Drum Studio Recording (opinions)

Hey I'm new here but I really wanted some fellow drummers opinions! I have a sample recording of my home drum studio and was wondering how I could improve it! I use a Firestudio Project mixer with 8 input channels with 8 Samson Microphones.

Here it is

The worst part of the recording is definitely the floor tom. It is basically a farting noise. Is that due to poor mic placement or something wrong with the microphone or poor tuning? What other things could I improve?

Edit: Opinions on the recording itself please! Not the playing! lol

Well the drumming is very frenetic and I would suggest you start with less busy grooves so you can hear the individual sounds better. Your playing is all at one volume as well and so try and play more dynamically and the recording will instantly sound better. It also doesn't sound like you used a click and so this would help with your timing and groove.

If you do these things we would be better able to comment on your recording techniques.

Davo

Davo-London said:

Well the drumming is very frenetic and I would suggest you start with less busy grooves so you can hear the individual sounds better. Your playing is all at one volume as well and so try and play more dynamically and the recording will instantly sound better. It also doesn't sound like you used a click and so this would help with your timing and groove.

If you do these things we would be better able to comment on your recording techniques.

Davo

Click to expand...

haha okay. I was just having fun messing around. I was playing at a slightly quiet volume so that I wouldn't be too loud as when I record the door is slightly open to get the cable through. When I actually record a song though it will be okay as I will choose a good time of the day.

But you can't use this recording at all? I unfortunately can't do another one for at least 14 hours!

The only way to improve it is trial and error.

a picture of your kit miced up would help us tell you about placment

It's actually impossible to comment on the sound without saying anything about your playing, because that annoying low ringing sound throughout the recording is from playing the snare too far off-center. It will also help to move the mic away from the snare by an inch or two, and perhaps to point it at (or just past) the center of the head.

You can change the angle/placement of the floor tom mic, but again, playing the drum more accurately and consistently will drastically change the sound. Simplify your playing and focus on even dynamics!

Past that, you don't give any references for the drum sound that you like. In general, drum recordings often have too much midrange, so you might try cutting around 400Hz on each track, and evaluate the sound at that point. You can also try a small boost on the high end on your overhead tracks (around 8kHz) to bring out the shimmer of the cymbals and snare. On the snare track, it depends on what you want, but if you want a "beefier" sound, boost at 200Hz, and if you want more "crack" boost around 3 or 4 kHz. Remember though, you won't know what to do with the drum sound until you can hear them in the context of some music!