A great friend of mine from Hyde Street Studios pointed out to me that when you put a mic in the port hole, you pick up a "whoof" sound of the air being pushed out (and possibly a tiny bit back into) the drum. So we always placed the mic either a bit outside of the hole or a bit inside, whether we had a single or multiple mic setup and he always got this beautiful, deep and true bass drum sound.
You are hands down the best person on RU-vid I've heard demystifying/explaining quality mixing and recording. Thank you so much for everything you do! Would you ever consider doing a full video with this process for a whole drum kit? Bass? Guitars? Etc? It would be awesome to see these pieces of the puzzle come together.
You are so right, spend money on quality instruments. Set of Yamaha Recording customs. Some cheap Shure pg mics, and some art tps preamps. Into a boss br1600, some eq, and compression. They sound awesome.
man, I love David Bowie's Spiders from Mars live tone... it has THE kick tone to me! not many infos out there, but from all the pics and videos I've seen, Wood Woodmansey's kick was an unported (I don't know if 22", most likely 24"), live it had a dynamic mic (some photos it looks like a sm58, others an AKG d119), very close in front of it, right at the center of the kick. I don't know what tuning he used, but I guess it was low to medium (toms sounds tuned low). Ken Scott (the producer of Ziggy's) said in a gearspace forum that, in studio "Woody, drums, was in the Trident drum booth and it was Neumann U67s on toms, AKG D20 on bass drum, Sony C38 on snare and STC 4038s for overhead."... but again, I dig the tone of the LIVE recordings (like at Santa Monica, Beebs, etc)... I wish there was live info out there
you prolly dont care but if you are stoned like me during the covid times you can watch pretty much all of the latest series on InstaFlixxer. I've been streaming with my girlfriend for the last couple of weeks :)
I've used the same Samson 8-Kit set for years, and it sounds great every time. Cheap mics often have a vibe that more expensive ones lack, and as always it's the skill, not the tools.
You can tweak your kick drum all day and get it just right but, as soon as you add it all to the mix you might have to go back and re-tweak because some things get buried in the mix. Come mastering time it may be reworked to the point it isnt even what you came up with after all that work EQing the hell out of everything.
Sorry Rick. I`m just being a bit of a contrarian i guess. Recording and mixing and mastering is a laborious process and yes, you have to start with getting each input sounding good before anything else.
I'm putting words in his mouth... but I imagine Rick would normally be switching back and forth between the mix and the kick solo in a "normal" mix environment. I think the intention was to point out the characteristics he looks for in general.
ya, back in the old analog tape days you`d record everything flat and dry, then after you have your basic tracks down, go back and start EQing and adding effects. Now with digital we have a lot more freedom to do whatever and still fix things without having to re-record stuff
Fantastic Video, I did this years ago when recording an EP in the rehearsal room. We’ve put in self recorded Samples for Snare, Toms and Kick Drum all by hand. What a pain in the ass, but worth it.
This is VERY relevant - I'm recording my drummer at his house in Decatur tomorrow. I have a number of SM57s, a Beta52, and some Rode overheads. Going to be making a lot of use of the information in this video. Thanks again for being awesome!
I mostly use drum samples now but back in the day I used to mic my $100 maxwin drums with a $2 thrift store mic great memories, also great video You should do the same thing for the snare drum overheads and so on.
Only recently found your channel man , great work , love the presentatio and type of information ; your parallel mode video was a great help to expand my mode composing !
Rick, can you do a video on audio interfaces for home recording and maybe talk about the big differences between the low budget and the more costly interfaces?
Hi Rick, hope you are well. This is an excellent example of production techniques. Thanks for sharing! I hope you are able to add more tutorials likes this with a full kit, bass, guitars, vox tracked and mixed in future. Have a great week! Best wishes, Dominic.
I like that you point out the blurry line in which what one considers as master or successful. It seems that fame and financial success in a field is seen as mastery. In this definition, Charles Ives was not a master(I chose that name because I can hear a lot of "who?" hehe).
@RickBeato - I've just started playing around with my new Shure Beta 52A and am wondering your thoughts on placement as described by Shure (i.e. - either 2 to 3 in. or 8 - 12 in from the batter head)...as compared to what you've done in this video (i.e. - just inside the sound hole)? I am using a Tama 22"x16.5" bass drum made of birth and bubinga.
Just catching up on a couple older videos Rick. Very informative thank you. Maybe it’s a matter of taste and style but I don’t hear the drum note, only a very nice thud. Drum manufacturers really try to assign a note and personality to each drum. What are your thoughts on my comment?
i think the dynamic treatment, creative/destructive eq process & ambient/space position are for the mix time. But you don´t think that is absolute necesary record the kick on key track?
Great tutorial Rick, thanks for sharing! I found this very informative and have recently started to wonder about the use of saturation in my mixes. Timing! (Pun not intended)
Amazing skills! I am using the same kit for recording once in a while and practicing every day. Is it ok to leave the mic exposed to the sound for years? AKG 112 on kick, SM57 on snare, 2 condenser mics overhead. Is this wearing out the mics' diaphragm?
Hey Rick I'm a recent subscriber to your channel I really love your explanations and your insights thank you so much for that, you help reinvigorate my interest and passion for music I am in your debt sir....that said I have a question for you maybe you could help out.... I'm helping some people out recording Crystal Bowl's that are used for yoga/meditation for a presentation but the overtones and distortion is making it difficult any suggestions thank you again happy new year to you and your family! Danni
Why not use a gate to do the same controlling the ringing and trigger the sample from a gate (can be done in Reaper anyway)? Can't imagine how tedious it would be to do it by hand. Do you do it all by hand Rick?
No I don’t do by hand. I also own Neve mic pres and don’t use a beta 52 on the kick. Did you notice on the Soundgarden the cake wasn’t gated? If you want to natural kick drum sound use the real kick as much as possible. Augment the sound of the sample to make up for deficiencies in your room or gear. Some people like the money for plug-ins like trigger. Most pro mixers don’t use any samples from that plug-in. They use their own and they typically use only one kick sound and a couple different snares. What I was trying to point out is that there was an unwanted resonance in the kick drum that would have created even more problems when compressed.
Rick Beato ok so if with our cheap set up we have a resonance that is less than perfect, what should we do? Did i miss the point? Thanks Rick you rock!
Acoustic Drums in a not-so-great space are the hardest ..struggling with it right now, and been nominated (forced) to record my band's next batch of songs. Is there another video where he covers the rest of the kit?...possibly including ambience (real or fake)? I saw the Facebook from 2016, but that hasn't had a follow-up as far as I know...hmmm..
you can fool ambience by submixing your drums to another track, adding a reverb plugin, allow only wet sound from the reverb (or only a minumal amount of dry) and voila, you got your room sound. If you have a half decent reverb plugin this will work pretty well.
I have done this sort of thing. Sometimes sending a mix of the drums into an aux with a short reverb and then heavy comoression as a simulated room mic. It can be helpful for sure!
Hi Rick! What do you think of drum sounds in P.O.D.'s Payable On Death (2003) album? Do you like that kind of drumming (seems to me that Wuv has a lot of great ideas). What do you think of the album overall?
Most of that price came from the mic pres he used. A good preamp is important, but, as he mentioned in the video, there are plenty of other options. $1000 can get you a good console with decent pres, EQ, and comp. options for that matter
Speaking about that, maybe you can help me out. I am looking into some amateur recording for myself; electric piano (MIDI output, until I can buy a good real piano), guitar, singing. Is it generally possible to use the amplifier+preamp which you use for a headphone also for the microphone? In theory I don't see any problem doing that, supposing that the quality of the amp is good enough but maybe I overlook something. It is more difficult to find good information on it then you would think, in my experience anyway. Any advice on microphones (what sort of microphones, what price range, models)? I've got a limited budget but I do want as much value per spent $ as possible. My budget is anywhere in between a few hundred $ up to around $1000. Coincidentally RU-vid shows a video from Rick Beato which helps out a little bit: "How to Record Acoustic Guitar: Mic Placement, EQ and Compression". Much appreciated, Rick. ;)
Rick Beato what mod did you get done on them if you don’t mind. The VP 28 is pretty much a mod anyways. Would you say the modded VP26 modded more for say drums oriented than the VP28? I was thinking about getting a pair of something CAPI for drum pres? Thanks
Instead of trimming the crap out of everything, why not just try a gate? It is way easier, and if it don't work well after 2 minutes of tweaking, you can simply give up and go back to trimming.
hey Rick,,(how many times a day do you see that greeting? One can only imagine. feel the love Rick) onward,, you mentioned the Steven Slate bundle and I was wondering which bundle you were referring to? I am def low budget and every dime means something. (no,, I gots plenty of groceries but,, hah!). I am using Reaper which may or may not be a really bad start, and I am using Focusrite 6i6 interface and supplied red bundle all of which I am having moderate success with. Will the SS bundle provide me more ability to clean up my sound or are plugins just a panacea for my budgetary/gear shortcomings., ?
I love the Slate bundle as much as the next guy, but aside from "character" from the modeled analog gear, you can get 90% of the way there with whatever you have stock in Reaper (or other software). I got into Slate when I was a total novice, and I quickly realized that fun tools wouldn't fix a bad mix. I still had to learn how to use the tools properly. The EQing you see Rick doing here on the kick (cutting low mids, using a low shelf to boost low end, etc.) can be done in any parametric EQ, including the stock EQ in Reaper, minus whatever "character" a real Neve EQ would have. The Slate stuff is as good as people say it is, but if you're not getting a good mix with what you already own, then this won't magically fix it. I learned that the hard way.
Thanx for the input Turk. I am in the quest to upgrade my interface with at least a Focusrite 4PRE with Thunderbolt 2 ( or even the new Apollo twin for the plugs)to eliminate latency issues. I am essentially a keyboard/guitar player and I need some on-board samples to round out my compositions. I have been patiently awaiting the prospective release of a new PC line that will accommodate TB3 but that seems to be very slow in coming. In lieu of that production PC I am tempted to acquire a used Mac. should I wait? if not,,,, suggestions for a Mac model that would accommodate my needs? I am curious: Rick is an extremely busy guy and obviously cannot afford to respond to all the inquiries he must receive,, are you one of his appointees to answer these fielded questions? Doesn't make a lot of difference but, like I say ,curious! Thanx again Turkdwl !!
Nope, not an appointee. Just an audio engineer who had some time to spare. It's actually fairly straight forward to find a PC with Thunderbolt 3/USB C. Check out the new UAD Arrow, it's exactly what you're looking for, except you'd only have two inputs. On a similar budget I'd strongly recommend the new Focusrite Clarett USB series. It would let you use USB C and has low latency and also works with PC. I'm able to mix large ProTools sessions on my base-model MacBook Pro, if I don't have excess programs open and if I use a high buffer size in my DAW. However given the budget I'd buy something more powerful. I bought mine as a factory refurbished model from Apple, at a discount. For someone not committed to the Apple universe I'd suggest staying with PC.
Thanx once again Turk! I am hesitant to go with usb 2 devices since I have the latency issues. Perhaps my external midi control device (MOTIF ES7,,,,antique) has something to do with that.? Great to have good Pro advice! and of course,,RICK ROCKS!
My understanding is USB C, using the same tech as Thunderbolt 3, will not have latency issues. The Clarett USB series is USB 2.0 compatible, but can reap the benefits of USB C if the computer is compatible, as I understand it. Is the MIDI going into your 6i6 first, or going on its own USB connection?
This video confuses me a little. Isn’t the point of live music to here it as it is, raw! So why change it all. They never did this to tracks John Bonham laid down, did they? ✌🏻
