Faking an ambient mic sound?

[Uladine]

Is there any way to effectively double a snare track and make one of them sound like its being picked up by a "room mic"? I don't have a very good room to record in, so I don't use room mics on drums. But I was wondering if theres a way to make a realistic ambient sound with reverb and EQ, etc. without it just sounding like, well, a snare with reverb. I don't know if I'm effectively conveying what I'm going for, but I pretty much want to try to "fake" an ambient mike sound on the snare. Most reverb settings I try sound too "wet". Not wet as in too much effect vs. original signal, but wet as in the actual reverb not sounding open and dry.

Maybe I just have to set the reverb a certain way? I was thinking of doubling the snare track, cutting off some lows to simulate the "removal" of the proximity effect, and then adding a really dry reverb, and then dropping that track down to more of a "background" level. I dont know. Maybe somebody already has a tried and true method for this kind of thing.

Maybe I'm just looking for a really good reverb unit that I dont have.

 

[Uladine]

Heres an example of what I'm talking about-

Drumkit From Hell

The drums sound like theyre in a room, not just tweaked with reverb.

This may be impossible for me to achieve with effects, as the drums in the sample above actually had an ambient mic blended in with the signal, but I think its well worth a try.

 

[cordura21]

why don't you run the snare track thru a speaker, and miking the room? You can try with a room, a closet, etc...
Cheers, Andrés

 

[volltreffer]

Wow!

Nice idea... I'd try a verb with short tai and a higher early reflection... Take into account the delay the sound will take from your drums to the room - the delay will be a little different for every drum... Roll off lows and a little of the high end, too...

But I'm afraid it will end up a little artificial...

aXel

 

[Uladine]

I'm totally expecting a slightly artificial sound, but its just something that seems like it could be a lot of fun even if it doesn't work out well enough to actually use.

That speaker Idea might be a good thing to try, but not until I find a better sounding room. The room I'm using right now sounds really bad so I just killed the natural reverb as best as I could with studio foam, bedding foam, blankets and tapestries.

 

[chessrock]

I think you just need to experiment with the types of verbs you're using. Instead of the "Great Hall," "Large Gymnasium," and "Huge-ass Cathedral" settings, fish around for a "Medium Room" or similar preset and mess with it untill it's to your liking.

Waves RVerb has a couple presets that I particularly like: Tiled Room, Medium Room, and particularly Studio A. I always mess with the predelay, diffusion and EQ, but they're great starting points.

In general, shorter pre-delay and decay times will give the room a bit smaller and natural of a sound. Lower diffusion times will sometimes give more slapback, as well, but this varies a lot depending on your other settings.