Acoustic Drums for Metal: A Guide

[martyfireball]

This is an comment on the OG thread. Am I the only one who doesnt really like OzNimbus' recordings? For 15 years of straight recording and preaching like he does, his drum sound isnt AS impressive as i would have imagined.

Your opinion is your opinion, and , like assholes, everyone has one, but at the end of the day, the man CAN record record drums which are defined, dynamic and heavy....AND he has a lot of experience AND he bothered spending his valuable time typing up a really detailed and very helpfull guide for newbies and who ever else.
I've got a high five the the OZ man.

 

[AStacy2]

This is an comment on the OG thread. Am I the only one who doesnt really like OzNimbus' recordings? For 15 years of straight recording and preaching like he does, his drum sound isnt AS impressive as i would have imagined.

Yes, you are the only one who dosen't like Oznimbus' recordings.

 

[Thedeloshimself]

relax im not bashing anybody, ir ead all his stuff and it really helped me out too. I just would have expected like As I Lay Dying drum tone from real drums. It's a preference and im not saying hes no good at all. dont get me wrong

 

[Glenn Fricker]

relax im not bashing anybody, ir ead all his stuff and it really helped me out too. I just would have expected like As I Lay Dying drum tone from real drums.

Yeah, but As I Lay Dying isn't my cup of tea. Give me "Piece of Mind" , "Stained Class" or C.O.C's "Blind" any day of the week.

I'm into old school metal drum sounds.

It's all about personal taste. If you don't dig my drum sounds, that's fine. I never claimed to be all things to all people. If you can find something useful in this thread, than great... that's why I wrote it.


But, there's a reason why bands will wait seven months to come make a record at my place.

-0z-

 

[Ermz]

Am I the only one who doesnt really like OzNimbus' recordings?

Actually I'm in the same boat. Although that's not to take away from this thread. It's been quite helpful to a number of people and myself included, to a degree. I'm just glad he took the time to write everything out as he has.

 

[CJWall]

Actually I'm in the same boat. Although that's not to take away from this thread. It's been quite helpful to a number of people and myself included, to a degree. I'm just glad he took the time to write everything out as he has.

Agreed, Oz's thread contains great information. While I don't particularly care for Oz's style (I'm not an Old School by ANY means), his stuff is excellent, sonically. Only a matter of differing taste here...

Thanks Oz!

 

[Glenn Fricker]

In case anyone missed it, the main theme behind this thread has been "experimentation." Hell, I've learned a shitload since this crazy thread started! I'll have to post some of my more recent work, just for some perspective. Most of the samples on this thread were recorded 8-10 months back.

Most notably, kick & tom skins have changed. Remo Ebony Pinstripes were the order of the day for kick beaters, but now it's changed to a clear powerstroke beater & ebony reso. Not so goddamn mid-rangey anymore. Actually, it needs a whole lot less EQ to get the kick to fit nicely in the mix, so yeah, a little experimentation pays off.

As for toms, the new Evans EC2's are on right now, delivering a slightly tighter sound & less overtones. The jury is still out on these, but the first results will be posted here.

Tom preamps have been changed as well. A Vintech Dual 72 was used for most of the lower toms last year, but in direct side by side comparisons, the Ward Beck M480C preamps work a little better for the application. The Vintech sounded a little "spikey" in comparison. (BTW, the Vintech is fantastic for heavy guitars!)

That & a second kick & an extra tom are on order from DW. Dual-kick pedals do the job, but two bass drums & two single pedals feel better. Hopefully this will lead to better performances from the drummers.


Oh yeah, the "sidechaining" thing will be added to this thread sooner or later.... I'm hoping for next week actually, so stay tuned.

Thanks
-0z-

 

[zmetallica]

sweet!

good to hear your getting another kick. two kicks > 1. more separation i've notice, plus you can edit them better when multitracked.

can't wait for the next section bout side chaining

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Ok, here's a "work in progress" from my very good friends, Betrayer.

There's no vocals & the opening still needs a massive keyboard part, but for the topic we're on, I think it works fine.

This is a totally acoustic kit... no samples anywhere. This is my first outing with the new EC2 skins, & clear kick batter , so feel free to comment.

Betrayer - Headed for Disaster - Work in Progress

Enjoy,
-0z-

 

[broken81]

sounds fantastic to my ears

 

[Thedeloshimself]

i totally respect the fact the youre going for the old school sound, its definitely personal preference, for the sound you were going for you most definitely hit the nail on the head, and you taught me alot.

 

[zmetallica]

jesus christ! dude... that is just like...

so umm hey, can i be your mentor?

seriously those drums are perfect, now to work on that blasted guitar tone hehe. still best sound betrayer's had ever.

PS: the music rules too

 

[Glenn Fricker]

i totally respect the fact the youre going for the old school sound, its definitely personal preference, for the sound you were going for you most definitely hit the nail on the head, and you taught me alot.

Well thanks, I appreciate your input. ....everyone's input is appreciated on this thread.

-0z-

 

[Glenn Fricker]

.
now to work on that blasted guitar tone hehe. still best sound betrayer's had ever.

I was really digging that guitar sound! Again, think "old school." For a heavier, more modern guitar sound, check out the work I did with Black Kreek.

 

[zmetallica]

haha true true, well its still a great job overall. as for the old school sound, i'd still tweak it a lil more. not too much, but a little bit. one of those things that is at the ear of the engineer/producer/band.

 

[A Toolish Circle]

relax im not bashing anybody, ir ead all his stuff and it really helped me out too. I just would have expected like As I Lay Dying drum tone from real drums. It's a preference and im not saying hes no good at all. dont get me wrong

how could u expect As i lay dying drum tone when it's so obvious that the drums on that are triggered on AILD and Oznimbus's tones aren't ?


Oz's work here has helped me out a lot with my rock recordings where i try to use as much natural drums as possible.

with the metal bands i record everyone wants to go for that triggered andy sneap sound so i still use my samples !

 

[cobrahead1030]

i thought the betrayer clip sounded really good, altho i think it's a bit more old school sounding than i like as well...still a very kickass drum sound, no doubt

i've also found a ton of useful info in this thread, and my drum recordings now are 10x better than they were a year ago largely because of that

 

[Skyweaver]

The BASS !!!

Heya OZ how did you get the bass sound ??

Thats exactly what I've been trying for ages, to guitar a bass guitar to sound like that - its GREAT !!!!

 

[Sinister Mephisto]

The BASS !!!

Heya OZ how did you get the bass sound ??

Thats exactly what I've been trying for ages, to guitar a bass guitar to sound like that - its GREAT !!!!

Word. I can hear it on my computer speakers! Amazing!

 

[Glenn Fricker]

Hmmm... bass tone.

First thing was to split the signal from a Bass Sans Amp Driver DI with the presence at about 1 oclock. This went into a Great River MP2NV & then an Emperical Labs distressor. A dry signal was recorded as well.

We then reamped, sending the signal out to a David Eden Traveller Head plugged into a SWR 4X10 miced with a Studio Projects C1 back to the Great River & Distressor.

The Sansamp delivered the bite, while the amp delivered the ultra low. From then, it's just playing with the faders & rolloffs so as not to kill people's speakers.

We did some comparisons & found it actually pretty close to the bass sound on Kings X's "Over my Head" except with a deeper bottom.

I've never even heard of David Eden amps before, but, I'm impressed. Here's a pic:

BTW, thanks for the compliments, guys!

-0z-