well my band and i are goin to a local studio in my town..and i was just wonderin what some of u guys do before u record..cuz i'm pretty nervous cause some venues won't let us book shows with them cuz we don't have songs on our myspace...so we need to do a good job on our recording..and i'm getting pretty nervous that i'll forget the drum part that i made up and stuff like that..








_________________
meinl..

Tune the drums








_________________
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step" Lao Tsu
http://www.myspace.com/whateverocks
http://www.myspace.com/frontlinetribute
http://www.myspace.com/firthoffifth2

Don't just tune the drums, GET NEW HEADS!!!! That's one of the most important things you can do for a good drum sound.

Oh, and RELAX!!! If you're all nervous you'll sound nervous. In this day and age nothing you do is permanent. If you mess up you can always try again. And if you try another take you can always go back. So don't stress out about it!

Exactly what both of these guys said. And I'll add that knowing your material top to bottom and back to front will make it infinitely easier for you to relax. Also, get there a little early to set your kit up so you can get soundchecked and have time for a break.








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Dr. Rodney McKay wrote:

Well, I only know one thing and that is that flying darkness that eats energy can only be very, very bad.

http://www.MySpace.com/PageFive

sjc93patd wrote:

well my band and i are goin to a local studio in my town..and i was just wonderin what some of u guys do before u record..cuz i'm pretty nervous cause some venues won't let us book shows with them cuz we don't have songs on our myspace...so we need to do a good job on our recording..and i'm getting pretty nervous that i'll forget the drum part that i made up and stuff like that..

You sound like a virgin on prom night. j/k. Relax man, recording can actually be fun....sometimes.

New heads are a must in my book.

Have you ever played with a click? Makes a night and day difference.

Start recording your band practices. Listen to yourself. You're your worst critic. Make adjustments to your playing before you roll to harddrive.
Recording practice will also help you get over some of those nerves and prepair you for the recording mindset. If there is a part of the song your not
too confortable with, simplify it a little, its better tight then complicated and a little sloppy.

I just said this in another post a day or so ago, but... recording is a lot like playing out live, the more you do it, the more comfortable and prepaired you are for it.

Good luck man, and be sure to post your chit when its up on your myspace.








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www.myspace.com/theblueroseband

go early, get yourself your favorite drink, and just go in there with an open mind...anything can happen and be done in a recording now in this digital age....

My favorite drink is chocolate milk... I always love to record with a bottle of chocolate milk... I don't know its just simple smooth and cheap.... hahaha

speedball6sic6 wrote:

go early, get yourself your favorite drink, and just go in there with an open mind...anything can happen and be done in a recording now in this digital age....

My favorite drink is chocolate milk... I always love to record with a bottle of chocolate milk... I don't know its just simple smooth and cheap.... hahaha

haha, i thought u ment a different kind of drink!








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Zildjian, Wuhan & Istanbul cymbals
Pearl & Mirage kit.
Crappiato Snare
Steve's Back! ..............kinda

well this is the second time i'm gonna record..but the studio we went last time lost the recording or something..but they made us go back again..and so i didn;t feel like goin so our vocalist who also plays drums told me that he would do the drums and i said ok..and they called us to do it again but we ended up gettin a refund..and so were goin to another local studio...and i just barely started to drum to a metronome..cuz last time i recorded i would kinda speed up the doublebass and fills..and i've just realized how much the click help..but thanks for the tips...especially the bringin yur own drink part..i'll probably take a jones cream soda and i will tell yall wen we put the song on our space..so u guys can tell me what i need to improve on








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meinl..

Good lord that was painful to read!








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Dr. Rodney McKay wrote:

Well, I only know one thing and that is that flying darkness that eats energy can only be very, very bad.

http://www.MySpace.com/PageFive

Let me do everyone a favor:

Well this is the second time I'm gonna record. The studio we went last time lost the recording but they made us go back again. I didn't feel like going, so our vocalist ,who also plays drums, told me that he would do the drums

I said ok and they called us to do it again, but we ended up getting a refund. So we're going to another local studio...and i just barely started to drum to a metronome.

Last time I recorded I would kinda speed up the doublebass and fills. I've just realized how much the click helps, but thanks for the tips, especially the bringing your own drink part. I'll probably take a jones cream soda. I will tell you all when we put the song on our space, so you guys can tell me what I need to improve on

Fin.

Yeah dude, that sucks that the first studio lost your recording, but it's good that you got this one down. I can't wait to hear the song either man, sounds good.








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_...:::/ Jimbob2020 agrees \:::..._

Quote:

don't just tune the drums, GET NEW HEADS!!!! That's one of the most important things you can do for a good drum sound.

I record practically every day. I don't think I need to get new heads every day. LOL.
I would get them when they are ready to be changed.








_________________
"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step" Lao Tsu
http://www.myspace.com/whateverocks
http://www.myspace.com/frontlinetribute
http://www.myspace.com/firthoffifth2

drumur wrote:

Quote:

don't just tune the drums, GET NEW HEADS!!!! That's one of the most important things you can do for a good drum sound.

I record practically every day. I don't think I need to get new heads every day. LOL.
I would get them when they are ready to be changed.

Ok. Well, OBVIOUSLY you don't have to put new heads on everyday. I'm just saying you'll get a better sound if you don't have old heads.

i've also heard its a good idea to have ur drum heads tuned pretty low, not excessively low but not tight. Im not sure why but thats what i've been told








_________________
Zildjian, Wuhan & Istanbul cymbals
Pearl & Mirage kit.
Crappiato Snare
Steve's Back! ..............kinda

I've always found that it's better for recordings to tune your drums a bit higher than you usually would. They sing more, and I think that's what you need in a mix. Also, drums tend to come out slightly flatter (depending on the quality of the recordings/mics etc) on tape than in real life.








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www.myspace.com/dedrummervanrolf
www.myspace.com/rolfdeband, /thejvconspiracy, /theheartbeatcollectors

Gretsch, Wooding, Ludwig, Sabian. random hardware.

Ive always wondered about that, is it really necessary to get new heads for recording? obviously if theyre in a state then they need replaced yea.

I like my heads to be broken in a good bit though, i prefer the sound then

Eliminator wrote:

Ive always wondered about that, is it really necessary to get new heads for recording? obviously if theyre in a state then they need replaced yea.

I like my heads to be broken in a good bit though, i prefer the sound then

but as the rolf said they sound duller on recording so if they are new they will probably sound a bit worn in and if they are a bit worn in they will sound like death. Thats my assumption anyway.








_________________
Zildjian, Wuhan & Istanbul cymbals
Pearl & Mirage kit.
Crappiato Snare
Steve's Back! ..............kinda

i see i see.....








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whenever im going to record, i change both the resonant and batter heads on my kit. learn to play to a click if you dont know how too, or at least entertain the idea of learning to play to a click. it makes the recording process easier in the digital age. you can edit parts all over the place because the drums will be played to a machine and will not be off beat.








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www.myspace.com/vincemiezejewski

Has anyone said warming up yet?
Might be obvious but I haven't seen it yet:/

New sticks aswell?
I've found that when recording old sticks make me nervous. (incase they break in the middle of tracking)
So I go and buy some spares of everything if I go to a studio.
Such as sticks,
Moongel
Bass Drum patches

Just my personal studio "needs".
But good luck this time man.


MAKE SURE YOU KEEP THE RECORDING;)








_________________
http://www.myspace.com/paidinblooduk
MUSIC UP SOON
Tama
Vic Firth
Sabian
OPEN FOR ENDORSEMENTS:D

These are good tips... Im about to go into the recording studio myself this coming Monday.
I did change my heads, and also gave them a couple days of hitting so they are broken in.
I like the idea of bringing your favorite drink (mines Sobe green tea). Its good to just go
in there relaxed, but focused. If anyone is subscribed to DRUM! magazine, they had a really
good article recently.. I think its the issue with Death Cab for Cutie's drummer... "the drum nerd"
but anyway.. they had a REALLY helpful artical specifically on getting ready for the recording
studio.. what to bring.. what to expect and what not. I highly recommend getting your hands on
that article if you are relatively new to recording.








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antiunderscores wrote:

Eliminator wrote:

Ive always wondered about that, is it really necessary to get new heads for recording? obviously if theyre in a state then they need replaced yea.

I like my heads to be broken in a good bit though, i prefer the sound then

but as the rolf said they sound duller on recording so if they are new they will probably sound a bit worn in and if they are a bit worn in they will sound like death. Thats my assumption anyway.

They sound like what they sound like when you record.








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_...:::/ Jimbob2020 agrees \:::..._

If your drums sound good... they sound good. It doesn't matter what name is on them or how new your heads are. If the heads are so old that they're unable to produce an even resonant tone... then it's time to change them.

My biggest tip for the studio is to get together with your band and reach a decision on what you want to achieve. Figure out the sound you want, have a gameplan before you get to mixing so that the producer/engineer doesn't just impose his will on you because you can't decide what you want.

Good luck bro... get those songs up asap!

Even though I am so against playing with a click track, it's still a good idea to get use to playing with one. It will tighten up any loose ends. I still support the notion that there are certain songs that will do great with a click and ones that will sound like crap with one. My best recording came from my kit that I put on new Remo Ebony heads and Muffl'rs with no reso heads. I’m sure Moongels are enough nowadays. The key is to get the deep tone with hardly any ring. Tuning is critical as well. Make sure all your heads are tuned properly and really concentrate on how you want your kit to sound, especially your kick because that is the one drum that will get lost in the mix the easiest. The other one is the snare especially if the guitars are playing in the mid-range. A nice solid crack will usually cut through the mix, just be careful of overpowering the rest of the mix.

Your kick can be tuned several different ways to get the best results, but I highly recommend a Danmar kick-pad. It will bring out a great sound no matter if your mallet is on the rubber or felt side. Usually the engineer will let you hear your drum mix before you actually record songs. Also make sure your listen to your mix THROUGH HEADPHONES! (Sorry I yelled but this is critical). The speakers studios have are usually the best you can get and will make any second rate recoding job sound like angels did it. And when you are done recording a track see if the studio will burn off a copy so you can listen to it on a car stereo, then you will know if you are getting a great recording. At least listen to it through the headphones.
And above all, relax and try not to be too much of a perfectionist; that will just end up costing more money. Oh yeah and one more thing, watch your mike placement. There are a couple of mike hits in my drum tracks, but they were on time so we left them in.
So good luck and have fun with it.








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ROCK ON!!!
http://www.myspace.com/thanimal http://www.myspace.com/highvoltagenorcal

I've tracked both with and without a click. These days I never track without one and I do a fair amount of tracking, more than some and less than others. Notice that I didn't say "playing to" the click. Don't play to the click, play with the click. Just like playing the song, don't play to the song see and hear yourself as part of the song. It's entirely about your frame of mind.








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Dr. Rodney McKay wrote:

Well, I only know one thing and that is that flying darkness that eats energy can only be very, very bad.

http://www.MySpace.com/PageFive