Drums again? Got the sound right! Audix mics, Pearl MLX

[ltbproductionz]

OK OK thats whats up! For some new hip hop samples check my vids

[thepeacedrummer]

Idk why he said that the hats were so loud. I think it sounds amazing all together.... If you don't mind me asking, but did you use any eq or compression? Thanks

- Alex

[carlgos]

@thepeacedrummer Use a little EQ on most channels, small amounts as the Yamaha MG16 only has 3 Band EQ (swept mid). The is a small amount of Reverb from the built in unit, I didn't use any outboard (comps/gates/limiters/effects) or anything like that.

Shows how you can get a good sound with the basics of a well tuned kit, half decent mics and a little EQ.

[thepeacedrummer]

@carlgos Alright, thanks. One question thought, when I record my kit, do you know why there is static in the background??

- Alex

[joeymcnew37209]

Killer sound! I use Audix on Tour.

[carlgos]

@joeymcnew37209 from my engineer role, I have to say I use Audix more often, but everyone seems to go with Shure Beta 91a & 98D/S or the Sennheisers for rider spec.

I did an A/B on the 91a v the D6 in the kick and tbh the 91a won hands down for giving you a pallet to create almost any kick drum sound you want or an acurate reflection of the drum it's in, however the D6 did give the feeling of more "air" movement but had a slightly "false" sound in the same way as the D112 does but different.

[Xxryebread2511xX]

YEAH LEFTYS

[Coffeeman19]

Lefty FTW!! Awesome man!

[BigRooster747]

nice to see a lefty once and a while....

[interstellarnothing]

I would say in that situation, I wouldn't even use a hi hat mic if you don't have gates.

[interstellarnothing]

there's gotta be some way to lower the hi hat. It is definitely too loud.

[carlgos]

@interstellarnothing no there really isn't without getting OTT with processing.

Would need to get gates on all the drums to stop the spill, but I was trying to keep it a little more pure than that - Drums > Mics > Desk > 2 Track recorder.

Everything I've used those hats on they are loud - does have advantages sometimes, but in this situation I agree, they are too loud.

[cavabanana]

@carlgos place the mic under the HH pointing away from the snare. or not use one all together.

[carlgos]

@cavabanana And how does that reduce the volume of the Hi Hat which is the problem? Snare bleed really isn't an issue.

The only real solutions are simple - new quieter hats (these are actually silly loud) or gates on every channel that is a close mic on a drum.

Also the tones you get from the extra heavy bottom cymbal would sound very unpleasant using this technique.

I've said it several times, all the Hat mic is doing is putting top end back, most of the hat level is from spill.

[cavabanana]

@carlgos Cool. but i don't buy that your overheads are picking up your hats so hot.. ,unless you are using a spaced pair with one OH mic directly above your HH, which then there are are multiple solutions to fix the loud hat issue. When you are closing the HH with your foot it is louder than a crash, i'm not an idiot.. no hats are that loud. And unless you have that 57 slammed with compression (which i can tell you don't) the bleed into the snare mic will not be louder than the snare itself.

[RiverSteelBand]

Awesome kit but i don't like the china at 1:02 but your kit still good ! 5*

[carlgos]

@RiverSteelBand thanks :D The China is very broken, split for 1/3 of the way round on the flat edge, so it's sounds really "short" and brash. Used to sound good when it wasn't split, need to buy a new one, but £££

[fabien553]

can i suggest turning your hihats down just a little and angling that mic the other way so u dont get bleed from the snare . just simple suggestion, it sounds good man, keep on drummin!

[carlgos]

@fabien553 I point the mic like that so it gets the more "glassy" sound I like, they are acoustically so loud that bleed from the snare is not a problem. Also, what ever size gig I'm doing (as an engineer) I point the mic like that, it just "works" 90% of the time.

And turn the hats down? Can't, most of the hats on the track is from bleed on to the overheads and snare mics, the hat mic is only adding the top end back at a low level.

Thanks for the suggestions though :)

[UnicornOnTheCob16]

Those toms are sounding sick, man. I find it so difficult to get that perfect muffled tom sound, without completely killing the tone. Also, I'm really loving how great your cymbals are present in the mix.

[carlgos]

@UnicornOnTheCob16 I've always found using REMO Pinstrips on top and REMO Ambassadors on the bottom seems to work great, but then they have to be well tuned.

Also the Audix mic's seems to bring the best out, I was using Sennheiser E604's before, but they loose come of the clarity of the drum. The Audix seems to be a little brighter and more overall "punch".

[UnicornOnTheCob16]

@carlgos Yeah, pinstripes work for a whole lot of people, but they've never done my drums justice. Like you said, it's all about tuning, and I have no idea how to tune drums low without having the equalization of the lugs thrown off.

I've heard some good things about Audix mic's, and I hope I get the chance to give them a shot sometime. When I bought my mics, I went with shure because so many people spoke highly of them, but I'd like to see what else is out there.

[carlgos]

@UnicornOnTheCob16 just checked out one of you vids, you are one sick drummer :)

The Shure PG mics aren't that great I've found before. Beta 98d/s is a great mic, but being Shure is really overpriced.

I run my own hire company so I'm lucky in that I have a massive mic selection to play with.

Try changing the EQ on your mixer. Roll of the mid somewhere between 250 and 500Hz on your toms for a little more clarity. Add more around 90Hz and 4-6kHz on the kick.

[UnicornOnTheCob16]

@carlgos Thank you so much. I'm still in the process of learning how to do a proper mix. It's something that I'm kind of taking a 'shot in the dark' approach towards, but I'm definitely going to take your advice on the EQing.

For me, I find that the kick drum is the most difficult drum to get as I want it. There's 3 factors, that I know of, that are affecting the results; mic placement, EQing and the fact that I'm using a felt beater when I'm trying the get a click/slap type sound.

[carlgos]

My beater is the standard Eliminator Felt beater. I have an Aquarian head on the kick, when I first put it on, it blew me away with how "alive" the kick became.

Try putting the mic inside the kick, pointing right where the beaters hit, about 8-10" back (away from the batter head).

I normally have mine so it's just inside the hole in the front head, pointing diagonally towards where my beaters hit. This is how I mic up nearly every drumkit when I'm doing sound and it works 9/10 times.

[UnicornOnTheCob16]

@carlgos Yeah, I tried a bunch of the different mic placements, and live, it sounds epic, but not through recordings. I'm gonna keep trying until I'm able to figure this little problem out.

I live in Northern NB, Canada, and as far as I know, there are no Aquarian dealers within a 12 hour drive.  So, unfortunately for me, I was never able to try out their drumheads, which really sucks because I've heard they bring out amazing tones. I might try ordering online sometime though.

[carlgos]

@UnicornOnTheCob16 I went from a Remo Powerstroke 3 on the Kick to Aquarian Super Kick 2 and the sound difference was amazing, I won't be going back to the Remo!

[UnicornOnTheCob16]

@carlgos Wow, I can't even tell you how many times I've heard that comment about aquarian. These must be some epic drumheads. Make me wanna try them out even more.

[mattrehmhext]

The toms sound really nice

[carlgos]

@mattrehmhext thanks :)

[nawalator]

dude, thisi is awesome! i love mlx &blx. i have blx.:D

[carlgos]

@nawalator I almost got a BLX at the same time at the MLX, such a missed chance :(

£250 for a 5 piece BLX 8 years back (same as I paid for the MLX)

[RacManRhythm]

Love the sound of your drums, always wanted a Pearl MLX or BLX kit instead of the current Masters series, I think they looked better, are your hihats Zildjian K Custom Hybrids, they sound nice in crisp?, your drum set-up is something like mine, but i'm a right handed player, you've a good technique.

[carlgos]

MLX is warmer than BLX, but both are excellant kits IMO!

They come up really cheap sometimes as well, I only paid £250 for the 5 shells (10", 12", 16", 20").

My hats are a mix - 13" Sabian HH very heavy and drilled on the bottom, Zildjian A Newbeats (I think) on the top, seemed to be the best combination from the 2 sets I had.

My x-hats are the opposite pair, so Zildjian on bottom, Sabian on Top.

Thanks for comment :)

[Mopsy02231]

nice drum sound man! and i thought your drumming was pretty kick ass too.

keep up the good work

[carlgos]

Thanks dude!

Watched your guitar vid, pretty sick tbh, nice stuff!