check out my first recording attempt...

[Sushiglobster]

Click here to watch First-mixed-song

The link should take you to putfile so you can hear it...I wasn't sure where I could post this so here it goes:

This is my first attempt at recording with my guitar players and my TD-20s...I used some of the tips I learned on here as well as what I would prefer my kit to sound like (of course...)

Anyways..I'm no pro engineering or mixing god...I'm must some guy who is learning how it all works and so far, thinks have kind of been mickey mouse'd together...but anyways..have a listen. The TD-20s didn't come out too bad...could use some improvement of course...that will come with reading...asking...and experience.

BTW: there's no bass yet...hopefully by Sunday.

thanks!

[Sook]

Hi Sushiglobster, a shame it wasn't in stereo, I like that heavy rift stuff, I sort of picture the lead singer (if there was one) foaming at the mouth and a dark voice, if it was on fiesta.com I think I'd pay for it.

[Soundofmind]

There's something wrong with the drum track. It's totally hollow sounding, with a distinct lack of low end. The hats sound way washy and distant, with the kick and snare undefined.

This is a prime example of two things being out of phase.

Listen to the guitar: Good lo-mid body and present in the mix.
Listen to the drums: Unclear, muddy sounding, underwater...

I don't say this to slam you: I am simply offering constructive criticism. That's why you posted your song in the first place, right?

Did you record stereo from the module? Try recording in mono to see if the drums' sound improves (and to see if I'm correct!).

Also, as a recording suggestion, try turning the hats and cymbals down in relation to the other drums. Listen to any rock, metal, modern punk album. The hats and cymbals are 30-40% quieter than the kick/snare freight train that pushes the song.

All of this said, maybe you <"the artist"> are trying to get a unique sound on the recording. Perhaps that's the effect you were going for.... If so, I will gladly STFU and never question your "artistic license" ever again...

My $.02

[sopranos]

Unfortunately, I cant hear anything.... I see the track advancing so I know its playing. Perhaps I am missing a plugin or something on my Mac.

In any case, thanks for sharing your clip.

[Sushiglobster]

There's something wrong with the drum track. It's totally hollow sounding, with a distinct lack of low end. The hats sound way washy and distant, with the kick and snare undefined.

This is a prime example of two things being out of phase.

Listen to the guitar: Good lo-mid body and present in the mix.
Listen to the drums: Unclear, muddy sounding, underwater...

I don't say this to slam you: I am simply offering constructive criticism. That's why you posted your song in the first place, right?

Did you record stereo from the module? Try recording in mono to see if the drums' sound improves (and to see if I'm correct!).

Also, as a recording suggestion, try turning the hats and cymbals down in relation to the other drums. Listen to any rock, metal, modern punk album. The hats and cymbals are 30-40% quieter than the kick/snare freight train that pushes the song.

All of this said, maybe you <"the artist"> are trying to get a unique sound on the recording. Perhaps that's the effect you were going for.... If so, I will gladly STFU and never question your "artistic license" ever again...

My $.02

THANK YOU!!!

yes...I certainly needed to hear some feed back. I have the TD-20 going from the Main Outputs to one of the channel to a Mackie 1202-VLZ3.

So its basically 2 1/4 inch mono cables from the Master Out on the TD-20 and I have these 2 cables going 2 inputs on the mixer..the same channel.

If I go mono...wouldn't I not have the the proper panning on the drums? Like...the toms and the cymbal placements wouldn't sound right on the mix?

I do feel the same, my drums seem buried...and not as clean sounding as I hoped for...and the cymbals are too present indeed. Sound like I am hearing them way too much.

So you say I should do mono from the master outs..? let me try this...

[Sushiglobster]

Hi Sushiglobster, a shame it wasn't in stereo, I like that heavy rift stuff, I sort of picture the lead singer (if there was one) foaming at the mouth and a dark voice, if it was on fiesta.com I think I'd pay for it.

Hrm...it should be in stereo. I hear it in stereo........not sure what the problem would be there..

[Soundofmind]

You're welcome!!!

You are right. If you go mono, you will lose the stereo image (the panning of the instruments in the kit) You will end up with everything in the middle. Which sucks.

The only reason I suggest TRYING mono is to see if the *assumed* phasing issues go away. It's just for troubleshooting purposes. One way to know if two similar signals are out of phase with each other is to remove one of them to see if there's a difference. Take away one side of the stereo signal, and you're left with 1 track. 1 track can't be out of phase with something if there's nothing else there. (BTW - What IS the sound of one hand clapping...)

If you go mono, and the drums STILL sound like dogsh*t, we'll have to delve deeper into your sub-concious...

[Rig]

Try turning off the compression, ambience and fx from the module ...basically record them dry. Doing this will give you a good idea of the above in the module what they sound like on and off and what you can do to improve the sound quality of the drums. Basically its all trial and error and its all about learning the gear you are using. I find doing the above i get way better results and if i want any of the above it can then be done in the software with plugins. Keep it up though...there is so much in the roland module you can spend days tweaking. Even get some vexpression tweaked roland td20 drum kit models and flash the module with them. You will be amazed on the diffrence compared to the standard td20 kits.

[LaserEyeRemoval]

I'm on my eee pc so I can't really hear what's going on, but I am recording death metal with the td-20 and I concur with Soundofmind about the cymbals needing to be quiet in a metal recording. It took me forever to figure out why the cymbals sounded way too loud in my recordings until I realized this fact... I don't think of it as having the cymbals low but rather keeping them the same and having the drums LOUD! That is metal, lol. I also find it helps to have the kick and toms a bit louder than the snare.

Another difficulty I've had with the td-20 is that the drums sound sooo nice- too nice for death metal! It took me 10+ hours of tweaking before I got a custom kit set up I was happy with, and even then I think I will have to add some distortion.

One of the reasons I shelled out the extra cash for the td-20 is all those extra outputs. If you want to get serious about recording I highly recommend you utilize them! I only have a digital recorder with 4 inputs, so I routed hi-hat/cymbals into 2 outs and snare/kick/toms into another 2 (so stereo is preserved for everything). Being able to go into Adobe Audition and edit the drum and cymbal tracks separately makes a world of difference, and the track I'm working on now (my first using this setup) sounds SO much better than anything I've recorded before. If you're really serious ideally you'd be utilizing all the outs and separating it into as many tracks as possible, but separating the cymbals from the rest is essential if you want a really good mix.

I'll try to remember to come back to this thread when I'm at my home PC so I can have a proper listen and maybe share what I'm working on. Good luck!

EDIT: I forgot one more essential thing for metal recordings! The mixer on the TD-20 has a minimum volume setting which can be adjusted for each pad... use it and turn them up! Also turn up the sensitivity in setup if you don't feel like hitting the drums hard. Otherwise the drums will be inconsistent and softer hits will be drowned out by the heavy guitar. Since I am going for a REALLY heavy brutal sound I have the sensitivity up high and the minimum volume almost maxed for most of the drums. That may be too extreme for the sound you're going for, but definitely utilize the minimum volume to some degree, it is a fantastic feature.

[LaserEyeRemoval]

Ok, this seems like a dead thread now... but I remembered to go back and check out the track on my home PC. It's a good mix, and very impressive for a first attempt!!! I would leave everything more or less the same and just bring the kick/snare/toms up in the mix, they all seem too quiet to me.

If you want to check out what I've been working on here is a link:

http://www.virb.com/lasereyeremoval

L.E.R.01 is my first track with the TD20. There's lots of older stuff on there too, but I think L.E.R.01 is by far my best metal track so far. "newproject" and "newproject2" are previous attempts with my old TD-6.

[Sushiglobster]

Hey thanks for the information! Good sounding drums for that newer song you have.

I have since moved away from the metal sound. I'm doing more experimental...kind of cinematic type music now. Looking to write music for indie films. See how that goes..

Anyways, I'm in the process of recording some new material. Ill throw up a link in this thread with the new recorded stuff.

I have sine messed around with some of the compression and also put the cymbals more in the background. Its getting better...there is so much to learn...especially when it comes to recording stuff.

I'll keep you all posted!