"K" hi-hats, too freEKIN' LOUD

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 10:10 pm

My drummer, who's real good and a soon-to-be reconstructed jazzer

, has "K" hi-hats and they are way too loud.

What can we do to quiet 'em, physically, as when we get going he tends to hit 'em kinda hard?

By what I mean, is there a way to mute 'em some? Like a wallet-onna-snare thing?

They are OK with the fiber-sticks (whatever those bundled things are called), but some songs need the wood.

I find myself doing a lotta EQ to control them when recording with the H2 ...

What to do?

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 10:44 pm

What kinda sticks is he using?

Nylon tips can be [are] waaaay too zingy. Heavy sticks can be really loud. I started using 7A's a while ago (before that I was a 5A dude) and I like the balance I'm getting more. Although I played with 5A a couple days ago with the ear plugs in and it was really fun to bash the shit out of stuff.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you get my latest PM about my FUBAR web form?

nordberg · Post by **nordberg** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 11:52 pm

toss a set of keys, or in extreme circumstances, a small hand towel between the hats. or something i do sometimes is let them use their normal top hat and put a really old beat up dark hat on the bottom. it gives them the same feel on top, but totally softens the overall sound.

-mke

b3groover · Post by **b3groover** » Sat Nov 07, 2009 11:56 pm

One of the best things I ever did for my drum sound was to invite a friend over who deals cymbals at the beginning of a session. I had all the mics up, ready to go on the kit and we tried various rides, crashes, and hi-hats. Each time we changed a cymbal, we'd record a minute or two of the drummer doing his thang.

This proved one thing very quickly: What sounded best in my room did not necessarily sound best when captured by my mics. Obviously I'm dealing with a less than ideal recording environment, but then again most of us are, aren't we?

I wound up buying a pair of Bosphorus Fat Hats. They just sound great when recorded (and not too shabby in the room, either).

HotRats · Post by **HotRats** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 2:07 am

I do agree "K" hihats and cymbals are way loo loud for recording.

The best thing to do is to change the hh.

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 6:58 am

Wow, I've had the opposite experience with K's. I love recording them. A friend uses a K 18" custom dark crash which sounds lovely, but is often a bit too tame in the overheads. My 13 1/4" K hats sound way nicer than the Custom A's I've recorded lately - they sit easier in the overhead mic's.

T-rex · Post by **T-rex** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:28 am

Yeah I use and record K's constantly with no problems.

Aquaman · Post by **Aquaman** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:42 am

You're trying to fix the thing that isn't the problem. Your drummer needs to learn to play correctly for the studio. It's not a club show. Heavier on the snare, lighter on the hats, not so crazy on the crashes.

Record 8 bars, play it back for him. "Is that what you'd like to hear on the album?" No? "Then play it so it sounds like what you WOULD want to hear. Try it again."

When the recording sounds like what the drummer wants to hear, you're ready to go.

Or you can spend dozens of hours trying to fix the drum sound after the fact. I've been there. It's a lot easier to spend 20 or 30 minutes getting the drummer to hit correctly.

chorga1 · Post by **chorga1** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 3:10 pm

Aquaman is right - just play softer - and if he's still too loud give hm one rule - only allowed to to use tips on HH - no shank!

cgarges · Post by **cgarges** » Sun Nov 08, 2009 11:41 pm

HotRats wrote:I do agree "K" hihats and cymbals are way loo loud for recording.

Now I've heard it all.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

jnTracks · Post by **jnTracks** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 3:15 am

yea, wow. i love k's all over the kit.

i think, two solutions. probly a combination of the two will be the best.
first, if a drum or cymbal is too loud don't hit it as hard. classic indie recordists' line.
and then try the hand towel inside or put strips of tape on it. heavier tape will have greater effect. (cymbal cleaner will take off the residue when you're done)

oldguitars · Post by **oldguitars** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 5:24 am

play lighter. User thinner cymbals...

Morgan R. Koren · Post by **Morgan R. Koren** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 10:20 am

mjau wrote:Wow, I've had the opposite experience with K's. I love recording them.

Likewise. I'm using 16" K hats.

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 11:19 am

Morgan R. Koren wrote:I'm using 16" K hats.

Those sound lovely.

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Mon Nov 09, 2009 11:33 am

I don't know from drumming, but he says they are real loud and he got 'em for jazzin' off - I just know they sound and record loud!

I b'lieve they are 16".

His ride and crashes are fine - mang, whatta beautiful ride! - but the hats ...

I believe his sticks are all wood; he gets better results on the hats using those bundled things but they aren't right for drums on everything.

As for hitting the hats softer, I s'pose that's an approach, but it's not working so well when we get to rocking out ...

Can't afford to replace 'em now.

We did tape some gloves to the hat - it did help; I guess we'll continue trying that kinda thing.

Thanx, y'all!

(FWIW - some sense of the problem can be found on the H2 recordings in this thread ...)

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"K" hi-hats, too freEKIN' LOUD

"K" hi-hats, too freEKIN' LOUD

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