Quiet RIOT!

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NotThatBright

New member
I saw there is a Quiet Riot documentary playing this month on Showtime, which got me in a QR mood. The first album I ever owned was "Metal Health" at the age of six. This is a cover of the last song on that album, which stuck out like a sore thumb. Back then I would never listen to this song because it was so slow. I was a pretty awesome 6-year-old. It was all downhill from there.

I tuned my drums today. Anyone who can give a critique on the drum sound in particular gets a gold star, figurately speaking. Thanks!

https://soundcloud.com/user92696274096/thunderbird1/s-Ck1yu

UPDATE- NEW MIX

I don't know why the hell I tried to fix this, I don't even like this song. Did a new vocal- before it sounded like bad karaoke, now it sounds like average karaoke. I also turned down the bass in the intro and turned down the guitars during the verses. The myriad other flaws remain. Rock on!

https://soundcloud.com/user92696274096/thunderbird2/s-cDQ3k
 
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There's a number of problems with the mix (super thick bass competes with the vocals, especially at the beginning (for example)), but I'm not sure correcting these matters since everything is in better balance once the song gets going.

If the goal is a professional mix and tight performance then we're several adjustments away from that, but if you wanted a raw capture vibe then you have that.
 
Gotta say I listened QR back in the day but I don't think I had any of their albums. I have never heard of this song, maybe because it didn't make it to mainstream? This does seem like a jump from the stuff they are known for, but every 80's/90's band needed a ballad of sorts lol

Not knowing the song I can only go by what you have here...I think it sounds pretty damn good. Some of the guitar parts seem a little rough around the edges though...but that could be the way they are on the album. I think the drums sound good. Maybe a little too dry, but again maybe what they had done too. Vox and Harmonies are good also. Good job!
 
Your clean voice is very nice. I like the chorus harmonies.

There are definitely timing problems in there.
Your snare could be fatter. The kick is missing bottom end to me. I can hear the upper frequencies of the beater well. Very dry drums. What kind of room setup where you using here?

Where's my fucking gold star?
 
My critique is exactly the same as Schwarzy's, only delivered with greater eloquency and incisive detail. :D

The song sounds a bit like Frank Black of the Pixie's solo stuff - which I like very much. :thumbs up:

I deplore the lack of any sort of ambulance on the drums. We're not talking 1980s snare verb, here. Any sort of ambience changes the character of the sound. Experiment with short-to medium reverbs, both bright and dark, and get used to how they alter the sound. I recommend setting up a reverb buss ( a separate channel with your chosen reverb plugin on it) and send every drum to it via a track send. Usually you will send very little kick and varying amounts of the other drums, but the exact amounts are down to your mixing decisions. Set your plugin mix to 100% and have your channel volume at somewhere below unity.

One thing's for sure, totally dry drums often sound unnatural and unpleasant. The actual drums sound as if they're tuned pretty good and recorded well. You've made a big improvement on the basic kick sound but needs a little low-end oomph. Rather decent, though - I like the singing. :D
 
The first show I ever went to was Black Sabbath when I was 14, and guess who opened for them...these guys. I think it was the tour promoting this album? I was not impressed, nor did I like any of the few tunes of theirs I remember, but this one is certainly different. I'm pretty sure I've never heard it?

Anyway, you don't care whether I like them or not. Sorry. I thought the drums sounded pretty good. I can definitely hear the entire kit clearly, but I'm listening on a laptop now so I can't offer any specific comments about tone. I was struck by the dryness of the kit immediately, not because it sounded bad to me, but because thinking '80's metal, I was expecting over the top reverb. If I had to choose between the two, I'd go dry, but maybe there is some middle ground you could try there as others have suggested?

You play drums far better than I ever will, and the timing is co close to being just right, but every so often a hesitation or small flub throws things off a bit.

I thought the guitars sounded very good.
 
Just as an aside, your voice sounds a lot like Peter Furler in spots. Maybe do a cover of Step Up To The Microphone or Take Me To Your Leader...
 
Appreciate the comments, guys.

Pinky

Even I should have known to turn down the bass a little in the intro. I think I was half-deaf by the end of the night. Thanks for pointing it out.

Bruthish
I'm pretty sure Thunderbird was never a radio song. I found out later in life that it's about Randy Rhoads, who apparently played with QR before we played for Ozzy. I hated it as a little kid, but at some point in high school when I pulled the tape out for the first time in years I gave it a chance and I liked it. I suppose I mellowed somewhat between the ages of 6 and 16.
Agree with the guitar comments. I'm a terrible guitar player, but with a little more patience I could have come up with something better than this. Maybe I'll give that another go.

Dog In Door

I have an excuse that sounds kind of like "the dog ate my homework" for the timing problems. I'll get to that later.

As far as the snare... could "fatter" be accomplished with some reverb, or do you mean boost the lower frequencies?

Same room setup as always, except my drum recordings aren't hot as hell now... I recently learned that my normal drum levels were in the "clipping" range, so this is my first recording where they don't go over 0dbf. It did make them sound better, I believe, but I think they're going to need some reverb in the future to prevent the dryness.

Send me a self-addressed, stamped envelope to receive your gold star.

Bubba

Sadly, he still speaks English better than most people I know, and that's his second language. That probably says more about the kind of idiots I hang out with than his knowledge of English, though.

Now that I'm not recording so hot the drums really do cut out pretty quickly. When I learn to use Reaper I'll make them sound like they were recorded in an empty church with marble floors.

heatmiser

How do you know if I don't care if you like them or not? I am offended by your presumptuousness!

QR will always have a place in my heart for being pretty much the first music I ever listened to. I can't honestly say they're anything special. This was more of a nostalgia thing. I can't believe I found myself nostalgic for the mid-80s.

Broken_H

I'll have to look up Peter Furler. I would imagine he's not a singer. :)

Thanks to you all for the comments. After listening with a sober ear I have to say I agreed with just about all of them.
 
Bubba po said:
I deplore the lack of any sort of ambulance on the drums.
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Yes! How dare you forget to put an ambulance on the drums?! What if somebody gets hurt? :D

Your drum sounds seem like they're fine, and the mix is pretty clean. You've got some pitch issues on your vox, but that was kind of QR's thing too, so you can probably get away with it.

My big critique is that everything's so dry. This was 80s arena rock/hair metal, right? You need a lot of "power" in everything! That means big guitar sounds, drums that sound like they were recorded in a giant arena with plenty of room for reverb, soaring/powerful vocals (on the loud parts at least). You don't really have any of those elements.

Thunderbird like the wine?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPegmqXswr4
 
NotThatBright said:
Sadly, he still speaks English better than most people I know, and that's his second language. That probably says more about the kind of idiots I hang out with than his knowledge of English, though.
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I wasn't meaning to criticise his English. I was just goofing around.
 
My wife's favorite singer...well, maybe #2 on a bad day to Mac Powell. I like odd voices that have good pitch, like John Cooper. His voice sounds like someone you wouldn't really want to listen to normally, but his control of it makes it worth hearing. Also like Kevin Max/Marc Martel (essentially the same voice).

AFA Furler, I just like the accent he sings with. Kiwi's and Aussie's have a great accent :D
 
VomitHatSteve said:
Yes! How dare you forget to put an ambulance on the drums?! What if somebody gets hurt? :D
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Yes! Now that's my kind of humor! :)

VHS said:
Your drum sounds seem like they're fine, and the mix is pretty clean. You've got some pitch issues on your vox, but that was kind of QR's thing too, so you can probably get away with it.
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That vocal is pretty bad, even for me. I could have done a little better. I'm going to try it again just to see if I'm right about that.
VHS said:
My big critique is that everything's so dry. This was 80s arena rock/hair metal, right? You need a lot of "power" in everything! That means big guitar sounds, drums that sound like they were recorded in a giant arena with plenty of room for reverb, soaring/powerful vocals (on the loud parts at least). You don't really have any of those elements.
Click to expand...

Duly noted and agreed with. Reverb will be pumpin' on the next iteration. Jesus... I can't believe there's going to be a next iteration...
VHS said:
Thunderbird like the wine?
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I am a lifelong Sanford and Son fan. You know what Fred G. Sanford drinks...

ripple.jpg

...the "G" is for "Godawful!"

Thanks for the comments.
 
Bubba po said:
I wasn't meaning to criticise his English. I was just goofing around.
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How about I criticiZe your spelling? OHHHHH!!! [Dice Clay voice]

You needn't clarify your remark to dog in door, we're all friends ("internet friends?" or whatever the hell it's called) here and can bust balls with impunity. I even stopped putting those goddamned smiley faces next to my comments, assuming that people would know by now that I'm a sweet guy and I'm almost always fucking around if I write something that ostensibly appears insulting. I will still use them when someone actually makes me smile or "LOL", like VomitHatSteve's initial remark, which I enjoyed.
 
BroKen_H said:
Peter Furler was Newsboys before Michael Tate...
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Well, why didn't you say so? Now of course I know who it is! :)

Broken_H, bart2712

I already broke my new rule of not using those goddamned smiley faces. I will compare my new friend Peter Furler's voice to my own once I do a better vocal. Now it's personal!
 
How did you get the drums to sound so dry? I agree they could use some reverb for this particular song/mix but I'm curious how you managed to get them captured so dryly, with seemingly no room presence whatsoever. Can you please walk me through your chain from mic type/placement all the way into your DAW?
 
BroKen_H said:
:) :D :laughings: !!!
We could almost use them like insults...:eek:
You :thumbs up: :facepalm:
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Come on, we're far too clever for that. We're musicians! And impostor musicians! We can insult people with words! We impostor musicians call them "lyrics"! :)

gregoryg

My drums are in my basement, which is pretty big... I guess the sound isn't bouncing off anything and getting back to the mics with enough oomph to register.

In the past I recorded my drums way too hot (due to ignorance- not necessarily on purpose), and with the sensitivity turned up too high as it was, they didn't sound so dry. Of course, there was clipping galore. I guess unless I put up some walls or something around my kit, this is how they're going to sound from here on out, unless I artificially add something to the drum tracks.

I did just post a remix with jacked-up reverb where they don't sound so dry. The snare is still pretty quick to decay, though.
 
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