Drum and bass groove

[IDDrummer]

I recorded this piece this afternoon. I got a Firepod a short while ago and I've been tinkering with it. Got a lot to learn yet, but at least I can get ideas down!

This was recorded with 4 dynamic mics - 1 each on snare, bass drum, 12" tom and 14" tom. I'd like to have overheads, but they are not in the budget, currently. The bass was run directly into the Firepod, on two tracks. The piece sounds a little dark because there's no high end from either guitars or overhead mics, but you can still hear everything OK. The riff is based on a song that our band does. I don't actually play bass in the band, so I'm just making up a part that sounds like the song!

I've noticed that songs mixed down to uncompressed .wav files sound pretty good, but I can tell the loss of quality with the mp3. Nevertheless, I put the mp3 here because it seems more people are able to open those files.

Oh well, hope you enjoy! Any constructive comments are welcome.

[Joe Kearney]

I like it! I thought that the offbeat on the bell of the Ride was really cool, you don't hear that many drummers do that these days... or ever really. Eh, still adds another dimension to the groove, which is good. What kind of drums do you have?

[IDDrummer]

Thanks for your reply! The drums are older Mapex M Series, with basswood shells. I normally use Remo coated Ambassadors, but I've been hearing so many good things about the Evans EC2 that I just put a set of the coated ones on the toms. The jury's still out, I guess. I don't love 'em, don't hate 'em, but they are definitely different. I think they'd be better on a set of livelier shells.

I have five toms, but I don't usually use them all at once. I only have three e604 mics, so that limits what I can record right now, too.

Anyway, glad you liked it!

[Drummer Karl]

Hey, cool work!

I also love it when the bell of the ride cymbal is played on the off beat. Very good!
and a compliment to this drum sound, this is decent! :-)

about the heads: I also have some Remo Ambassador Coated and I`ll buy it again and again. Ambassadors are classical and cool! =)

Karl

[Randy]

Hey, I like this! It would be cool to hear the guitar part, too.

Did you use any effects on the bass or drums?

[Joe Kearney]

Hey, cool work!

I also love it when the bell of the ride cymbal is played on the off beat. Very good!
and a compliment to this drum sound, this is decent! :-)

about the heads: I also have some Remo Ambassador Coated and I`ll buy it again and again. Ambassadors are classical and cool! =)

Karl

gotta love the coated ambassadors

[IDDrummer]

Thanks again for checking this out, folks. I might end up with Ambassadors again, I don't know. I'm still trying different tuning and mic'ing with these EC2s right now.

Randy, this is actually based on a song that my band plays. I tried to cover a lot of ground with the bass, but the guitar sounds much different. The intro is guitar only, for example, and the bass comes in when the drums do. In the actual song, the bass and guitar interplay so that they are not duplicating the same riffs or always playing at the same time. I tried to replicate that effect by recording the bass on two tracks, with one distorted and the other clean, but it's hard to hear on my computer speakers with the mp3. On the original recording, through a good stereo, there is more contrast between the parts. The drums have no effects on them.

On repeated listening, I also feel like it gets repetitive without the vocals, even though I cut it short. Oh well, it was just a fun way to experiment and spend an afternoon before my family got home from school/work!

[frank0072]

hey, I am just new here and I am finding all kinds of new music styles I like, but this has to be the nicest groove I've heard so far. The 'offbeat' thing with the bell is very very sexy. I want to learn that too, but I have some way to go first...

Keep up the nice grooving :-)