The Drum Recording Hack that Everyone Forgets to Try
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- Опубліковано 12 лип 2024
- For more go to: www.creativesoundlab.tv/pdf-do...
Recording drums can be super hard to get things sounding right, and this simple recording hack can help you get to the sounds you want quickly.
It's not always about mic and EQ, but sometimes just knowing how to help the drummer play a certain way can get you the results in your drum tracks that you are looking for.
We listen through two unique drum takes and make observations on how it affects the sound of the drums in a mix. - Наука та технологія
Your channel is extremely under rated. Finally somebody who does videos on character of sound and not just crystal clear bullshit all the time. Keep em coming man.
Wow thanks dude! Yeah, I hate the term "Crystal clear". No one likes the look of "Video" when they see the look of "Film" for example, and sound will always be an artistic representation of what was.
What is overated videos?
"Man, can't you play more dynamic?" -- "Dude! I'm already playing as loud as I can!"
I love your thoughts and ideas on mixing and especially on drums. You drill down to essential and real world information that is easily accessible at so many levels. Can't wait to see more.
+Rick Guerra Thanks Rick, good to hear from you as always.
Thank you for this channel. Your passion for interesting and quality sounds shows in every video. I learn something from every video.
Dude, your channel is absolutely fantastic, only found it today, and I've learned so much.
Keep up the great work :)
Thanks man, please spread the word on your favorite facebook pages!
_You're killin' it with these tutorials man!_ (the good kinda kill)
+GhostsonAcid Thanks man!
I imagine if that albini or that parson were born these days and remained stucked in youtube because the pixies and pink floyd werent around and the industry had betrayed all of their grandfather who built the music industry from zero who were very picky -in artistic way- about artist they would hire. At least youtube do have that valve. God bless us-kin.
Wow! Great tip... Definitely opened a new perspective in my head! Thanks for that! :)
Thanks!
I like the Video, but man!!! The subkick Trick is something I've never seen before. Simple, easy, effective, genius!
+Da Spotz Thanks, yeah I just figured I'd try it one day, and it sounds great.
Had an argument with someone on youtube about this, He was saying that you don't have to hit very hard to get a powerful drum sound. He also said that my engineer must be shit, Now he is drummer, a death metal drummer with little to no recording or mixing experience, it basically extends to him sometimes being in a recording studio. And he is arguing the point that hitting drums hard is stupid and is bad technique I wish i could find this comment and post a link to him
+JentySteP Yeah, I hear ya. I think in all my videos I leave it open to go the direction you think is best. Sometimes I have a recommendation, but I'm surprised by my own tests a lot of the times. This was a really cool one, and soft playing sounded really cool, and almost sounded like the drums were larger in size than they really were. There's also certain sounds that only come with hitting hard. Shawn Pelton hits crazy hard.
+Ryan Wood Some drum kits sounds better when not hit very hard, take most vintage kits. It depends what yah playing
Gideon Ward It was in a metal context. Hitting hard and getting that energy will come across on the records or on the recordings. My two cence
Ahh that makes sense yeah :D metal soft hitter? thats different :D
+creativesoundlab love the way to do the videos and kinda with their argument on hitting hard or soft its a lot of going back to does this fundamentally help or hurt the overall mix of the song experimentation is everything
That was awesome! Subscribed now.
Great video! Thanks!
Hey Ryan, been enjoying your channel and your entire approach to recording. Would you consider doing an episode talking about mastering? do you master your own tracks? have you ever tried? what do you use? if not, why? etc etc... many thanks
+Rich Barber I don't know a whole lot about mastering. Usually you need to know how to raise levels up and do some subtle EQ, because so much audio gets posted online and no time to wait. I have the UAD Maximizer that I use to get the levels hotter, but I don't push it that hard at all. It's just there to make sure I don't go above -.1 dB. Yeah, I'll make a video on it, but I'm no mastering engineer.
+creativesoundlab thanks for the response Ryan, the reason I'm asking you for your thoughts on the subject is because I'm relatively new to the whole process, but there really seems to be some 'secrecy' surrounding the whole mastering process, and it surprises me over and over again that guys with great ears for tracking and mixing don't seem to trust themselves when it comes to the mastering process. I've not heard from many people who master their own material and I would love to be enlightened as to why this may be. Any input is greatly appreciated.
Wow! The both sound great for different sections.
The soft take sounded like it would be useful for a breakdown (not in the metal sense) where the band would duck down for something else to stick out like a roads solo or vocal rambling.
Another great video, Ryan! Which one of these takes made the final mix of the song, or were they just for demonstration purposes for the video?
+Jeff Macdonald Mostly for demo purposes. I don't do more than one pass of each as there's so much more work to do when making videos. I havn't made the final mix yet, but I'm thinking that I might cut another take of a medium volume take. I like the kick and snare of the loud takes, but there's really cool tones of the soft take too. Hard to choose.
Interesting.. Can we hear a 'Medium' take? Cymbal and Snare were great on the Soft Take but the Toms and Kick were amazing on the Loud Take. The speaker as a 'Sub-Kick' is an old trick. Hanging a Yamaha NS-10 Woofer on a Snare Stand works like a charm.
Nice drumming!!
+hbrookes Thanks!
I was really wanting mix these tracks. When I try and download all I end up with is the PDF. Help please!
Sweet. Thats why compressors are awesome. You can get the range of tones with less range in volume on the same take.
Very cool!
how often do you use the M179s? i record on a budget and use them as overheads or for Glyn Johns and like them. even used them on guitar amps a couple of times, in combination with a 57.
The M179s can be a little harsh on the top. If you have smooth sounding instruments they can work well, but cheap cymbals or a brittle acoustic guitar and they can be real bad for that. I would use them in Omni as much as possible to smooth out the top end. For electric, perhaps half way between cardioid and omni.
Dude you rock! 🙌🙌🙌
+José Luis Suárez Thanks
Love this stuff man
+busk63 Thanks man!
Great video as usual, thank you! :-) I did not get the bit at 5:26 about the amp in front of the kick. Is it anyhow related to Russian Circle drummer's recording set up (www.electricalaudio.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=64597)? Could you please (re-)explain what this does for your final recording? Much obliged!
+aquilario Yes, similar approach. Without any venting in the back, you basically have a omni mic, vs a cardiod like pattern with vented enclosures. You'll get more low end with vented enclosures.
Thanks for the video Ryan. It's been my understanding that all things being equal, if a drummer is doing a soft/light performance for jazz or other styles, then using condenser mics as overheads are better than dynamic mics (which "respond" more suitably to louder sound pressure levels generated from harder performances). What's your rule of thumb for matching microphones with performance style? Or does it even matter?
+Gordon Tubbs Well, I wouldn't use a dyanmic mic as an overhead, although you can try it and get decent results. I think of it less in the style of music, and more what the mic can handle. All drums are pretty loud. I use the best and most detailed microphones at the birds eye view (overheads) to get the general feel for how the kit sounds. Ribbons are the best of both worlds if you are recording something loud (then need lots of gain at the preamp otherwise). Ribbons give you the quickness of a condenser but the warmth of the dynamic mics. The dynamics or close mics (M179s on toms) are filling in the stereo image created by the overheads. That is my approach at least.
+Gordon Tubbs I would say do not ever have "rules" so to speak. But have information to go go by and not rely on. It is not all completely dependent on loudness. It matters big time, but there are still many more variables that should point you in the right direction of what mics to use.
What ribbons do you like for overheads? Royers rly good right?
not sure if you do or dont, but if someone could point me in the direction of a video that could help me get a similar vocal sound to the one thats in this video. ive been trying to find some tips for it but i cant find anything quite like this. Thanks in advance!
Yeah, that's just a vocal recorded with an sm58, reamped into a very small tube amp, which is then miked up close with a dynamic, and with a stereo room. Delay the room by 40 ms and you'll have that sound.
These are choices I'm very conscious of as a drummer long before heading into the studio. Do you often find a situation in the studio where the drummer's playing of the song, especially intensity, does not support the band's or songwriter 's vision?
Yeah, that's the point at which I mention to the drummer to hit a little less hard, or hit harder. This is common for snare rim shots and sometimes the drummer doesn't have the ability to be consistent, but hopefully the drummer is seasoned and rim shots are not a big deal. The best of the best can hit each element of the kit so it sounds it's best, such as hitting cymbals soft to create a snare heavy mix in the room mics. They understand that drums don't have to be loud to sound loud.
Hey brotha just found your channle, new fan and subscriber
+Jorge Lopez Hey Jorge, thanks for being here and let me know if you want me to cover any topics!
Is there a particular reason you have the sub kick in a cabinet as opposed to a stand? is it for sonic reasons or just what?
+James Horan Because it's easy. I use that guitar amp for guitar and I don't want to rip it apart to make a subkick. I think an enclosure does effect the sound too. The cabinet makes a nice stand too, and I didn't have time to make some rickety think that would always be falling over.
+James Horan Update on if the cabinet affects the sound: ua-cam.com/video/qeENSFc4XJs/v-deo.htmlm30s
What speaker is in that (subkick) combo?
+Angelo Boltini It's an old speaker out of an organ
7:58 I actually think there's a right answer to this: Bass drum and toms should be struck softly (beater lifting off the beater head to allow the drum to resonate) and the snare should be hit like in the "hard" take. That will be a wonderful combination :)
Michael Caplin I like the very exact opposite
One key element here if I may add, depends on what you hit (toms, snare, cymbals) you need different dynamics (strength/how hard you hit). You can't use the same for all, and only an experienced drummer can give you that, IMHO
would not of guessed at that tone difference. cool
+Jeb McGovern Yeah, I was really happy how the experiment showed the difference.
Cool idea, thanks dude. Interested in your subkick idea - did you swap the wires round for that, or literally just plug the amp into the box and go?
+JimmersThomas I literally took the 1/4 plug out of the amp head and plugged it into the input on the di box. Turned on the pad (15 dB) on the DI box (Radial JDI) and set my preamp at 20% from the lowest setting. Works great. I think it's a 12 inch speaker I ripped out of an old 70s organ I had.
+creativesoundlab excellent, thanks - I'll definitely try that
+JimmersThomas Here's an update: ua-cam.com/video/qeENSFc4XJs/v-deo.htmlm30s
I think the snare sounds much nicer in the quiet take, which I'm honestly surprised by.
earned a sub. + like!
Thanks man, glad you are here!
creativesoundlab your welcome Sir, I just bought myself my first drum kit last September 2 and I'm currently taking formal drum lessons. I plan to make drum covers by the end of 2017. I found your channel to be very interesting so I sub. & like right away. I'm so new to the drumming world.
can you explain how did you mic up your overheads ? thank you very much. love your videos
That is just an AEA R88 in Blumlein.
thank you very much.
Are those pearls the 6 or 4 ply shells?
6, they are a 1999 Birch Masters Studio.
I used to have MMX 4 ply maple. I actually liked those better than my DW collectors.
Yeah pearl drums have a thicker sound in my opinion. The DW collectors are great tool, perhaps a little brighter depending on the kit.
That my thoughts I just can't get the kind of low end out out of my DW's I did out of the pearls. I think the 10" mmx had more depth and punch than my 12" DW. I would love to get another pearl kit especially 4 ply shells. I see them online all the time but without seeing the shell condition ahead of time I am reluctant to buy them without being able to examine them first. I have bought drums in years past like that and got crap shipped to me.
What about blending the two?
Could be coooool!
CAD M179 on the floor tom?
+Neil Tuuri Yep looks like it.
Obvious yet surprising take-away for me: softly played drums can be turned up to the same volume as loudly payed drums. I don't know what else I was expecting
Recording tip of the day for drummers....practice your drums.
hmmm yea. I dont know man. while you have more sustain, the sound from a lush drum hit is not apealing to me. The drum just sounds tighter if you hit it hard. Why not get sustain from a room mic? Isnt this combination how the greatest drum rock recordings were made? The soft take sounds really muddy for me... The black keys are defenitly on the hard hitting side they would have always taken the first take ^^
Again, it's a tool, not one way or the other. So ask your drummers to hit harder or softer to help dial in the sound. El Camino was all soft playing, according to Dan, except for Little Black Submarines. I would argue that Brothers was even softer playing.
Oh really? Didnt knew that! WellIguess Its just my prefernece, too. love your vids, btw : )
Attack vs Tone. I prefer Tone cause all the other VST can mod that sound to anything else.
Nice, me too.
Really nice and important topic, it would be more entertaining without the background beats. Just personal opinion.
Just watch Frank Beard (ZZ Top) he’s barely hitting the drums.
I like your videos, but I don't get how this is a hack?
Because most people don't think of it and it make a huge difference in the sound.
The soft take sounds thicker.
I agree.
Both takes sound real good, but I favor the more quiet take as well, particularly the sound of the snare drum (which sounds real nice, btw). Of course, rim shots are played on the snare for the louder take, so it's not a strict comparison.
it all sounds a bit dull to me^^ sorry man :D
If you mean the audio in the video, and if you're comparing to commercial records, it's because there's no EQ on anthing in the mix (i.e. no treble boosted on anything, and no mids or low mids removed at all)... As a guy who mixes records, I would say this is pretty great, balanced tone for "before mixing". The mids are thick with plenty of detail and there are lows there and highs which can be brought up with EQ if desired.