Bass drum sample

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Member Since: Jun 28, 2002

i posted up a sample of my bass drum, www.nowhereradio.com/arti...485&alid=-1 i'm having trouble getting a good punch out of it. any suggestions on eq? any help would be awesome!

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a.k.a. Porp & Mr. Muffins
Member
Since: Oct 09, 2002


Sep 27, 2003 09:15 pm

Hmmm... It sounds pretty punchy as is, but it needs some of the mids scooped out (I'll try to be more specific when I have a little more time). Perhaps you should loosen the beater head a bit. How are you micing it (Placement, Mic)? How about compression? something around 4:1 and and a fairly quick release and attack is usually good.

Contributor
Since: Dec 30, 2002


Sep 27, 2003 09:43 pm

Hi

Just had a quick play, a boost of 5dB at 100Hz combined with a 2dB cut at 250Hz really beefed up the sound. That's not a bad kick you've got going on there.

As for compression, maybe consider some 4:1 compression with a fairly long (80ms+) release and short (10-15ms) attack.

Jues.

Member
Since: Jun 28, 2002


Sep 27, 2003 10:37 pm

i don't remember how i did the mic placement i did a number of different ways on this cd and i don't remember witch one this paticular song is. i recorded with out compression, just the mic and preamp.

Jues, hey what Q did you use for thouse (if you remember) i'm have the Waves REQ's and the Wave Q10 eq's if that helps

another thing to ask, theres really fast double kick in parts of the song the compression seems mess with some of the hits. like the first hit in the sequence will sound good but then the secound or third one sound all funky...do i make the release longer or shorter?

Member
Since: Jun 28, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 12:01 am

what i dicited to go a head and do was make 2 tracks. one with all the doubles and fast stuff and another with only the single hits left in. makes the singles stand out as more powerfull and the doubles sound faster. i think this is what they did to the kick on the new slipknot cd take my plague as an example

a.k.a. Porp & Mr. Muffins
Member
Since: Oct 09, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 01:54 pm

There, I knew Jues would come through with the specifics :)

a.k.a. Porp & Mr. Muffins
Member
Since: Oct 09, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 01:55 pm

Oh, and about the double hit thing, I think if you make the realease quicker that would help with the second hit. As jues has tought me, it kind of depends on how fast the song is.

Administrator
Since: Apr 03, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 02:00 pm

Scoop out the middle of the EQ, emphasizing the lower and higher frequencies, helps it cut through a bit.

Member
Since: Jun 28, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 04:59 pm

about the double hit thing, the hits are extreamly fast and the only way around it was to make a secound track and setting. anything higher than 10ms was way to slow for the bass drum. and then it took away from the singles sound.

a.k.a. Porp & Mr. Muffins
Member
Since: Oct 09, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 05:06 pm

Hmmm... So you're talking about a kind of double beater hit thing? Well, that shouldn't be a problem, as it never has been for me. Perhaps if you make the attack faster (Come in quicker-- right away) and have the release longer, then push up the gain and pull up the threshold a bit you'll be compressing both hits an equal amount and you won't get those weird artifacts your talking about. But hey, whatever works for you. Are you using a software or hardware compressor? It could just be the compressor. Usually hardware compressors are more transparent than software ones, although that isn't always true with the more expensive software.

Member
Since: Jun 28, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 05:18 pm

i'm using the Waves Rcomp for it, yeah i could quicker the attack but its like so perfect right now were it is, i dunno, i'll mess around with it some more and tell you guys what i came up with

a.k.a. Porp & Mr. Muffins
Member
Since: Oct 09, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 05:35 pm

Okay, cool then. If it sounds good then stick with it. Just try it next time and see if you like the sound better. Just don't lose what you already have if you like it a lot. The Rcomp must be good, although I would recommend compression before the digital domain.

Contributor
Since: Dec 30, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 06:51 pm

Check out blockfish from www.digitalfishphones.com - it's one of my fave "over" compressors (and best kept prodction secrets)

Member
Since: Jun 28, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 07:42 pm

hey guys thanks for the help!:) if you guys have time could you possibley help me with my snare drum to?!??!? pretty please? i know you guys maybe busy but if you have the time give me some pointers on it to? thanks brock:) www.nowhereradio.com/arti...485&alid=-1

Contributor
Since: Dec 30, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 09:31 pm

I should start charging...

No, better than that, I will tell you what I did :)

First off, not bad, good mic positioning on that snare mic, only problem is the snare it'self is ringing like a good 'un :) This should really be sorted before commiting it to tape as it will be apparent from the overhead mics - however, I appreciate it's not easy :)

The best "on the spot" cure for fixing ringing snares I have found is a combination of cellotape (not gaffa tape, too thick) and tissues. Make the tissue into a lump and tape it to the hitting surface of the snare, works pretty effectivly. Also gaffa "loops" just about work also :)

However,I was able to remove a lot of the ring from this snare sample, but it will still be aparent in your overhead mics (which are the key to a good drum sound)

::

I accompished this by sweeping the snare's frequencies with an EQ to find where the ring was originating, in this case, it was around 900Hz.

Once the ring was lessened, I rolled off the low at 100Hz and dampened the high frequencies to reduce cymbals spilling into the compressor.

For the compressor, I set a strong, low threshold with a attack time sufficnet to allow only the first "crack" of the snare through (this was 21ms in your snare's case). The release was set fairly quickly (66ms) to allow the compressor to return to 0 before the next snare hit. The ratio was set at 3.5:1 and 5dB of post gain was applied to return the signal to the correct volume post compresion.

Finally, I added an EQ after the compressor, this was used to bring the sparkle back into the sound that the compressor had robbed from it. This was combiend with a small cut at 400Hz to remove a bit of "tubbyness" from it.

To save you the hasle, I have uploaded the XPS files in a Zip Document to my server: www.infofeast.com/users/jues/broksnare.zip

::

Brok if you want, send me a nice chunk of all the mics and I will make a small tute documenting what I do and post it here meybe...

dunno
jues.

a.k.a. Porp & Mr. Muffins
Member
Since: Oct 09, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 09:40 pm

Another way to eliminate that ring is to use some "Moongel." It works wonders for me.

Member
Since: Jun 28, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 09:40 pm

thanks man you really help me out alot. i wasn't expecting as much support as you gave, but hey i'm not complaining:) i can learn alot more when i can see what people do differently then i.

one thing thou....

"Brok if you want, send me a nice chunk of all the mics and I will make a small tute documenting what I do and post it here meybe..."

i've read that about 20 times, and i'm not sure what your asking/telling? lol. i'm clueless. could you try to say that so a idiot(me) could understand lol sorry.

Contributor
Since: Dec 30, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 09:43 pm

sorry :)

I was suggesting that if you want, send me the tracks from the drum takes and I will EQ the kit to my prefernce.

I can then document this on the HRC making a new tutorial showing people what differences are possible with various EQ and compression techniques

Much as I did above for your snare, but with a whole kit.

But, that is only if you want.

Regards
jues.

Member
Since: Jun 28, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 09:57 pm

woah, yeah that would be CoOl. i can't send threw email cause yahoos been messed up lately. do you have aim? i could send you them threw there. i'll go try yahoo again and see if it works....brb my aim name is brocko3d if you have aim.

Member
Since: Jun 28, 2002


Sep 28, 2003 10:50 pm

ok, jues i sent you the tracks now do your magic:) sorry i had to send them all in different emails, they wouldn't let me send more than a mb at a time

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