Thank you so much Devon! I'm about to record a local punk band in my "home studio", I do have some basic infrastructure to record drums live, but I didn't want to "kill the vibe" and energy of these guys by recording everything separately. I'm just thinking putting one of the other musicians in the same room as the drummer, maybe the bassist, and maybe record a live guitar via amp sim, then do overdubs. You gave me that initial idea, I'm very grateful. I just want to give the musicians a sense of recording all together live, then build up from there (since I don't have the space and equipment to record everyone live). Happy New Year from a Venezuelan lost in Ecuador.
Hey Im really happy you got something out of it. I would definitely put the bass player with the drummer, but maybe put the amp elsewhere or go direct. The guitarists through amp sims is a great was to lay down scratch tracks.
I never noticed that about Keith Moon. I will pay attention to that :) I am imagining a hi-hat on "Who Are You?" during the break... But mostly he is just playing extended drum solos during the songs. So Awesome!
Thank you for this great advice, the hybrid kit idea is brilliant, never thought of that and also thank you for all the other videos, finding out that you have this channel was one of the best parts of 2024 and I really enjoyed all the stories and advice. I wish you all the best for 2025 and hope to see more of this great content.
As I move through my late 30s, I can say with utmost respect and dignity that it brings me great comfort to see your old a** up here doing your thing. Keep making videos!!! 🩶
Paying for studio time or the five-err's for each track is not sustainable if you're not earning money from music and you want to release multiple albums. I also think better rock songwriters have some drumming skills and know some patterns, so I would get a high end e-drum kit and practice. Roland is not the only option, I got a Pearl e/merge kit that sounded and played better during my limited half hour testing in the shop. I plan to record the module sound directly because it sounds better than midi triggered samples, for the same reason you said, hitting center vs. edge and the hi-hat pedal variations don't map to midi that well, but I need to get a multichannel audio interface for that. You can add more cymbal pads for more variation of sounds, to emulate the real cymbal sound variations, especially if you have an older e kit from which you can sack parts from, before adding real cymbals. To me e-drum kit vs. acoustic kit is like electric guitar vs acoustic guitar, it has less dynamics bur more sound options and it is easier to play and record.
In the end, at least you are getting a real performance. I also didn't mention the Slate system which I have high expectations for. I really enjoyed my Drum-Tec set with the TD15. It opened the door to my own drumming. And of course, I ended up also investing a fortune in high end preamps for every mic on the kit. But it has paid off for me. A great e kit is far less expensive all in as I am. But I'd agree with you. Buy a high end kit and practice. I'd still opt for the real cymbals though.
thank you for your great videos! it really inspires me to focus more on listening to the music. just one question: if you record real drums, there's a lot of bleeding. would you edit each drum stem (kick, snare, toms) and cut out the parts where you are not hitting? and would you also shift the hits to make it more "on click" or tighter? another thing: do you really think that it's that good to record guitars on programmed drums? as there is a lot of feel and some times untightness of a real drummer, might it not be better to "go with the flow" and record guitars after the real drums? better have programmed drums and record a guitar guide track for the drummer and after the final drum recordings finish the guitar performance maybe
The bleed is actually part of the sound. I wouldn't fight it, but I would do whatever I can to minimise the hi-hat bleed into the snare mic. I use a Telefunken M80 snare mic which is hyper-cardioid and picks up less hat. Sometimes I use the gate on the SSL channel strip plug-in and it works wonders on killing a lot of whatever hat bleed there is. As far as editing, the only thing I might do to clean things up is remove all the blank space between the tom fills. Those long sections where the toms aren't being played... just clear them out. But if you mic the kit well (and I will demonstrate an excellent strategy which seems to work every time since I learned it) in an upcoming chapter. even those mics may sound good left open. As far as "shifting" the hits to make them tighter. That is known as "pocketing" and if it needs to be done, I do it. First, I aim for the best performance which doesn't need it. But if it needs it, then sure. But I wouldn't necessarily aim for the click or the grid, but rather to the musical content on the tracks. Be sure to group your drum tracks into an edit group and move every track together. Not just the single drum or else you will create flamming. Shifting around a hit or two to make things tight is fine. I would just avoid quantizing the whole performance to the grid. Human rhythm always "flirts" with time.
Great advice. I have a roland ekit i use with superior drummer 3. The sounds are a lot better than the roland brain sounds but still nothing like a real kit sadly.
Thank you so much Devon! I'm about to record a local punk band in my "home studio", I do have some basic infrastructure to record drums live, but I didn't want to "kill the vibe" and energy of these guys by recording everything separately. I'm just thinking putting one of the other musicians in the same room as the drummer, maybe the bassist, and maybe record a live guitar via amp sim, then do overdubs. You gave me that initial idea, I'm very grateful. I just want to give the musicians a sense of recording all together live, then build up from there (since I don't have the space and equipment to record everyone live). Happy New Year from a Venezuelan lost in Ecuador.
Hey Im really happy you got something out of it. I would definitely put the bass player with the drummer, but maybe put the amp elsewhere or go direct. The guitarists through amp sims is a great was to lay down scratch tracks.
I completely agree, the hi hats is the most used and most Expressive of the kit.
* Note Keith Moon usually played without one!
I never noticed that about Keith Moon. I will pay attention to that :) I am imagining a hi-hat on "Who Are You?" during the break... But mostly he is just playing extended drum solos during the songs. So Awesome!
Thanks man - this just encouraged me to record live drums for the first time in like 4 years :)
Wow, awesome! That made my day to hear!
Each individual drum, and cymbal, and cowbell, and stand, and the sticks: are each a full instrument!
I agree. And of course you are gonna want that cow bell baby!
I always really enjoy your videos. They are well done but casual feeling. A pleasant watch!
Thank you for the kind words!
Excellent advice
Start w good drums, make them worth sampling. Preach it!
Indeed. Make them worth sampling but resort to using samples only if it is unavoidable.
Thank you for this great advice, the hybrid kit idea is brilliant, never thought of that and also thank you for all the other videos, finding out that you have this channel was one of the best parts of 2024 and I really enjoyed all the stories and advice. I wish you all the best for 2025 and hope to see more of this great content.
Thank you for the awesome comment!
As I move through my late 30s, I can say with utmost respect and dignity that it brings me great comfort to see your old a** up here doing your thing. Keep making videos!!! 🩶
Thank you! ...I think :)
You're welcome. You're doing great! 🤘 @devon-graves-studio-D
thank you, maestro! Dead Soul Tribe is forever!
Always inspiring..thx
Thanks man. I need the encouragement.
Happy new year to you :-)🎆
Great video man, appreciate it. 👏
Thank YOU:)
Paying for studio time or the five-err's for each track is not sustainable if you're not earning money from music and you want to release multiple albums. I also think better rock songwriters have some drumming skills and know some patterns, so I would get a high end e-drum kit and practice. Roland is not the only option, I got a Pearl e/merge kit that sounded and played better during my limited half hour testing in the shop. I plan to record the module sound directly because it sounds better than midi triggered samples, for the same reason you said, hitting center vs. edge and the hi-hat pedal variations don't map to midi that well, but I need to get a multichannel audio interface for that. You can add more cymbal pads for more variation of sounds, to emulate the real cymbal sound variations, especially if you have an older e kit from which you can sack parts from, before adding real cymbals. To me e-drum kit vs. acoustic kit is like electric guitar vs acoustic guitar, it has less dynamics bur more sound options and it is easier to play and record.
In the end, at least you are getting a real performance. I also didn't mention the Slate system which I have high expectations for. I really enjoyed my Drum-Tec set with the TD15. It opened the door to my own drumming. And of course, I ended up also investing a fortune in high end preamps for every mic on the kit. But it has paid off for me. A great e kit is far less expensive all in as I am. But I'd agree with you. Buy a high end kit and practice. I'd still opt for the real cymbals though.
thank you for your great videos! it really inspires me to focus more on listening to the music.
just one question: if you record real drums, there's a lot of bleeding. would you edit each drum stem (kick, snare, toms) and cut out the parts where you are not hitting? and would you also shift the hits to make it more "on click" or tighter?
another thing: do you really think that it's that good to record guitars on programmed drums? as there is a lot of feel and some times untightness of a real drummer, might it not be better to "go with the flow" and record guitars after the real drums? better have programmed drums and record a guitar guide track for the drummer and after the final drum recordings finish the guitar performance maybe
The bleed is actually part of the sound. I wouldn't fight it, but I would do whatever I can to minimise the hi-hat bleed into the snare mic. I use a Telefunken M80 snare mic which is hyper-cardioid and picks up less hat. Sometimes I use the gate on the SSL channel strip plug-in and it works wonders on killing a lot of whatever hat bleed there is. As far as editing, the only thing I might do to clean things up is remove all the blank space between the tom fills. Those long sections where the toms aren't being played... just clear them out. But if you mic the kit well (and I will demonstrate an excellent strategy which seems to work every time since I learned it) in an upcoming chapter. even those mics may sound good left open. As far as "shifting" the hits to make them tighter. That is known as "pocketing" and if it needs to be done, I do it. First, I aim for the best performance which doesn't need it. But if it needs it, then sure. But I wouldn't necessarily aim for the click or the grid, but rather to the musical content on the tracks. Be sure to group your drum tracks into an edit group and move every track together. Not just the single drum or else you will create flamming. Shifting around a hit or two to make things tight is fine. I would just avoid quantizing the whole performance to the grid. Human rhythm always "flirts" with time.
Hybrid drumkit! Yes
Great advice. I have a roland ekit i use with superior drummer 3. The sounds are a lot better than the roland brain sounds but still nothing like a real kit sadly.
Try using real cymbals if you have the means. But good cymbals are important. Not "trash can lids".