Im having such a bitch getting my drums...

  • Thread starter Thread starter zappo
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zappo

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TO SOUND GOOD JESUS CHRIST.....I have 2 Audio-Technica AT4033 for overheads ( i heard they are good) i use a sm57 on snare or the AKG d770. I use a AKG d770 on kick as well but i also have a earthworks kick preamp deal and get a decent thump. Im running this into my presonus firepod (which i really dont know if its good) in channels 1-4. Okay i dunno if its my room which is pretty small and gay and has some padding on it and what not ill show you pics for better judgement.

Cell phone pics bare with me on the shit quality

http://www.pureownage.org/pictures/drumpic.jpg

http://www.pureownage.org/pictures/drums1.jpg

I mean just the ruff tracks im not happy with mayb its my mic placement or something or the room? I just cant get this shit to ever sound good or mayb im really expecting to much

(yes the drum beat is terrible and its out of tempo)



I was thinking mayb i should go pro tools or something
I do have monitors m audio bx5a's i know im not the best at mixing, I have to monitor and get levels all bymyself i have no help from anyone and its just getting so tedious i want a good sound and no matter what i do i seem to fail. So i dunno if its me, the room, my shit, or i should go pro tools? I can admit i use cubase sx 3.0 and i have no fucking idea what its doing i know how to use the mixer and thats about it......Well any help would be great and if theres alot of typos im sorry i made this post at 4:00 AM
 
zappo said:
I was thinking mayb i should go pro tools or something
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Yeah, go Pro Tools or something. Pro Tools can usually make a shitty drum set that isn't tuned for shit and isn't mic'ed up right sound killer.

Yeah, Pro Tools, or something.


ps, great drum sounds aren't something you get with an hour or two invested. There's too many things that can go wrong. Read up on drum tuning, mic choice and placement, compression, gating, panning, and eq.
 
ez_willis said:
Yeah, go Pro Tools or something. Pro Tools can usually make a shitty drum set that isn't tuned for shit and isn't mic'ed up right sound killer.

Yeah, Pro Tools, or something.


ps, great drum sounds aren't something you get with an hour or two invested. There's too many things that can go wrong. Read up on drum tuning, mic choice and placement, compression, gating, panning, and eq.
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Ditto. Search these boards. Read the threads on micing. Try out the 3 mic method that's been discussed here many, many, MANY times. Move the mics around. Tune your drums. Take the time to LISTEN and try different things.

Always remember, it's the poor carpenter who blames his tools ;)
 
ez_willis said:
Read up on .............................compression.....................
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MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..............................Compression. Not to be overused, but the "C" word has saved many of my drum tracks. I haven't listened to your clip yet, I'm in the office now, but when I get to the studio I'll check it out and see if I can help.
 
I am not an expert, but here are my thoughts on things you can try: Mic placement. It sounds like the overheads are overriding everything else and more focused on the cymbals than the whole kit. There are a few threads on this board about x/y or the 3 mic Recorderman method(I think that is the correct name). Height of the mics, direction of the mics, and spacing of the mics all make a difference. I place my overheads about a 1' in front of me and 1' above facing the zone between the cymbals and the drums in an x/y config. I have also tried the Recorderman method with equally good results. Take your time and make notes every time you change something and only change one thing at a time until you get the sound you want. Same with the bass and snare mics. Play with positioning until each sounds right. There is lots of info on this forum about placement and recording technique for drums. Read them all and try everything until you find what works for you, your drums and the room they are being played in. Time and patience will pay off.
 
I spent 7 hours one day trying to get my drummers set to sound good on tape. We did so much crap to the drum set basically because he needed new heads. We scraped that take he got new heads and shazzzamm. a good sounding set.

Those Evans Hydrolic heads seem to be well taylored to recording....
 
Zappo :

Does Bricktucky = Brick or Bricktown? (My cousin is from Brick.)
 
I listened to the clip. Definitely mess with positioning more.
VTgreen81 said:
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..............................Compression. Not to be overused, but the "C" word has saved many of my drum tracks. I haven't listened to your clip yet, I'm in the office now, but when I get to the studio I'll check it out and see if I can help.
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I use compression on just my snare and room mics. I really go to town with EQ, though.
 
eraos said:
Zappo :

Does Bricktucky = Brick or Bricktown? (My cousin is from Brick.)
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yes it does and thanks for all your input the thing about compressin ive tooled with it and it makes my drums sound to fucking CRACK BOOMBASTIC to fake to robotic i guess im not good at using it :( and i must of moved my mics EVERYWHERE but im a perfectionist and ill contiune to look for a good spot and sorry for typos i just woke up lol
 
Kick: Cut some 200-500 hz add a little 100hz and 4k
Snare: Add a tiny boost on the 2k range and one at the 10k range

Overheads: position them a bit higher to capture more snare, it seems like you have little stereo image. I would use a standard A/B overhead position instead of the XY , gives a much more stereo image (imo).

Lots of what you find sounding ''natural'' will lie in the pre-amp

Tell us wich style you are looking for :)
I hope this helps a bit, I'm far from an expert.

(If you want post them in seperate files: Snare,Kick,OL,OR then we can take a listen and maybe point out the problem)
 
Blor007 said:
Kick: Cut some 200-500 hz add a little 100hz and 4k
Snare: Add a tiny boost on the 2k range and one at the 10k range

Overheads: position them a bit higher to capture more snare, it seems like you have little stereo image. I would use a standard A/B overhead position instead of the XY , gives a much more stereo image (imo).

Lots of what you find sounding ''natural'' will lie in the pre-amp

Tell us wich style you are looking for :)
I hope this helps a bit, I'm far from an expert.

(If you want post them in seperate files: Snare,Kick,OL,OR then we can take a listen and maybe point out the problem)
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will do just listened to blood sex sugar magik and got inspired so right now im working on my snare trying to figure out why i hit it...it makes a stupid vibration noise
 
Did you pan your overheads? Also, make sure you're paying attention to phase.

You ARE multitracking each mic right? Each mic should be on its own track so you can control its sound.

It's also kind of hard to know exactly how your drums will sound without music along with them.

Also, if you're serious about improving the frequency response of your room, search through the "Studio Building and Display" forums for bass traps. You can also learn how to test your room's response if you look hard enough. That is, if you're SERIOUS about removing the room from the equation.
 
SonicClang said:
Did you pan your overheads? Also, make sure you're paying attention to phase.

You ARE multitracking each mic right? Each mic should be on its own track so you can control its sound.

It's also kind of hard to know exactly how your drums will sound without music along with them.

Also, if you're serious about improving the frequency response of your room, search through the "Studio Building and Display" forums for bass traps. You can also learn how to test your room's response if you look hard enough. That is, if you're SERIOUS about removing the room from the equation.
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im serious about recording i started with a boss recorder and liked it then got a mixer a smason 1024 and ran in it line in on my soundcard then realized that sucked and got an interface. im learning right now im trying to tune my snare
 
I have to agree with everyone here. Drum sounds do NOT come overnight. Just spend a LOT of time tracking and listening. Playing with certain things. Making movements and making notes. The drums don't sound bad by any means. The snare sounds good it could be a bit brighter for my taste and a bit more up front in the mix. The kick is way too up front in the mix. I agree cut the 200-500hz a bit and boost even 6k for just a little snap. A pinch of ambient reverb would brighten things a bit too. It is not a perfect science that you can follow to the letter. It is all about experimentation. It's ok to be a perfectionist, but don't let it completely engulf what you are doing or your work will be wasted. I think that I can speak for everybody here when I say that we have all probably spent thousands of hours tracking and mixing and everytime you learn something. Be patient and it will come. Good Luck!!
 
elmerfunk said:
I have to agree with everyone here. Drum sounds do NOT come overnight. Just spend a LOT of time tracking and listening. Playing with certain things. Making movements and making notes. The drums don't sound bad by any means. The snare sounds good it could be a bit brighter for my taste and a bit more up front in the mix. The kick is way too up front in the mix. I agree cut the 200-500hz a bit and boost even 6k for just a little snap. A pinch of ambient reverb would brighten things a bit too. It is not a perfect science that you can follow to the letter. It is all about experimentation. It's ok to be a perfectionist, but don't let it completely engulf what you are doing or your work will be wasted. I think that I can speak for everybody here when I say that we have all probably spent thousands of hours tracking and mixing and everytime you learn something. Be patient and it will come. Good Luck!!
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thank you i know it doesnt come over night i thought i would just post here so i can get some type of direction it sucks when friends who want to record wont even help me so right now im just trying to do my snare but i have no idea what to do with this strainer shit
 
ez_willis said:
Start with this link, then we'll go from there.
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...Fine if i must type like I am typing a report for fucking English then I shall do so. Does this make it that easier to read? I don't know you tell me. Now can you provide some help or just be bitter over the fact that I didnt use periods and commas.
 
zappo said:
...Fine if i must type like I am typing a report for fucking English then I shall do so. Does this make it that easier to read? I don't know you tell me. Now can you provide some help or just be bitter over the fact that I didnt use periods and commas.
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Bro it's hard to read run on sentences that have no punctuation shitty spelling and toyz r us grammar and if you're looking for answers you should at least offer the people that are here to help you a little help by posting a question that doesnt need to be decoded to gain an understanding of what youre looking for and one more thing drums are a motherfucker to get to sound even acceptable great is beyond my reach even years after trying I'd suggest checking out Drumagog if are the kind of person you come off as being who demands that the world cater to his needs right now not an hour from now a day from or or even a month from now lol brb know what I mean
 
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