Need feedback on MIC'ing and Mix - Noob Alert

  • Thread starter Thread starter elcholo
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elcholo

DALEEEBOOOOO
FTP - be gentle.

OK, I need some feedback from you cats. Let me brief you:

1. First time Mic'ing / Recording
2. I'm unhappy with the sound of my kick
3. Using Recorderman's Modified Spaced Pair - as I have interpreted it.
4. NADY Drum MICs - SM57 on snare w/reverb (took suggestion on the sm57 from this board, thank you)
5. MAGIX Audio Studio for recording
6. See report.txt for system info
7. When I recorded this track I hadn't deadened the room - was under a time crunch
8. Please refrain from critiquing my drumming, i'm hard enough on myself ;)
9. Presonus FirePod (2)
10. I wrote the music for this song, recorded the keys. Scratch vocals. no guitars added yet. Adapted lyrics from an old hymn.
11. pics found here: http://strangefamilymusic.net/projects/fc.html
12. mp3 found here:



I know I need to improve - that's where you come in. Any help will be appreciated.
 

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hey just listened to the one without vocals and i like it

you dont like the kick? it fits in great with the keys and the overall drum sound is pretty good, cymbals seem a little to spaced though and is it just me or does the hihat sound centred, and i'm digging that snare

keep up the good work, the toms are nice , and try panning the overheads the other way so its from audience perspective rather than drummer perspective unless thats what you want
 
Okay, what kind of kick sound are you after?

I actually kind of like that kick sound - it's a really "neutral" sound in the sense that it sounds appropriate for the style, and it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb.

If you want to try something different, try these on for size:

Kick drum tunnel
Stick a card chair (I use a $12 plastic folding sawhorse that I got at Lowes) in front of the kick, drape some heavy blankets over the kick and the chair to make a "tunnel" in front of the kick, and try mic'ing the kick from inside the tunnel rather than inside the kick.

Retune The Kick's Batter head
You've got a lot of tension on the kick head - loosen it up until the metal rattles, and just finger tighten it so that there are still wrinkles in the head.

btw, this reminds me of Steely Dan. I don't know if that's what you're after, but that's what it sounds like to me.


My complaints:

It sounds like you have the top/batter heads a little too tight - especially for oil heads. You start getting that "cardboard box/boop boop" type of tom sound when you have them a little too tight.


Over all it's pretty good, and the vocals sound good, but I would like them to be a little more "crisp". what kind of mic did you use on them.


Everybody has their own ideal mixes, and your ideal and mine are probably different, but personally I think it sounds good.



Tim
 
honestly, i've never paid attention to drums being from the drummer perspective or audience. I'd have to side with the drummers perspective...but whatever.

re: the kick. I liked the way it ended up sounding...I'd just like it a little bit fatter. I'd never really thought about it fitting with the style of the song, but now that you've mentioned it I'd agree.

re: Steely Dan feel. What a compliment. I love them. If I had a chance to jump up on a sidewalk, running over a group of Nuns and 30 or so small children just to run over Donald Fagen...I would. I love the way he plays keys. I'm that jealous.

re: panning the cymbals. MSP puts them in the "picture" almost exactly where they are physically. i dig that, but i'll try panning them around. Were you suggesting to bring them in more to the center or maybe more of a 10 and 2 feel?

re: retuning the kick - I'll test this out. I have no idea how to tune drums properly. I usually go with what sounds good on my side of the set and forget how they sound outside the set. I've read here about the tunnel - will try this out tomorrow as well.

re: top/batter: As far as the suggestion to loosen tension on the top/batter heads...I assume you mean the toms. If I tune the floor tom any looser, rebound is out the door and the lugs rattle. it's only a 14"x14"...I'd like to add another 16x14 or 16x16.

Scratch vocals - no processing at all. That's not me btw, it's my partner at StrangeFamilyMusic (My wifes Uncle). Mic was probably his Behringer B1.

Thanks for the suggestions/comments so far. Keep them coming, I'm diggin' it
 
Ok...I gotta say it's a little bit irresponsible to be letting a little girl hold those Vic Firths...those are Vic Firths aren't they? If not...just disregard...well...disregard anyway. :D

I'm checkin' you're stuff out. I was gonna blow by this but I saw the classical guitar and the cute miniature drummer chick. I can't help it now. Did you know you have grafitti on your snare?
 
i'm with the others...you're right, the kick is pretty neutral but it needs a little more voice. It sounds like a cardboard box. Tuning may help but mic placement might go a long way too. Where do you have the kick mic placed?

I'm also not comfy with the hihat...it sounds a bit like chineese cymbals to me...splashy not tight...could be a matter of taste. Have you processed the sound any? The hihat sounds a lot like the snare to me. A little "smooshed".

Vocals...simply, they fit nicely, a little strained in a couple places. It sounds like a scratch take so I'll give ya that. Seems like later on in the mix, the vocals moved back then popped out again. What are you using for a vocal mic? The singer doesn't seem to "feel it" all the way through although the beginning was very nice.

I heard just a hint of some guitars in there...I really want to hear that...I hope you'll post more of this.

Nit-pickin' mostly. You're doing some very nice and tight work there. I can really feel the Steely Dan vibe.

Nice. You'd better clean that mess up before you're wife gets home though :D
 
re: punkin - Kick mic is inserted into the hole (at 9 O'Clock looking at the batter) and about 6 inches away from kick head, aimed 2" left of strikepoint. I had no idea where to put it. The hats are cheapo Zildjian ZF'nT's that suck. Only thing I have processed is the reverb on the snare and the BBE SonicMaximizer (flux capacitor) on the OH's and Hats. And yes, my kids signed my snare! They were bound to write on it anyway...I let my kids be around me as much as possible when working with teh music.

/off to bed. will fall asleep to "Everything Goes"...
 
I updated my previous...might wanna read it once more.

Try moving the mic around in side there. IF you have any pillows or dampening material inside you might try taking some out or putting some in...what have ya. What sort of mic are you using? Try pulling it back and moving it to the right of the beater. You might get a little more drum sound. Just seems a bit dry to me.

Let the kid in as much as you can tolerate...they'll grow up to be your back up later. My son does a lot of drum work for me now and my daughter kicks out the bass and vocals on my personal, personal projects.
 
elcholo said:
And yes, my kids signed my snare! They were bound to write on it anyway...I let my kids be around me as much as possible when working with teh music.
Click to expand...

Have you ever checked out what Stewart Copeland wrote on his drumheads? (I think there were picks on the Zenyatta Mondatta jacket)

Be glad your kids aren't that colorful!!
 
re: Hi-hats sounding smooshed. I had to shank the hats the entire song. when these zbt's are tipped, they sound awful. It took me 2 or so takes to realize that was it. I invested most of my money in the computer and firepods - cymbals are next in line.

I retuned the kick to your above suggestions (again, I only tune to what I think sounds good, really no idea how to tune properly). The kick sounds much better. I added congas today, guitars this coming week. I'll repost it if you'd like once we get a little farther.

ad
 
try placing your bass mike 2" away from the batter head, it will give it more punch. Otherwise I think the kick sounds fine.
 
final mix snippet.

ok, it's been a long few months...here's a snippet of the final mix...tell me what you think.

 
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