Recording drums at two different studios

[DanLights]

So with my band we recorded drum tracks at a studio in Venezuela (well our drummer did, we´re on the other side of the ocean), and there are two more songs that still need to be recorded. So the point was to go to the same studio to make sure the sound of those two songs remain as close to the first ones as possible, but we´re having problems with the guy from this studio due to his un-professionalism and right now our best option seems to do those last two songs (and one to be re-recorded cause the drummer screwed up a few parts) at another guy´s studio. Problem is it´s not only another room with other mics, but also a completely different drum kit except for cymbals which are the drummer´s, but being in a different room with different mics they will obviously still sound pretty different I think.

So I´m guessing I could for the old sample replacing, I have multi samples of the drums with which we recorded, but it sucks cause I was really going for a very natural sound for the drums, cause it definitely fits the music, and I´m pretty sure having to replace them will not help that.

Would it be too odd if two songs in an album had a different drum sound (and in consequence different mix to some extent) than the rest of it? Or is it better to just try to keep the sound as consistent as possible?

 

[Scott Horner]

I don't think it would be too much of an issue. You could do your best to get it as close as possible but having some variation won't be a bad thing. On the underOATH DVD when they were recording "Define the Great Line", I think they actually used a few different snares for different tracks and it sounds cool and isn't even noticeable within the context of the song.

 

[Tim HLAH]

i like albums to have a little variation in them, from a listening perspective.

 

[Sloan]

i like albums to have a little variation in them, from a listening perspective.

definitely.

 

[Arsenu,]

personaly, i tracked my album with 3 different snares.

what's wrong with a little variation sound-wise?
if anything, it can only be good

 

[amarshism]

I know will/machine tune the kit to the song. They also change guitar tones within the same song depending on the riff, maybe one needs more bass, more gain etc. Point is, so long as the vibe is captured well, I think you won't have a problem. Many big productions are tracked differently for each song, sometimes across many studios. I guess this is where mixing each song in it's own session comes into it's own, and then bringing everything together for the final product in mastering.

 

[AEL89]

I wouldn't worry too much, as long as you capture the right vibe. Listen to an album called 'The Seldom Seen Kid' by a band called Elbow. Its an absolute masterpiece and every track has a totally unique sound.

 

[bryan_kilco]

I know will/machine tune the kit to the song. They also change guitar tones within the same song depending on the riff, maybe one needs more bass, more gain etc.

Hmm this is interesting. I'll have to give some good old Lamb a spin today and listen for this.

 

[Skinny Viking]

My newest cd was tracked by 2 different drummers on two different drum kits with a couple years gap between them

I took the toms from one kit to sample replace the other 50%, the snare from the other to sample replace the 1st 50% and one of Lasse's kicks to replace both 100%

its working just fine as of now