My drum tracking setup.

jamesduysen

jamesduysen

New member
Hey everyone,

I have been struggling with accoustic drums for almost 4 years now. A week ago, when my band decided to record in my home studio instead of proffesionally, I decided to stop trying to be authentic and drop my pride and go for better sound. Here is what i am doing:

The Setup:
I have access to Roland V-drums.
I take the snare and kick line out straight to my interface with no sample (so it just sounds like a drum stick on a bucket during tracking).
I use real cymbals and hat and track them with overheads.
I use the V-drum samples for the toms (stereo output on the roland module)

Next:
I use drumagog at best quality for snare and kick, then compensate for latency by moving the physical track.
Finally I add eq and compression as needed.

Result:
I am getting the best kit tracks I have had so far in my career.

The point of this thread:
Does this setup make me a big phoney loser asshole? Or is it ok to do whatever it takes to get the best sounds possible?
 
jamesduysen said:
get the best sounds possible?
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I think this is what matters....and having some fun at it.

I play acoustic drums, as that's the newest item for me, so it's fun. If I want great sound, I have DFHS, and ez-Drummer.....and they are easy. But if I want to have fun playing, I use the real drums. It all just depends on what peaks my interest at the time.

Keep it fun, but get the sounds you want.
 
jamesduysen said:
Hey everyone,

I have been struggling with accoustic drums for almost 4 years now.
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That's not a struggle, it's a learning curve, and I'm pretty sure you'll never find anyone that says "getting good drum sounds came very easy for me". :)

There's too many places shit can go wrong, i.e. tuning, mic placement and selection, the room, the drummer, the part, etc.

jamesduysen said:
Does this setup make me a big phoney loser asshole?
Click to expand...
Sort of, but you're not alone :p
jamesduysen said:
Or is it ok to do whatever it takes to get the best sounds possible?
Click to expand...
Absolutely!
 
i'm torn on this one. on one hand, at least you're playing the drums physically and not just programming in the beats. so the performance still has to be up to snuff even though most of the actual recorded sounds are, well, not so recorded (at least not by you :D). so you still have to actually know how to play drums for your current setup to work, and i'll give you that.
on the other hand, your 4-year struggle seems to have brought you to this point of surrender where the frustration of miking drums outweighs the beautiful challenge of capturing an acoustic set on tape in all its dynamic ridiculousness.

do i think you're a traitor? yes, down in that dark part of me that refuses to surrender and get v-drums. :mad:

do i think you're getting better results? i should certainly hope so.

does asking and answering my own questions prove that i have been trying to capture good acoustic drum sounds long enough that i've completely lost my frigging mind? you bet! :D

i resent it, yet i cannot condemn you for it. :o
 
something about this seems wrong... You should be able to get good results recording a live acoustic set. It may not sound like it was recorded in a pro studio, but that wont ruin the music, it may even add character to the recording. To me electric drums will always sound like electric drums. I know the technology is improving, but I think they will always sound "too perfect" to be realistic. thats just my opinion...
 
Ding Dong said:
...but I think they will always sound "too perfect" to be realistic. thats just my opinion...
Click to expand...
That is my take on it. Every song is different, some music doesn't necessarily call for the ultimate drum sound. If your music does then by all means. Also for myself, I feel like if I were to use samples the song I get, the sound is less mine and it would be. For my music there's a definite cutoff point, my skills aint all that and my drum sounds don't need to sound just like (band X). For me good enough is good enough. Besides all of that I am getting closer to the sound I have in my head everyday and it's been gratifying in the extreme.
 
As I read this I'm listening to 'Mellowship Slinky In B Major', a fine testament to the acoustic drums and the art of recording them.

I think if you've found the setup that works for you, bloody well good on you, but I'll stick take the struggle of recording my beautiful Ludwig cheers :)
 
i just recorded drums with such a great setup!

in a gigantic living room with cathedral ceilings:

kick:
-Audio Technica AE2500 Dual Element Condenser & Dynamic in sound hole
-Yamaha Subkick on front head
-Royer r-121 2 feet back from front head aiming down at 45 degree angle.
-PZM inside drum
-Senheiser 421 on beater side

snare:
-sm57 top
-sm7 top
-sm57 bottom

hi hat: shure ksm 137

toms: shure Beta 98/S (2)

overheads:
-(2) AKG 451s (AB) 3 feet above cymbals
-(2) Microtech Gefell M930s (XY) 6 feet above cymbals

Room Mics:
-(1) MXL v67 10 feet in front of drums
-(1) Audio Technica AT4047 in the kitchen


pres available: (2) API 512c, (2) Purple Audio Biz, (2) Universal Audio 610, (1) Neve 1272, (2) Belari RP520, (1) HHB Radius 50, (2) Grace Designs LunaTec V3, 24 channel Midas Venice console.

sounds great! can't wait to finish this record....
 
RightOnMusic said:
i just recorded drums with such a great setup!

in a gigantic living room with cathedral ceilings:

kick:
-Audio Technica AE2500 Dual Element Condenser & Dynamic in sound hole
-Yamaha Subkick on front head
-Royer r-121 2 feet back from front head aiming down at 45 degree angle.
-PZM inside drum
-Senheiser 421 on beater side

snare:
-sm57 top
-sm7 top
-sm57 bottom

hi hat: shure ksm 137

toms: shure Beta 98/S (2)

overheads:
-(2) AKG 451s (AB) 3 feet above cymbals
-(2) Microtech Gefell M930s (XY) 6 feet above cymbals

Room Mics:
-(1) MXL v67 10 feet in front of drums
-(1) Audio Technica AT4047 in the kitchen


pres available: (2) API 512c, (2) Purple Audio Biz, (2) Universal Audio 610, (1) Neve 1272, (2) Belari RP520, (1) HHB Radius 50, (2) Grace Designs LunaTec V3, 24 channel Midas Venice console.

sounds great! can't wait to finish this record....
Click to expand...


With all that gear, it better damn well sound great...
 
RightOnMusic said:
i just recorded drums with such a great setup!

in a gigantic living room with cathedral ceilings:

kick:
-Audio Technica AE2500 Dual Element Condenser & Dynamic in sound hole
-Yamaha Subkick on front head
-Royer r-121 2 feet back from front head aiming down at 45 degree angle.
-PZM inside drum
-Senheiser 421 on beater side

snare:
-sm57 top
-sm7 top
-sm57 bottom

hi hat: shure ksm 137

toms: shure Beta 98/S (2)

overheads:
-(2) AKG 451s (AB) 3 feet above cymbals
-(2) Microtech Gefell M930s (XY) 6 feet above cymbals

Room Mics:
-(1) MXL v67 10 feet in front of drums
-(1) Audio Technica AT4047 in the kitchen


pres available: (2) API 512c, (2) Purple Audio Biz, (2) Universal Audio 610, (1) Neve 1272, (2) Belari RP520, (1) HHB Radius 50, (2) Grace Designs LunaTec V3, 24 channel Midas Venice console.

sounds great! can't wait to finish this record....
Click to expand...

WOW! You sure make it sound like a lot of work to get a great drum recording. Then again I have heard great drum recordings done with three mics.:D
 
and who knows? we may only use 3 of those!

i can think of a couple tracks on the record that would probably sound good with the pair of gefells and the kitchen mic or one of the kick mics. all super pumpy compressed and whathaveyou.
 
me personally...i think too many metal musicians are relying way too much on triggered and sound replacement tools.....i know guys who can get a good sounding drum but still wanna jack it up with replacements
 
yeah do whatever works best, for some types of music drumagog just dont cut it but others its perfect. i would recommend taking a midi out and trying a high quality drum machine (Ezdrummer, BFD) you still get the performance feel but with super high quality drums
 
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