Want to be a drummer!

  • Thread starter Thread starter TelePaul
  • Start date Start date
Keep in mind, TP, that things change when you get the kit in a mix.
 
Keep in mind, TP, that things change when you get the kit in a mix.

Yeah man, I'm terrified of that! Are there any changes to be made when tuning the kit for studio work, or am I doing okay for now? I'm trying to get the tuning and mic'ing right before I look at room treatment, and finally, mixing!

I've been messing with the snare some more - I should be tightening the reso head to lose some of the ring, right? Also, is it okay to angle my toms slightly so that my stick clears the rim a little easier?

Thanks for all your help man, I'll be sure to pick up your charity album.
 
I really like the sound of the kit! Is that the natural room sound?

Hey, thanks man, still very much a work in progress. Yeah, that's my room, untreated, everything at unity gain. Do you think it sounds good? I havn't given it much thought, will be trying some basic treatment once I have the tuning sorted.
 
Yeah man, I'm terrified of that! Are there any changes to be made when tuning the kit for studio work, or am I doing okay for now? I'm trying to get the tuning and mic'ing right before I look at room treatment, and finally, mixing!
I play live a lot and record a lot. I don't change the tuning for each situation. I just tune em to sound the best they can. That's good enough for me in any scenario. I do sometimes use different snares though, and will sometimes use different muffling on the kick. So in a sense, yeah, I do change things occasionally. But it's dependent on the song. If I'm doing some blazing punk song and need a real tight kick sound and a really dry snare sound, I'll make the necessary changes. If I'm doing something with more "space" I might use more open tones from the kick and snare. The toms stay the same for me either way. So live vs studio doesn't matter to me as far as tuning goes. It's all about the song. I will say this though, and it's expensive, but having a studio set of cymbals can be worthwhile. There's a huge difference between live vs studio with cymbal sounds and the room your in. And yes, treat your room for drums. It makes a HUGE difference.

I've been messing with the snare some more - I should be tightening the reso head to lose some of the ring, right? Also, is it okay to angle my toms slightly so that my stick clears the rim a little easier?
Most of your snare ring is gonna be from the top head. The reso head is more about pitch and snare wire sensitivity. Put the toms wherever you want them. Just make them easily and efficiently reachable.

Thanks for all your help man, I'll be sure to pick up your charity album.

Cool, thanks man. :D
 
Nah, you get a feel for them. They're not a simple dumb instrument like a guitar in which any fool can tune one.

Shit, have you been reading my thread in Guitars & Bass on "How to tune a guitar?" :eek::eek::eek:
:D
 
Nah, you get a feel for them. They're not a simple dumb instrument like a guitar in which any fool can tune one.
I'll trade you two guitar players, five (lightly used) used drum heads, a set of used knee sliders and two dozen broken drumsticks for one of your fools... :D
 
Shit, have you been reading my thread in Guitars & Bass on "How to tune a guitar?" :eek::eek::eek:
:D
I think I read it once a long time ago.
I'll trade you two guitar players, five (lightly used) used drum heads, a set of used knee sliders and two dozen broken drumsticks for one of your fools... :D

Man, I miss my bike. :(
 
you had a bike?


man Ive got the urge again, luckily the roads are so shit around here I soon forget about it when Im in the car :)
 
you had a bike?


man Ive got the urge again, luckily the roads are so shit around here I soon forget about it when Im in the car :)

domebike.jpg
 
Hey, thanks man, still very much a work in progress. Yeah, that's my room, untreated, everything at unity gain. Do you think it sounds good? I havn't given it much thought, will be trying some basic treatment once I have the tuning sorted.

I have a very weird taste in drum sounds, but I think your room sounds amazing, I'm ultra jealous and If I were you I would not treat it. (I'm not giving advice I'm literally saying if that was my room I would make a consious decision not to change it haha) But again my taste is far from the norm, but your drum sound is good in my book! :cool:

So do you have room mics up or is that just the reflections comin back in?
 
I have a very weird taste in drum sounds, but I think your room sounds amazing, I'm ultra jealous and If I were you I would not treat it. (I'm not giving advice I'm literally saying if that was my room I would make a consious decision not to change it haha) But again my taste is far from the norm, but your drum sound is good in my book! :cool:

So do you have room mics up or is that just the reflections comin back in?

Hey, thanks for that. The 'live' sound is just down to the room I record in - a conservatory with a glass pyramid roof maple wooden floors with any bounce captured on the O/Hs. It makes tracking most things nigh impossible, and if I'm honest, I'd be going less for a Bonham sound and more for something bone-dry so that I could process as much as I wanted :) But thanks, your opinion means alot.
 
Hey, thanks for that. The 'live' sound is just down to the room I record in - a conservatory with a glass pyramid roof maple wooden floors with any bounce captured on the O/Hs. It makes tracking most things nigh impossible, and if I'm honest, I'd be going less for a Bonham sound and more for something bone-dry so that I could process as much as I wanted :) But thanks, your opinion means alot.

Hahaha That's hilarious. I'm in love with the Bonham sound and I have the dryest room you'll probably ever hear! I have to put a mic in my bathroom just to get any kind of natural reverb. Lets switch rooms!

Maybe I'll do a little drum sample to show you just how dry this room is. ;)

If you do want something dryer try moving the mics in close or even try to build some big moveable "walls" to make a room around the kit. Just get a couple of 1 x 2s, some insulation and some fabric (or bed sheets) it should cost no more than 80 bucks at the very most. It won't do much for the bass (and it doesn't seem like you have a problem with this in your PERFECT sounding room) but it will dry it up a good amount. Mine were 7 feet by 4 feet and I used 4 or 5 to put around the drums.

Hope this helps,
-Barrett
 
Hahaha That's hilarious. I'm in love with the Bonham sound and I have the dryest room you'll probably ever hear! I have to put a mic in my bathroom just to get any kind of natural reverb. Lets switch rooms!

Maybe I'll do a little drum sample to show you just how dry this room is. ;)

If you do want something dryer try moving the mics in close or even try to build some big moveable "walls" to make a room around the kit. Just get a couple of 1 x 2s, some insulation and some fabric (or bed sheets) it should cost no more than 80 bucks at the very most. It won't do much for the bass (and it doesn't seem like you have a problem with this in your PERFECT sounding room) but it will dry it up a good amount. Mine were 7 feet by 4 feet and I used 4 or 5 to put around the drums.

Hope this helps,
-Barrett

Thanks man, a sample of your set-up would be cool, we could A/B :) I have some gobos, which are essentially three 6 x 4 styrofoam panels which can be bolted together on hinges to form a semi-circle. I tend to hang blankets off them for a DIY vocal booth but am not really sure the effect they'd have on my kit. Working on tuning it up first and will probably think about close-micing the toms down the line.
 
Okay boys, I think I've almost cracked it! Toms sounding better - good old George of the Jungle - and switched the kick beater to the plastic side. Got rid of some of the snare ring but I think it's missing some of the wire sizzle. What do you guys think? (Hopefully for the last time!)

www.soundclick.com/glasshouserecordings
 
Much better all around. Kick sounds deep. Look for more attack though. Maybe put the mic closer to the beater. That kick sounds fat on it's own, but kicks like that can get lost in mixes pretty easy. I also think you could go even tighter on the snare. It's not bad, but still a little dark. I think it can get crisper. Definitely huge improvements though.
 
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