A song about nothing

[punchie13]

thanks for any opinions, but im hoping someone could specifically comment on the drums. my question: if you didnt know that the drums were software, could they pass as real? a friend says to me they sound "processed" and i put in more work trying to make the drums sound as realistic as possible, than anything else now he has very very limited recording experience, and i have just limited experience. so i turn to you, the experienced ones, to settle it for me THANKS!! http://soundclick.com/share?songid=8567426

 

[onestu3]

A friend recently told me, "if you're going to use digital drums, then let them sound digital. There's nothing wrong with that." I think I agree. If I could give you advice on your drums, its that the room mic is a little loud. Good luck! Nice song!

 

[punchie13]

thanks stu for the response and the advice. could you be a little more specific about the room mic? are the cymbals to loud? is there to much bleed? im just curious as to what your hearing so that i know what i should be listening for. thanks again. Love your stuff man!! sounds awesome, on top of being some kick ass tunes!!

 

[VomitHatSteve]

I agree with onestu. Let electronic drums sound weird and electronic.

Your toms are a little buried and far-off sounding. They could stand to come forward a little.

I think your guitars, vocals, and cymbals are all occupying the same spot in the mix. You can probably fix that with EQ, but I don't know how particularly well.

 

[onestu3]

I think the room mic does have a little bleed on it. I think that the bass drum sounds a little roomy to me. I really dig this tune. You should put it up to a rockin Kings Of Leon song and compare. Thanks for the compliment. Keep rockin!

 

[dreamer7]

Yep, I sort of agree that the drums would be better if they were processed even more to take the song away from the usual rocky thing. Freak them drum sounds out a bit (maaaaan!). Push the boundaries instead of trying to do what you think it should normally sound like.

Pretty good song though really,
Dreamer

 

[kcearl]

To take it a step further I agree with the other guys...electronic drums should sound electronic..this kinda track would suit electronic as well as acoustic...saying that there is no reason why "fake " drums shouldnt sound real..

take the opening cymbal...each hit is exactly the same...now if you worked on the velocity and maybe nudged the second hit slightly out of time it will feel/sound more human...before the rest of the track kicks in we already know the drums are "fake"

I spend more time on drums than any other instrument...they are crucial to getting the track sounding right so spend time on them...and with acoustic samples dont quantize or do so sparingly..say 60-80%


that being said I liked the track...sounds good just needs tweaking..I think the kick is totally MIA on my sytem (I am turning into "mini Greg") and work on humanising that snare...I find getting more out of the bottom mic brings up the rattle, helps it cut through the mix and adds to the realism..pop on top, rattle below...mmmm nice

There too much emphasis on the overheads which is bringing out the cymbals, washing over everything..add that to soundclicks 128kbps compression of the mp3 and you've got a distorted fake sounding mess, I know because I love cymbals and went through the same problems with them...try one of the 320kbps sites to hear the difference and for getting in depth critiques on mixes


I hope my limited experience helps

 

[punchie13]

hey thanks for the help guys. i will keep working on it. i wanted to ask..."try one of the 320kbps sites to hear the difference and for getting in depth critiques on mixes" does anyone know of any??

 

[kcearl]

here's a referral for drop box...should give you over 2gb to play with

https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTMxNDY4MDU5

 

[cantthinkofname]

i actually listened to your song before reading your question, than started reading it towards the end of the song. i didn't notice the drums were fake until i read what you wrote and started listening for it. when i tried to tell the difference they sometimes sounded real, sometimes sounded fake depending on, hope that helps? cool song, i like the beginning

 

[punchie13]

kc you are the man! thank you again!! and for cantthinkofaname. thank you for taking the time to listen, and taking even more time commenting. much appreciated!