Recording Drums/Side Chaining

D

danielheeger

New member
Okay, I'm not gonna lie: I'm a noob to recording, but I'm a super noob at recording drums. I'm getting some okay sounds, but spillover is KILLING me. I'm trying to get different mic positions, but there is always some spillover of some sort. The worst is when the kit drum is hit, one of the toms' resonant head vibrates. It's really annoying. Seriously. So, the point I'm getting to: I've been reading some online about gating and side chaining. Some people seem to say gating is good, others say it's not. Do I set the gates up BEFORE I record the drums? Sorry, I know it's a broad question, but I just don't understand some of this stuff. And people keep talking about "side chaining". Is that just the effects that I can add to each track? Any and all help will be appreciated. Thanks!
 
There is always gonna be some spill. You can gate, I feel an expander is best because its a bit more subtle. Set up the gates AFTER you record. Sometimes noise gates need to be automated to let certain things through and not others. If you record with the gate on you wont have that option. Side chaining involves using one track to process another for example using a drum trigger to gate a mic. Toms are always gonna resonate a bit, if its really bad play around with the tuning. Oh and tune your kit.
 
JG96 said:
There is always gonna be some spill. You can gate, I feel an expander is best because its a bit more subtle. Set up the gates AFTER you record. Sometimes noise gates need to be automated to let certain things through and not others. If you record with the gate on you wont have that option. Side chaining involves using one track to process another for example using a drum trigger to gate a mic. Toms are always gonna resonate a bit, if its really bad play around with the tuning. Oh and tune your kit.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I have the kit tuned pretty well (or so I'd like to think. Ha!). But really, you gave me a good place to start. And thanks for the side-chain explanation.
 
Like JG said, spillover is part of recording drums and there's nothing wrong with it. A tom resonating when you hit the kik is not spillover, that's a need for tuning your tom and/or kik differently. You shouldn't need to side-chain, expand, gate, or anything else just to get a good drum recording. It's like trying to fix cancer with a band aid.

Before going anywhere near the record button, or for that matter, before even placing any mics near the kit, you should have a kit that sounds as good as you can possibly get it to sound. If not, you'll never be happy with your drum recording and you'll be forever looking for articles about "tricks" that you shouldn't need. Millions of great drum recordings have been made without gating. expanding, side-chaining, meditation, magic potions, etc.....
Besides which, as soon as you set up gates, you're going to open up a bunch of new problems. Gating is not going to solve your problems without creating new ones, and very annoying ones at that. Try it, you'll see, and then you'll always go back to just trying to get a good drum sound without tricks, gimmicks, and band-aids.

Also, you didn't tell us what kind of mic configuration you're using. How are you placing your overheads? You are using overheads, right? How are you placing your close mics?
 
RAMI said:
Like JG said, spillover is part of recording drums and there's nothing wrong with it. A tom resonating when you hit the kik is not spillover, that's a need for tuning your tom and/or kik differently. You shouldn't need to side-chain, expand, gate, or anything else just to get a good drum recording. It's like trying to fix cancer with a band aid.

Before going anywhere near the record button, or for that matter, before even placing any mics near the kit, you should have a kit that sounds as good as you can possibly get it to sound. If not, you'll never be happy with your drum recording and you'll be forever looking for articles about "tricks" that you shouldn't need. Millions of great drum recordings have been made without gating. expanding, side-chaining, meditation, magic potions, etc.....
Besides which, as soon as you set up gates, you're going to open up a bunch of new problems. Gating is not going to solve your problems without creating new ones, and very annoying ones at that. Try it, you'll see, and then you'll always go back to just trying to get a good drum sound without tricks, gimmicks, and band-aids.

Also, you didn't tell us what kind of mic configuration you're using. How are you placing your overheads? You are using overheads, right? How are you placing your close mics?
Click to expand...

First, thanks for the other tips. The more I hear it, I think you guys are right about the kit and the tuning. I need to go back in with fresh ears. As far as mics go, It's the Audix DP7 kit I believe (D6 for kick, i5 for snare, 2 D2's for high toms and 2 D4's for low toms). And yes, I am using overheads. The ADX51 ones that come with it. I also have a MXL pencil mic, not sure which model. The overheads don't seem to pick up quite enough of the hats without it, as they are pretty dark. I like the way the MXL makes them sound. Now, starting with the overheads, I am pointing them straight down, away from any cymbal edges, with the snare as the center point. As far as the close mics go, I have them aimed at the center of each piece. I hope that helps.
 
TeyshaBlue said:
lol...a baseball cap on my hat mic was a quick fix for a bad snare bleed.:D
Click to expand...
HA! I used to do that years ago. :D

danielheeger said:
First, thanks for the other tips. The more I hear it, I think you guys are right about the kit and the tuning. I need to go back in with fresh ears. As far as mics go, It's the Audix DP7 kit I believe (D6 for kick, i5 for snare, 2 D2's for high toms and 2 D4's for low toms). And yes, I am using overheads. The ADX51 ones that come with it. I also have a MXL pencil mic, not sure which model. The overheads don't seem to pick up quite enough of the hats without it, as they are pretty dark. I like the way the MXL makes them sound. Now, starting with the overheads, I am pointing them straight down, away from any cymbal edges, with the snare as the center point. As far as the close mics go, I have them aimed at the center of each piece. I hope that helps.
Click to expand...
The only other thing I can suggest is to experiment with different overhead configurations. Your overheads are 75-90% of your drum sound. They should pick up the whole kit and they need to be in phase with each other.

Good luck, man. Be patient, micing drums takes a lot of time and experimentation to get right. Every kit, room, and player is different.
 
Usually if your toms are resonating it's because your drums aren't tuned well. It is most likely due to phase issues, tuning problems between top and bottom heads, or standing waves in your room that are causing more vibrations than usual. For instance, maybe your snare's tuning causes a standing wave in the room, amplifying that frequency, and that frequency causes the toms to rumble. Tuning your snare higher could produce a wave that reflects less, amplifies less, and rumbles the toms less.

Also, tom heads that are old or too loose are prone to rumble and vibrate.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top