment. You will likely be surprised that it might sound awful to you playing it, but it records great.
Click to expand...

I was expecting a little more from the D112 when I got it, but I'm sure the shallow bass drum sound on this recording is mostly user error. It does sound a lot better than my digital reference bass drum mic, which I'm now using on a floor tom. I have the mic pretty far back in the kick, by the resonant head, so I might move it a little closer to the beater for more punch, or try using th DR mic in the front and the D112 in the rear.
 
TamaSabian said:
Nice playing!!. The drums sound a little bright to me. What was the set up of your overheads?
Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliment! Now that you mention the brightness I hear it too. Especially on the hi hat.

You can see the overhead stands in the video right in front of the two front 16 crashes. I have one pointed to the left side of the kit and the other to the right.

I may have EQ'd the overheads wrong. I left the bass flat and raised the treble and some mid. How do you EQ the overheads?
 
ranjam said:
I was never a fan of the D112. Try a Audix D6 and add a sub-kick. Compress it, and go from there. Try an Evans EQ pad, take the resonant head off, whatever. Experiment. You will likely be surprised that it might sound awful to you playing it, but it records great.
Click to expand...

I had a group come in and the drummer wanted to use his Audix mics. I thought they were the worst mics I ever used on drums. Just goes to show it's all subjective and a matter of taste. One mans meat is another mans poison.
 
Track Rat said:
I had a group come in and the drummer wanted to use his Audix mics. I thought they were the worst mics I ever used on drums. Just goes to show it's all subjective and a matter of taste. One mans meat is another mans poison.
Click to expand...

It's all in the EQ, or in how you don't EQ them. I went to an Audix 'drum mic' clinic not that long ago. I know, I hadn't heard of a clinic on micing drums, either. Anyway, some bigwig from Audix moved mics around and changed them altogether while some local hotshot played drums. We sat in the audience and listened to them through a PA. Yes, it's not the same as recording, but it was a demonstration. The point is the placement made much more difference than I had thought possible, to the end result that I thought that was the worst mic I had ever heard. Then he moved it around, and made sure the board was 'flat'. Apparently the EQ is built in via the frequency response. The D6 has a boost at 80Hz, so there is no need to goose the low end on your board. That was his lesson; EQ everything flat, and let the mic do its job. I learned something.
I don't use any Audix other than a D6 and an i5. The rest aren't different enough for me to put the others away and go all Audix. And even an i5 isn't that different from a basic SM57. But the D6 is a nice change. Try it again.
If you're a Neil Peart fan, try and determine how he set up in the studio. You know it was recorded at Le Studio in Qubec back in 1981. Then you couldn't grab a D112, so I wouldn't expect a D112 to get that same sound. Thanfully, 1981 is before he switched to Simmons. The drums are likely still that red TAMA kit. That won't sound like a maple Gretsch kit. There were no emad heads then. You get the idea. If you want to recapture that sound, think like you were back in 1981 and pick gear.
 
Very nicely done! I'm a big Rush fan (drummer, duh?) and I've heard a lot of crappy YYZ covers, and that was not one of them! But this forum isnt for performance critique -

Im just getting in to the home recording thing, so for the most part I have no real idea what Im talking about. But here goes.

As a live sound guy, I try to get a bigger kick drum sound. I've used the 112 a bunch (not many sound guys haven't) but I've never been a big fan for most applications. It works very well, in my opinion, for that metal sound, but I try not to do metal bands. That being said, where is the kick mic located? To what RenJam said, moving that mic an inch or two in any direction, or changing its axis to the drum can do some remarkable things.

The only other thing that really jumps out at me is the snare. I don't know if its too much room, too much ambiance, or if Neil didn't use that head..

Oh yea.. if you listen to the original, i think the toms had more of a stereo pan to them? Or am I miss-remembering things again...

But great job, truly. Great playing, and if thats your first go at recording, your doing well!
 
Track Rat said:
I had a group come in and the drummer wanted to use his Audix mics. I thought they were the worst mics I ever used on drums. Just goes to show it's all subjective and a matter of taste. One mans meat is another mans poison.
Click to expand...

I read other reviews of the Audix D6 that were in agreement with you. And an equal number of people who don't like the D112. But the D112 was the first to pop up on Craigslist at a price I couldn't resist, so I got it :)
 
ranjam said:
If you're a Neil Peart fan, try and determine how he set up in the studio. You know it was recorded at Le Studio in Qubec back in 1981. Then you couldn't grab a D112, so I wouldn't expect a D112 to get that same sound. Thanfully, 1981 is before he switched to Simmons. The drums are likely still that red TAMA kit. That won't sound like a maple Gretsch kit. There were no emad heads then. You get the idea. If you want to recapture that sound, think like you were back in 1981 and pick gear.
Click to expand...

Good points. I know that Peart has used a D112 (maybe currently), and I have always liked the sound of his acoustic bass drum: deep and punchy but without too much click or processing for a more natural sound.
 
Mike_Play_Drum said:
Very nicely done! I'm a big Rush fan (drummer, duh?) and I've heard a lot of crappy YYZ covers, and that was not one of them! But this forum isnt for performance critique -

Im just getting in to the home recording thing, so for the most part I have no real idea what Im talking about. But here goes.

As a live sound guy, I try to get a bigger kick drum sound. I've used the 112 a bunch (not many sound guys haven't) but I've never been a big fan for most applications. It works very well, in my opinion, for that metal sound, but I try not to do metal bands. That being said, where is the kick mic located? To what RenJam said, moving that mic an inch or two in any direction, or changing its axis to the drum can do some remarkable things.

The only other thing that really jumps out at me is the snare. I don't know if its too much room, too much ambiance, or if Neil didn't use that head..

Oh yea.. if you listen to the original, i think the toms had more of a stereo pan to them? Or am I miss-remembering things again...

But great job, truly. Great playing, and if thats your first go at recording, your doing well!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the feedback on the sound and the playing!

I put the D112 about 3/4 of the way toward the back of the kick drum, off center and pointed slightly off center. That seemed to be the sweet spot when I was listening through headphones for a mix between bass and click. But on the recording it didn't seem to have enough natural punch, so I think I'll move it a little forward in the drum.

I agree on the snare - it sounds a little shallow and weak on the recording. I had it tuned too low for one thing, but I'm using the same head as Peart (Remo Ambassador). I'm gonna switch out the Gretcsh Catalina snare with my trusty old Pearl free-floating maple and tune it higher, hopefully with better results.

Thanks again!
 
Supercreep said:
Nice work all around. My only nit is that you need to work on your hi hat chokes.
Click to expand...
You are absolutely correct about the hi hat choke. That's one of the 'work in progress' parts, and it drives me crazy, because I used to have these nailed, but now I just have a block. It's starting to psych me out :/
 
Johnka said:
You are absolutely correct about the hi hat choke. That's one of the 'work in progress' parts, and it drives me crazy, because I used to have these nailed, but now I just have a block. It's starting to psych me out :/
Click to expand...

Just pretend you're playing four double kick eighth notes, but keep your left foot on the HH pedal and your left stick on the HH.
 
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