Authentic Drums?

[billg]

I recently had one forward and one return for this song. It's my ala "The Byrds" circa the sixties. After emailing Taxi I was told that the song was returned because the drums didn't sound authentic for the song. I was told that the song was "on the cusp" and that some screeners would forward it but the pickier ones might not because of the drums. So here's my (first) attempt to fix it using the tools I have. The thing about the Byrds' drums . . . well, they weren't played or always recorded very well on their records imo. Oh well, here it is, comments/advice welcome & needed!http://www.billgaunce.com/song/98

[mistydawn]

Hahahahahahaha!Oh my gosh! How quirky, and fantastic, and poetic Perfect for the genre...honestly, I don't see a damn thing wrong with the drums...If you changed the "sound" of the drums, then you would have to change the rest of the instruments as well....kind of ridiculous Whatever you did, or didn't do, it sounds great.Wow, I really really love it. Perfect, catchy structure!I dare say, genius.

[matthoggard]

Now your onto something my friend!Still might need touch more separation between high hat and snare but the low fi sound is much more authentic.Ths snare has that sound where the springs are just a little loose and maybe the head is almost ready to change. I put in a byrds cd and compared. Your really close man.It really has a room sound coming out now. From what ive read about old recoding techniques, they used room mics and overheads more then individual mics cause the mics had such poor frequency response for drum kits. Much better sound for this song. IMO just some mroe eqing and your there. Is this EZ classic?M~

[ibanez468]

Hey Bill G!They sound good ta' me. May even wanna' back off a coupla' dBs or so. From the way I hear 'em, they're pretty dominant in the mix (which you may have intentionally wanted). Just sayin' they may be a little stronger than necessary. Might need ta' get buried a little bit more ta' get that 60's feel, perhaps? I don't know, just my $.02.I-468

[billg]

Thanks Misty! Matt, I'm using the "pop/rock" program that came with EZ Drummer with the open kick and lots of room & overhead mixed in. I mixed in more low mic on the snare so it would "rattle" more. I listened to three songs, Tambourine Man, Turn Turn Turn, and My Back Pages and tried to copy the only five fills that guy ever used. My next step was going to be to purchase the vintage kit but I really don't have the dough right here at Christmas so I tried to do it the hard (cheap!) way.I-man, I think you might be right about the volume being too hot. I think I lost perspective having to listen to it so much. PLUS I 'think' I hear the kick drum & toms making the compressor pump a little on the build ups so bringing the whole kit down will fix that too. Well, back to it -Thanks all.

[mojobone]

Compressor pumping would be period-correct, though. But seriously, folks, I'm not hearing the drums as sticking out at all; pack it, ship it, put a ribbon on.

[hummingbird]

Sounds great Bill. I might drop the drums back a teeny bit before the first chorus. If you reduce EQ around 400Hz it helps decrease 'cardboard' sounds of lower drums. Good stuff!!!

[sevenmusic]

Very cool tune, brings me back to being a kid again. I heard a little Dylan, Mamas and Papas, and even a little pretenders. Drums sound fine to me. Let er rip!

[davekershaw]

Glad to hear you found the reason for the return Bill.Sounded good before; still sounds good!I'll be taking more care with my own drums in future.This has taught me a lot.

[billg]

Thanks again for listening (again!)Dave, glad you could learn something at my expense If I had to venture a quess (and that's all this is) I would say that "bad drums" have to be a major factor for returns, I know that early on that was the case with me. I thought I had gone beyond that but as usual I'm a slow learner!