Tony H. wrote:

You serious? Jeez, I hadn't heard of that technique before. You would have thought in this day & age you would be able to record drums without having to compromise your playing style by hitting cymbals lighter. Isn't that tricky if you're getting right into the music?

Isn't it also about choice of hats? I used to use a pair of 14" top-heavy Paiste 404's back in the olden days which were unbelievably loud and a problem in the studio. I've used 12" Zildjians for years and they're great & splashy.

T.

I don't think it's a matter of "compromising your playing style" at all. I think it's a matter of actually knowing what you sound like from the other side of your kit.








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Yah, if your hats are way too loud in the overheads, there is a good chance they are ubnoctious live as well.








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when im looking at the picture under the origional post, the first thing that catches my attention is that you have (what looks like) 14" z custom high hats.

1 big heavy hi-hats are big...and LOUD!
-try some 13's or A customs. anything thats smaller and/or lighter.

2 your hats and snare leval look pretty close
-when i have a session coming up i start practicing with my cymbles (and hats) just a little higher up than normal.
- also. i put a piece of foam around my snare mic, point it away from the hi-hats, while trying to execute the best positition on the snare.

try checking those files again and see if you have more bleed-though from your overheads, or if its from the snare.

but, always.... take it easy on those cymbles.


forgive the spelling. im in a rush with no spell check.

-peace








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FWIW, I just read an article about Silverchair's drummer and their last recording. He used two 14" Thin Crashes as High Hats.








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Get rid of those Z custom hats. those things are so loud. I would never use any z custom cymbals for recording. even if I used them live








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FelterSkelter wrote:

FWIW, I just read an article about Silverchair's drummer and their last recording. He used two 14" Thin Crashes as High Hats.

I see what u are saying. But i just want to know, do u seriously like young modern compared to frog stomp and freak show? thats my opinion anyway.








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antiunderscores wrote:

FelterSkelter wrote:

FWIW, I just read an article about Silverchair's drummer and their last recording. He used two 14" Thin Crashes as High Hats.

I see what u are saying. But i just want to know, do u seriously like young modern compared to frog stomp and freak show? thats my opinion anyway.

I actually haven't listened to anything of theirs in close to 10 years now. I just read the article and thought it was interesting and pertinent to this discussion.








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That's nutty. But, they also had pro engineers and producers who new what to do to compensate for that huge sound being in the room.








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xdoseonex wrote:

Get rid of those Z custom hats. those things are so loud. I would never use any z custom cymbals for recording. even if I used them live

clang clang clang went the trolley








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I'll have to be honest with you guys...I don't have this problem.
I use 2 overheads and a Hi-Hat mic and play as hard as the music moves me to play.
except for the Genesis stuff, which was recorded primitively, with a Shure unisphere on overhead and no Hi-Hat mic. You might want to change the EQ of those mics.








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Most decent studio drum mic's will be gated anyway. A decent engineer will reduce any spill. Never had the hi hat volume issue in the past. Only time I've ever had to alter my playing in the studio was crashing WAY too heavy on the ride that it became almost noiseless in the mix. Was just getting too into the song!!

Home recording is always a b*stard for drum tracks. Try the old school "triangle" 3 mic thing, or pull your left overhead slightly more to the right.

Then again Z Customs are meant be f*cking LOUD!!

Trial and error you'll find.

I'm just working on lowering the amounts of power I place on my cymbals, hats in particular.








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Original Frosty.

You should NEVER have to adjust your playing style for the sake of recording. Mic placement is everything in drum recording. This may sound like an easy enough solution, but it takes a great deal of time and patience to get it right. If you are recording at home I would recommend an X-Y mic set up on overheads to minimize phase cancellation and use a pair of small diaphragm condenser microphones. At this point it's all about trial and error, and LOTS of it. With that in mind, I would suggest taking 1 of 2 approaches to using overheads. One, if you have a great sounding drum set in JUST the overheads, use them as your main drum sound, and use the close mics as spot mics. This rarely occurs in home recording, and more often in a professional studios due to the quality of mics, pre amps, and great sounding rooms. The second approach is to use the close mics as your main drum sound, and rolling the low end out of the overheads, using them for the cymbals and hihat. I know this is more info than what you asked for but I hope it helps you.

Quote:

Home recording is always a b*stard for drum tracks. Try the old school "triangle" 3 mic thing, or pull your left overhead slightly more to the right.

This is not true for me.

Quote:

The second approach is to use the close mics as your main drum sound, and rolling the low end out of the overheads, using them for the cymbals and hihat. I know this is more info than what you asked for but I hope it helps you.

This is the problem.
You need to use a high pass filter on the parametric








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No one says you have to change your playing style. But the fact remains that cymbals generate more cutting volume than toms. If you play your cymbals harder than your toms, more cymbal will come through the mix. So, playing your drums harder than your cymbals will make them sound bigger. Do it or not, that's entirely a personal choice. I find that I'm able to turn my overheads up a lot more now that I'm not playing my cymbals as hard. I still get nice and full sounds from all of them, too.








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