budget equipment

  • Thread starter Thread starter Alexi
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Alexi

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do you guys think that it is actually possible to get a professional drumsound, while using budget equipment or do you have to buy a neve console or 1000$ preamps and mic's to achieve that goal?

cheers
 
I think you can use budget equipment. Why waste money when you don't really have to?
 
Ditto on what Mixmkr says..Get the inst. to sound good and half the battle is over!Good tuneing and cymbal choices in a good space go along ways :)
 
i got all the right drums, and cymbals,
my mics are

sennheiser: 421, 602
shure: sm57
audio technica: 4033a
oktava: mc012

presonus firepod as soundcard, well a la audio 4c compressor and thats it, im just not getting the right drum sound, doesn't sound very proish
 
You can do alright with low end gear during tracking. You will need some really good compressors to bring them up to pro sounding tracks for the mix however.
 
Alexi said:
do you guys think that it is actually possible to get a professional drumsound, while using budget equipment or do you have to buy a neve console or 1000$ preamps and mic's to achieve that goal?
Click to expand...

You can do fine with budget equip.

You just need a really good kit, an excellent player, a professional engineer who knows his shit, and an excellent-sounding room.

That's how it's done, Keith Moon Junior. Now get bangin' away.
 
Not only make sure you are in the right room, but make sure you are in the right location in that room. Low Frequencies from drums can easily cancell each other out, and always do.

Drag the floor tom around on the floor of the room while hitting it. Find the spot where your ear (standing over the drum) picks up the most low frequency from the tom hit, and place your first overhead there. the rest of the kit will benefit from this positioning.

I havn't had a chance to try this out myself, but it certainly does make sense, and may solve your problem.
 
Just stay away from Behringer gear.

Basically all you need to do is achieve the maximum perf out of your present gear. Start by experimenting with various mic positions on your kit to determine which mic is best suitable for the task at hand. Which mic captures optimal sound on overheads,kick and snare while paying close attention to your kit perf.
 
Concentrate on the source before anything. I've seen a lot of time wasted in the control room when making the kit sound proper in the first place was probably the best solution.
 
Great stuff can be done on budget gear. What can never be replaced is good musicians, with good material, through good instuments, and a good engineer. Expensive equipment is not mandatory, but i believe that anyone who can do a good job on budget gear, can do a much better job with high end gear. I don't reccomend just going out and buying expensive stuff right away though. Cut your teeth on something that is monetarily feasible for you, and expand as your ability demands. The better you get, the more you will appreciate really good gear, and the more you will realize how and when it will make a difference.
 
Alexi said:
what do you exactly mean with drag?
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I mean physically "drag" the drum around on the floor, or better yet have someone else do that, while you stand over the drum and hit it. Listen to the drum, it will sound thinner/fuller in different locations of the room.

Take note of which ones please you (fullest - great low freq response), and set your first overhead at ear level over the drum.

You'll have to fine tune it later, but this get you to a place in the room where the phase relationship with the acoustic space and drums is best.
 
chessrock said:
You can do fine with budget equip.

You just need a really good kit, an excellent player, a professional engineer who knows his shit, and an excellent-sounding room.

That's how it's done, Keith Moon Junior. Now get bangin' away.
Click to expand...
Damn straight. Same with almost everything else also.

The better gear makes a difference, but nothing makes as much of a difference as a great sounding source.
 
Alexi said:
do you guys think that it is actually possible to get a professional drumsound, while using budget equipment or do you have to buy a neve console or 1000$ preamps and mic's to achieve that goal?

cheers
Click to expand...

I bet if you didn't know what you were doing you could get a shitty drum sound with the Neve console and $1000 dollar preamps.

Look man, use what you have and do the best you can. I've been making recordings on 4 track cassettes since the early 80's. My vocal chain used to be a 57 into a Ibanez guitar delay pedal into my Yamaha 4 track. That's what I had and that's what I used.
The stuff I have now is way better than the stuff I used to have and it's still considered budget but you know what? I like my equipment. It works for me but I will replace it when I get the money. But until then, I will keep plugging away.
Rock on Keith Moon Jr.
 
Hey man, the Keith Moon Jr. thing was mine. :D

Only I can call him that. I got dibs.
 
chessrock said:
Hey man, the Keith Moon Jr. thing was mine. :D

Only I can call him that. I got dibs.
Click to expand...

Even if you copy righted it, and used a Pace style copy protection system or a dongle, people would just use the crack!

:p
 
Strryder said:
Even if you copy righted it, and used a Pace style copy protection system or a dongle, people would just use the crack!

:p
Click to expand...


Yeah man I don't need Keith Moon Jr's blue dongle cause I got crack right here.


That didn't come out right. :o
 
I thought it came out great.

Keith Moon, dongles and crack are a winning combo in my book.
 
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