Distance mic'd drums

[ar-pharazon]

This is the drum track our drummer chose for the demo of this song, and yes there are mistakes and issues with timing (which of course he doesn't hear). What I am more interested in is the sound. I have always had a problem with his sound when it comes to mixing the whole band and it could be his playing style, it could be how hes mic'd (distance only, similar to Glyn Johns), it could be his tuning. I can't be objective because I am not a drummer (again, I have told him its not good but he says that he "knows what hes doing because hes been playing for 16 years" or some rubbish) but I'm sure theres someone out there who can be objective in criticism.

The first track here is what he gave me to mix with the rest for the band, and the second is my attempt to get it to fit with a bit of compression. OK, so its a lot of compression and it sounds like 'When the Levee Breaks', but it is to give you an idea of the power required for this song.

...and yes, i know this is just a drum track and "how on earth is anyone going to know how it will work with the song", but I'm sure some useful bashing can be had.

[magus888]

Man personally, I think you killed the drums. The first track had a lot of atmosphere, and the drums "sang". The comped track seems lifeless, and dull. I think maybe you're going in the wrong direction with it. Then again, without the backing track it's hard to judge.

[rockerdude]

The first one sounds better to me.....What mics did you use and how many?How big was the room?What pre amps did you use? It sounds like a room mic or just overheads to me. Not bad, just distant.

[ryanoliver]

I agree with the previous statements.

Have youe tried layering samples? That should give you the punch you're looking for.

[ar-pharazon]

magus888: I agree with that. I know the 2nd is very dead, and its by no means the end result. The drums do sing out in the original. As for the backing track, it was just recorded along with the bass player so theres no full mix as yet. I was posting up the track to find out if theres some reason why it doesn't work in a full rock mix.

rockerdude: As far as I am aware he used three mics: a condenser out in front a couple of feet away, and two ribbons as overheads. This was all fed into a mixer of some kind and then pretty hard onto tape. I don't really know about the size of the room, but I do know it had a low-ish ceiling and carpet and that it was a really weird shape (the kind you get from being under stairs and tiered seating)

ryanoliver: Its going to be pretty hard to layer on a 2 track tape mix... I'm not 'That' dedicated to transient slicing and drumagog

[brandondrury]

This is a creative thing. I don't feel the second take sounds bad at all, but it's definitely processed. Without hearing the music in context it really is impossible to judge.

In the first clip there is some extra top end that will need to be dealt with. The snare is fairly thin, but again, who knows how that will work with the final track.

I don't have any problem with the distance. That's what he wanted and enough classic songs have used this sound. It won't be everyone's favorite, but that's exactly the reason to use it in my opinion.

Brandon

[Kneedragger81]

I drum....listened to almost all of the first track. I don't hear any problems with timing or tuning. Maybe hit the drums harder, but this track is useable as it is.

[thenley89]

Does anyone else hear a similar sound to When the Levee Breaks for the comp? It just popped right in my head when I heard it. Maybe i'm crazy. But I think they both sound good.

[Danny Danzi]

I'd actually try to use them both. I'd use a bit less of the second one, but the combination of the 2 could make for a pretty cool sound if eq'd and leveled just right.