Kick EQ: Too much or too little?

[killthepixelnow]

Hey guys, what's up? I'm trying to get a particular Kick sound for my recording. Problem is I feel the reference track is heavily processed but it doesn't sound bad... mine is different, when I try to "catch" the sound I tend to add some weird frequences that produce a weak&wimpy sound. I'm trying not to abuse EQ but maybe without raising some frequencies I'm not gonna be able to achieve the sound.

So, here's what I did. I recorded three versions of the same groove where 001 is the least processed and 003 has the most EQ.

Reference track:
http://www.infectionmetal.com/listening/darknessprevails.zip

Drum test 001
http://www.infectionmetal.com/listening/drumtest001.zip

Drum test 002
http://www.infectionmetal.com/listening/drumtest002.zip

Drum test 003
http://www.infectionmetal.com/listening/drumtest003.zip

What do you think? Any help would be apreciated. Thanx.

 

[Greg_L]

Can you post the clips so I don't have to unzip a dozen files?

 

[killthepixelnow]

Sorry, here are the tracks:

Reference track:

Drum test 001
http://www.infectionmetal.com/listening/drumtest_master001.wav

Drum test 002
http://www.infectionmetal.com/listening/drumtest_master002.wav

Drum test 003
http://www.infectionmetal.com/listening/drumtest_master003.wav

 

[Greg_L]

Tracks won't play for me.

 

[killthepixelnow]

I don't know why it happens... Firefox can't play the tracks but Safari does... that's the reason I upload zip files instead of [.mp3] or [.wav] files. Maybe you can right click and download the file into your computer (Save link as...).

 

[donkeystyle]

it's hard to really decide with nothing else in the mix, but I think the snare from 3 and the rest of the drums from 2 would get you the closest. The snare doesn't sound like the sample snare to begin with though.

The bass guitar, guitar, and vocals are going to alter our perception of the drums and therefore this exercise is nearly pointless.

Even if you were to add guitars and bass, you wont get the drums to sound like that until you get the other instruments to sound similar to the ones in the sample.

 

[PhilGood]

I think test 3 is the closest overall, but you have some reverb that doesn't appear to be there in the source track.

Not a bad sound at all. The overheads could be stronger or closer and not pick up so much room. Less verb.

 

[killthepixelnow]

You're right, my drum groove is more roomy than the original. I'll try with less reverb and see what happens.

About the snare... I tried to get close to that sound but ended with an unnatural sound Do you reckon there's some kind of layered sample on it? I love the powerful snap, it's like a gun being shotted! Oh by the way, I haven't applied any compression to my kick or snare.

 

[donkeystyle]

I'm sure all of the drums from the sample have layered samples in them.

 

[Steve Moser]

First, the drum has to sound how you want it to sound. Forget about processing at first; that comes later, and only when necessary. Once you get the drum sounding good, you can record it. The best sound starts from the ground up. EQ and other effects won't be as necessary if you start with a good sound. A good room is important too, and different challenge, but you have to start with the drum first.

Great sounding instruments recorded flat, or close to it, will always sound better than the "tweaked" ones.

 

[killthepixelnow]

Here's a song with bass, guitars and drums so you can hear how the kick fits in the mix:

http://www.infectionmetal.com/listening/cannibalsdeath_premix001.zip