Fake Drums. How bad is it? Version 2

[guitar zero]

So here is the same song I posted earlier with a completely different drum track. I ditched the "disco on steroids" kit, and put on a brush kit. Better?

Here's a better mix with cymbals, hats, backed off some:

Here's the original for comparison:

 

[robgreen]

Hey guitar zero, the song and performance is really nice - the singer's voice is great without being too 'showy'.

Listening to your earlier mix, the drums sound better just for having a more sparse kick. I think the rest of the kit could still be more sparse though. For me, it's a song where less on the drums is definitely more - the crash, open hi-hats and ride are all still far too prominent at present. I'd either bring down the volume or ditch them all together as they're a little distracting and detracting. It's moving in the right direction

 

[Tobe]

I'm also hopeless at selling myself. I almost didn't listen because you called yourself "fake".. if you don't like it, why should I?

And then when I listen I get this delightfully cute vocal and guitar... You are right, the percusion could be a tad lighter in places, but generally the song is nothing like the title of the thread would lead me to believe.

 

[guitar zero]

Hey guitar zero, the song and performance is really nice - the singer's voice is great without being too 'showy'.

Listening to your earlier mix, the drums sound better just for having a more sparse kick. I think the rest of the kit could still be more sparse though. For me, it's a song where less on the drums is definitely more - the crash, open hi-hats and ride are all still far too prominent at present. I'd either bring down the volume or ditch them all together as they're a little distracting and detracting. It's moving in the right direction

Thanks man. This is just the kind of feedback I was hoping for. I was kind of thinking the same thing. So I'll strip it down some more.

I'm also hopeless at selling myself. I almost didn't listen because you called yourself "fake".. if you don't like it, why should I?

And then when I listen I get this delightfully cute vocal and guitar... You are right, the percusion could be a tad lighter in places, but generally the song is nothing like the title of the thread would lead me to believe.

No, I think the girl is awesome. It's my ability to program a good sounding drum track that's on the exam table.

 

[guitar zero]

Hey guitar zero, the song and performance is really nice - the singer's voice is great without being too 'showy'.

Listening to your earlier mix, the drums sound better just for having a more sparse kick. I think the rest of the kit could still be more sparse though. For me, it's a song where less on the drums is definitely more - the crash, open hi-hats and ride are all still far too prominent at present. I'd either bring down the volume or ditch them all together as they're a little distracting and detracting. It's moving in the right direction

OK, so I posted a revision with the cymbals and hats tamed down a bit more up in the OP.

 

[TAE]

Wow she has a great voice smooooooth and comfortable...PLEASE DON't BE OFFENDED! just my lame opinion I think the cymbal drum thing was a bit busy overkill in a few spots awkward in others..but it's just an opinion. The overall mix was cool and if you brought in a hip percussionist to add just a little salt in pepper percussion to the mix you'd be golden ...man I LOVE her voice!

 

[guitar zero]

Wow she has a great voice smooooooth and comfortable...PLEASE DON't BE OFFENDED! just my lame opinion I think the cymbal drum thing was a bit busy overkill in a few spots awkward in others..but it's just an opinion. The overall mix was cool and if you brought in a hip percussionist to add just a little salt in pepper percussion to the mix you'd be golden ...man I LOVE her voice!

No offense taken. If I didn't want honest opinions, I wouldn't ask. Just what I want. You may have missed it from the original thread, but there's no real drummer or drums here. This is my first attempt at programming a drum track, so I'm trying to learn. Feedback is good if it leads me in the right direction. I may just start over and completely strip it down.

 

[dobro]

Gzero - think 'boomchikka boomchikka boomchikka boom' on the drum part. Can't go wrong with boomchikka. It's like playing fifths on the bass - it always works, and sometimes while you're doing it, an interesting idea takes over and changes things up in a world winning way.

I'm also thinking maybe the guitar part is a bit too loud.

I'm also really liking this tune. But I think you have to rework that drum part. Don't hate me.

 

[guitar zero]

Gzero - think 'boomchikka boomchikka boomchikka boom' on the drum part. Can't go wrong with boomchikka. It's like playing fifths on the bass - it always works, and sometimes while you're doing it, an interesting idea takes over and changes things up in a world winning way.

I'm also thinking maybe the guitar part is a bit too loud.

I'm also really liking this tune. But I think you have to rework that drum part. Don't hate me.

No hate here. Thanks for the honesty. I never expected to nail it on the first, second, or even third try. Hard to think like a drummer. I've pulled together some similar commercial mixes to study the drum tracks. I think trying to copy real drummers is the way to go.

 

[dobro]

I wouldn't agree that it's the way to go, but I think it's a great way to start. Two things:

I listen to beats I put together back in the day and go omg what was I thinking.

I do my own percussion often. I don't have a drumkit, but I can get usefully interesting and good sounding percussion all on my onesie with this or that shaker, beater or hand drum. It's fun to do, and it's challenging. (If drummers are as stupid as their reputation for stupidity, then maybe that's why they can keep a beat better than me - there's less stuff in the way of the beat.) Plus it's w-a-a-a-a-a-ay easier playing a percussion part than programming one. Trust me.

 

[robgreen]

Hi, listened to the updated mix - I think it's getting closer. I still think the cymbal could come down in the 'if only this dream were true' part though, as it really dominates.

I also think the snare/kick/to sounds in a different space to everything else in the mix - they sound quite small and boxy compared with the fullness of the guitars and vocal. I wonder whether you could do with better drum samples maybe? How is it you're programming your drums by the way?

Hope this helps!

 

[guitar zero]

Hi, listened to the updated mix - I think it's getting closer. I still think the cymbal could come down in the 'if only this dream were true' part though, as it really dominates.

I also think the snare/kick/to sounds in a different space to everything else in the mix - they sound quite small and boxy compared with the fullness of the guitars and vocal. I wonder whether you could do with better drum samples maybe? How is it you're programming your drums by the way?

Hope this helps!

Thanks for coming back to listen. Most people don't. The drums are samples from SSD4. I've got a ton of samples I can change to, so that's not a problem. I assume you're talking about the ride cymbal during the chorus parts. Easy enough to back it down. I'll look for some different samples. I might even mess around with the cajon or djembe I have at home, just to see what I can come up with. Who knows, it might sound better.