Preparing Toms
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Posted on Apr 27, 2006 10:11 pm
StinkyRyan
I can't spell.
Member Since: Nov 10, 2005
I've been playing around a lot with my positioning of the tom mic, but I'm always getting a really light, higher pitched sound from the toms. The drummer currently has those rings that go around the top head, we've tried with and with out, we've also used tape selectively around the heads.
What are some suggestsions for recording toms, in any aspect from miking to taping paper towels I think I heard of to taping the head itself?
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TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Apr 28, 2006 12:09 pm I recently read something that advised against using adhesive on your drum heads. The rings that your drummer is using seem to be a good solution because they're not adhered to the surface of the drum head.
When the head is struck, you want the muting device to separate from the head so that you still get the attack, but then it lays back down on the head and mutes the ring or harmonic overtones of the drum. Tape or adhesives never leave the drum head so they steal attack and leave a dead "thud" sound.
What I did recently on a ringing snare was find a parametric EQ VST that allowed me to adjust to a very fine Q, then amplified that band and swept it back and forth until I found one of the resonant frequencies of the snare. Then I left the band there but attenuated it down as far as I could without killing the surrounding frequencies. Then I repeated this process until I had about 4 or 5 resonant frequencies attenuated. This removed the ring but left the "pow" of the snare. Maybe you can do somethig similar to the ringing toms after recording?
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Apr 28, 2006 12:14 pm what a cool idea, thanks tad. I've had problems with ringing toms before, and was wondering what path I should take.
Apr 28, 2006 12:15 pm electronic kits help that :-)
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Apr 28, 2006 12:28 pm i was looking at them recently, on my gear replacement journey, but decided to go with good mics instead =). besides, my drummer is non-addicted, takes ideas well, and can keep time.
Plus he knows how to tune a drum =)
Apr 28, 2006 12:52 pm i love the sound of droped pitched toms....for that 'godly thunderus' sound, drop the pitch a fifth or so....it's kinda trickey cuz you have other mics that they bleed into, but you can do it musically enough to where it's not very obvious.....harmony is the key....but it's even easier when you have electronic samples....my acoulstic toms havn't been as thunderus as i'd like...i'm guessing you gotta use the proximity effect to your advantage on 'em. try to get that mic right on the head, and i bet it'll add some nice bottom end to 'em.
Apr 28, 2006 02:08 pm Quote:
my drummer is non-addicted, takes ideas well, and can keep time
I call B.S. on that! It's impossible.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Apr 28, 2006 02:32 pm Wow, that is a rare drummer! Did he by chance steal your girlfriend? Just checking.
I got the idea for attenuating harmonic frequencies from some web page I googled up when I sat down with this snare. It sounded good in the room, but the mic right on the snare head picked a ton of harmonics that I couldn't hear in the room.
So I had a conspicuously ringy snare and set out to tame it. This guy suggested on his webpage to find the resonant frequency of the drum, and once you do, the rest of the overtones will be multiples of that frequency. I couldn't quite get my head around that so I just hunted down several of those frequencies and squashed them. I liked the result a lot..MUCH less ring to the snare but it still sounded inherently like a snare drum.
The EQ I used was called NyQuist. It doesn't have numbers or anything on it anywhere...just colored lines that you can grab and drag around. I like it because it takes you out of the numbers game with EQ and makes you concentrate more on what it SOUNDS like, which is what's important in the end.
pjkPrince CZAR-mingMember
Since: Apr 08, 2004
Apr 28, 2006 02:53 pm Ha, I'm starting to wonder now as well. . . as for the girlfriend, it wouldn't be stealing =)
Ha! j/k
maybe i'll put up a image of our old band, and you can see us.
anyway, I've used the paraEQ in n-track before, it's very simple, and very useable.
