Hi-Hat/Cymbal help

[Executioner213]

I just recorded a project, and everything turned out ok...except my hat track. I put 'hi-hat/cymbal' in the title as maybe this can tend to happen with other cymbals as well. So, essentially, the drummer was "spanking that hat" and doing so caused the back end of it to come closer to the mic, which not only made it louder upon doing so but made it kind of chorusy. Will compressing the signal fix this, or will I have to do something more drastic (or simpler)?

Also, how do I avoid this in the future?

 

[scorpio01169]

Also, how do I avoid this in the future?

before the actual recording him, do test takes to see where mics can be moved and where the drummer can do things different. don't be afraid to tell a drummer to back off on something for the sake of a better recording.

 

[Darkening]

Seriously...

STUDIO technique is a learned skill.

Most inexperienced drummers will not take you seriously when you tell them to not hit the hi-hats/crash so hard. They will look at you like YOU'RE an idiot and say "WHA?! CANT YOU JUST TURN IT DOWN IN YOUR PRO TOOLZ!?"

Usually they are DICKHEADS until I get them to actually TRY IT, and then when they listen back they say "WHOA HOW DID YOU MAKE MY CYMBALS SO MUCH CLEARER??!?!?!" and I say "I DIDNT DO SHIT, SUCKA. YOU DID IT."

You could also try re-tracking the cymbals seperate from the drums, but most drummers would rather eat baby shit than even attempt that.

Working with what you have... eh... I dunno. Depending on the style of music (and/or the drummers FEELINGS, HAHAHA) you could program a hi-hat track.

Good luck.

 

[matt youwin]

Try sending them heaps of hats in their monitor mix - like way too much - they'll subconciously back off

Credit to Oz for that trick I think.

 

[Executioner213]

Try sending them heaps of hats in their monitor mix - like way too much - they'll subconciously back off

Credit to Oz for that trick I think.

I don't actually have the means to do that yet, or else I would have done that. I was thinking I might have to steal a less obtrusive hat section from another part/song, but I dunno. It was a crash course session, we only had one day to do things and it was almost 200 miles away so it's not like I can just go back and redo it.

I'll either rip a part from a different section of the song or I'll program something else.

 

[matt youwin]

I'd say programming with a similar sounding sample would be your best bet. You could try a bit of compression/processing, but it's hard to say whether you'd be able to fix it. Do you have a clip you can post?

 

[alexrookie]

seriously...fuck the hihat track.
you wrote the drummer bashed the hats - so there will be plenty of them in your overheads. maybe its not that seperated as you wanted it to be, but it will sound better that way. you can still use the hihat track in quieter parts - if there are any at all?!

compressing a strange sounding track will not help you - the opposite should be the case!!

best,

alex

 

[Skaldir]

seriously...fuck the hihat track.
you wrote the drummer bashed the hats - so there will be plenty of them in your overheads. maybe its not that seperated as you wanted it to be, but it will sound better that way. you can still use the hihat track in quieter parts - if there are any at all?!

compressing a strange sounding track will not help you - the opposite should be the case!!

best,

alex

Yeah, in most cases there's enough Hi-hat in the Overheads. Maybe you can just mute the direct mic in the critical parts and get your signal there with the overheads

 

[if6was9]

yeah there should be plenty of hats in the overheads- alot of guys never use the recorded hats sound, they just have it for monitoring, and in case.

It won't kill you to mute that track for just the offending part. In future place the mic so this won't happen-lesson learned!

 

[Executioner213]

I had the mic 2 inches above the fuckers! Any better ideas?

I may even do some replacement, just to clean it up. My overhead tracks weren't the best...I'm still a touch new to this.

 

[ahjteam]

I usually asked the drummer how high will you bounce the hihat with your foot pedal and then I would swing the cymbal to check it won't hit the mic. Then from the highest swinging point just pull the mic up like ~1 inch

edit: or as the cymbal is round, it will make a circular motion when swung; keep the mic out of that range