drum test

[heatmiser]

Hey,

If anyone gets a chance, please check out this 4 minute instrumental thing. I am primarily interested in the sound of the drums as I'm trying out some new things and am a little lost...

I moved all my crap out to the garage for the summer and the sound is not as good as I'd hoped out there which makes mixing difficult. Any thoughts or advice at all would be appreciated...

SoundClick artist: kingseesar - drum test

Thanks,
Pete

 

[Manslick]

Well, the groove moved with the crap.

It sounds good. My nit, a bit of ducking when the bass enters.

The wind was driving in my face... the smell of prickly pear.

 

[heatmiser]

Thanks for listening.

I've heard the term ducking before, but I'm not 100% on the meaning...like, ducking in and out?...getting lost at times? Thanks again.

 

[Manslick]

The bass pushes the kick back a bit.

I hear a nice clear kick until he bass enters, then a bit of kick definition is lost.

 

[heatmiser]

Ok, cool...thanks. Something new for me to consider....

 

[Anfontan]

Sounds pretty good to me heatmiser. Its a basic beat but it works well with the song's structure and that is the main concern.
I think Jerry Garcia is really hiding out in your garage-I swear I heard him playing in the mix....

 

[trumpino1]

That was pretty much what I was thinking although didn't know the "ducking" part either. I'd read where you got some drums. Sounds decent to me, however not being a drummer, you know how that is. It sounds like a pretty decent recording of them to me, though. I've got several of my own recordings of real drums that I don't think sound as good. It shows that you are going to get them figured out pretty quickly I think.

Looking forward to some new tunes from ya.

Have a good one.

Edit: A couple of posts slipped in there. I was talking about the kick drum like what Manslick said.

 

[ido1957]

In the intro the echo on the drums is really noticeable. I'd eliminate that intro if possible. It's not as obvious when the instruments play although I listened for it because of what I heard in the intro. The rest of the mix is really really nice - smooth rock with a happenin' groove. The variety of guitars made it an interesting and enjoyable listen...

 

[heatmiser]

Sounds pretty good to me heatmiser. Its a basic beat but it works well with the song's structure and that is the main concern.
I think Jerry Garcia is really hiding out in your garage-I swear I heard him playing in the mix....

Hey, thanks anfontan. Yes, a very basic beat, and I couldn't even get it quite right at that! My first time playing and recording drums, so I'm relieved it doesn't sound way off to anyone so far.

I wish Garcia was in my garage...not like, dead or anything but...that would be cool.

That was pretty much what I was thinking although didn't know the "ducking" part either. I'd read where you got some drums. Sounds decent to me, however not being a drummer, you know how that is. It sounds like a pretty decent recording of them to me, though. I've got several of my own recordings of real drums that I don't think sound as good. It shows that you are going to get them figured out pretty quickly I think.

Looking forward to some new tunes from ya.

Have a good one.

Edit: A couple of posts slipped in there. I was talking about the kick drum like what Manslick said.

Cool thanks trump. I'm glad it sounds reasonably alright to you. Tuning, playing and recording drums is seeming to be extraordinarily difficult. Pretty fun though...just a lot of work! Now I just need to learn how to play 'em...no prob...?

 

[trumpino1]

Cool thanks trump. I'm glad it sounds reasonably alright to you. Tuning, playing and recording drums is seeming to be extraordinarily difficult. Pretty fun though...just a lot of work! Now I just need to learn how to play 'em...no prob...?

You're telling me man. I thought the drums were just beat the hell out of em' on time, lol. Yeah I noticed your tuning thread in the drum forum too. I learned a lot from that as well. Good luck.

 

[heatmiser]

In the intro the echo on the drums is really noticeable. I'd eliminate that intro if possible. It's not as obvious when the instruments play although I listened for it because of what I heard in the intro. The rest of the mix is really really nice - smooth rock with a happenin' groove. The variety of guitars made it an interesting and enjoyable listen...

Hey - cheers ido.

Yeah, the delay on the snare comes and goes every few bars and was meant to be over-the-top as an effect...like a lo-fi retro hip hop sort of thing? I dunno...might not work. For the most part, that effect is completely bypassed every other section following the intro, so when you're hearing the bass and the more guitar-laden sections, it isn't there at all - other than the natural garage/room sound. I didn't put any reverb on 'em...maybe I should've? Thanks again!

 

[arcadeko]

There is something with that delay that just doesn't sit right with me. I can't out my finger on it. I think the delay signal is too loud or something - Reminds me of Funky Drummer - I dig the tune a lot - It's totally groovy dude I would experiment with the delay - but thats purely an opinion not anything technical - it might just be because I am so used to Funky Drummer - maybe you get get a cool reverb sound instead of pure delay

 

[heatmiser]

There is something with that delay that just doesn't sit right with me. I can't out my finger on it. I think the delay signal is too loud or something - Reminds me of Funky Drummer - I dig the tune a lot - It's totally groovy dude I would experiment with the delay - but thats purely an opinion not anything technical - it might just be because I am so used to Funky Drummer - maybe you get get a cool reverb sound instead of pure delay

That is just totally freakin' awesome. Yeah, that is pretty much the exact, ideal drum sound I would like to have...good call. I got a ways to go!!

I will definitely go back and mess with the snare effects. The delay is definitely not in synch with the beat per se, but it is off in a way that I found appealing...but I'm strange that way...thanks arcedeko

 

[PoeticIntensity]

So... Listened to this twice, mostly due to me getting wrapped up in the grooviness of the track, and not paying attention to the drums. Ya know... For this mix, I don't think the drums sound bad at all. Sounds like they work just fine. Now, if you're trying to get a stellar pro-grade drum sound, that's one thing - but if you're asking whether or not these drums work with this mix, I think they work just fine.

 

[chrisjorge]

I like the drum sound. The hi-hat and snare are great in the mix. Kick is a little weak in the lowest lows. The only other thing I notice that sets this recording apart from grade a1 is that the lead and funk rhythm guitar have no crispy transient bite to the attack. Spin a couple old Steely Dan tracks and you will see what I mean. If that was coupled with the great hi-hat groove...killer, imho.

 

[heatmiser]

So... Listened to this twice, mostly due to me getting wrapped up in the grooviness of the track, and not paying attention to the drums. Ya know... For this mix, I don't think the drums sound bad at all. Sounds like they work just fine. Now, if you're trying to get a stellar pro-grade drum sound, that's one thing - but if you're asking whether or not these drums work with this mix, I think they work just fine.

I think I was asking if they worked on any level...like, am I in the ballpark. I think this tune is pretty reflective of the kinds of sounds I tend to use, so it seemed like a good test to see if I could at least make real drums work. I'm thinking I can, but am still really uncertain about the tuning I did and the mic setup and all that...let alone the playing! Thanks for listening and the reassurances.

I like the drum sound. The hi-hat and snare are great in the mix. Kick is a little weak in the lowest lows. The only other thing I notice that sets this recording apart from grade a1 is that the lead and funk rhythm guitar have no crispy transient bite to the attack. Spin a couple old Steely Dan tracks and you will see what I mean. If that was coupled with the great hi-hat groove...killer, imho.

Thank you Chris. Yes, the kick is prehaps my biggest concern here. I still don't hear the ducking mentioned earlier necessarily - I can hear the kick clearly all the way through - I just don't like the sound of it yet too much.

It isn't my kit, so I can't cut any holes in the reso head to get a mic in there. I did remove it, place a pillow in there and reattach it. This gave the kick a less resonant sound that I liked (pre-pillow, this kick just resonated on and on and on...).

I don't have a kick mic, so after much trial and error, I wound up putting a dynamic mic right near the beater to try to capture the slap and put a LDC about 4' in front of the reso head to get the boom. I had to make a cardboard tunnel over the bass drum to reduce bleed.

I think the kick needs more boom and probably needs to play nicer with the bass guitar.

Thanks everyone for the insight!

 

[Greg_L]

I'd love to listen but I can't. My listening/recording computer is fubar right now.

 

[heatmiser]

I'd love to listen but I can't. My listening/recording computer is fubar right now.

Phew! Dodged a bullet right there. Trust me, it sounds awesome.

 

[squibble94]

Phew! Dodged a bullet right there. Trust me, it sounds awesome.

Nah, but seriously. It works well in the mix. As you confirmed, the kick is a bit weak. To tell you the truth, I was expecting a lot worse when I was giving you tips on recording drums. I also might add that the playing is exceptionally tight for not being a drummer. With the addition of more mics it can give you some more flexibility. This particular drum sound would work very well with your songs. Keep it up man!

 

[heatmiser]

As you confirmed, the kick is a bit weak.

Maybe I can just turn it up?...probably not that simple....

To tell you the truth, I was expecting a lot worse when I was giving you tips on recording drums.

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

I think I stupidly thought it would be easier than this. I did buy a pair of cheap SDCs as overheads, so I have 5 mics on there now...2 OHs (sort of a glynn johns setup), one on the snare and two on the kick - it would seem as though 2 mics doesn't equal more sound in this case. I'll keep at it!

Oh, and thanks for the good word on the playing, although I'm sure you'd agree it's easier to sound tight when you don't so much as touch the toms or any cymbal other than the HHs. I was too scared.