Acoustic Drums for Metal: A Guide

[UEAK]Clowd;9345530 said:
That would be amazing!! I've only ever really perused through this section but from what I have seen, you honestly could probably put a DVD together and make money from it.

Well, that's the real trick, ain't it? I could make a DVD, but it would be pirated mercilessly. Might as well put it on Youtube & give it away... I'm not into this for the money.
 
I'd like to see the Youtube thing, but (since I can't stand Flash and WebM isn't moving as quickly as I'd like) a downloadable video would be even better.

Jeff
 
That's actually a great idea for an entire episode.


If you guys have any suggestions for other episodes, please, speak up!

Yes in the vidoes, you should include a good bit about head selection. I usually use certain heads, (remo coated ambassador on everything but kick, and a coated powerstroke on that)

Works great for the mostly indie rock/ reggae I do, but I can't really manage to make them sound very metal. a nice write-up on head selection - one vs. two ply, clear vs. coated, resonant head choice, etc. would be helpful I think!
 
A tuning episode would be great!!

Oz, I have some questions for you... about the slat resonator you have in your studio... I can see that the distance between the slats is not the same, is it built like that so that it absorbs different frequencies instead of absorbing only one?? which material is behind it and how is it placed?? is there cloth between the absorbing material and the slats?? is there a space of air too?? if so... how much???
That slat resonator you have looks beautiful and it sure sounds awesome.

An episode about acoustics would be great too!!
Thanks a lot for everything, you don't know how much you have helped me and I'm sure there are more guys out there like me.
Stay metal!
 
guitarists that refuse to use a tuner are the best.

my foot, their face.

I remember an audition for one of the bands I work with. There is a guitarist coming to our rehearsal room, plugging his guitar on, and playing some guitar solos for like 5 minutes. When he stopped, I ask him "that was nice dude, but could you please tune your guitar first?". He looks at me and say "what for, it sound cool like that". Priceless. :popcorn:
 
I`m been toying with the idea to close-mic every single cymbal with ribbonmics. Do I need "real" overheads then? Should I try super high XY-method or just mic the room instead? Anyone played around with this kind of stuff?

I`m asking because one of the "Legends" in metal told me that he prefers that every single cymbal is superclose mic`d with a ribbon.
 
Trying to think of more ideas for topics to cover, but to be honest the original posts in this thread covered ALOT.

As mentioned I think the tuning stuff would be great, taking a drum from having no heads at all to adding each one and getting them to work together. How tuning your snare side head effects the sound of your snare (I always feel this is something that's overlooked as the head has wires in the way)
As you said, talking about this stuff through text is one thing, but being able to explain a concept and then demonstrate it (explaining how to tune a drum, then actually tuning it and showing what to listen for) is just something else altogether

Other ideas:
  • Comparison of a few drum heads, particularly kick heads would be cool I think.
  • A wee thing about what cymbals are good for recording, what to look out for in a set of cymbals for metal.
  • Getting your room mic's sorted both in the room and in the mix. I find that mine can often get pretty harsh with all the cymbals in them, but if you roll off the highs then shit gets real muddy real fast.
  • In depth spot mic placement - How different distances and angles on snare/toms get different sounds. What to listen for when getting your mic's up.
  • Managing spill in a natural drum setup - Starting with getting it right at the source, and then how to deal with too much spill come mix time
  • Getting your drum mix together - With before and after eq, compression etc, so people can hear how each bit of processing add's to the overall sound.
Hmmm, those last 3 seem to link together quite nicely actually.

Looking forward to the vid's no matter what's in them man. No doubt it will be gold!
 
Just an update: I've got a ton of stuff shot, I just need to put some time in on the editing & voiceover. But, as it stands, I'm a little preoccupied with paid projects. Should get some time near the end of next month.