thanks for all the great tips. The problem is, i don't know what a tuned drum kit sounds like.. do they sell drum tuners? how do you know when it sounds right? to me, it always kinda sounds right (since my ear doesn't know the difference yet)HazmatB wrote:I know what this can be like, having played in a few fledglings myself I have a few pieces of advice when you are recording.
-I have tried a LOT of cheap recording techniques, and for the money, nothing beats a tape recorder (not a mini one, but just a little recorder).
-Put it in the near the middle of the room (probably a little closer to the guitar amp than the drums).
-Amplify the vocals. It won't be that good, but run the vocals through the guitar amp if nothing else! If you ever get a bassist, run it through their amp (bass amps are better suited to vocals generally).
As far as the music itself goes.
-It has a very strange drum sound, I won't say bad, but if you are going to have your drums tuned that way, figure out what scale the drums are on, and try to get the guitar in a complementary scale.
-You said you learned drumming the day before, and considering that it was quite good. When you get a permanent drummer (or you become the permanent drummer; I find the drums really addictive) it is really important that they are super tight! Good timing makes all the difference.
-Guitar sounds okay. I mean keep the obvious things in mind, but don't forget that most songs released in the last 60 years (more really) have followed a very small set of chord progressions. There are a reason that these chords sound good together, and there is nothing wrong with using the same ones!
-Vocals are quite good really. Low in the mix obviously. I couldn't hear enough of the lyrics to really tell anything.
-As far as bassists go, I personally LOVE bass sound, and think that music often sounds lacking without it. However keep in mind that the Doors didn't have a bassist on their first album. (they did have keys though.)
Anyways. Not too bad for a first recording, get the vocals amped, and record some more stuff!
Remember the lesson that the Ramones taught the world. You don't have to be good, just get out there, and make something!
UPDATE: My Band (take a listen)
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A basic tuning strategy is to:
1. start with the bass drum,
-tighten a knob, then tighten the knob opposite, working your way around the drum 'till all of the knobs are equally tight.
-if the drum has a skin on both sides, tighten up the other side similarly.
-give it a kick.
Notes: If it has a hole in the back (as many will), and the bass sounds a bit piercing, put a towel, or blanket, or whatever cloth you have around (foam works too), inside the drum, and it will dampen it a bit.
>> Everything on your kit should be in tune with your Cymbals! Cymbals are the constants on your kit, and you can't really tune them (although, , if one of the cymbals is higher pitch than you think it ought to be, you can put some tape (duct or hockey stick tape work best) on it, and that will lower the pitch, and "deaden" the sound a bit.<<
2. Work around the rest of your drums, starting with the toms, (work biggest to smallest here) and try and get them to sound like they are in tune with each other.
3. Often the hardest part is the snare drum, as it can have variable sounds, but really the important thing is having it in tune with the rest of the kit.
Some Notes:
-A kit really only sounds off if it is out of tune with itself, so just work with the drums until you think they sound good together.
-Cymbals are pretty hard to fiddle with, so use them as your base. If one sounds really out of place, add some tape(I always put it on the bottom so it doesn't look ugly
).
-Tune your kit often! You will get better at it with practice, and can develop a really unique drum sound by tuning it differently. Never be afraid to tune it too much.
-Remember how vibrations work: the tighter the skin, the higher pitch the sound will be.
-If you have to lower the pitch of a drum feel free to loosen it up, but I recommend over loosen it, then tighten it to where you want it (as opposed to just loosening it to the point you want it). The reason for this is that it will keep the pressure on your skin more even, and the skin will last longer.
Some tips about drumming in general:
-You don't ever have to hit hard! Learn to make the loud drum sounds by hitting the skin more solidly, but not necessarily harder.
-If you break a drum stick, you are probably doing something wrong. Once in a while, it happens, but it shouldn't happen to often.
That's about all I can think of right now.
For really good drumming listen to:
The Clash (Topper Headon has been called "the Human Drum Machine"
Led Zeppelin (Like them or not, John Henry Bonham could play the skins).
The Who (Keith Moon is arguably the best drummer in rock history)
Some other "unique" drummers and drum sounds:
Tool (I don't really like Tool, but the drumming is good)
The Velvet Underground (really simple drumming, but very tight timing, really kept the songs together)
Any Jazz you can find! Jazz drumming will teach you about time signatures.
So yeah, practice, and ask questions.
1. start with the bass drum,
-tighten a knob, then tighten the knob opposite, working your way around the drum 'till all of the knobs are equally tight.
-if the drum has a skin on both sides, tighten up the other side similarly.
-give it a kick.
Notes: If it has a hole in the back (as many will), and the bass sounds a bit piercing, put a towel, or blanket, or whatever cloth you have around (foam works too), inside the drum, and it will dampen it a bit.
>> Everything on your kit should be in tune with your Cymbals! Cymbals are the constants on your kit, and you can't really tune them (although, , if one of the cymbals is higher pitch than you think it ought to be, you can put some tape (duct or hockey stick tape work best) on it, and that will lower the pitch, and "deaden" the sound a bit.<<
2. Work around the rest of your drums, starting with the toms, (work biggest to smallest here) and try and get them to sound like they are in tune with each other.
3. Often the hardest part is the snare drum, as it can have variable sounds, but really the important thing is having it in tune with the rest of the kit.
Some Notes:
-A kit really only sounds off if it is out of tune with itself, so just work with the drums until you think they sound good together.
-Cymbals are pretty hard to fiddle with, so use them as your base. If one sounds really out of place, add some tape(I always put it on the bottom so it doesn't look ugly
).-Tune your kit often! You will get better at it with practice, and can develop a really unique drum sound by tuning it differently. Never be afraid to tune it too much.
-Remember how vibrations work: the tighter the skin, the higher pitch the sound will be.
-If you have to lower the pitch of a drum feel free to loosen it up, but I recommend over loosen it, then tighten it to where you want it (as opposed to just loosening it to the point you want it). The reason for this is that it will keep the pressure on your skin more even, and the skin will last longer.
Some tips about drumming in general:
-You don't ever have to hit hard! Learn to make the loud drum sounds by hitting the skin more solidly, but not necessarily harder.
-If you break a drum stick, you are probably doing something wrong. Once in a while, it happens, but it shouldn't happen to often.
That's about all I can think of right now.
For really good drumming listen to:
The Clash (Topper Headon has been called "the Human Drum Machine"
Led Zeppelin (Like them or not, John Henry Bonham could play the skins).
The Who (Keith Moon is arguably the best drummer in rock history)
Some other "unique" drummers and drum sounds:
Tool (I don't really like Tool, but the drumming is good)
The Velvet Underground (really simple drumming, but very tight timing, really kept the songs together)
Any Jazz you can find! Jazz drumming will teach you about time signatures.
So yeah, practice, and ask questions.