Ideal environment for recording drums?

[professorlamp]

Well since like a few others here im on a budget recording in one room i was wondering this...
I have my bedroom which is quite a small place but could probably fit a kit in it, its carpeted aswell. However i also have a fully conreted big garage, which one would be a better place to record the drums in?
I was also thinking maybe instead of the garage to buy some plywood and put it in my room like i saw in the acoustic drums for metal guide.

ideally what should i go for?

 

[BLUElightCory]

Use whichever room will give you more space between the drums and the walls/ceilings. If the drums are positioned too close to untreated walls or ceilings you'll have to deal with a lot of extra reflections, which can cause phasing and just general nastiness (especially in overheads/room mics).

I'm guessing that space would be the garage. Keep the drums away from the walls, and put some carpets/rugs down if things are too reflective. You can also put things (furniture/baffles/gobos/etc.) around the kit to break up additional reflections. Most great drum rooms are neither too dead nor too reflective - generally, there is a degree of room ambience but the reflections are controlled and broken up/diffused. Mimic this kind of environment and you'll be well on your way.

 

[Line Level Recordings]

high ceiling
a diffuser panel on each wall
hardwood floor
drums in the exact center of the room
depending your taste, maybe a carpet under the kit only

and BOOM
bobs your uncle

 

[darthjujuu]

i remember joey posting about drum rooms, and he said he placed his drums in the corner with a stuffed corner baffled behind it... like a piece of plywood forming a triangle in the corner which was then stuffed with "sleeping bags". not as good as in the center?

 

[Line Level Recordings]

i remember joey posting about drum rooms, and he said he placed his drums in the corner with a stuffed corner baffled behind it... like a piece of plywood forming a triangle in the corner which was then stuffed with "sleeping bags". not as good as in the center?

well
i cant hear too much of joeys drums cause he has alota triggering going on
but obviously the centre drum position works well

alota albums have sounded great from this

 

[BLUElightCory]

i remember joey posting about drum rooms, and he said he placed his drums in the corner with a stuffed corner baffled behind it... like a piece of plywood forming a triangle in the corner which was then stuffed with "sleeping bags". not as good as in the center?

I'm sure Joey will chime in but it sounds like he has basically converted the corner into a bass trap, which probably counteracts the bass buildups that occur in the corners of most rooms. As long as the walls aren't too reflective I'm sure this method would work well.

 

[professorlamp]

So from reading this ideally , I want to be away from walls and having stuff to trap some reflections so thats its not dead but not swamped in echo.
it might have to be the garage then hmmmm

 

[egan.]

I would go with the garage personally. 8' untreated ceilings are a bitch.

 

[ttrentt]

I would go with the garage personally. 8' untreated ceilings are a bitch.

This. I am lucky I have a place to record drums that has about 10' ceiling. Especially when using over heads, and 8' ceiling is very tough to deal with. 12+ is ideal. Any lower, and the owens corning 703 would have to come out to treat the ceiling.

Trent

 

[darthjujuu]

This. I am lucky I have a place to record drums that has about 10' ceiling. Especially when using over heads, and 8' ceiling is very tough to deal with. 12+ is ideal. Any lower, and the owens corning 703 would have to come out to treat the ceiling.

Trent

yikes...and i'm in a semi-finished basement. welp, looks like i have a new weekend project on my hands

 

[ttrentt]

yikes...and i'm in a semi-finished basement. welp, looks like i have a new weekend project on my hands

There is a LOT of good information out there about this. You need to build some 703 panels that are two inches thick, and suspend them from the ceiling two inches (so that there is an air gap) -- once you do this, it is like there is no ceiling at all, and your overheads get nothing but great upwards dynamics

 

[darthjujuu]

There is a LOT of good information out there about this. You need to build some 703 panels that are two inches thick, and suspend them from the ceiling two inches (so that there is an air gap) -- once you do this, it is like there is no ceiling at all, and your overheads get nothing but great upwards dynamics

right on dude, yeah me and my dad were plannin on crafting some home-made panels since he can apparently get a limitlessly supply of 703 from work. i'll post pics upon completion

 

[monolithsound]

right on dude, yeah me and my dad were plannin on crafting some home-made panels since he can apparently get a limitlessly supply of 703 from work. i'll post pics upon completion

Wanna sell me some 703?

 

[beyond dead]

high ceilings, big rooms, you want your reflections to be late, not early. late reflections add ambience, early ones affect phase (and fullness of sound) stay away from reflective surfaces such as corners and walls. middle of the room is ideal (obviously)

I think what joey did was treat a corner of a small room to keep away reflections. this works, but it is nicer to get some natural room ambience (only works in large rooms)

so if your stuck in a small room, lots of absorbtion
If you have a big area, record there!

 

[darthjujuu]

Wanna sell me some 703?

haha, maybe! we'll see how legit his hookups are.

high ceilings, big rooms, you want your reflections to be late, not early. late reflections add ambience, early ones affect phase (and fullness of sound) stay away from reflective surfaces such as corners and walls. middle of the room is ideal (obviously)

I think what joey did was treat a corner of a small room to keep away reflections. this works, but it is nicer to get some natural room ambience (only works in large rooms)

so if your stuck in a small room, lots of absorbtion
If you have a big area, record there!

yea dude i'm gonna hafta get gnarly with the 703, i'm in like a 12x12 basement room, like a legit cube, with ceilings probably around 7.5 feet.