Acoustic Drums for Metal: A Guide

[Nitemare]

Id like to know what you consider the best kit to buy for recording and live performances ive got sonor 503 kit and paiste 403,503,and 803 cymbals which i consider mid entry level i had pearl export 20 yrs ago and then stopped playing i then took up drums when my stepdaughter wanted to learn guitar ive noe just rejoined the metal scene joining a band and now want some info on the best insrtument for metal as much has changed also what skins and am i better to buy a snare seperately and just keep the rest of the kit even though they are basswood shells im told
thx NITEMARE

 

[Glenn Fricker]

I use DW. For skin recommendations, go back thru the article...


-0z-

 

[ffaudio]

It's back!

So just curious. Does nobody like using room mics? I usually have a mono room set up about 6-10 feet in front of the kit.

 

[punkrockacademyfightsong]

It's back!

So just curious. Does nobody like using room mics? I usually have a mono room set up about 6-10 feet in front of the kit.

if the accoustics in the room are good i love room micing too. usually i have a stereo set of dynamic mics (421 or such) in XY at 6-10 feet from the kit, at kickdrum hight, aimed AWAY from the kit (to actually record the roomsound, not just the kit from a distance) and often i use a condenser mic further away from the kit (usually in the far corner)

 

[PhilR]

I like using a room mic. Crush the shit out of the room signal and it can sound nice blended with the original. Especially if you're doing a lot of sample replacement as it can put a little bit of the "life" back that samples remove I think.

Plus you can do other stuff with it. The intro on this song is just the room mic signal run through some comp and EQ.

 

[Student]

I still can't get an ideal kick sound down. I've read Oz' drum guide extensively, but having the mic on-axis with the beater point inside the drum, around 10 inches back just gives me a really thin sound. No body, none of the nice metal click either.

Sure I don't have access to a D6 at this point and have mainly been using a D112 and Beta52, but I just can't do it.

My best results were using a Sennheiser e901, which doesn't involve mic placement in the traditional sense.

If anybody could put up some samples of an unedited/unmixed bass drum, I'd be mucho grateful. All I seem to be able to get is a dull thud, which I then need to EQ into something remotely useful.

Try lowering the mic and pointing it diagonally at the beater instead of dead on...a little bit of distance isn't a bad thing, sometimes I keep it just inside the resonant heads hole, or take of that head and have the mic just inside the shell, but you should expect to scoop 300Hz-500Hz to get rid of that woody sound that's not that pleasant, I do this live too.

The D6 is obtainable for good prices on ebay and it has a the same scoop built into the mike's freq. response.

You could try compressing it maybe, trust your ears.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Been really pushing the envelope with regards to tracking drums lately. I've got some revisions & additions coming. Mainly to do with carpet, snare & tom mics. Stay tuned.

-0z-

 

[Where She Wept]

I'm glad this thread is Sticky now!

 

[Student]

Hey Oz, how often do you put a "dog house" on a kick?

 

[Where She Wept]

I've recenty learned the importance of changing the resonant heads on drums. most drummers i know only change the batter side becasue its cheaper, but even thought you don't physically hit the resonant heads they still where out. so if you're puting new skins on for recording, plan to change the resonant heads too.

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Glen

Are you still of the opinion that plywood is still the way to go under the drums because I personally didn't like it. Is that more of a subjective thing or is there another reason you like doing it?

 

[greyskull]

i love the room mics
i use room mics instead of recording triggers now.
two in the air, two on the floor, and one in the vocal booth

 

[jesterroot4]

writen by hacker


sorry guys

Jamie

 

[AudioPhile777]

i dunno if its been mentioned before, but what do you guys think about the way i place overheads?

from standing behind the kit, i have my left side overhead on the right and right side on the left, but not too far over on each side.. more like so that they are crossing over each other in the shape of an 'X' using a harsh hypercardoid (a very directional type) point them at the cymbols from the opersite side of the kit...

this way. you elimitate quite a lot of spillage from other drums as they are not picking up a wide sound from the whole over all kit, but picking up just the cymbols.

this gives a much clearer sound with less spillage making the mix more clear. perfect for metal...


get back to me on this,
didnt have much to to explain, i'm in a rush haha!

Jamie
xxx

Are you off to steal more software from people who work hard to make it?

 

[cobhc]

Edit :- Nevermind

 

[cobhc]

Edit :- Nevermind

Oz, I apologize for this OT crap.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

I've recenty learned the importance of changing the resonant heads on drums. most drummers i know only change the batter side becasue its cheaper

That's because drummers are cheap bastards. Yes, by all means, change out your reso heads. I usually do it about once a year. They're not hit, , they'll last longer.... but once every 12-18 months isn't a bad idea.

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Glen

Are you still of the opinion that plywood is still the way to go under the drums because I personally didn't like it. Is that more of a subjective thing or is there another reason you like doing it?

I've been using a very thin carpet on the last couple of projects. If you've got a dead/dark room, plywood can be a godsend. It really depends on your setup/where the drums are located. Experimentation is the key.


Since you guys have been a such a huge help with my recorded guitar tones, I've been working at the drumsound with a vengeance. It's amazing how much more detail you hear on the kit once the guitars are cleaned up!

That being said, I've went with the carpet as I noticed a bit too much hi-end fizz on the cymbals. Upgrading my tom mics from e604's to MD421's was the proverbial "lifting of the blanket." They weren't cheap & were worth every penny. Now I know why that mic has been around since the sixties. If you have the cash, I highly recommend grabbing a set. They are much, much, much brighter than e604's. Suddenly, the plywood was way too much. My room is pretty bright to begin with, but I was always fighting mud on the toms. The 421's cleared that problem up. Hell, I even had to switch to coated heads because there was just too much stick noise with clears.

For examples, go to my hi-res player at:
http://www.myspace.com/spectresound
Tracks 1 & 2 are both done with 421's and carpet. Track 2 is the really heavy shit.... I love how the floor tom turned out on that one!



Meanwhile, I've been working hard on snares too.... Usually, I'll scream at drummers to hit the snare dead center.. which, to the ears sounds better. Now I'm learning that just a little north of center sounds better to a mic. Especially with a couple of well-placed moongels. More crack, less "boing." We used this method on a current project (first one so I don't have any examples posted) & I'm extremely happy with how it's shaping up.

Then there's this Slate thing... very impressive stuff. It can be just the ticket for super fast deathmetal stuff. On this clip, I used a slate kick at a 70% blend, and a 30% blend on the snare, just to shape the tone a bit. 421's on the toms, too.
CLIP I usually hate samples, but for the fast shit, sometimes you don't have a choice. The Slate stuff has to be the best commercial sample set I've heard for metal.

Anyway, back to making records!

-0z-

 

[jhrv]

What DAW was used for this tutorial?

 

[Glenn Fricker]

What DAW was used for this tutorial?

SawStudio