my drums sound live as hell - when i want them to sound studio

  • Thread starter Thread starter shackrock
  • Start date Start date
Shack,

What kind of "studio sound" are you going for? Give us examples.
 
i guess i just want more of a "tight" or "close" sound then i'm getting. right now it sounds kind of distant.

basically like any rock band out there who has recorded "professionsally"....any sound like that.

I especially love "poison the well" - opposite of december is the name of the CD.

those drums rock ass in my opinion. at least it definately fits the style, which is not far off from mine.
 
Go for room control though dude. and remember to gate those mics. and use as many of those mics as you have drums. The live sound you complained about had alot to do with you room. Control of every single drum without bleed is is nesessary.
 
shackrock said:
i've actually never used a noise gate...anyone wanna clue me in? direct me to a free one to try out? lol
Click to expand...

Do a search for BlueGate. That's what I use. It's DX. It's free. It comes with a buttload of other free DX pluggins that are quite good.
 
wes480 said:
just do random dynamics processing on the thing....you will have a nice original "basement" indie rock sound
Click to expand...

Indie is kewl.

:cool:
 
Since we're talking about drum sounds,

when I think about studio drums, I think of a fusion player's
clean, polished and semi-open drum sound. You hear it on a lot of pop, R' n' B and any album that's very well produced. It basically
sounds like it was done in a million dollar studio. To be more specific, it's like Dave Weckl's sound. Or Simon Philips perhaps.

Would it be possible to get a semblance at least of this
particular kind of studio sound with a Beta 52 and some sm-57's
hooked to a Mackie and an Audiophile card ? Or pehaps
similar gear? Or are we all stuck with the "indie" sort of
garage sound that's so easy to get. I mean what's the secret.
The room, processors, pre-amps? I'm really curious.
 
an excellent sounding kit and a great room. two main things. oh, and a good drummer will make an awesome drum track awell!

good mics that are well placed. good preamps/console.

mind you, it's not something you can automatically master with the right gear. getting a great drum sound takes talent aswell, which is why people get hired over and over again to get "their" drum sound.
 
Thanks for the response LongWave,

I guess there is no shortcut to a great studio sound.
I suppose it was a bit foolish on my part to think we
home recordists could just whip a great sound because
we have access to 24/96 gear. I guess again it takes
a lot , I mean a whole lot of factors that made Simon
Philips or Dave Weckl's sound so great. I guess that's why
accoustic experts are paid high dollar. Same as engineers
and session drummers.

Thanks for that reality check man. I needed that.
I guess it's back to that old "indie" in my
bedroom and garage thang'. It's so easy any
body with a microphone can stumble upon it.

THANKS AGAIN.
 
24/96 will not improve your sound if you cant get it sounding great at 16/44.1. if you've got source problems, or signal path problems, they need to be sorted out for sure.

saying that, it's possible to get a fantastic drum sound and not spend masses of money on equipment, but you have to know what you're doing really. after a lot of experience, you will figure out the best ways to get "that sound", or whatever you're after.
 
alright so now lets just say i got my drums sorted out...

now what are the tips and tricks to getting the mixes to sound sooooo much warmer.

for example, a fellow guy in Cincinnati has a studio (almost the same gear as me....maybe some nicer mics..etc.). but he normally records with either his delta 44 or i think delta 1010.

his final mixes sound incredibly "warm" and "studio-like"....esp. compared to mine, which still always seem to come out very "raw" sounding.

is it all about the pres and the mics for that kind of stuff? if so, i'm screwed, i'm out of money to spend! lol.
 
hmm, is he using the Behringer 8 channel valve preamp? :-) :-) hehe.


nah, seriously though, mic placement is one thing to think about. you dont always have to close mic that snare, pulling themic back a bit will give the kit a more open sound. the room he's recording in must be nice if his kit sounds good. carpet will help you out. one of my booths have got carpet on the walls and foam tiles in the right places for if i want a softer drum sound.

yes, mics and pres are going to help, i really think your room is the problem though. does your tracking room have bare stone walls? have you got anything over them? windows? anything reflective?

post a pic of your drum room . may help a bit.
 
yeah just concrete, with carpet over it though. a few tiny windows.

also my A/C and heat vents are right above the set. I think i'll try to hang a thinck sheet/blanket right above the set next time i record somethin...see how that does.

also i'm gonna try some other mic placements... like behind the drummer, pointing at the set - right above head levelish - we'll see though.


but what i was also talkin about in the above post is basically his entire mix...its incredibly warm. i mean, guitars, bass, etc - its all just warm as all hell...lol do you have AIM? can i send you his mp3? lol.. my AIM is "thelbigs"....

my mic selection is:
at pro 25
sm57
sm58's
mxl 603s'
crappy radio shack mics

thats about it basically... for example - for guitar would you suggest sticking with the 57, or using the 603's?
 
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