Tracking drums for first time tomorrow!

[Brian]

I've never done that!

(Dons a foil hat and skips to the toilet to resume killing bugs)

[Mark Legat]

Thanks for bringing back up my spirits everyone! Alright, heres the take with the D6 and the shure beta 52 in the kick http://www.mediafire.com/?slidizrzmjm

and here is another take with the D6 and the 421 in the kick http://www.mediafire.com/?txmt2jyzdij

I want honest criticism please so I can get better.

Heres the mic setup.

On the kick I had the D6 and the 421, or on the other take the D6 and the 52,
on the Snare top I had a 451 and a sm57,
on the bottom I just had a 451 (I turned it down real low because it sounded like buzzing and wasnt too sexy)
On the 2 toms above the kick I had sm57's, and on the floor tom a 421,
on the ride and high hat I did 451's,
on the overheads I did 414's,
and for the room mics I did TLM 103's.

I like the 451 on the snare more than the 57.

[lunatic]

Mark, are these raw with zero processing? If there is any processing (compression, EQ, etc.) go ahead and let us know what you did.

I'm downloading the files right now...

[Mark Legat]

Yeah I did some eq and some compression. Gates on some stuff. I wish I had some reverb though.

[Mark Legat]

If it makes you feel any better, some people do the reverse overheads on purpose - a trick to make the room seem larger. I like it sometimes.

Hah, that shall be my new excuse. How is Oregon doing? I am from Brookings (on the south coast) but I came down to Hollywood to go to school. I miss it!

[Brian]

Ya know, If I could move to Hollywood and open my studio there, I would let all you guys move in and work for dang near nuttin. I was supposed to move there about 12 years ago, had a job, pad, sex partner all set up, got bogged elsewhere.
I'm set on sex partner for the rest of my life, thankfully.
It's a dream.

[Mark Legat]

Youre not missing out on much let me tell ya.

[generichumanperson]

Don't sweat it on the overheads Mark. When you're just starting out you're supposed to suck a little!

Hell, just last month I put up a Mojave MA200 up backwards for a vocal! Both sides look the same, aside from the lettering on the front... which was covered up by using an alternate shockmount.

4 bars into the first verse, I knew the vocal was sounding a little.... roomy... and crap... it sure does need a lot of gain.... *blood rushes from face, shock sets in* ....oh crap.....

It's cool. I just stopped the take after the first verse. Said I wanted to "adjust" something, went in and made it look like I was flipping a hipass switch on the mic or something (the ma200 doesn't actually have any switches) and tried my best to conceal the fact that I was actually turning the mic around.

You have two options is circumstances like this:

A) Be brutally honest, poke fun of yourself, and keep people smiling.
B) Be sneaky.

I tend to prefer method A... It takes some real confidence, but done right. under the right circumstances, it can actually help build trust... but it's not always the best move with very new or very anal, or very high-dollar clients who you want to impress!

Everyone here has at least one story about putting a mic up backwards or dropping something fancy. Ideally, with experience we learn to catch these mistakes before we make them.

Good luck!

wow thanks, thats actually advice I might try to use sometime. I'd prob try the sneaky route and with my luck the person would say, did you just turn that mic around? And then I might be forced to do method A.

[biasvoltage]

You have two options is circumstances like this:

A) Be brutally honest, poke fun of yourself, and keep people smiling.
B) Be sneaky.

On Saturday I was tracking bass, and the bass player was very very very nervous. She's a classically trained musician, but only recently picked up the bass, and this was her very first time in the "studio". And I did the classic "forget-to-arm-the-tracks" blunder, and 30 seconds into the take I stopped. She was petrified...so I came clean and said, "Yes there is a problem. I forgot to hit Record!".

After that she relaxed and laid down some very impressive takes. By the end of the day she was pointing out exactly where she wanted to punch in and really did an amazing job, and I credit my mistake to creating an environment where she felt comfortable.

[Brian]

Honesty is the best policy and if it's not you're recording the wrong people.
Too bad the wrong people have the money sometimes, Eh?

[fossiltooth]

Thanks for bringing back up my spirits everyone! Alright, heres the take with the D6 and the shure beta 52 in the kick http://www.mediafire.com/?slidizrzmjm

and here is another take with the D6 and the 421 in the kick http://www.mediafire.com/?txmt2jyzdij

I want honest criticism please so I can get better.

Heres the mic setup.

On the kick I had the D6 and the 421, or on the other take the D6 and the 52,
on the Snare top I had a 451 and a sm57,
on the bottom I just had a 451 (I turned it down real low because it sounded like buzzing and wasnt too sexy)
On the 2 toms above the kick I had sm57's, and on the floor tom a 421,
on the ride and high hat I did 451's,
on the overheads I did 414's,
and for the room mics I did TLM 103's.

I like the 451 on the snare more than the 57.

Hey Mark, Very solid for a first go at things. I've definitely gotten worse-sounding drum tracks to mix. It sounds like you had some decent tools and pointed them in the right direction. (more or less! )

I'd recommend checking the phase relationship on the kick mics on the take with the 421... try flipping some polarity switches and see what happens. I mean, a beta 52 and a 421 sound different than eachother... but there's something else going on there as well for sure!

The toms are a little funny. How close were the mics? Overall kit balance was pretty good, as were the tones overall. Solid drummer. That helps too!

Good luck!

[Mark Legat]

Thanks for bringing back up my spirits everyone! Alright, heres the take with the D6 and the shure beta 52 in the kick http://www.mediafire.com/?slidizrzmjm

and here is another take with the D6 and the 421 in the kick http://www.mediafire.com/?txmt2jyzdij

I want honest criticism please so I can get better.

Heres the mic setup.

On the kick I had the D6 and the 421, or on the other take the D6 and the 52,
on the Snare top I had a 451 and a sm57,
on the bottom I just had a 451 (I turned it down real low because it sounded like buzzing and wasnt too sexy)
On the 2 toms above the kick I had sm57's, and on the floor tom a 421,
on the ride and high hat I did 451's,
on the overheads I did 414's,
and for the room mics I did TLM 103's.

I like the 451 on the snare more than the 57.

Hey Mark, Very solid for a first go at things. I've definitely gotten worse-sounding drum tracks to mix. It sounds like you had some decent tools and pointed them in the right direction. (more or less! )

I'd recommend checking the phase relationship on the kick mics on the take with the 421... try flipping some polarity switches and see what happens. I mean, a beta 52 and a 421 sound different than eachother... but there's something else going on there as well for sure!

The toms are a little funny. How close were the mics? Overall kit balance was pretty good, as were the tones overall. Solid drummer. That helps too!

Good luck!

Yeah thanks. I tried the phase button on the 7 band EQ in pro tools and it didnt seem to change anything. Maybe that was the wrong way to do it? Uhm I had the tom mics about an inch away maybe, they were pretty close on it. I think they ended up at around 80 degrees. (the tilt) I used 57's on them, that should be fine though right? I did a 421 on the floor tom.

[fossiltooth]

Yeah thanks. I tried the phase button on the 7 band EQ in pro tools and it didnt seem to change anything. Maybe that was the wrong way to do it? .

If you're flipping phase on drum mics and don't hear any change, you're not really listening.

Uhm I had the tom mics about an inch away maybe, they were pretty close on it. I think they ended up at around 80 degrees. (the tilt) I used 57's on them, that should be fine though right? I did a 421 on the floor tom

That's what I thought! They sound really, really close. It kind of "breaks the frame" if you know what I mean. I'd try backing them off another few inches.

Drums are fun. Next time, move the tom mics around. Move the snare mic around. Hit polarity switches. Listen.

Have fun!

[Mark Legat]

If you're flipping phase on drum mics and don't hear any change, you're not really listening.

That's what I thought! They sound really, really close. It kind of "breaks the frame" if you know what I mean. I'd try backing them off another few inches.

Drums are fun. Next time, move the tom mics around. Move the snare mic around. Hit polarity switches. Listen.

Have fun!

Youre right! I wasnt listening close enough. I listened more closely and there is a difference, not huge but there is. Thanks, training my ear! Also I did it on one of the snare mics and it made a huge difference. The kick, it made a considerable difference but still I think a lot of it was my mic placement perhaps. Thanks for the advice on the toms, I will try that. Also my snare bottom it buzzed really bad (I had it turned down a lot in the mix) I think I had the mic too close. I had it like a half inch away I wish I would have soloed it out. Plus it clipped some ontop of that. At least I am realizing my mistakes though so next time I can do a more efficient job. My high hat and ride had a lot of bleeding, any tips on placement there? I used 451's, should I place them kind of at a 45 pointing in the direction away from the drumset?

[Mane1234]

What a great experience for you....Sounds like you had fun anyways.

One time when I was interning I spent 30 minutes trying to figure out why the band wasn't hearing anything in the headphones. Got the real engineer on the phone and the first question out of his mouth was do you have the headphone amp on? Obviously he had made the same mistake too once upon a time. Isn't recording fun....