difference when mastering tracks

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gitrokr

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please help:

im confused on if, say im going after a snare sound. say snare sound a for instance. when playing with your band, snare sounds exactly like how you want it to. but you go and reocrd put on my 57 and track some stuff, and decide it doesnt really sound like a, it sounds more like b or c. (sorry if this is confusing but i need your help) so your snare sounds like b or c.

even though its not the exact tone or sound your going for, the snare b or c does sound good, professional, you jsut want a different tone.

so quastion is, things like htis: it sounds good when you record, but not exactly what you want. do you fix it right then or do you fix it up with EQ and mastering or does it matter, or what? thanks alot for your help, this was one of my more lengthy questions.
 
Definitely don't save that for mastering...

The absolute best way is to get the drum to sound right to begin with.

After that, it's the mic & mic placement.

After that, it's the preamp and any particular inserted or otherwise applied compression or EQ.

Then the recording medium or DAW, outboard effects, more EQ, compression, etc.

At any time during this, the sound can be manipulated to either "fit" or "not fit" what you're looking for.

The BIG trick is trying to hear a drum in a room and be able to "visualize" what it's going to sond like after it's recorded and in a mix.

John Scrip - www.massivemastering.com
 
thanks- so if the sound is good, but not what youre looking for exactly, move the mic around. right? kuz right now, all im using is whateeever mic/mics im using, into an aardvark q10 into cubase. for the most part it sounds good, i jsut want to get more pro, thakns alot. keep the tips comign
 
I agree with Massive. It's all about mic placement. I have the same troubles with acoustic guitar. I just have to keep playing with placement until I get what I want (depending on the room...once I've figured it out for where I am, I just remember the setup). I don't record drums (I program them with Sonar), but maybe these links might help:

http://arts.ucsc.edu/recording/drums/

http://homerecording.about.com/library/weekly/aa072997.htm

http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/pages/placement.htm
 
Remember that when you hear a drum in a room, you do not have your ear 1 inch away from the drum skin. A mic placed that close will not sound like what you are hearing in the room. If you want a sound that is more like what you hear yourself, try using more of the snare sound from the overhead mics and far room mics (if any room mics are used). And again, keep moving stuff until you have what you want.
 
I think a good place to START is with the overheads... In most music, anyway...

Overheads are one of the most ignored set of mics - "Ehh, it's just the cymbals..." BAH!

I always work with the overheads until I get a kit sound that stands on its own. Overheads and a kick drum. That's it. THEN I work on the rest of the mics and blend it all together. Obviously, this has to be done during tracking - Any later is too late.

Use some good mics and get a good overhead mix. If you can get that, anything you add to it is gravy.

John -
 
ok so i got to mess around with the mic until its the sound im after. thanks alot for that help.

i went to http://www.saecollege.de/reference_material/pages/placement.htm and i like that drum overhead idea. is there a name for it?

just a little more questioning on this setup though. when the mics are up, one above teh back of the floor tom (approx.) and another on the outside of the high tom (approx), i know ill have to mess with the position to be exact, but where does the mic capsule actually point. is it straight down? and how high? i know ill need to mess with it, kuz it wont be the same every time. but ivee been going in on my overheads pretty blind, and i finally want to get them down. thanks alot.
 
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