Get Your Drums Right at the Source with Dead Soul Revival
If you’ve been following my “first single release” journey for my new band deadsoulrevival.com you know I’ve been examining how we recorded, mixed, and promoted our upcoming release. You can download Black Roses and Down for the Last Time at the link above.
Today let’s continue with getting killer drums sounds at the source. i.e. they sound great as you record them. And they don’t need to be fixed in the mix.
For an in depth look at drum recording pick up a copy of my course The Sound Visualization Method. The following is an excerpt from the Drum Recording module.
This basically comes down to several factors: the drum kit, the room, and the drummer. You need to spend some time getting the kit to sound great in the room before you ever start placing mics.
This is a catch all so I’ll elaborate much more on this as we go. This one took me some time to figure out. I guess I thought it was
all “studio magic”. Not the case.
There’s an old abbreviation that software programmers came up with years ago: GIGO. That stands for Garbage In, Garbage Out. This is a mindset that you must adopt for recording in general.
Make a commitment to yourself right now. “I only hit the record button when what I’m recording sounds great in the room AND through my monitors.” Don’t settle for second best. You are only cheating yourself.
If you don’t have a clear picture of what a great drum sound is, it is time to listen to some of your favorite artists and really pay attention to the drum sound like you never have before. Get that picture in your mind so when you have a drum kit in front of you there is a point of reference.
Included with this course are audio examples.. Listen to these through studio monitors and A/B them against your drum sounds.
Obviously, not every drum kit sounds the same but we want a kit sounding in the ballpark of the references. Balanced frequency wise and not problematic.
In other words, they will work in your production and not cause you tons of grief trying to get them sounding good later come mix time.
Take a listen to some commercial drum recordings and/or the reference sounds and immediately take a listen to your drums in the room. Pay attention to the tone, tuning, and frequency balance of the reference kit.
Step back 4 or 5 feet from the kit and have the drummer play a beat with the occasional tom fill. Close your eyes, relax, and just focus on the sound.
Let him play for a minute so you have time to focus in on different aspects of the sound. Is there anything you like about the reference recording that you aren’t hearing in your kit? Does it
sound balanced? Are you hearing problem areas?
Have the drummer stop playing and tell him what you love and what your concerns are. Constructive criticism. Keep the vibes good.
Whether it’s a performance issue or problem with one or more drums, the time to fix it is now. Get rid of the “fix it in the mix” mentality. We want excellence right here, right now.
Explain this to your drummer first thing when his drums are being
set up. If at all possible explain a few days before and on the first day of recording remind him again.
This will prepare him for the mission at hand and he can rehearse with that in mind. Not to mention tweak his kit so it sounds as good as possible.
Getting killer drum sounds can take some patience so you want everyone involved to be ready to spend some time on the process.
It will be worth it because one way or another you will have a drum sound that you love. If you can’t get the drum kit sounding good together, there is no shame in hiring another more experienced player who knows how to set up a kit properly, tune,
etc.
Here in Los Angeles we have a guy called the Drum Doctor. He’ll rent you a killer kit and deliver it. Then one of his staff tunes the drums for you depending on what you are looking for. If you have the budget this can be a real time saver.
Until next time…
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Also, in case you didn’t know, I mix singles, EPs, and Albums for Rock and Metal bands. You can check out my work and get more info at mattclarkmixer.com/secdir/ as well as get prices, etc.
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