"It's All Good" Band

[Bish]

Rich, have you tried backing off the tension on the batter head?

[late8]

Sorry to hear about the problems, Rich. I'm sure it's incredibly frustrating.

Mark, it's almost a waste of time...but as a "team" player, I will endure....

Rich, have you tried backing off the tension on the batter head?

Hi Mark! Yes, I've tried backing off on the tension on the batter but to no avail. I've got the reso dampened to a point where you only hear the batter and even that's overbearing. The drum room acts like a resonator and it over emphasizes any frequencies at 20-60kHz. Adding bass traps would really help this issue resolve itself.

[Bish]

Here's my last little trick to try. Take a towel or jacket and stuff it between the pedal and the batter head. Seems unorthodox but seriously jam it down between the pedal and the head so it's muffling roughly the bottom 3rd of the drum.

[Bish]

Ok, I lied. I had another thought but forgot to mention. Have you tried a harder beater for the pedal? If you are using anything padded or felty, try switching to something not so soft.

[late8]

Ok, I lied. I had another thought but forgot to mention. Have you tried a harder beater for the pedal? If you are using anything padded or felty, try switching to something not so soft.

Yep..using the plastic side of the beater

[marko138]

Probably not an option at this point, but have you guys priced a pro studio?

[xsabers]

Rich, why don't you have a port in the reso head? Or even take the reso head off completely for recording? Have you tried making a tunnel out of moving blankets to reduce the effect of the room on the kick drum sound?

[late8]

Probably not an option at this point, but have you guys priced a pro studio?

Yep...not too many in Amador County. It's either Sacramento or San Francisco and the professional recording studio where these guys went and recorded an EP with their former drummer went out of business last year. It was in the neighboring county in Live Oak CA. Nobody has any money to throw at this demo including me.

Rich, why don't you have a port in the reso head? Or even take the reso head off completely for recording? Have you tried making a tunnel out of moving blankets to reduce the effect of the room on the kick drum sound?

Hi xsabers. Thanks for the pics man! As far as the kit, it's not my call. I've offered my Gretsch USA Custom kit several times and they show no interest in using it. I think it comes down to a comfort level thing and they insist on using the Pearl Export kit, non-ported reso and Aquarian heads. I'm finding it a challenge to play in a band where all three members were/are drummers. All three of these guys own drum kits and they all have varying opinions on how the mix should sound. To avoid a confrontational situation, I keeping my thoughts to myself until I'm asked "So, what do you think of the drum mix?" and at that point, I'll speak my peace. It's the only diplomatic solution I see at the moment. I'm the "new" guy and the youngest member (54 years old) in the band. I'll defer to these guys until it's my turn to put my two cent in. Until then, I'll keep focused on the covers and keeping the meter straight.

[Northern Redneck]

Id ditch the reso and then isolate the kick, wouldnt do a whole tunnel just a heavy blanket over the front of the kick and mic. Live rooms (IMO) work best with just overheads not closed mics, use all that natural reverb to your advantage.

[late8]

Id ditch the reso and then isolate the kick, wouldnt do a whole tunnel just a heavy blanket over the front of the kick and mic. Live rooms (IMO) work best with just overheads not closed mics, use all that natural reverb to your advantage.

Thanks Noel...I'll keep this in the back of my mind. Thanks to you and others, I've got alot of good ideas to try when it's time to speak up.

I listened to the rough mix last night on my CD player in my car on the way home from the session. It sounded bad. I'd like to post it here but that wouldn't be fair to the guy that's mixing the covers. He called me a few minutes ago and apologized about the poor sounding mix. He said he'll make a concerted effort this week on remixing what we recorded last night. He confessed to me that playing guitar while sitting at the mixing board during the actual recording is pushing his limits. I'll be patient and keep positive about this demo.

[longgun]

I'm finding it a challenge to play in a band where all three members were/are drummers. All three of these guys own drum kits and they all have varying opinions on how the mix should sound.

That would have to be hard

[marko138]

Yep...not too many in Amador County. It's either Sacramento or San Francisco and the professional recording studio where these guys went and recorded an EP with their former drummer went out of business last year. It was in the neighboring county in Live Oak CA. Nobody has any money to throw at this demo including me.

Hi xsabers. Thanks for the pics man! As far as the kit, it's not my call. I've offered my Gretsch USA Custom kit several times and they show no interest in using it. I think it comes down to a comfort level thing and they insist on using the Pearl Export kit, non-ported reso and Aquarian heads. I'm finding it a challenge to play in a band where all three members were/are drummers. All three of these guys own drum kits and they all have varying opinions on how the mix should sound. To avoid a confrontational situation, I keeping my thoughts to myself until I'm asked "So, what do you think of the drum mix?" and at that point, I'll speak my peace. It's the only diplomatic solution I see at the moment. I'm the "new" guy and the youngest member (54 years old) in the band. I'll defer to these guys until it's my turn to put my two cent in. Until then, I'll keep focused on the covers and keeping the meter straight.

I feel for ya man. I'm sure that's a tough situation. I think you're doing the right thing at this point. You're the new guy and since you aren't paying for this I'd probably do the same thing. Just lay back, cut your tracks, and speak up when asked. Now if you were putting a pile of cash toward this, certainly, the situation would be different.

I look forward to hearing more about the sessions, Rich.

[kay-gee]

Kinda confusing. What's with the sleeping bag tunnels and all that? Pearl Exports miked up traditionally should be able to give acceptable if not down right great sounds.

all the best...

[xsabers]

Kinda confusing. What's with the sleeping bag tunnels and all that? Pearl Exports miked up traditionally should be able to give acceptable if not down right great sounds.

all the best...

Even Neil Peart used the blanket tunnel method on his recent non-RUSH recording (although he called it an igloo, being Canadian and all). Fairly common technique.

[kay-gee]

Well, I had no idea. All the time and $$ spent on aquiring top notch drums and you have to mike them through sleeping bag tunnels to make em sound right?!!

all the best...

[late8]

Bumping this thread up to share some pics of a gig we had yesterday in a little town of Pioneer in Amador County CA. The weather was just beautiful and it was a nice day to drive up to the foothills of the Sierras.





This was the debut for the '57 Chevy reso head and I got a big thumbs up from the band.

[late8]

I finally pulled away at dusk....a long day but tons of fun!!

[EddieV]

Guessing the man in the chair was hard of hearing BEFORE the gig.....or was it afterwards?

[longgun]

I finally pulled away at dusk....a long day but tons of fun!!

Looks like it was a lot of fun....................California is beautiful

[late8]

Looks like it was a lot of fun....................California is beautiful

Butch, I'm having so much fun playing with these new guys, I feel guilty getting paid...... Well maybe just a little bit.

[xsabers]

Yeah, well still pics will keep us satisfied...to a point!

Vids man, WE NEED VIDS!

[Markadiddle]

Bumping this thread up to share some pics of a gig we had yesterday in a little town of Pioneer in Amador County CA. The weather was just beautiful and it was a nice day to drive up to the foothills of the Sierras.
This was the debut for the '57 Chevy reso head and I got a big thumbs up from the band.

Wow Rich, great pics! I love that whole area up around Amador County. Beautiful country up there!

Kit looks fantastic with that graphic.

[late8]

Yeah, well still pics will keep us satisfied...to a point!

Vids man, WE NEED VIDS!

Dude, there was nobody there to film or take pics.

Wow Rich, great pics! I love that whole area up around Amador County. Beautiful country up there!

Kit looks fantastic with that graphic.

Thanks man!! I appreciate it!!

[late8]

Bumping this thread to share a few pics of a gig we took yesterday to bail out another band that had to back out at the last minute. The setting was in Jackson CA along a hillside behind a church that's nestled in the foothills of the Sierras. Hang on before any conclusions are made...it's not what you think.



Our host was well aware that we were filling in at the last minute and asked if we could clean up our set list which we did with a smile so we dropped songs like La Grange and a few others that are more appropriate in a bar or pub which is the type of venue we play. The mic stand in front of the kick drum covered up an "O" in the word "Good" in this pic which was totally a coincidence.



It was nice to play outdoors again. I'm really getting spoiled by the fresh air, trees and sunny weather. Yesterday's high temp was in the mid 90's.



Our band is a '60s, '70s R&B cover band and we play Hendrix and a lot of the "standard" classic rock stuff. Our host was very gracious and made it clear that we weren't in church and the band was there to provide background music while folks bbq'd hamburgers and hotdogs. We have a few more outdoor venues booked next month and I'm hoping the temps won't reach into the 100s. Yesterday was a little toasty...

[kickinit]

Great pics Rich!
How did the gig go? Did you get a good vibe from the crowd? (even if you were just supposed to be background music)