9 Drum Tracks in Two Days... remote drum recording...

  • Thread starter Thread starter Blue Bear Sound
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BRUCE,


FANTASTIC POST! VERY HELPFUL!


A few questions though...

1) Is it to my understanding that you used very little EQ'ing ?

2) If so, do you think you will use more EQ'ing (on drums) at mix-down ?

3) Assuming that my condenser microphones do not sound as sweet as yours,
what do you suggest I EQ them at ?

4) Is it common practice to set up & mic a set one day,
then do recording on a different day ?

5) If so, Why ?


Love,
Sean
 
1) Is it to my understanding that you used very little EQ'ing ?
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I focused on using mic placement as much as possible to get the sound where I wanted. I used as little EQ as possible to tame some boominess and add some minor sweetening.


2) If so, do you think you will use more EQ'ing (on drums) at mix-down ?
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Not unless I need to do additional frequency-shaping to work into the mix.


3) Assuming that my condenser microphones do not sound as sweet as yours,
what do you suggest I EQ them at ?
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Sean, that will totally depend on the mics you do get, and how they're placed, not to mention the room itself! And even more important, the sound of the drums themselves.


4) Is it common practice to set up & mic a set one day,
then do recording on a different day ?
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No rule about it -- I setup the Friday evening only 'cos that would allow us to simply get right at it early the next day. I did use that opportunity to make some sample recordings to check out at the studio to see if I was on the right track.... I was, for the most part, but I did identify some necessary tweaks by doing that -- so it was good that I hadn't started actual tracking by then.


Bruce
 
well..basil...digging around the dumpster looking thru some old files, eh??:p
 
You said that the drummer was monitoring thru a sound blaster is that like a wedge or something?, if so would'nt bleed be a problem? would'nt headphones give you a cleaner mix?

When you bussed the toms to two tracks did you pan them? (rack1 L,rack 2 R, Floor Centre????)

Remote recording is somthing that im doing more often,thank for the info BB.
 
MiXit-G said:
You said that the drummer was monitoring thru a sound blaster is that like a wedge or something?
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No - I said a ghetto-blaster/boom box.... which is like a mini-stereo (actually, there was nothing "mini" about it!) He was using it as a headphone amplifier.


, if so would'nt bleed be a problem? would'nt headphones give you a cleaner mix?
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There was no bleed....


When you bussed the toms to two tracks did you pan them? (rack1 L,rack 2 R, Floor Centre????)
I spread them across from left to right (audience perspective). If I want a less wide stereo field in the mix, I then simply have to narrow the panning. Bussing it wide gave me the most flexibility.


Remote recording is somthing that im doing more often,thank for the info BB.
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You're welcome! ;)
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how come you didin't take monitors to the location? wouldn't it have been better to check everything there instead of bringing it back to the studio?

i too like 451's on overhead:-)
 
I could have.... but I am well aware of my Beyer 770's response and was comfortable using them and simply verifying at the studio....


Bruce
 
So Bruce you did all the tracking remote and then mixed down back at Blue Bear Central?

Do you enjoy remote recording?


Peace,
Dennis
 
Just the drums were tracked remotely.... Everything else was tracked later at my studio.

I do enjoy the occasional remote recording... but it is tiring.... I'd enjoy it less if it were a full band - I prefer the more controlled environment of the studio in that situation. But for just drums, it is fine...

Bruce
 
dont you find you get things done quicker and better using monitors to headphones? i have done a few remote sessions using headphones, even ones that I know pretty well, but I always ended up adjusting mic placement and whatever when I came back to monitors.

ive never tried those headphones, they any good then?
 
I agree completely... with monitors, it would have been faster and easier for proofing and checking.... come to think of it, I'm not really sure why I didn't bring them that time?!?!

The Beyer DT770 are very good-sounding cans though and they have excellent isolation characteristics, so I was quite confident in using them.... although I certainly DID have to change things after proofing the rough tracks in the studio after set-up.

Bruce
 
I thought if you track with flat eq"s then as long as the signal is healthy you can tweak later?

Blue Bear, what if you had to do a whole band remotely say vocals, guitar, bass, drums-how would you go about it?? drum and bass first?? vocals last? how would you provide monitoring four headphones?? or would it be ok to use wedges in certain situations?
 
hey Bruce,

like you, i dont do remote recording that often, but i take some active monitors every time now. i have done a few with headphones and, i managed but im sure you know the feeling when you get back to the studio and you're like "ahh, if only id moved that mic just a little ...". hehe:-)
 
mix-it. mic placement is the issue. just recording flat doesn't guarentee a good sound.
 
MiXit-G said:
I thought if you track with flat eq"s then as long as the signal is healthy you can tweak later?
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As Romesh said, it's all in the placement!


Blue Bear, what if you had to do a whole band emotely say vocals, guitar, bass, drums-how would you go about it??
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At best, I would only worry about the bass and drums -- all other instruments/vocals would be there simply as a guide and would be overdubbed later.

It is incredibly difficult to get a good live-off-the-floor band recording. Invariably, someone messes up a line or so and has to be re-cut anyways. In addition, bleed has to be strictly controlled since overdubs are useless if you can still hear the old guitar lead from the bleed into the drum or vocal track!

Bruce
 
Ok bass and drums, would you DI the bass and mic the amp or just DI, because of the bleed, i find especially with the kik mic the bass can come through and therefore limit my EQ control on it?

Mic positioning? you did all this with headphone right,but did you check the signal "live" or did you track it and monitor it later....?

I noticed no signal processing?? not even gates or compression..i was told that especially with gates they should be done during tracking, not post. Does it matter?

Please Bear with me on this subject i've got so many questions...
 
"i was told that especially with gates they should be done during tracking, not post. Does it matter? "


I NEVER record with gates. you run the risk of chopping off sustain in an instrument, cutting off notes, all sorts of problems. i know very few people who record with gates. things like that should be left in the mix really where you can play around with settings with greater ease.

as for your question on bass micing, as long as you have enough tracks, i would DI and mic the bass amp aswell. it gives you greater flexibility on mixdown. what i might do if i had access to the bassist's amp is record the live bass track DI'd, and then in the studio, run the DI track through the bass amp and record that. you can get some bass drum/bass amp problems otherwise.

if you've got the capability of recording the tracks, get whatever you can down onto tape, unless you KNOW what you're doing. you can always get rid of it in the mix, but you cant gain it if it hasn't been taped in the first place.
 
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