First try at Parallel Compression on drums...

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RAMI

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...on my drums.

I've experimented with copying my drum track, compressing the copied, and mixing it in. But I've never used it because I just always "heard" the compression.
I decided to try it on this song and post it to see if you guys hear it the way I hear it. I tried to leak in the compressed track just enough to beef up the drums...But, to me, they still sound choked. It might be my mind playing with my ears, since I know they've been compressed.

If anyone has done this and can give me tips or suggest what I might be doing wrong, I'll learn something new today.

(Or maybe they don't sound as over-compressed as I think???)

I'm not so worried about the verses with the rim shot...It's when the snare is playing in the choruses and in the last verse that I find the snare really sounds choked.
Some of you have heard this tune many times, so you might be sick of it.

Thanx in advance for any tips.

SCARS
 
faderbug said:
to me the compression does not show up.
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Really? This might be a good thing. Or it might mean that I've completely lost perspective and don't know what the hell I'm hearing. :D

Thanx for the listen, Faderbug.
 
i must say i never listened to the original but on this i can hear how the drums are bright, present and up front and i can only suspect that compression played a part in that.
all my ears tell me is that it sounds alright.
 
Too me the drums sound great. But thats mainly because they are 'tight as fuck' if you pardon the expression. Great sounds all round for me, Love the Vocals and the Guitars. What guitar and amp combination are you are playing on this? Also what was your vocal chain? I love it man...You keep surprising me with your talent!
 
RAMI said:
...But, to me, they still sound choked...
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If they sound choked, it may be because your attack is not set fast enough on your compressor. It could be that, (as the signal passes through the compressor,) the initial head slap is slipping through uncompressed yet the "fundamental rich tone" of the drum is being noticeably pulled down. That head slap makes the compressed track sound loud but missing lots of its tone.

If you correct this, then you can raise the output level (or make up gain) to bring out that rich tone hotter than the original.
 
Listening on POS earbuds, so keep that in mind. I think the drums sound great. I hear the attack on the snare and kick, but they aren't clicky. There's good depth, even on these sucky buds. Cymbals are nice, and balanced sounding. Very natural. You just played a fill, and all the drums sound pretty even in volume, have good initial snap, and seem to ring pretty well.
 
RawDepth said:
If they sound choked, it may be because your attack is not set fast enough on your compressor.
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Good point. That might be what I'm hearing. My instincts told me to put no attack, since it's just going to be brought in under the main track. But, I was scared THAT would make them sound too choked, so I put a short attack on them. But, it seems after reading your explanation, that it's the opposite and I think that's what I might be hearing. Thanx alot, Raw.
 
Dogman said:
Listening on POS earbuds, so keep that in mind. I think the drums sound great. I hear the attack on the snare and kick, but they aren't clicky. There's good depth, even on these sucky buds. Cymbals are nice, and balanced sounding. Very natural. You just played a fill, and all the drums sound pretty even in volume, have good initial snap, and seem to ring pretty well.
Click to expand...
Great, man. Not as bad as I thought then. Maybe since it's a new technique, I just have to get used to the sound. Thanx, Dogger.
 
gummblefish said:
Too me the drums sound great. But thats mainly because they are 'tight as fuck' if you pardon the expression. Great sounds all round for me, Love the Vocals and the Guitars. What guitar and amp combination are you are playing on this? Also what was your vocal chain? I love it man...You keep surprising me with your talent!
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Hey Gumble, thanx alot for the kind words.

My guitar set-up is a Strat into a YAMAHA DG STOMP. I run that into a Peavey Studio Pro, but I only use the speaker from that. Mic with a 57, into my TASCAM 2488.

My vocal set-up is pretty simple, too. AKG C3000b into a Focusrite VoiceMaster Pro pre-amp, into the TASCAM. I usually don't double my vocals in verses, but in this song, they're doubled all the way through, with the second track about half the volume of the main track.
 
Woah, Woah, Woah....dude you changed up your sound alot. Or maybe it's just the shitty speakers I'm listening through. Your tone sounds alot more 80's and leaning more to Sabbath with Dio . Your drums sound more distant in this mix. Your guits sound like they are missing alot of lows and have alot oh highs and highmids but I'm not sure if that's my speakers, it's not a bad thing thoughIMO. Your vocals remind alot of James Hetfield in the Load album and something else but I can't quite pick it out. I don't think the mix is bad at all. This is more of tastes than technicalities.
 
myhatbroke said:
Woah, Woah, Woah....dude you changed up your sound alot. Or maybe it's just the shitty speakers I'm listening through. Your tone sounds alot more 80's and leaning more to Sabbath with Dio . Your drums sound more distant in this mix. Your guits sound like they are missing alot of lows and have alot oh highs and highmids but I'm not sure if that's my speakers, it's not a bad thing thoughIMO. Your vocals remind alot of James Hetfield in the Load album and something else but I can't quite pick it out. I don't think the mix is bad at all. This is more of tastes than technicalities.
Click to expand...

I think your crackpipe broke.

Sounds good to me, RAMI. I definitely don't think the drums sounded distant - quite the opposite, really.
 
Thanx Hat and Scrubs. I guess it just goes to show how we all hear things differently.

I was tempted to give the drums a bigger "rock ballad" sound, but it sounded too cliche. But maybe my brain still expects to hear that, which might be what's leading me to think the drums need to be bigger.....or something. I probably have to stop listening to it for a few days.
Thanx for the comments.:)
 
Hi Rami

I listened to both versions (with headphones) and I think the kick on the new version is probably too much compressed. The kick on the original version was deeper and was interacting better with the bass. In the new version, the bass is kind of on its own. Maybe you can compress the drum less ?

/Jack Real.
 
Rami I agree that the drums sound a little choked. The compressor seems to make them sound kind of small and not open enough. It might be that I just don't care for the sound of that particular compressor on drums. Which compressor did you use?
 
The bass drum sounds a little numetal but the rest of the kit sounds great to my ears.
It's an interesting process - a touch of Morown exciter on the tubs certainly helps them cut through.
Ace song.
 
I think it sounds great to. I like how everything sounds.. but the snare. It does sound dull to me. I'm not 100% sure, but it seems like a hear a little phasing or something on it as well.

+1 on the tight playing as well, that makes it a joy to listen to even if I am being over critical on the recording. :cool:
 
Rami,

Great song!

I'm a stickler when it comes to vocal harmony and all I can is......you nailed it!

Oh, the drums and guitar and guitars were pretty good too. ;)
 
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