13 Things to AVOID when Recording DRUMS!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ส.ค. 2024
- Recording Drums at home? Or going to a studio? Here are 13 common mistakes to avoid so you can save money on studio time, and make a better recording! Get my FREEE Audio Basics course! Learn Compression, Eq, and Reverb: spectremedia.c...
About Spectre Sound Studios:
I'm Glenn Fricker, engineer here at Spectre Sound Studios. I love making records, and after doing it for sixteen years, I want to pass on what I've learned. On my channel you can find tutorials on how to record guitar, bass, real drums and vocals. There's reviews and demos of tube amps, amp sims, drums, mics, preamps, outboard gear, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, and plugin effects.
We've covered Moon on the Water, played Bias FX, given you the absolute best in Stupid Musician Texts, ranted & raved about bass guitar, and this channel is where The Eagle has Landed.
Everything you've wanted to learn about recording Hard Rock & Heavy Metal can be found right here on this channel!
I also respond to your comments & questions: The best make it into the SMG Viewer's Comments series of videos. Loads of fun, lots of laughs.
Thanks for checking out my channel & please subscribe!
Glenn reminds me of my high school band conductor with his ridiculous demands that our instrument be working properly and we know how to play our parts.
Those poor souls.
I mean, he's not wrong. Everyone wants to be a performing musicians until they realize they can't keep up with other musicians.
And with his have your hi hats up over your head bs. I play open handed and no way I’m keeping my hats that high. I see many drummers Todd Sucherman, Lang etc who have their hats down lower when they record. Going to force a drummer to put his hats way up and play like shit uncomfortably over just doing a lil light gating or editing on the snare. No way, in fact my snare track sounds relatively clean even without gating or post editing still.
@@larrytate1657 open hand is different. When you play open hand the hi hat has to be further away from the snare. His point was that the hi hat, and other cymbols shouldn't too close to the drum mics, and you should put more energy into the drums than the cymbols.
@@McGuire40695 and being a recording musician is a step up from that ...
..... and let's hear it for the one you missed, Glen!
THE SQUEAKY FUCKING STOOL!!!!!!
Lo now that is so fuckin true man
hahahah, but Since I've Been Lovin You wouldn't be the same without Bonham's squeaky speed king
@Zack Darce when you're on acid and since I've been loving you is playing and all you hear is
SQUEAK
SQUEAK
SQUEAK
Some olive oil will solve that squeak
As a bass player... This was very satisfying.
How sweet it is .
Same lel
- jingles keys
😆 🤣
As a drummer, that was funny.
Was packing my bong while watching this when you said, “put down the bong” 😅
Same. I did not put down my bong tho because I'm a fucking edgelord.
I was smoking a bowl!
I was rolling a joint lol
I was smoking heroin 😎
@@GenerationDown I applaud you sir!
Number 14 : Don’t re-adjust the mics in the drum kit. The engineer has put them that way because it works, and if it is different from what you do in your home studio, or what the sound guy did at your last gig (so long ago, and that is not a Covid reference), it is different for a reason !
Yep - that should deffo be on the list - drummers moving mics after you have done all your pre-checks - you go to record and suddenly that snare doesn't sound as snappy as before???.... or even worse when the drummer takes the mic off the rim to adjust it, but goes for a smoke first - comes back and starts a take - and you stop it because the dumbass forgot to even put the damn mic back on the snare!!!
@@thebasementfilmgroup Ahhh, don't clip a mic to a snare! Rimshots will send vibrations up the mic mount and it'll be a lot of extra work to try to EQ that out! Clip mics to toms, but the snare mic should be on a stand.
@@soundman1402 never ever had that issue - and I been recording since the 80's
overhead mic adjusting drummers are the worst. ive listened to that pair of overheads for literally hours and days, you have no idea what they sound like, and if ive kept them a certain way for over a year its because it works, asshole
I definetly agree, but i had a Sound tech once place the Snare Mic Straight down on the Snare. Like literally 90° with a millimeter distance to the head, right at the Rim. I told him, that this is not going to Sound good, because he is only going to capture the overtones right at the Rim. He did it anyways, and i was totally right, the Snare sounded like Shit. Had no attack and sounded like a Cowbell, so he gated the shit out of it and made it Sound like a ratteling piece of Paper stabbed with a knife...
I lost it when Glen got lower
Lol noice name
As a drummer and a home stuido owner, I had a really good laugh at a few of these. Thanks as always for the content Glenn.
"I swear, if we were still recording to tape most of you drummers just wouldn't be able to cut it."
I'm drumming on a session tomorrow just because the artist is recording to tape and needs it done right the first time.
Drummers are not the only people that have issues with tape. According to Slash's sound engineer, the only two singers he has worked with that are good enough for tape are Beth Hart and Miles Kennedy.
How was the session?
Our job is the hardest as drummers here we go again getting criticized again. Not all drummers are the same way but you all love to say we are . All guitarist that I played with have egos and think there better then everyone else in the band . They think they can play the drums and everything else but then when they try to play the drums all they can come up with is the same beat over and over and can’t think outside the box . There I said it .
i would love to record on tape just to experience it but yes its gotta be done RIGHT 🤟
@@erictorres4889 preach my friend. Much love and respect.❤❤❤❤🤘🤘🤘🤘
I once recorded a band whose drummer had that issue of keeping a nice steady beat but rushing his fills. The incredible thing was they’d played and rehearsed so much they all accommodated this perfectly and always came back in bang on time. I call this the “Metallica phenomenon”.
That is pretty common, guitarists often up tempo on their solo breaks also, it's human nature to speed up when nervous or excited haha!
I don't play metal much but having been a festival stage manager for almost ten years the most common mistake I saw metal drummers have is using those stupid crash cymbals that are too thick and clangy usually marked as Metal crash or Rock crash or Heavy crash. They always suck, get medium weight for best results.
Heavy rides or hats can often work but not crashes!
"male, female, in-between, IT DOESNT FUCKING MATTER" i lost it at this part lol
Semi Evolved Simian. Good Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy quote.
I was hoping someone would catch that!
ready to go have Pangalactic Gargleblasters when you are, good sir. After recording, that is. you know.
My recommendation if you can afford the time and money, arrange to take the drums into the studio the afternoon before the session this will give you and the engineer the time to mic up the kit and to tune it. it also means less time wasted setting everything up on the day.
That would acclimatize the drums and make the tuning more reliable. Good point.
Daaamn right ;)
@@fumedrummer Tuning??! I kid, I kid. It's amazing how many ppl just can't.
Hey, Glenn! We just wrapped up drums last month. Just wanted to say how helpful your recording tips and "mistakes to avoid" videos have been so far. These things can sometimes be easy to overlook! I was also fortunate enough to work with a drummer who was willing to listen, understand, and cooperate :) Lucky, lucky me. Thanks Glenn!
Godspeed
Put issolated and full tracks online so we can judge you remorselessly
I'm SO glad that we recorded in the 2" tape era. We had to work hard to get to the point where we could record our basic tracks live in one or two takes. One mistake = another take= Mo money.
These days, I would be so pissed off if I worked and worked to get the songs into muscle memory, and then find out somebody had replaced my work with fucking samples.
Totally!
Yet it is the norm, at least in metal. And it's not simply because the drummer couldn't cut it - I think younger engineers l just don't know and/or care how to record acoustic drums, just capture the hits for replacement. Listen to Derek Roddy on Dan Wilding's podcast.
I kinda want to see glen yell at a drummer, "NOT QUITE MY TEMPO, AGAIN". "ARE YOU DRAGGING OR ARE YOU ON MY FUCKING TIME"
I'm so happy you mentioned simon Phillips, lol. He's easily my favourite drummer.
A great engineer and producer as well. He keeps his Hi-hat level with the snare, but he plays it pretty lightly and his other cymbals are pretty high. And he tunes his kit really well too. A lot of mics, but no snare bottom!
Different thing, but he played a gig close to where I live and had four mics on that huge kit. Kicks and overheads only.
Yes, you should do a dedicated episode on tempo maps. I still have much to learn and am indeed a visual learner so seeing just how they're made will be a huge help. Thanks for the great content!
Same here 👍
yeah, actually. i'm interested to see if there's any tips or alt workflow on making them.
If you write your song out on a program like guitarpro, the works already done.
@@stephenlindsay3792 yeah ive come to learn the hard way that reaper / daw isnt an authoring tool. im doing baby steps learning guitar pro.
I'm so glad that this came out, cause we're about to give drum recording a shot hahaha
Good luck, dude!
Do you have a shock collar for the drummer ??????
@@gilbertspader7974 no, but that's not a bad idea haha
The acoustic impedance of a solid vs air is somewhere above 1000, the exact figure is not important at the moment, it is also most likely much larger... It just means that air transferring sound vibration to a solid has 1000:1 ratio and vice versa, we are in that kind of scale. you need 1000 units of energy in air to make 1 unit of change in solid, free moving air molecule hitting a crystalline solid does not have a good energy transfer ratio..
As you hit a drum shell, you are making the solid membrane move but due to it's material properties, it transfers this movement to air very fast. It does not hold a lot of energy but the energy is all in the air, as sound energy. You will get a snappy, rather loud transient but everything after that is the air pushing and pulling the membrane, not the membrane itself vibrating using stored energy in the solid.
As you hit a cymbal, the energy goes to moving the mass of metal and is stored there for longer. It will have less snappy transient and the energy stored in the cymbal itself will release slower. Its frequency range is thus much higher too as with acoustic impedance we also have attenuation happening. With drum shells your frequency response is much lower as it is the air that is doing most of the work, bouncing between drum heads, losing high frequencies with every bounce. Think of how things sound underwater, this is caused by acoustic impedance too. All the high frequencies are cut out. But cymbal has its energy stored in the solid mass and it will release wide band content from the attack to the finish of the tail. It is way more audible for much longer.
It is also easy to overload the "spring" that is effectively the driving force in the cymbal, it can only store so much energy until it starts to warp, creating different spectrum of frequencies. What you don't want is low frequency wobble to modify the spring parameters unevenly and dynamically. Spring that is overloaded will create quite ugly harmonics... I haven't tried but i think for training purposes, high speed camera could be a nice tool to find a good hitting strength as the wobble really is the key, the more of it you have them uglier it will sound. Instead of having nice round and flat disc you will have spots of higher tension/compression that will change the resonant frequencies, locally.. You want it to sound the same all around the disc. And of course, some of the sound of a crash comes from making it more "ugly", there is a happy medium somewhere in the middle where you are properly making it "crash" but still having some of the "ring" that you can hear when you just tap the cymbal lightly. Speed of sound in a metal is very fast so a peak in that visible wobble is going to have sound bouncing over it multiple times before the "slow wave crest" has leveled. You can sometimes even hear this wave "wash" over the cymbal from side to side, modifying the faster moving sound waves in the metal and their spectral content.
Wow! Great info, copied and shared with many engineers friends! Thank you!
Sounds like a PhD material... :)
But it is a great read and very informative, so thank you!
And I agree with 'spring overload' - once I hit my crash so hard I could hear it distort. It actually went into overdrive... Not a pleasant sound and certainly not to be repeated.
PS: for all guitar players: hitting cymbals so hard they sound distorted IS NOT A GOOD THING! Cymbals are not valve guitar amplifiers! They do not sound better when pushed into overdrive! So please don't ask your drummer to 'distort' his/her cymbals. Thank you. :)
As a person that recorded with Glen multiple times, listen to him. I had four different drum kit set ups when recording with Glen. One recording session was identical to Neil Pearts set up since vapor trails. Glens #3 is the best advice. I always had at least 12 inches of space between the cymbals and toms. 95% of the time I used rim shots. Never hit a cymbal dead on, always hit a cymbal in a circular motion. The snare should be near belly button level.
If I didn’t have a great sounding kit, I would’ve used Glens DW kit. DW is second to none.
Love the Kathleen Kennedy burn.
"if we were still recording to tape, most of you drummers couldn't cut it" = quote of the match
I've taken to doing my demo recordings with only the overheads, room, and kick mics. Doing this forces me to play with proper dynamics and has also allowed me to learn what proper recording dynamics are when I'm playing. If you can record with only these mics and get a mix where you can hear the entire kit, you're fully miced and recorded drum tracks will sound way better.
thats very interesting. how does mono compatibility work with this? your microphones will all be naturally stereo paired or already mono. i suspect it must work really well.
I would REALLY love to see a video where Glenn takes the worst possible recordings (violating every principle he's laid out in this series) and shows what it's like to mix that versus well-tracked versions.
This is an incredible luck. He'd have to trick a shitty drummer into participating 🤣
Yes PLEASE to the Tempo Maps video. I'm doing my first ever recorded song and it's a remote collab. The drummer is going to need a click track and I assume this tempo map will be useful as well .
I have literally no idea where to begin
The best drummer I met made notes of the different sections of songs and other things I didn't understand and when he performed or recorded, it was a brilliant performance. A friend of mine who is also great doesn't make notes, but he listens to fucking songs like thousands of times and is able to hum and tadada the rhythm and fills of complete songs while in his car on the way to work. In rehearsal, he hardly ever fucks up and is even also able to cue others in.
Regardless of your approach, clearly, you must do the homework and learn your shit. Be prepared. If you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.
Speaking of chicken buckets... I had the pleasure of recording at the studio of Travis Dickerson in Los Angeles. He records artists like L7, Vigo Mortensen, and Buckethead. Here are a few other things to add to your list that I did, which can make things easier.
VISIT THE STUDIO AHEAD OF TIME: Travis let me come to the studio and check out the room. I noted that he had a really nice kit in the room, which was comparable to my Premier Artist Birch [the last of the British made series]. This meant that I did not have to lug in my own drums and spend time setting them up and helping to mic and sound check. I also noted that he had a similar configuration, which was helpful. Anything to remove the mystery of what's going to happen that day.
ASK QUESTIONS: I asked Travis about using those drums. He said that I could use them, and he wanted me to bring in my own snare and cymbals. I also brought my own pedal, since I'm used to it. Think about it in advance and ask as many questions as you can, so that you can be as prepared as possible.
DO NOT ARGUE WITH THE ENGINEER: The hi-hat was higher than I was used to playing, which was fine because it wasn't that big of a deal. I didn't want to be that guy who whines, "But my set is set up like THIS!" If I wanted to, I could have changed my own drums up and practiced like that ahead of time.
GET PUMPED: I ran around the parking lot a few times after my stretching and warm-up, before tracking. Get that blood moving! Get excited! If you're tired or otherwise phoning it in, this will become obvious in the final product.
BE WELL-PRACTICED: Practicing with a click is an art form that is worth of practice time and focus.
BE WELL-REHEARSED: My band would rehearse every Sunday for 3 hours, and would play at least two gigs per week. Start with any new songs, and then run the show as many times as we can. We were tight enough that we recorded 15 songs on the floor in one day. We spent the second day reviewing, re-tracking anything that was necessary, overdubs, lead vocals, backing vocals, and fixing a few things here and there. We didn't really have much to fix, thanks to the work we put in to actually be able to perform the songs when that red "recording" light is flashing.
BE PREPARED: Remember that you're paying BY THE HOUR for this service. The last thing you want to do is waste time. Know all of your songs, tempos, key changes, intro, ending, etc. Time wasted figuring things out equals money wasted.
REST THE NIGHT BEFORE: Do things as healthfully as possible the night before. Wasting time and money because YOU have a hang-over is not how you advance your career.
PARTY HARD AFTER, AFTER, AFTER TRACKING: Being wasted while in the studio is a waste of time and money. When I track, I don't even drink coffee or beer because I don't want it fighting with my focus on the click. During tracking, I drink water and will have some LIGHT snacks. No heavy meals! But AFTER you are done for the day, feel free to crack a beer, pack a bong, and eat whatever. Party on your OWN time. When you're in the studio, it's the BAND'S time, as well as the Engineer/Producer's time.
NO WOMEN OR FRIENDS: This isn't a party. It's a recording session. Once per month, we'd have a special night time session, where we would invite the ladies and some of our friends to sit through the set twice. This would help us see how new songs might play out. We would always take honest opinions seriously. Outside of that situation, nobody but the band and relevant personnel has any business being in the room. The clock is ticking!
NO PHONES: When I helped a friend record the debut live album for Hannibal Buress, he asked me to "completely turn off" my phone. This was because the laptop that he was using to record would more than likely pick up those annoying digital sounds that can be created when the phone antennas are searching for a connection. Beyond having the phone off for this reason, a lack of phones means an increased amount of focus on the moment at-hand.
LISTEN AND COMPLY: When the Engineer or Producer asks for something, listen to them and do your best to comply. They want the best recording possible for you. Remember, their name is on it also, and the last thing they need is a crap recording out there with their name plastered on it. Plus, they might want you back for repeat business. They have more than a few motives to do a good job for you. Let them do it. Listen. Be part of the solution.
AVOID CHATTER IN THE CONTROL ROOM: After recording, we would listen to play-back. Comments on the song, a passage, or even asking to stop to re-listen to a section is fine. What is NOT fine is chatter about what you did last night. It is distracting and takes away from the listening and the focus. Be there to work.
DO NOT RE-ARRANGE THE DRUMS AFTER EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SET UP AND CHECKED: It might be tempting to just move that little thing slightly over to the left or right. If you really, truly need something moved, then ask the Engineer to help with it.
RESPECT ADVICE FROM THE EXPERIENCED: I had the honor of meeting Randy Rhoads 40 years ago, when he was taking a guitar lesson before a gig. He told me the TWO reasons why he took lessons before a gig was: 1) It's a nice warm-up, and 2) There is ALWAYS something to learn from someone else. Be ready to learn, because you'll never know it all, and learning is something that never ends. The greats never stop learning and growing.
RESPECT YOUR BAND AND YOURSELF: Take it seriously, figure out what you need to do, and make it happen. Being sloppy, lazy, stubborn, etc., is engaging in self-disrespect. If this is what you'd like to do for a living, then act like it.
When you mentioned Neil Peart (RIP), it reminded me of an interview where he said that, before going into the studio, he would practice the hell out of the demos of the songs to be recorded every day until it came time for the recording process to begin.
Hands down, this video had THE best intro you’ve done in a while!! Big Robin Williams “Good Morning, Vietnam”-vibes there!! 😀
FAN Nailed THIS ! Really Appreciate you Glenn. Your Course is AWESOME.
7:28 well, Simon Philips also a world class audio engineer, and he knows how to "balance" hats and snare 😁
These videos are pure gold man! Thanks!
Good morning Glenn, glad to be in the notification squad once again!
Morning!
Your channel and videos definitely are a must watch for anyone wanting to learn!! You have helped me so much!! Thanks again for the awesome upload!
I really appreciate that these videos aren't full of obnoxious jump cuts. The guy yells, but also actually talks at a reasonable pace without needing to have every pause clipped out for squirrel-brains.
"what's your kit?" "oh, it's a 70's Ludwig" "are the heads from the 70's?" "..."
As a drummer, I can tell you that if you find this video offensive you need to be taking notes. He’s talking to you guys... 😂
GLEEEEEEEEEEEEENN, I wanna share a technique I use for drummers who can't do a track with less than 10 takes. I set "checkpoints" when a new riff begins. If they fail, I ask them to go back to the "checkpoint" and hit 4 times the cymbals they were hitting before it. With a little crossfade, I get amazing results and the transition is absolutely inaudible. Saves time, nerves, and your nose from being broken by musicians who can't take a skill criticism. Thx for your godlike videos !
Glenn's experiencie is sacred,this is the gospel of studio drummimg
Awesome as always!!!! We love you Glenn!!!
Great rant. Tears in my eyes. Soooo true.
Glenn's "good morning" gives me Vietnam flashbacks
“Your parents will be so disappointed in you”. I nearly died 😂😂😂
Love to hear Glenn’s screamingly good advice while it rains outside!
Fuck it, I'll just use samples.
I don't play drums. I don't play any instrument. I'm not likely to. I don't record audio for a hobby. I just watch these videos because they are fucking brilliant.
It takes a good youtuber to make someone who doesn't care about the subject matter to watch them lmao.
Ha ha, you should change the channel name to "SpectreRantStudios". Keep yelling Glenn, love it.
Lol, I'm glad I found this channel. There is some great advice, even for the guy who is a newb to recording, and still holding the bong.
Hey Glenn, I auditioned for a band a couple of weeks ago & the bass player & I were talking about recording. He mentioned he watches a Canadian TH-camr & I asked mid-sentence if it was you & it was. Your channel is definitely growing rapidly & the word about the helpful content you have created is definitely being spread around. Cheers for all the great information I've learnt & fuck you from Australia!
Thanks!!
It's funny how they're all waking up, and we're like, it's 10pm Monday night. :)
drummer : *counts in about 150bpm, and proceeds to play 225bpm blast beat without telling anyone that the song is being in triplet feel*
Glen maybe for a future episode do one about what not to do when opening your studio for business
Hmm... that sounds like a great show!
Hell yea! I've been looking forward to this one!
For the first time I've got mad at something Glenn said in a video, and just ten seconds in.
I forgot it was Monday.
I love the way u scold us just like how i scold my nephews and nieces. People who hear it for the first might be shocked but my little mates they laugh alot coz they know I’m just fooling around 🤣🤣
I absolutely love this guy!!
Just coming back im 65!! Played yrs ago. Out but since 63 beatlplaying on sears catalogs.
Now I hear this!!
PERFECT Thank u guys!!
This dude is a fucking genius yes I have recorded and botched at lol
Cheers Glenn! Stay tough!
My favorite part - watching the compressed vs uncompressed versions of your VO tracking behind you. :)
17 minutes of truth about drummers… you sir earned yourself a subscriber.
When I was taking marimba lessons my instructor held a note book at head level, then had me do check marks on the page with my pencil over and over, with force. This was because I was bashing the marimba like a drum kit. I learned to use this stroke on crash cymbals while still bashing on the drums. I still suck at marimba.
Your cash is going to choke out if you hit it too hard. The loudest it can get is not the loudest you can hit it.
I’m drooling out both sides of my mouth.
Not just because this is a good video but because my drum stool is level.
Definitely one of my favorite video intros, Glenn. Rock on!
Hearing these absolute horror stories of drummers makes me feel like a fucking genius 😂
...as a drummer, this was very satisfying!
Oh, and I was/am guilty of doing SOME of the dumb-fuck shit he mentioned. And instead of whining, I want to do better!
"We're doing metal, not a disco record"
*Sad Static X noises*
As a drummer that's been playing for quite a while I absolutely love your hilariousness of what you're saying because it's so true and I almost spit my f****** coffee out so many times thanks for the advice and thanks for the laugh
I was once asked to record an EP for a band and like always, I went to check out their rehearsal prior to them coming to the studio. The drummer had some solid black Pearl 9-piece kit that sounded amazing.
We made a plan for the studio and when he showed up, he brought a 5 piece Mapex that was beat to shit that he hadn’t played in months. When I asked why he didn’t bring the Pearl his response was something like “it’s just too big to move around especially for the studio”. His snare sounded awful but thankfully he had his own solution… he’ll just use his wallet to dampen it.
In my experience, the drummer is often time the one you have to watch out for, not the bass player.
EZDrummer always show up for practice on time without drama.
And sounds like a guitar player tried to program drums.
the new thumbnail is funny "stick make noise" and I imagine you're doing the Tarzan holler on it as well XD
Drummers are divas, LOL! (So sayeth the drummer) EXCELLENT video.
Some points to consider: A cheap set of drums with decent heads and cymbals oftentimes sounds way better than a high end kit with factory heads all beat to hell. The active ingredient in a drum is the drumhead and the shell. A shell is going to make the sound of the drum, but EQ can make a drum sound like anything it wants to, as long as the head is somewhat new.
A trick to "retreading" your heads is to use a hair dryer on them and blow them out; the hot air from the nozzle will shrink the mylar film back into memory and it somewhat rehashes them. But this won't work with cratered-out heads at all.
Also a trick to getting longer life out of a bass drum batter head is to rotate it using the label as a position; most drummers put the logo at 12:00. AS you play, rotate it to 3:00, then 6:00, etc. after every few weeks of playing. Or months, just use an impact pad to give it more longevity.
Just remember, drumheads are like chewing gum; they will lose their flavor eventually and they become dead and lifeless.
And by Jeebus, change the bottom snare head before you go in and maybe get some new wires! Wanna know what sucks? Is blowing out a bottom snare head and the store being either out of them or not open. Been there, done that. And do NOT use a standard batter head on the bottom of a snare no matter what the guy at GuItAr cEnTeR says!
Make sure your cymbal stands don't have rattles, and that means making sure there's a proper plastic insert that prevents metal to metal contact. The cymbal is metal, the cymbal stand is metal. There's a plastic piece there that isolates the two. If you can't make it to the music store, stop by a local home improvement outlet and get some cable wall inserts or some rubber tubing that you can slide down over the post and prevent that metal on metal contact and therefore, prevent those mysterious rattles from appearing.
Your bass drum pedal needs some lube as well. Use 3n1 Dry lube, as it won't leave a slippery mess. Hit all the rotation points, where there's movement. Oil the spring, trust me.
As a drummer myself, I can confirm this is where it's at.
I like to put my new heads on about 3-4 practice sessions before recording. The reason why is 1. I need a couple hours to get used to their feel and 2. They will be finicky for the first 2-3 sessions and will need high maintenance tweaking until they’re set into their tension
A tempo map video would be invaluable! I don't know if it's just my Left-Right-Kick Brain, but I'm having trouble manipulating the click to play smaller subdivisions than quarter notes. Being able to drop a bar of 16th notes into an area where a fill is located would be very helpful. I know Alex Rudinger has touched on this but never elaborated on how he does it.
Pro tip: how you play in a live setting and how you play in a studio (along with what sounds good in each) are entirely different things. For ANY instrument.
Can you do a video on how to tune drums for metal? I know how to tune a bass and guitar. Pretty straight forward. Do you tune a snare until it sounds subjectively good? Is there a note it should be at on a drum tuning apparatus? Same for toms and bass drum.
Just wanted to say you have helped me alot to be a greater person towards audio engeneers. I always try to make the recording and mixing process easy for them. Coming over-prepared is the best way to keep your engeneers your friend
Lol i play guitar and just clicked on this video because of the hilarious thumbnail
First mistake, using a real drums…lol love what you do!
Excellent video - as a seasoned session drummer, avoiding flamming the kick & snare is INSANELY hard!
Unintentional flams, yeah... But I think it is harder to intentionally flam, especially at odd intervals during a song.
I don't even play drums, yet this is Highly Useful!
Glenn is like the Penn Jillette of musical knowledge...if I closed my eyes I would swear it was him!
Where the hell have you been all my life??? Now I can't stop watching your fucking amazing videos!!! I'm pretty sure I'll learn a thing or two from each one of your videos. You're a great and awesome addition to the TH-camrs I follow in my quest for empirical music ed. Love your in-your-face tell-it-like-it-is approach.
Good morning Glenn!!!!
Good morning!
number 15: watch what you're doing with your sticks right after the last note and during pauses... overheads and snare mics often pick the sounds of drumsticks clicking against each other much before this last cymbal hit fades out.
Really wise words here, especially tip 13.
LOL Love the thumbnail picture. Forget Angry Bird, how about Angry Glenn
Hey! Im standing right here.
I wish I had seen this video a few months earlier! I already knew many of these, but I liked the way you summed them up and express them.
I HAD THIS VIDEO MUTED, BUT HAD TO LIKE IT BECAUSE THE THUMBNAIL WAS HALAIROUS!
An easy solution to number 10 is use Guitar Pro. You can export a scratch track which when loaded into REAPER will automatically set the project to the correct tempo, and place tempo changes in the correct place. The scratch track may sound like MIDI noise, but if you for some reason can't play to a raw click, it's a massive money saver.
I often write riffs in my head while doing chores. If a goodn hits me ill run to my guitar and jam a lil. If it's really hitting me ill run to mixcraft and hit record. It's then that I'll go "huh... really? It's in 3/4 130bpm?" Ok!
Practice your own shit! It's crazy what you learn from yourself
As a self-taught drummer and an Audio Production student, I found this absolutely spot on. I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way!
I've also learned to take into consideration (as an engineer) that drummers play/hit differently.
I'm in a high school Concert band as a saxophonist and I can 100% CONFIRM that there's always at least 1-2 people (usually in the percussion section) who show up late to practice, and barely know there part, let alone have even seen it! Hopefully they come across this video someday. Thanks and f*ck you Glenn!
Ok, I have to thank you, the thumbnail image "Stick Make Noise!" gave me a good laugh. Thank you for that :D
I don't know what I don't know so vids like these are invaluable, thanks Glenn! Used to be a gamer term for someone who just stops learning because they think they know it all even though they've barely scratched the surface. Scrub. The "I play for fun" person that'll wear the armour that looks good instead of statting up for the team, for eg.
I learned the tempo mapping bit the hard way. Now, it's always perfectly laid out and ready to go when I get there.
Tip 3 is so important for drumming in general! Way too many drummers sit way too low
I'm about to professionally record a cover of Tom Sawyer myself, I'm using all these tips. Great video man
Hey Glenn, do you have any idea how Metallica got that super dry kick sound on the Black Album?
Imagine "...And Justice For All" with drums at proper level, and everything else mixed properly. At least Bob Rock didn't let Lars ruin the black album as he did to Justice.
Yes please do a video on time sig changes please!!!
GLEEEEEEEENNNNNN!!!. Just wanted to say to you and your viewers, have a good week and stay safe.
Oh yeah! Love these vids Glenn! The Terrorizers of the Toms! The Destroyers of Drumsticks!
The killers of the clock haha
For a tempo map, write your song out on guitarpro, or another similar program, then the tempo map is already done and is easily transfered to any daw.
Just make sure the whole band has played along with the programmed version and are happy with it.