Recording Drums: Tool sound
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Forum Name: Music and Musicians Exchange
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=27616
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Topic: Recording Drums: Tool sound
Posted By: StyLaZyn
Subject: Recording Drums: Tool sound
Date Posted: August 22 2006 at 09:10
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Hi all.
I am recording some drums for original music and I am looking to people here for help. I love the sound of Danny Carey's drums, especially on the newest 10,000 Days CD. Does anyone know what he does to get that sound? Toms in particular. I believe he flips his snares on and off for different parts of songs or he has a separate snare with snares turned off. I'll ook at his website to see if I can figure it out. Also, can any drummers point out some neat tricks when recording drums? I don't have the most expensive equipment though all my drums will be mic'd. Thanks! ------------- 
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Replies:
Posted By: HeirToRuin
Date Posted: August 22 2006 at 21:59
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I have no clue, but he definitely has a really unique sound.
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Posted By: MarkOne
Date Posted: August 23 2006 at 07:57
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Hi!
I don't know that band (This doesn't necessarily make me a bad person, does it?
 ) , but it has to be said that getting good results micking drums is one of the hardest things to do.Above all, in my experience, over and above the mic choices, preamps, recording medium, etc, etc, is the space in which you record.
Lousy acoustics are going to mean that everything else is going to be a struggle, whatever drum sound you are aiming for. On the other hand even a mediocre kit mic's up with pretty average mics and using average preamps, in the right acoustic space can really kick major butt!
In the interests of research, I just went onto their band website and listened to a bunch of sound samples. (OK a tad on the heavy side pour moi) there appears to be some very close mic'ing on the toms. they might even be using some kind of contact mics there too.
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Posted By: StyLaZyn
Date Posted: August 23 2006 at 08:39
Wow. Great information. Thanks!  -------------
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MarkOne wrote:Posted By: GoldenSpiral
Date Posted: August 23 2006 at 09:16
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You may have to resign yourself to the fact that Danny Carey has a whole hell of a lot more money than you will ever have to do whatever he wants with his drums. Tool spent a lot of money producing 10,000 days and most of it went to some silly and unnecessary recording techniques. Apart from that, MarkOne's micking advice is pretty good. If you want a good sound, invest in a good drum mic set. ------------- http://www.myspace.com/altaic" rel="nofollow - http://www.myspace.com/altaic ALTAIC "Oceans Down You'll Lie" coming soon |
Posted By: Jay440
Date Posted: August 24 2006 at 23:18
Then after that, heavily experiment with the placement of the mics. Two overheads for the Cymbals will suffice, at least for the meantime. For the Hi-Hats, make sure that the mic isn't pointed at the area where the two hats meet when you close them.....the rush of air that comes out can damage the diaphragm of your mic, or at least be really audible, which you don't want. How many channels do you have on your mixer, and/or how many tracks are you able to record at once? It may be worthwhile, if you can afford it, to set mics close to the drums, and then have another set of mics getting the sound from various distances, catching the resonance of the room that you're recording in. Experimenting with combinations of close and distant-miked drums can give some interesting results. Just remember, a good drum sound starts with the Drums themselves and how you have them tuned. |
Posted By: StyLaZyn
Date Posted: August 25 2006 at 10:09
I will need to get some decent mic stands then. Right now I have just the drum clips. I have one stand for the a mic that combines the snare and the HH. This may not be the best choice. I like a somewhat dead sound on the toms, so I use the Remo Pin Strip coupled with some ring deadeners which are merely rings of drum head material. The foam rings are overkill. I tune my toms such that the resonance does not change in tone. I cringe when I hear other drummers during sound checks hit the tom and the tone changes. You may know what I mean. I have access to a 24 channel mixer. This is more channels than I need as I have a 7 piece kit, but I will not be able to individually mix more than two tracks, thus the mix has to be right at the board level. This can be a serious set back. I like the idea of room mics as an addition. It could prove to be an interesting additional natural effect. Speaking of effects, depending on the style of the song, I like a touch of reverb if I'm not going for the "I'm on top of you" sound. For some of the spacier material, I've applied some moderate guitar flange during the long tom rolls. This gives the drum sound a similar effect to Bonham during Kashmir. I've played with digital delay but frankly find it useless. -------------
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