Crisp Tight Clean Drums???

[smashtbenz]

hello fellow music people of da world.

HERE'S MY CASE!! I have 5 mics for my drum set running into a makie 1202 mixer.....then it's run into a portable studio (Tascam 788) in stereo.....I just bought this shit and I'm testing levels and learning stuff daily. (I know I have to be patient) The drums are in my basement with a concrete floor and could be why my recorded drums sound echo 'ee' and not as 'tight and crisp' as I would like it. DOES ANY BODY KNOW HOW TO ACHIEVE A TIGHT AND CRISP SOUNDING DRUM SET ACCORDING TO MY SITUATION?? DO I NEED TO CARPET? HOW SHOULD I PLACE MY MICS?

If anyone knows about recording drums, don't hesitate to help a guy out! THANX WORLD!!

 

[Dolemite]

Looks to me like you've completed the 7 major steps to get a good drum sound in a concrete basement:


Step 1

Place 19" TV on top of Radio Shack speaker on top of bigger Radio Shack speaker.

Step 2

Fill said concrete basement with white boy posers and young black males doing their best to fit their stereotypes.

BTW, where's the guy with the blond/orange DIY highlights decked out in Abercrombie & Fitch with an upside down/backwards visor? He is a critical element in drum recording and should be placed inside the kick drum for best results.


Step 3

Pretend that '91 Caddy is the shizznit.

Step 4

Use the hand clap and chime patches from a 2-octave battery powered Casio in all your songs.

Step 5

The requisite dog tatoo.

Step 6

Pour out a little liquor fo' tha homies that realized they were posers.

Step 7

Get this guy stoned. Again.

So it seems you should be getting excellent results already.

 

[smashtbenz]

DAMN MAN THANXXX

that's funny man. Still though, how old are you man...to be doing that shit...?

 

[Dolemite]

Heh, old enough to know better!

Sorry man....I couldn't help myself. Actually I was pretty impressed with some of your "beatz." And that's coming from an old 2Pac fan who doesn't get most of the shit out there now. I'm curious, are you looking to replaced your sampled/synth drums with the real thing or is this for a non-rap project? In my experience, sequenced drums usually sound better for this style of music.

But anyway, what mics do you have access to? I would say to avoid some of the echo, you would want to do more close-micing with dynamic mics rather than relying too much on condenser overheads. You're a little bit limited by having to mix down to two tracks on the mackie, but you can work with that.

 

[smashtbenz]

ANYWAYZ

Ya...www.smashtbenz.com really has nothin' to do with my question. That is my hip hop studio..Right now i'm trying to branch out with an alternative studio.

As far as the mics go for drums, there nice....and...I guess I do mic the drums pretty close but maybe it's my overhead mic placed near the toms and ride that are giving me such a shitty basement echo.

Whatever man...first off, do you have any experience with recording live drums??


peace, Jordan.

 

[Tim Brown]

Originally posted by Dolemite

Step 3

Pretend that '91 Caddy is the shizznit.

Step 4


Okay, you've got me with this one: What in the hell is a Shizznit?!?

Tim

 

[djessence]

whew

man, i wish i had friends...........

 

[sonusman]

First - Dolemite, very creative!

smashtbenz - There is little I could offer in help not knowing a few things such as WHICH mics you are using, HOW you a placing them, and WHAT the actual drums sound like.

My experience has been that reverberant spaces actually offer a much better sound if the source is in the right part of the room, and the mic placement is good.

Ummmmm....Last I seen, the 1202 only had 4 mic preamps. I am not sure how you are getting 5 mics to run through it.

Ed

 

[Vaigod]

It looks (From the pics) that the room that you are recording in has ALOT of hardwood panels, and concete/tile. Looks like it would make a great vocal chamber, but I bet your drums sound real boomy in there. Maybe a little sound treatment for the walls and flooring might help. Or, maybe even some type of a baffle for the kit. Either way, mic placement is only going to help you tighten them up if you like the "sound" of the room already. If not, then try to eliminate the room acoustics from the equation with the baffle for the drumkit.......... Just my .02

 

[S8-N]

How exactly do you play the drum kit without a carpet? Dont they scoot away when you play? Get a carpet. Walmart usually has these 5X10 berber area rugs for under $20 that work fine. For a "clean, tight" sound you will want to close mic the kit (especially in a concrete room) as opposed to mic'ing the room. I would also deaden the room by covering the walls with carpet, egg flats(for the ceiling) , mattress pads, etc. I wouldnt worry about covering every square inch, but big expanses of bare concrete are gonna give you a reverby sound, which to me is opposite of clean and tight.
if you have 4 inputs, mic the kick, the snare, and two for the overheads.
For a tight snare sound, you might try duct taping a little ball of cotton (or a paper towel) to the edge of the snare head to deaden the ring...
Stuff a pillow in the kick drum and place something heavy on it like a 20 lb weight. you can also wrap the kickdrum in a moving pad or heavy comforter to supress bleed through.
Hope this gets you started.