What to do to a room for recording drums...

1

174hi

New member
So I just got a new drum set and some cheapo mics and am wanting to do a little recording just for fun. I'm obviously not going to get pro studio quality but want to play around. But anyways it is in my basement which is concrete floor and Sheetrock walls. I have carpet under my drums and the majority of the area. What sort of things can I do that are cheap and quick to add a little more quality? Like should I hang blankets on the walls, stuff like that. The basement is huge and a lot bigger than the space I am using so I may block off the sections I'm not using with blankets or something. Thanks for any advice!
 
blankets will help, you need to lesson the natural reverb the room will produce. sound treatment is the best choice but blankets will help and are cheap. Harbor Freight carries moving blankets pretty cheap, around 8 bucks a shot. Also make sure your drums are tuned to the sound you want. Remo rings are great to use to tone down the ring, you can also make them out of old drum heads. The key to drums sounding good recorded is to get them sounding good before. Welcome to the forum. just my 2 cents, lots of people here know more than I. Good luck!:D

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/drums-percussion/remo-remos-tone-control-rings-pack--12-13-14-16?source=3WWRWXGP&gclid=CO6Oj9Dx-r0CFS9p7AodaA0AOA&kwid=productads-plaid^57307230187-sku^446710000000000@ADL4MF-adType^PLA-device^c-adid^30427001547
 
Thanks atkron! Everything and everyone's opinion helps! I literally am just starting so I don't even have a 2 cents :p
 
more than welcome. I am also new to recording. There are tons of people here that are well versed and are more than willing to help. You just have to ask and someone will answer.:eek:
 
look through all the topics and select the category that best matches your question. For instance the question of how to record drums may go in the recording techniques section. How to make your room sound better would go in the studio building and acoustics treatment section. Reading the FAQs will help. but never let a question go unasked. if you post in the wrong section don't worry, one of the moderators will correct you. no worries. Drum questions here:
https://homerecording.com/bbs/equipment-forums/drums-percussion/

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
The best advice I would give for drums --excuse me if I over step my boundaries I am new here-- would be to walk around the room and beat on a floor tom and find the sweet spot. The corners are going to have a lot of bass build up as well as early reflections which will cause some comb filtering FX so really listen for clarity if you can. A big obstacle in recording drums is also the ceiling. Tall ceilings can make toms sound like cannons! If you don't have tall ceilings (12+ ft imo) I would heavily consider adding a cloud over your drum space. If you have a really aggressive cymbal/overhead sound when you record its most likely your ceiling reflections. If you are recording/mixing in the same room I would avoid being symmetrical(?). What I mean is if hypothetically you are tracking drums in a corner and mixing in a corner (assuming its a square room) you're going to be amplifying the bad reflections. This is just my two cents I'm no expert by any means!
 
Yeah, for optimum results, it's gonna take a little acoustic work on your room. Bass traps are your friend. :)

Do some reading and you'll get the idea.

One thing I wanted to mention was that drums are one of the hardest instruments to get to sound good. So don't get flusterpated too much when, after a couple weeks of trying, it still sounds like ass.
Cuz it will.
:D

I'm thinkin that as you go, the areas you need to fix (room treatment, drum tuning) are gonna make themselves known to ya.
Just fix it as you go.
When in doubt, do some more reading and ask another question.
:drunk:
 
thanks everyone for the input! i will possibly update you guys with what ive done/ more questions! i appreciate all the help and am super glad i found this place :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top