I took the Remo O rings and moongel with me but ended up running everything wide open just as I usually play it.
Going into the studio soon to record, is there anything I should bring for the kit to get the best sound I can? I'd like to do some new recordings and would like to avoid the problems I had last year. I have it triggered right now as it's been a practice kit, but i'd like to record with mics instead. Any tips/suggestions?
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No metronome?
The Rudiments
I took the Remo O rings and moongel with me but ended up running everything wide open just as I usually play it.
newish drum heads
at least two pairs of new sticks
different cymbal setups
a back up snare
big ears
I agree with itchie and Marko. Give yourself and the engineer options and keep the drums wide open. Easier to make adjustments in the sound and tweak shings in post with wide open drums and cymbals than it is to plug in a sound or have to re-record it. Also more options will help as well.
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I have single ply coated heads on there, seems pretty open but not too controlled. These are kinda bright heads and i'm looking for a deeper sound with more attack. I could use my tone rings I guess. I do need to sort it out ahead of time so there's warning enough to get the stuff before I head out.
ZildjianLeague/LP/Aquarian/Mapex/Pearl
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RIP- Frank, Wolvie, Les Paul
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DrumBum
No metronome?
The Rudiments
Yeah, that too. I bought new heads for the session. Put them on about 2 weeks before and played them a bit to break them in. Had plenty of sticks and a few snares with me.
Russ, I went in with my drums sounding the way I liked and was pleased with and the engineer and I tweaked from there.
Make sure you also take a practice pad with you ... And warm up before every take there's nothing worse that failing a roll halfway though a song because your hands are cold
Last edited by itchie; 03-30-2012 at 12:51 AM.
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One thing I learnt today ... You need to be really patient and trust your tech ... I spent 4 hours checking toms today but the end end result was amazing ... So be prepared to be playing lots of whole notes , like for hours on end
Itchie is really giving good advice here. BTW, if you flub up half way through a take the engineer can punch you in just before where you messed up and you start playing like normal and right before where you messed up comes up the rig will start recording and it will be seamless on your track. A very helpful feature.
Studio build up thread:
http://www.drumchat.com/showthread.p...dio-16527.html
Make sure you have no squeaks or rattles in your gear. Get used to a metronome. Bring moongel or gaffer tape, extra sticks and a tuning key. When it comes to your actual kit, bring what you need and no more. No use in wasting time micing and tweeking things you arent going to use.
I like this post - especially the part about bringing a roll of gaffer tape, although the studio "should" have some of that on hand.
The other part about the kit reminds me of the story about when JR Robinson was going to do the drums for a Michael Jackson recording. As the story goes, he went in the night before and set his whole kit up so that it would be ready to go the next day. When he got there the next morning he found that Quincy Jones had taken apart his whole kit and left him with some really minimalist setup like kick, snare, hats and one crash, and that's what he ended up using - it was all groove baby!
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Learn it. Love it.
Use the studio kit, you'll get a better sound because the engineer will appreciate that he doesn't have to put it countless time making a live kit into a sessions kit.
Use your snare and cymbals and pedals and reset the studio gear for comfort. It just makes everything easier, trust me on this one. Doc
So... pass on the new heads? I was thinking to pick up something 2 ply and rather dead because it's a small room(performance II's for toms and coated response 2 for snare). I have tape and dampeners already there, so I think i'm good on that.
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RIP- Frank, Wolvie, Les Paul
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No metronome?
The Rudiments
Agree with itchie. Based on what you are saying russ. If the room is small Dry that kit out as much as you can (unless the room is acoustically treated then you can get a way with a little more resonance).
Studio build up thread:
http://www.drumchat.com/showthread.p...dio-16527.html
Okay, acknowledged on the dampening thing(I have always dampened in the past, and the room is treated anyway). I will dampen/tune for the room. The thing I need to know though is whether I need to pick up heads specially suited for this task, like I mentioned. Another reason I ask is because I have year old batters on there and I don't know how great of a sound is left in them.
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RIP- Frank, Wolvie, Les Paul
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DrumBum
No metronome?
The Rudiments
if the heads are over a year old, there is good chance they will be naff
have you thought about how large a kit your taking?
I was thinking to scale down to 2 up 2 down, 1 kick and snare since I won't be doing anything requiring more than that.
ZildjianLeague/LP/Aquarian/Mapex/Pearl
Snares: 4
RIP- Frank, Wolvie, Les Paul
Forum Rules
DrumBum
No metronome?
The Rudiments
I would absolutely get new heads if yours are a year old. Mine were only 5 months old and I put fresh on them. But make sure you give your self time to play them in. Don't put them on the night before.
And as Doc said, use the studio kit if at all possible. It's just easier that way. I'll be using the studio kit next time I go in.
My kit IS the studio kit, it's the one i'll be using there and it's set up to be recorded. It stays there and never moves, it has a single purpose pretty much and that's why i'm putting money into it. Just needs a little tweaking I guess. What tweaking is what i'm trying to determine.
ZildjianLeague/LP/Aquarian/Mapex/Pearl
Snares: 4
RIP- Frank, Wolvie, Les Paul
Forum Rules
DrumBum
No metronome?
The Rudiments
I'm not sure I understand when you guys say you'll use the studio kits .
big plus on bringing an O ring btw
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heads russ! ...you need new heads!
All really good advice given here. And remember that the more you record, the more you'll keep learning. I don't think the learning process ever stops, no matter how long you've been playing. How you interact with the sound engineer and the musicians you work with will also hopefully make it a positive learning experience
Bingo! That's exactly what I do too mate. And especially big ears.
Just not THAT big though, lol...
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