My current drum sounds...

hiwatt357

hiwatt357

New member
Lately I've been tweaking my drum sounds in regards to tuning, mic placement and levels.

First off, I want to make it clear that my kit is not any sort of "pro" kit. It's a Cortley kit I bought from a friend of mine in college for $100.00. My ex-roommate accidentally left a Paiste 2002 ride with my cymbals many moons ago, two crashes (Meinl's) were given to me, and I bought the Sabian B8 Pro hi-hats and 16" crash. I was also given a Tama piccolo snare (shown in picture, but not used in this recording) by a band for whom I filled-in on drums.

In other words, it's a budget kit.

I recorded this tonight using a D112 on the kick, a 57 on the snare and one Audio Technica ST90 (???) above each tom using a Boss BR-532 digital 4-track. I use a Phonic mixer to mix the 4 mics down to 1 track. Everything is recorded flat and dry.

I realize that it's probably going to be difficult to get a good tone out of the shallow mounted tom.

Does anyone have any suggestions given my current set-up to get some more "umph" out of the toms? I should probably get at least one overhead mic as well, but it's the toms that really give me the most trouble.

I'd also appreciate feedback as to the overall sound of the kit.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Here's the track.
 
Why do people like you do this..." hey look at me look at me...what do ya think? But oh wait...I'm not really a drummer, I was drunk, my drums suck, and my recording gear is lame. But yeah, other than that...what do you think?"

Spineless 'tard.
 
im in the same boat as you-sorta. i would say that the kick is way to in your face and the hats, cymbals etc are too far back.

but what do i know, i can get anything good sounding out of my drums at all.
 
Not very good. Man I hate saying that but there isn't much good sounding going on there. The kick seems a little too slappy and also a bit boomy at the same time. Are you not using overheads, or are the mics over the toms the overheads? Cymbals seem a little too lively and harsh, try cutting eq instead of boosting. How are you placing the kick mic? If it's not you need to get it inside the shell, after you do that try boosting somewhere between the 2k-5k range to get a good click, sometimes I boost slightly around 120hz to get more of a thud. The snare will probably be a tough one for you for awhile, I'd say find someone how can really tune it up good and then get the 57 right up to the head, but really I find that playing the snare right, and great tuning really help not so great mic placement. Oh and if you're micing the toms you may want to try eqing them similar to the kick, probably not right but it's how I always do it.
 
jonnyc said:
Not very good. Man I hate saying that but there isn't much good sounding going on there. The kick seems a little too slappy and also a bit boomy at the same time. Are you not using overheads, or are the mics over the toms the overheads? Cymbals seem a little too lively and harsh, try cutting eq instead of boosting. How are you placing the kick mic? If it's not you need to get it inside the shell, after you do that try boosting somewhere between the 2k-5k range to get a good click, sometimes I boost slightly around 120hz to get more of a thud. The snare will probably be a tough one for you for awhile, I'd say find someone how can really tune it up good and then get the 57 right up to the head, but really I find that playing the snare right, and great tuning really help not so great mic placement. Oh and if you're micing the toms you may want to try eqing them similar to the kick, probably not right but it's how I always do it.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response JonnyC.

As I'm recording them now, I do not have any EQ nor compression on the drums at all. With the sub-mixer I'm using, I can add (or subtract) some EQ, and perhaps that's what with which I need to experiment. And no, I'm not using overheads, which is why the cymbals seem far back.

As for the snare, it's not the greatest snare, and there's a lot of ring to it. I might just need to go back to my TAMA piccolo snare, but piccolo's not great for everything...which is why I decided to try the Cortley snare again.

And for the kick...I probably just need to get a new outer head. I cut out the old outer head and have the D112 about 4" from the beater head and 3 1/2" away from the center. I'd rather have a new outer head with a small hole cut for the mic. But...for now I have to work with what I have.

Thanks alot for the input, and I'll tweak some more. :)
 
hiwatt357 said:
I'd also appreciate feedback as to the overall sound of the kit.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Here's the track.
Click to expand...

Your snare sounds pretty good. The kick is usable. The toms are too clacky, maybe it's the way you're playing them. A good tom sound starts with new heads, and a good tune up. Overheads would help your cymbal sound
 
TheBigGiantHead said:
Why do people like you do this..." hey look at me look at me...what do ya think? But oh wait...I'm not really a drummer, I was drunk, my drums suck, and my recording gear is lame. But yeah, other than that...what do you think?"

Spineless 'tard.
Click to expand...

where did that come from? you typing in the wrong window or something?
 
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