How can I contain a drumset's sound in a 5'X7' Space??

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runforrestrun09

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I've recently started recording local bands in my home...
My question is:
are there any ways besides acoustic panels on the wall that I can use contain the sound from the drums, and eliminate the "tinny-ness" of the sound I'm getting?

I've seen pillars or something in some bands' in-studio videos... I'm not sure what they are, but I'm thinking maybe they could help.

Also,
the cymbals tend to override the toms, I think mainly because the room is bringing out the high frequencies... Are there an pillars, shields, or anything that I can put behind the cymbals to stop the sound from reflecting off the (stucco) walls as much??

Please help...

-James
 
Holy cow! My drumset wouldn't fit in a 5x7 room.

Those pillers that you see do absorb sound. They keep it from bouncing back, but they do not contain the sound. They just slow it down a little.

In a room that small, the lowest frequency that can exist is somewhere around 200hz. The room is way too small and nothing short of floated floors and double walls will keep the sound in the room.
 
You probably won't be able to contain the sound.

You can get a usable drum sound though.

What are you using now (mics, pres etc.)?
 
Haha it's not the vocal booth-

it's the other half of my bedroom, and the dimensions aren't 5'X7', I took out a desk and bed today...

The dimensions are (officially) 6.5' X 11'... (the entire room's dimensions are 14' X 11', and 8' high, my corner desk takes up the 7' on one side of the room....)

Any advice?
 
V-Drums? :D

More seriously - it's difficult to say without knowing what the room sounds like, but I would start by treating for early reflections. Check the "design and construction" threads for tips. The stucco walls are probably just throwing all the high frequencies back at the kit.

Play with your mic'ing technique as well. I don't know how you're set up currently... are you close mic'ing everything? Using the Glyn John's or Recorderman method's?
 
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runforrestrun09 said:
I've recently started recording local bands in my home...
My question is:
are there any ways besides acoustic panels on the wall that I can use contain the sound from the drums, and eliminate the "tinny-ness" of the sound I'm getting?

I've seen pillars or something in some bands' in-studio videos... I'm not sure what they are, but I'm thinking maybe they could help.

Also,
the cymbals tend to override the toms, I think mainly because the room is bringing out the high frequencies... Are there an pillars, shields, or anything that I can put behind the cymbals to stop the sound from reflecting off the (stucco) walls as much??

Please help...

-James
Click to expand...
Wow, that's smaller than my drum booth! Mine is 5x9! Emm I'd just recommend absorption panels. I have 4 gobos (moveable absorption panels) that i place around the kit, and 2 clouds (panels on the ceiling). I manage to reduce the reflections enough to get a decent recording.
 
Wow thanks for all the feedback- I'll definitely try it out...

this is my 'studio's' myspace... I'm not trying to promote it, just to give you all an idea of what I mean by the cymbals being kind of overpowering...

it's not letting me put up the exact URL, but the URL for after "myspace.com" is 'yourholidayfromreal'

let me know what you think, if you can tell from the recordings

I tried Recorderman's technique (two over heads only) and I wasn't able to get a good stereo image, and I want to be able to pan the drums...

This is what I've been doing for the mic set up:

2 overhead mics (Audix F-15)
1 tom mic for two center toms on top of kick drum (Audix F-10)
1 Shure SM58 pointed at both the snare and hihat
1 tom for snare (either below snare or directed at center of snare)
1 kick mis (Audix F-12)... I have also use the SM58 for the kick drum, at times, just to experiment....
 
runforrest,
I had a listen to the clips on your MS page. I think you might try changing the placement / aim of the OH mics first. Do you have them aimed directly at the cymbals and hi-hat? The OH mics really should be aimed so that they pick up a stereo image of the kit, not mainly cymbals. Try aiming the one on the drummer's left to the spot where the snare and rack tom meet (but not directly at either drum) and the one on the drummer's right to the spot where the floor tom and low rack tom meet. The cymbal bleed should still allow enough cymbal sound to cut through, but far less than you're getting now.

If the reflections still cause too much high-end, a diffuser baffle on the wall behind the kit might be the next step.
 
runforrestrun09 said:
Haha it's not the vocal booth-

it's the other half of my bedroom, and the dimensions aren't 5'X7', I took out a desk and bed today...

The dimensions are (officially) 6.5' X 11'... (the entire room's dimensions are 14' X 11', and 8' high, my corner desk takes up the 7' on one side of the room....)

Any advice?
Click to expand...

So it is a control room/recording room kind of thing? If so the correct dimensions to give are the entire room's.

To get the best out of the room pick up the snare and walk the room while hitting the drum. Find the spot in the room where it sounds best. That's where to set up the drums. It may mean rearranging the room.

The low ceiling is a concern. Could explain the cymbal problem. Try absorption in the ceiling above the drums and behind the drummer.
 
Thanks-



KineticSound- I had the OH mics pointing down towards the cymbals, facing the drummer. I'll definitely try directing them towards the rack tom/snare on the left and floor tom/low rack on the right... Hopefully by the end of this week, I'll have tried this with the band that is coming in, and the songs will be up on my myspace... I'll try a diffuser behind the set as well

JCMastering- It is a one-room setup; it's just my bedroom. I'm working on building either one or two clouds to hang from the ceiling (where can I get some building plans/blueprints??), and maybe a couple panels on the exposed walls... and/or a matress :-)
 
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