drum sounds

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Its alright ma

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Hey , im recording next week and I wanna try a different drum sound, kind of like that early 70's southern rock drum sound...not so much skinard, but more along the lines of the looking glass, the band, and kind of but not so much the doobie brothers....I guess im looking for that drum sound on the song "Brandy" by the looking glass. Now im used to recording more of a new wave thingas far as bands ....whats the over all approach that i need to take in trying to achieve this sound?
Im recording in a nice sized room, I have isolators if i need to use them, I usually put the drums in the corner, and use part of the wall, and forthe back and side I use the room dividers that i have....
as far as micing what do i need to do?
thanks
 
First you'll need to tune the drums as was tuned during that era... no bottom heads on the toms, no front kik head and a fairly dead but not muffled snare drum. Once you do that, then it's just like recording any other drums.
 
Try stuffing the microphones INTO the toms (since the bottom heads aren't there anyways). That seems to be common practice in the 70's. I dunno though, I didn't record until the late 80's.
 
I have been working on a project where we were looking for similar sounds. I have been having good luck using just 4 mics. Kick, snare and a pair of overheads. The key has been getting the basic drum sound we want when we just stand in the room and listen to the kit first.

Good luck!
 
thanks,
i dont start the session til monday, but I appreciate all the help...hopefully i can achieve that hard travelin' sunny country side sound...
thanks again
:)
 
For that kinda' sound, one of the most important things you should consider is the room you'll be tracking in. Think dead; almost anachoic. Basically try and cut the room out of the equation as much as possible. That might be tricky if you're tracking in a larger room. Definitely bring those dividers in; use some heavy curtains and/or packing blankets if you can get a hold of them.

Close mic everything using few mics. You can even move the overheads in closer than usual to pick the toms up good.

Speaking of overheads, you might consider using a ribbon mic or two if you have access; be careful of a wider figure-8 pattern, though -- you might not want that in a reflective room. And use darker cymbals. You might even try just bringing the overheads in real close to the toms, below the cymbals. Most of the cymbals will be picked up off-axis this way, which might be good for that general kind of sound anyway -- quieter and darker.
 
I couldn't agree with Chessrock more. I've also had good luck close-mic'ing all the drums and then mic'ing each cymbal individually to get even further isolation.

Also the 70's gave birth to the overdubbed cymbals trick that Queens of the Stone Age used on their last record. It's a pain in the ass for the drummer, but you can get things RIDICULOUSLY tight and dry.

Best of luck, let us know when you've found what works for you!
 
Thanks for all the help...especially the mic in the floor tom, that shit's insane. It kinda sounds like the drums on "My AIm is True" really really really dry....
thanks again
you guys really help alot
 
chessrock said:
For that kinda' sound, one of the most important things you should consider is the room you'll be tracking in. Think dead; almost anachoic. Basically try and cut the room out of the equation as much as possible. That might be tricky if you're tracking in a larger room. Definitely bring those dividers in; use some heavy curtains and/or packing blankets if you can get a hold of them.

Close mic everything using few mics. .
Click to expand...

Is that what they did? That's a hell of a way to mic drums. May as well trigger samples
 
One thing I know I like about those drum sounds is a good wooden shell snare with batter heads...gives it that bright snap without being tinny.
 
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