What do you think of this dry drum track?

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FattMusiek

FattMusiek

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The owner of the drums finally came over to re-head the drums for me, I like how they sound right now. Over the course of next week he will come over and fine tune em.

All I did with this track is added some reverb on the snare and limited the mixdown.

Tell me what you think...!
 
prett good man

i think the ride would sound better in center though
 
Kick, snare, and Hi-hat sound great, I don't really like the sound of the crashes. I don't know if it is the cymbals themselves or your miking technique.
 
I don't care for it.....

...very flat, undynamic, and it sounds like there's a thick blanket over the sound - making it dull and muddy.

That kick is not sitting well either - just a murky thud with no attack.

Check this clip for comparison....
 
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Yeah that drum sample sounded pretty hazy but the bear's sample sounded like the opposite extreme...crispy and sharp as hell.
 
Holy fuck. That sample is rediculously good.

It boggles my mind how that is a DRY track. I'm using a 4 mic setup with a Behringer mixer; two Okatava MK012s, a 57 on snare, and a Beta 52 on kick.

The question is, how can your dry drum track sound so good?

Please tell me why it's so much better.

It's really discouraging.

Really.

:(
 
well, if it's any consolation, i don't care for bluebear's track that much either. i'd say it's about the same level of goodness as yours - they both have their problems.

your stuff...
not nearly enough high-end on anything, too much room sound, otherwise decent

bluebear's stuff...
not nearly enough low-end in the kick or toms, snare sounds woody with too much crack, and THERE'S A BASS GUITAR IN YOUR DRUM KIT ;) , otherwise decent



not that my own dry tracks don't have their problems. i just don't think bluebear's is better... just different.
 
bleyrad said:
bluebear's stuff...
not nearly enough low-end in the kick or toms, snare sounds woody with too much crack, and THERE'S A BASS GUITAR IN YOUR DRUM KIT ;)
That clip was a push mix from some old tracks...

As to the sound - matter of opinion.... the snare & toms are precisely the way I wanted them to sound.

And on that rough, I didn't spend time balancing either the kick or the bass... so I agree with you about that!

YMMV, and usually does!
 
Bleyrad, what drums did you record that sample with? I'm using Pearl Forums, lol.

"your stuff...
not nearly enough high-end on anything, too much room sound, otherwise decent"

I record in my basement, pretty bad acoustics I think. Perhaps you could help me get more hi-end onto my tracks?
 
:-/

Also, Bleyrad, what is your setup for the track you showed us?
 
Alright, Joe (the owner of the drums) just re-headed the toms and I recorded a dry track.



I think it sounds better than the first.

Tell me what you guys think :)
 
alright, let me try to help you out.


could you tell me how all your mics are positioned?

my kit is a Yamaha Stage Custom Advantage. It's a good "budget" kit. I use all Zildjian A cymbals. Snare's a shallow Ludwig. My room is about 15x30, though it's got all sort of jutting walls and stuff (converted from a dining room & living room combo) with carpeted floors, 8' ceiling, and some foam on the walls. It is definately a "dead" sounding room, though not in a bad way... I like the sound in there. It doesn't really compliment anything, but it doesn't ruin anything either.
i use a D112 for kick, about 5" away from the beater inside, leaving the front head on. SM57 snare, pointed at the side of the shell from about 6" away. MXL603's for overheads, though they are not really overhead at all... i use them as a space pair about 8' in front of the drum kit (which is in the corner of the room).


So basically, I do everything you're not supposed to do, but it's what sounds best in my room with my mics.
you really just have to fool around with mic placement till you get something that works.

I am a little curious as to your overhead placement, though. I thought the MK012s were supposed to sound similar to my MXL603s, yet yours don't even sound like condensors to me... i honestly sounds like you're using 57's for overheads or something. there's just no high-end coming through.
 
Well, I'm using the "Fat Drums Fast" technique:

https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?threadid=39030&highlight=fat+drums+fast

One overhead directly over the top of the snare, two sticks' lengths from the snare head to the capsule of the condenser. The second condenser is placed over the right shoulder, also two sticks' lengths. I took a cable and measured exactly how far they were from the center of the bass drum and evened them out so they were "centered" (can't think of the correct term for it right now).

I have the Beta 52 about 8 inches away from the beater, I can't get it any closer, blasted mic stand.

The snare is on a stand and about 4 - 6 inches away from the head, facing down on an angle.

Regarding your setup, your 57 is facing the snare SHELL? I have never heard of that. Your snare tone is really good though, I like it. I'm pretty sure it was you who posted something like "How could he <i>not</i> hear the honkey snare tone" in my post about recording local bands on the Mixing/Mastering boards. Do you think these tracks sound better than the ones I posted in that song? (I had to take that song down to make room for other things, so by memory what do you think?)
 
yes that was me who said that. i didn't mean any offense by it BTW, hope none was taken.


i do think that the new track is better. in particular the toms sounded better. the snare sounded less honky, but still very muffled like the entire rest of the kit.

i honest can't quite understand why you're getting so little high-frequency response with that setup. i guess the first things i would look at would be the drum sound and the room sound. do the drums sound good to you if you're standing in another room (all drums sound good in the same room just because they're so damn loud)?
if the room sound is bad, and the drums are mediocre, and your cymbals really are as dark as they sound (hard to believe anyone makes cymbals with that little high-end in them though), you're not going to have much luck with any mic techniques.
 
Eh, me neither man. Here's what my basement looks like (LOL it's a horrible looking but fairly accurate drawing, that is carpet by the way):

http://members.cox.net/fattmusiek/downstairs.JPG

The red lines over the set are the mics. Ha.


Also, here's a little diddy I did with that 2nd drum track:



Sounds like a song by Millencolin.
 
Here are my non-drum-recording-guy opinions of all of the above:

Fatt - I like the hat...everything else needs some work. If that's how the snare sounds in real life then, well, you should do something about it! The kick I can feel but not really "hear". The cymbals are way too far back.

Bruce - No offense, but these sound like v-drums to me. The snare especially. No room sound. No interaction. Definately the cleanest of the three though. For what you used them for I'm sure they worked well, but for rock drums they'd sound kinda corny.

bleryad - yours come closest to sounding like natural rock drums to me. The snare sounds like cardboard though. The ride ping kinda took me by suprise.

Slackmaster 2000
 
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