I made a switch from electronic to acoustic drums

  • Thread starter Thread starter Seeker of Rock
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Seeker of Rock

Seeker of Rock

Let us be unburdened by that which has been ?
The DM Pro kit I've been using for about 4 years got traded to GC this weekend as part of an overall deal for PDP FS kit. I'm obviously new to tuning and will begin to learn that art. I bought some evans ringers for the drums for now, and will look at Evans EC2 coated heads for the toms at some point in the near future before tracking begins with the acoustic set. Cymbals? Well, you probably guessed...the bargain ZHT set to start with. I really like the hi-hats, but "meh" on the ride and crashes. The ride and crashes seem to have a lot of midrange to their tone, but they sounded the best of the other bargain lot choices. I'll mess around with EQing them for now if I can get them somewhat isolated on a channel or two, but at some point will probably want to upgrade.

Obviously the feel and resonse is much better than the DM Pro (Acupads made by Hart Dynamics for DM Pro several years back), and that alone is a pure joy. I'm going to miss the ease of outputting the brain via the DM's six outputs into six separate board channels in lieu of having to run and position mics now, but I've seen a lot of good info here that should help me get along with (hopefully) little pain.

So what do you use to cut the hole in the resonant bass drum head...scissors, a box knife? I'm not very happy with the snare sound, but in fairness to PDP I have done nothing to it so far except for pull it out of the box and put it on the stand (just assembled the set last night). I think I need to spend some time tuning it and adjusting the tension on the strainer, as well as place the muffling ring I bought on it. Any other tips or basics an acoustic newbie should look out for?
 
Do you have a pic Seeker? Congrats on your switch-over...I think you will love it!!!:D




Oh...and if you have trouble tuning the kick...then you may not have to worry about what to cut it with, your fist would make a perfect hole....:D:eek:


I have never cut a hole in mine, since I have no drum mics as of yet...but I would think a box cutter would work, for scoring anyway...?
 
Sounds cool Seeker...get some pics up...:D

My front head came pre-cut, and I took it off to put a blanket inside anyways, and never put it back on. :o

Good luck tuning....I have no clue myself...I just make things sound about how I think they should.
 
Dogman said:
Sounds cool Seeker...get some pics up...:D

My front head came pre-cut, and I took it off to put a blanket inside anyways, and never put it back on. :o

Good luck tuning....I have no clue myself...I just make things sound about how I think they should.
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So you have solved the mystery of my lousy tuning abilities...now...got any tips as to my lousy banging ones?:D
 
Depending on what sound(s) you're going for and what style(s) you'll be playing, you might not want to cut a hole in the res head...

Try a felt strip across inside of the batter head to help muffle, and maybe one on the res head as well... This is how I have the kicks on both my sets (no pillows or blankets inside either) and they work perfectly for rock, jazz and fusion styles.

This gives the same control you have with your toms (no holes cut in those are there?) :D

If you're looking for just a straight, punchy 'thud' all the time, then a hole with a blanket might be the ticket, but if you're wanting some variety, try going 'sans-hole'...

You can always remove the front head and put in a pillow as needed...

:)
 
Damnit, I had a whole response with replies to each of you, and it didn't go through after "send".:mad::mad::mad:

Oh well, thanks for the well wishes. The damper rings I bought make a WORLD of difference in controlling the excess ring. They are tight and to-the-point sounding now. Except for the kick, which the pack didn't come with a ring for that. BentRabbit, that sounds like a good idea for the kick. The batter head is first on the list to upgrade with maybe the Aquarian head with the muffle ring, but I could certainly use felt across the resonant head.:):)

I'll try and post some pics soon, if the neighbors don't have me jailed first.:D:D
 
I've got a few pics loaded

Here's what the new ex-drum machine looks like.
 

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true-eurt said:
Sweet Seeker!!! They look purple in the one shot. Can't wait to hear a sample of your new sound.:)
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I don't know the official company color name, but the salesman told me "cherry to black fade." Regarding samples, I can't wait to tell my wife after charging $725(after the DM Pro kit trade, of course) that I need to buy a couple of 57s and something to mic the kick with :(:(:( I'm sure that's going to be a jolly conversation, especially with Christmas coming up.
 
Seeker of Rock said:
The damper rings I bought make a WORLD of difference in controlling the excess ring. They are tight and to-the-point sounding now. Except for the kick, which the pack didn't come with a ring for that.
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once you start recording the kit, odds are good that you're going to want to take those rings off the toms at least, and probably the snare too. the resonance you hear from the toms in the room is much more muted on tape (at least that's my experience).

and if you record without them and find that you still have some overtones that need tamed, moon gel works better than those rings. you can use as much or as little as you need for the exact amount of dampening. rings REALLY kill the sound and it usually comes off pretty lifeless recorded.

congrats on taking the plunge! and yes, there is plenty of great , useful info on this site, but no amount of reading will turn the frustrating art of recording acoustic drums into a painless experience. you will feel the wrath of this menace, as we all have (and do). your drums, your mics, and your room spend all day together, and when you're not around, they conspire to make your life a living hell. once you show up and start recording, you can almost hear them snickering.

enjoy! :D:D:D
 
drossfile said:
once you start recording the kit, odds are good that you're going to want to take those rings off the toms at least, and probably the snare too. the resonance you hear from the toms in the room is much more muted on tape (at least that's my experience).:D:D:D
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I'll definitely have to listen for that. My room is still somewhat live (floor and ceiling), so there seems to be just the right amount of resonance with the rings, but things absolutely can go awry down on disk (eventually to a 1/4" reel tape via hard disk) and turn out a lot differently than they sound before going into the chain. I'll play with the dampers come mic time...thanks for the tip.:)

Any suggestions on a decent kick mic?
 
Seeker of Rock said:
Any suggestions on a decent kick mic?
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it depends on what kind of music you're recording. i like a tight, punchy, modern sound (a la opeth, meshuggah, coprofago) since i'm doing hard rock, metal, and fusion.

the audix d6 was the hands-down winner for this, so that's what i upgraded to.

a lot of people swear by the versatility of the akg d112, and others like the more muted poof of the shure beta 52.

whatever you decide to go with, get a good one to start. i began with the "top-of-the-line" CAD 6-pc drum mic kit, and after one year of usage, all six are now collecting the proverbial dust in their "flight case." the kick mic is terrible and you have to eq the crap out of it to get an even remotely usable sound. i also got an akg D550 used from a friend of mine, and it sounds even worse.

research the following and figure out what will suit your needs best:

audix d6

akg d112

shure beta 52

sennheiser e902

audio technica atm250

audio technica atm250de (this is a dual element version that has the at250 dynamic capsule for low end and a condenser capsule for clarity and punch, and has gotten decent reviews)

good luck!
 
they're all in the $200-ish range new, but if you watch ebay you can get deals. i got my d6 brand new for $150.
 
Tips on tuning your drums

This is a blurb I posted like 2 years ago.....


Okay, you're gonna owe me for this one, but here goes:

First of all, tunning is an art & aquired skill. Not everyone's good at it, even when following the "rules". Having said that:

1. Remove the old drum heads, top and bottom down to the bare shell (with hardware still intact, of course). Take a rubber or padded mallet of some sort while holding the shell as "freely" as possible and strike the shell. It will resonate a tone/pitch. This gives you a good idea of the natural "tune" of this drum and to what tunning it will "sing" the best. This might be overkill in some cases, but I'm covering all the bases.

2. For the batter side, I recommend Remo Pin Stripes. For the bottom, Remo Clear Single-Ply....tastes vary on drum heads. (Do you like Coke or Pepsi?)

3. Place the drum on a carpeted floor and put on the new head by hand-tightening the lugs as far as they'll go. Once they're all "equally" hand tight, start tightening them by doing one, then the one directly across from it (sort of a star pattern). **MAKE EQUAL TURNS ON EACH LUG TO KEEP THE TENTION FAIRLY EQUAL**Once you've got the wrinkles out, put your fist in the middle of the head and push like hell (this breaks the glue & properly seats the head).

4. Repeat the previous tunning process until the drum is close to the desired pitch. With the drum sitting on carpet (silencing the opposing head), you can lightly tap by each lug on the head and hear that lug's relative pitch. The key hear is to find the pitch you're wanting (refer back to the mallet smacking) and get each lug to that pitch. Your drum is now in tune with itself, so to speak.

5. Some people like their bottom heads a little tighter than their top (primarily on snares). I, however, keep my bottom heads a bit looser than the top. Again, personal taste here.

Follow these steps for each drum & any kit worth a damn can sound good. As far as muffling, I use Remo rings (or you can take the old drum heads and cut out the middle leaving a 1" wide circle to lay on top of the drum). Some will say this is way too much muffling, and others use even more. Again, you want the drums to "sing", not go "thud". So don't over do it on the dampening.

Did you get all that? I'm ready for a nap.....
 
Seeker of Rock said:
So what do you use to cut the hole in the resonant bass drum head...scissors, a box knife? Any other tips or basics an acoustic newbie should look out for?
Click to expand...

Don't cut a hole yet! Got to your local homo depot or whatever and get a oven ring. I epoxied that sucker to the front of the bass head. Not only will you have a nice retro ring, you'll have saved a bunch of money. Now you have a template to cut out the middle with minimal damage and VIOLA! a perfect circle.

Here's mine:
http://homepage.mac.com/weareradio/...-04 16.50.46 -0700/Image-EE80B4CEC6D511D7.jpg
 
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