EQ Magazine - October 2008 - (Page 36)

DRUM HEADS BIG DRUMS IN SMALL ROOMS by Mike Papatonis We all want huge, thick drum tones that drive the mix and give it backbone. To this end, we employ better microphones, top-of-the-line cables, quality preamps, and high-end converters. Each of these things will certainly make improvements in the sound, but I would argue that the most important element in the recording chain—besides the source sound, of course—is the room itself. A great set of drums in a great room sounds amazing. The same drum set in a bad room can sound like the drummer is playing his cases—a situation I refer to as the “bucket effect.” If the snare drum sounds like someone is hitting a bucket instead of a drum, there’s a problem with the room. For example, the bucket effect often occurs when the drums are on heavy carpeting, as the sound can be choked and hollow. Because the room has such a drastic effect on the drum tone, home studios can be at a disadvantage when compared to the glorious live rooms of big studios. This doesn’t mean you can’t get great drum sounds in a home or project studio, it just means you have to do a little more work and be a little more creative. Let’s examine TL Space models a host of different ambient environments including recording studios, concert halls, reverb chambers, stairwells, and garages. a few ways to fatten up drum sounds in a small room. IDENTIFYING DUFF DRUM TONE First, let’s talk about what’s causing your drums to sound, well, small. Although this is oversimplifying things, the main issue is that small rooms don’t let sound waves develop and breathe, and early reflections (sound bouncing off close walls and ceilings) often cause phase issues that can thin out the drum tones. To minimize the effects of early reflections in tiny home studios, recordists often cover everything with heavy absorptive materials, which makes the drums sound even more lifeless. Basically, you’re fixing a problem with a problem. There is nothing wrong with early reflections. In fact, they can make the drums sound fatter (as long as the reflections aren’t too fast). It’s the very close boundaries (more on this later) that can cause phase shifting. The other issue is that small rooms have very little natural reverb. While too much reverb (or decay time) can make drums sound washy and inarticulate, the lack of reverb can make drums sound small and choked. DOING BATTLE WITH PHYSICS Knowing that acoustics will always win if we don’t follow the rules, here are some tips for getting big drum sounds in small rooms. Don’t set up drums too close to walls. Early reflections within approximately 7ms can cause phase shifting and comb filtering. When possible, keep the drums a minimum of four feet away from the walls, as this should produce a total combined time of at least 8ms of reflection time to the wall and back from the wall. (For math freaks, reflections typically travel at 1.13 feet per millisecond, so keeping the drums four feet away from a reflective surface buys you approximately 4ms from source sound to the surface, and 4ms from surface back to the source sound and microphones.) Don’t smother your room. Reverb is our friend. A small amount of absorption can keep reflections from getting crazy, but using too much will kill decay time and make the drums sound lifeless. Absorption should be distributed strategically around the room while leaving live areas on the walls and ceiling. You don’t have to be an acoustics expert—just use your ears. Move your absorptive materials 36 EQ OCTOBER 2008 www.eqmag.com http://www.eqmag.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of EQ Magazine - October 2008

EQ Magazine - October 2008 Contents Talk Box Sounding Board Punch In Smashing Pumpkins Guitar Trax Bass Management Key Issues Drum Heads Vocal Cords Mix Bus Cheat Sheet Cakewalk Sonar 7 Steinberg Cubase 4 Studio Meets Stage Gear for the Studio and Stage Sounds Room with a Vu

EQ Magazine - October 2008

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