Well my adventure of a couple of months prep of my home drum recording studio has stretched into several months. The studio is soundproofed the best we could do and afford. The kit is back up and equipment installed and mics are set to record. I am getting a decent sound but still need some refinement to get the quality where it needs to be. I am thankful for the great drummer community at Kompoz that offered some very helpful tips. I have also accessed resources such as www.gearslutz.com as well as a new contact with Marshal Electronics who make my current mic line MXL. That company has been outstanding in working with me directly to further understand the “quagmire” that is miking a large acoustic drum set.
Here is a first decent run of a segment of music I am recording for some guys on Kompoz. It is in the Progressive Rock arena and is a good project for me to get my feet wet in modern online web collaboration. Sorry, can’t share the musical portion but you can get the gist of exactly what I am doing for other musicians. The song has a smooth intro into a nice chorus area (which is this part below) and segue into a more intense and dramatic body with a faster finale. I am looking forward to having this done soon so they can decide if the track will work for them. So far they are digging the snippets I have given them and that is a good sign for me (I hope).
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The entire process up upgrading my older equipment has been an adventure, sometimes daunting and frustrating. I am much closer to where I want to be. The ability to add a piece of music to my REAPER template of the drum set tracks, check the tuning and mic sound for that day, have a drink to hydrate 😉 and start recording is awesome. After I have decided on and listened to a song for a while and completed my drum track building ideas I can then record until I get it the way I want. I do the best I can to do it in the first take but hey, I am human. The beauty of the digital recording process is the forgiveness it has with the ability to do multiple takes, punch ins to fix minor miss hits or replace slightly out of place spots.
I am sure the greats can pull of masterful studio recordings in one take. I will do my best ha…
Major things I have learned:
Mics
- Recording multiple mics on multiple acoustic instruments at different distances from each other is challenging to say the least. The problem is different positions of the mics and distances from similar sound sources and the difference in time it takes to hit each mic. Preventing phase problems before hitting record which can make a sound flat in the mix is the key. Great info here about that.
- The scope of available mics out there is incredible. I had to go with affordability and quality the best I can and have chosen MXL for my mics.
- Learning what type of mic to use for each drum or cymbal can take time. I followed standards and recommendations from research. I know there are tried and true mics for the snare and bass drums but I decided to keep them all in the same family with MXL. I am sure I will adjust and add different mics to my palette over time if I do a lot of recording.
- Mic placement can be tricky and there are some great guidelines to get you started as well as gotchas and lessons learned. I find my self using Sound On Sound website often. Tons of great info there.
- Mic placement is a critical yet unique process for each situation. Getting dialed in can take some time and really is based on proven techniques and using your own ears and tastes to get it right.
Digital Audio
- Understanding the connectivity of the DAW to the computer to the sound controller takes some time master as well as learning what rates to record at to get the best results.
- Choosing the best DAW for your system can be very personal and there are tons of them out there. I have chosen Cockos REAPER for the way I like to work. I liked the GUI layout and flow as well as the name for some odd reason. In itself not the best way to choose a product but it gave it some coolness.
- Making sure your computer can handle the processing is important. I am very lucky that I was able to resurrect an older Dell Celeron processor machine and have yet to have a major issue with just recording drum tracks. That may change if I ever decide to add in more music channels or start composing.
- Using a portable USB hard drive is great. I can record and proof in the drum room. Carry the drive to the house to do further mixing and even carry it to the office to listen to work for mistakes and issues while I help run my family business with my father.
Study
- Hooking up with knowledgeable people or hanging out at your local music store, you can learn awesome tips from people passionate about their craft and recording.
- Reading a lot can also help, I have searched hundreds of websites and forums for information. I also purchased this book Modern Recording Techniques by David Miles Huber upon recommendation from my buddy Matt Fuller at SweetWater. Even though I have recorded at home years ago, this new adventure has been challenging and a catch up course for using modern technology. That book has helped me understand things easier, you know, since I am a drummer ha…
- Be patient, learning can take time and can become frustrating when you are eager to start running before you can walk.
Doing
- Actually recording a song can be tense for me. I would get the dreaded “red light syndrome” years back and struggle at first, especially with many people watching.
- I do much better with it as I have gained more experience and can do my sessions in the convenience of my home studio.
- Preparation of the music is key for me, I like to really take time to listen to the music and formulate a strategy to follow and support the music without detracting from it. Of course I like a good technical and physical challenge to my playing when I can get it in a style of music. Practice and repetition of playing to the song will help prepare for the recording process.
- Staying in shape and conditioned makes drumming much easier for me. Though I have been fairly sedentary with my web job. Not a good thing. Frequent playing with moderate exercise is best for me. I find doing simple cardio a few times a week helps tremendously. Walking is my favorite or climbing stairs in my office complex. Also doing core exercises and moderate weight training helps as well when I can fit it in. More on that later.
Well I have dove in head first with this adventure, time to do something with it. I will be posting completed music tracks as they are done and approved by the artist. I will also be posting samples of things that I think sound cool with just the drum kit.
I also have ideas in my head for compositions with the drum set as the key element to a music piece as my own creation. We will see where that takes me….
Keep on drumming…..
More to follow..... Keep On Drumming!!!
