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Get familiar with the reaction system: Introducing the Reaction System
Drum Mix Test - Feedback Requested . . . .
OK, I am feeling a little froggy of late and started playing/experimenting again on my drums and am checking to see how this drum kit/mix sounds upon your audio systems.
Sounds great here (don't pay attention to the rusty man and his timing on the kit) but let me know how the mix comes across on your listening devices, please.
Thanks!
Comments
Sounds really good. I really love the toms sound. The reverb/room sound pushes the snare back a bit and I'm not hearing much tone. But it's all so subjective and there are so many variations for drum sounds. I've always loved the classic Ludwig Supraphonic snare with a coated Remo and a little Moon Gel. Others love that open, high pitched piccolo snare sound.
I went to see some friends play at a dance hall a few years ago. The kick drum sounded amazing. The perfect blend of punch & tone. In between sets, my friend who was running sound went up on stage and moved the mic about an inch into the drum, saying it wasn't in the right place for the first set. The 2nd set started and that killer kick drum sound was gone.
Thanks Tom - the snare is just too loud [here] so I reduced its sensitivity - I am heavy handed upon it and especially with rim-shots - this just sounded the best/most even-balanced here. (Celestion CX10 Coaxes) crossed to a 12" sub @145Hz in a dead room.
Is the bass drum too loud? - seems just a little hot here but very defined in the ~100HZ region - not boomy at all.
Like you say, its all subjective and I try to get the speakers sounding flat using DSP and the edrums tuned life-like but it is just an effort in chasing my ass when trying satisfy others and their sound systems.
And yes - you can mess up everything depending upon where the mic's are set as well as just moving your body {ears} from one place to another in a room while listening - I really don't understand why anyone would do this stuff for a living as it is so hair pullingly tedious . . .
I like the recording quality but I heard the over emphasis in the 100 Hz region too so I ran the track through my RTA with peak hold on and this is what I got.
For comparison this is what Robert Cray's The Things You Do To Me looks like. While it's not a drum track you can see the response doesn't have a large emphasis anywhere which is typical of good recordings. It does have a rising low end which is probably why it sounds good on 5 1/4" 2 ways. I used to use a Behringer EQ that had a RTA display and I could see the response of every recording I played and clearly see why a recording sounded the way it did.
Ron
Very useful feedback there, Ron - Thanks for taking the time - I shall go make some adjustments . . .
Ironic that this just popped up on my YouTube feed -
Ask the universe a question and it will answer you . . .
(Thanks, Tom).
Yup, big brother is always listening...
The mix sounds good. I listened in my car, which is bass heavy, kick sounds fine. To me the snare has to much reverb, needs to cut a bit more. Level wise, maybe a smidge light. Dropping most of the reverb would probably do it.
Rerecorded after applying all suggested settings as applicable - kept it tighter and more simple.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/5lc7ryt5lk52svadpwzuz/Till-Tomorrow_SJL-Drum-Mix_4-26-2024.mp3?rlkey=dz31x45bw2u043p1eb4o1tawf&dl=0
Let me know how it sounds now please so I can move-onto new grooves & thanks for the feedback.
Last effort upon this one today with great timing improvements if you are interested - drums are more laid-back in the mix and tighter sounding --> https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8ojbhbvfb0yx3v36pyz6u/Till-Tomorrow-SJL-Drum-Mix_4-28-2024.mp3?rlkey=tsf17f5d655br8k3jo8sjhgx9&dl=0
Thanks for the useful feedback thus far - it has been helpful.
Best!
Steev!
Found some of my rhythm/timing drifts on the back 1/2 of this tune and fixed them so, this is my last cut at this - The feedback concerning the kick drum has been mixed from "it is fine" to "too hot" depending on the playback device so this mix was the least objectionable for all who responded.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/dperlnkdb2lspxtfn0xuc/Till-Tomorrow-SJL-Drum-Mix_5-3-2024.mp3?rlkey=thnz3iq8nxv648c3yyg6byshd&dl=0
Pressure washing and painting the house take front seat/attention next . . .
That's pretty good sounding! If I had to nitpick, the kick blends in with the bass to much. Like they're tuned the same and the impact of the kick isn't high enough to always discern it. Could just be the system in my car, it is bass heavy.
That tune makes me think of cruising in the rain through downtown.
Your written observation is quite spot-on and welcomed, Eric - I am trying to fit-in/blend in an organic sense like I was actually a part of the percussion team [on that tune] and maybe I need to add some off-key tone to the bass drum with a bit more depth?
(Do you hear the windshield wipers slapping out the beat while the shuffle/swing of the rhythm sounds like rain pounding upon the roof?)
I get it.
Thought I was done with this track but, I have had some additional feedback that I have incorporated into this current mix.
The bass/kick drum was walking all-over the frequencies inhabited by the Bass guitar and drowning it out according to a bass player from the 6th Planet, so I made changes to correct it - I hope his moons stay in orbit.
A fine musician/studious Recording/Mastering friend couldn't make sense of it so I cut back on the room effects [reverb].
The snare was weak so I boosted it.
I really think that the general public, [as had, I] have no clue as to how much effort goes in to making marketable recordings for consumption upon so many different playback devices by the masses.
Making/creating music is one thing [and it is a very big/difficult thing] - making it sound good is another totally different animal which is why it costs money and isn't free - please pay for the the music that you consume. Support those who support you and the work that you enjoy/they provide.
OK - try this mix and I await further feedback from those of you remaining recipients of this small/exhausting effort applied upon ONLY one single instrument called drums . . . (containing 20 discrete voices/sounds & a myriad of effects/possibilities).
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/a0eiw0v4xr0stj9r15om1/Till-Tomorrow-SJL-Drum-Mix_5-4-2024.mp3?rlkey=nhmle1ip2nbwau2rxva7xg992&dl=0
I totally agree with you about how much it takes to make something sound good. I don't play any instruments (wish I could) and I couldn't write a song to save my life. But I do know how to run/mix sound on a board and make a pleasing presentation. As an example I most always scoop out the left hand of the keyboard player's notes because they live right where most acoustic guitar lives. Bass guitar and drums live in the same neighborhood. Luckily with drums there is so much you can do with the gate's attack and decay times as well as the compressor settings. A kick drum can rapidly attack and rapidly decay leaving it a much different sound than a bass guitar's note that sustains. That sort of thing works really well in live sound. IDK about studio recording. Seems like it should.
Wish I had someone like you here and in the past to record and critique me more so I could just focus upon playing/practicing - I could have become a much better drummer before arthritis and old age kicked-in and slowed me down.
Rocky says - "And now, for something completely different" . . .
This is my 1st take at this track after much aggravation getting the project set-up on my PC in order to play this but it came out pretty well . . . [wish I could still play rolls as fast as I did in my 20's - give me time and I might get it back] . . .
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/otss4da5pk2i7s1ea4eld/Dialectical-Kid-SJL-Drum-Mix_5-4-2024.mp3?rlkey=ffq0drnmrv1k1nab86jn54g11&dl=0
Whew!
After digesting PWRRYD's feedback a bit more I tweaked the kit sounds to this rendition of Bueno Funk -->
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/vsulr1gzcjgyq2vvqrr0a/Bueno-Funk-SJL-Drum-Mix_5-14-2024.mp3?rlkey=clnclc60z3lxmal03wdygckf0&dl=0
The focus is upon the kit sounds and especially the kick drum. I was trying to get a mix that kept it [kick drum] well separated acoustically/frequency-wise from the Bass Guitar and I think I have accomplished that, now.
Constructive feedback welcomed.
Thanks.
That's much better, good mix. I think your playing is getting better too, ya seem a bit more relaxed...in the groove.
To nit pick, the kick is a bit to clicky. Like take a little off the high end, it would suit that music better and blend in without getting lost.
OK, This is a complete redo from scratch of Bueno Funk mixed on the Yamaha NS10M's without EQ and it sounds really good on them but a little different on my Sony MDR-7506 Studio headphones and my office PC system but passable on both - the kick drum is damn difficult to get right and am looking for feedback on this mix, please.
How does it all sound on your systems?
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wne5gpaufaxjlhfc2hnfj/Bueno-Funk-SJL-Drum-Mix_5-19-2024_A.mp3?rlkey=u2i8uh4ftz8ya2spzk9n0bbaq&dl=0
TIA, guys . . .
Toms are a bit to loud and could use some highpass. They sound boomy.
To me the snare doesn't have enough impact, it's thrre, but just seems like it doesn't have any definition.
Time to blend the kit sounds with Superior drummer-3 voices?
Now your talking
Gonna be a while before I get back to this - widowed-Mum fell down again and broke her wrist and is going in for surgery tomorrow - gotta go baby sit/comfort her for a bit again - last time it was 6 months of hand feeding and a subsequent divorce as a result of being 4 hours away from home - cat/pet died recently so I have no attachments here other than 20 acres of grass needing mowing . . .
Be well and count your blessings, guys.
Bummer bro! Hope the best for you.
Sorry to hear that.
Thanks, you two - this is turning into a real long term issue - working on solutions and soliciting help locally to mum as I can see myself becoming a casualty of trying to take care of her myself.
Deleted because it actually sucked in retrospect.
I finally figured this ^ out concerning the toms and snare - thanks for bringing it up, Eric! - the bottom end on the toms was too hot and the tone was lost - next mix/effort will include your insight/feedback as well as some snare improvements . . . and some intermixing of Superior Drummer kit sounds to fill it all out and boost the bottom-side of the snare drum.
. . . Tonight's effort - [this was my 1st take at it].
Dave Grusin and his awesome entourage of fine musicians playing - "Serengeti Walk":
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xmzdxktzrc7it5npsuoqs/Sarengeti-Walk-SJL-Drums-6-3-24_01.mp3?rlkey=kzc7xco5gszajt3zjyjnywtbk&dl=0
ASIDE/background:
The high-hats are played almost exclusively with the left hand while the snare work is likewise done with the right on this drum take - I have been trying for years to further separate those limb's activity to mate-separately with the two hemispheres of my brain and it gets easier with calm practice and a good groove.
Are you left handed? Reason I ask, is hi-hat is normally on left, snare on right, and standard training is usually right arm across left arm. This means right plays hi-hat, left plays snare.
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