Members hangwire Posted August 11, 2004 Members Share Posted August 11, 2004 It seems on scratch pad recordings of our practices, that the hi hats are the loudest part of the drums. I knwo technique can do some help, but are there any accessories or cheap solutions to reduce this loudness... the drums do not sound to my liking when the PING PING PING SCHHPING is as loud as the DA DA DA DADADADDA DA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarnut1085 Posted August 11, 2004 Members Share Posted August 11, 2004 first dont hit them so hard. and second move the mic further away from the hats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AtillaTheHungry Posted August 12, 2004 Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 Yeah, mine are gd loud too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members drmrdude Posted August 12, 2004 Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 Hit the other drums and cymbals harder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members elmo17 Posted August 12, 2004 Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 this is always a problem for me, if you can't move the mic away from the hats, try closing the hats more, the less open: the less loud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarnut1085 Posted August 12, 2004 Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 Originally posted by drmrdude Hit the other drums and cymbals harder. you're funny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hangwire Posted August 12, 2004 Author Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 Originally posted by guitarnut1085 you're funny yes seiously, do people read the posts before they reply? I said I understand that technique has something to do with it, but are there any available options/accessories? And the mic is across the room... the mix is better that way rather than closer "on" the drum kit. ...anyone can offer any suggestions? If I place foam rings on the hardware under/above/in the hats, will that do anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Old Steve Posted August 12, 2004 Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 The only accessory that MAY work would be lighter sticks. Unfortunately, there isn't some kind of muffling device for cymbals. When you muffle cymbals by putting tape, towels, or pads on them, it completely changes the way they sound. The only real solution is a combination of playing technique and recording technique. The line about "play everything else louder" actually has some merit. If the kick drum is filled with muffling, and the heads on the toms are muffled, then it's only logical that an 'unmuffled' hi-hat would be louder than the rest of the kit. As for recording technique, there's a ton of things you can do, but it all depends on what you have available to record with. For example, if you have everything miced seperately, you could gate everything but the hi-hats, and then turn the hi-hats waaay down when you mix down and turn everything else up. Also be careful with the direction that the rest of the mics are pointing in...i.e. point them all away from the hi-hats if possible so there's less hi-hat bleed into the mics. Also, if you can figure out what frequencies the hi-hats are bleeding into the rest of the mics, you can turn those freqs down in the other mics, and eliminate some of the bleed that way. If, on the other hand, you're limited to only a few mics your choices become more limited. In that case, you want to get the mics as close to the 'most important' sounds as possible. You might even get decent results from putting a mic in the kick and another UNDER the snare pointed away from the hi-hats and just let the overly loud hats work their way AROUND the snare before they bleed into the mic. Bottom line, if the drummer can't play them more quietly, then you have to get more creative from an engineering standpoint. But if you're looking for a gizmo to muffle hi-hats and still have them sound like hi-hats, you're out of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members humble_pie Posted August 12, 2004 Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 I used to put a handkerchief in the hats, muffled it a bit without changing too much of the sound. Use the tip of the stick instead of the shoulder of the stick against the edge of the hats. If you're doing the "ghetto blaster recording," Hang a blanket between that side of your kit and the recorder. Also, move the recorder around the room. If you're just dangling a mic over the kit, move the mic to in front of the bass drum and off to the floor tom side. Or try a different type of mic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Old Steve Posted August 12, 2004 Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 One of my earliest "drum tips" I can remember came from when I was in junior high school...1980-1983 or so....I was at a drum clinic (have no idea who the guy was) and he said that one of the biggest problems guys get into (especially using modern recording and PA gear) is that they don't develop a sense of 'balance' between the drums. Basically the guy said that guys will slam backbeats and kicks, but play too lightly on the hi-hats (ok, think 1980's pop music). Nowadays, guys hit the hats too hard and the wash overwhelms the rest of the kit (typical heavy grunge music). Anyway, the guy's advice was to try to use your ears more when you play and work to play dynamically with all 4 limbs so that if you recorded the kit with one mic in the room, the kit would come across perfectly balanced. Good advice then and today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ignited Posted August 12, 2004 Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 Originally posted by humble_pie I used to put a handkerchief in the hats, muffled it a bit without changing too much of the sound. I've heard of that technique before too. I think it was the drummer for Bob Marley that did that also. It might be a little too much muffling for what you're doing, but give it a shot. Or just listen to some old Marley recordings to get an idea what it should sound like. Just make sure it's a VERY light handkerchief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AtillaTheHungry Posted August 12, 2004 Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 Btw hangwire, what kind of hats do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hangwire Posted August 12, 2004 Author Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 Originally posted by OneArmedScissors Btw hangwire, what kind of hats do you have? ? There's a "Z" on them, so a lower end Zildgien (sp)? ...and upgrading the kit is not an option, as it is basically my manual drum machine for recording and for this side band I am in as a drummer for fun [aka Glorified metronome doing classic rock and blues. ] ...if I was going track by track for a proper demo, thsi wouldn't be an issue because I can adjust the mics and recordings as suggested before... it is the actual practicing where I feel there is a problem. I will try the hankerchief idea, and continue to work on the tecnique! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zaragemca Posted August 12, 2004 Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 get a piece of carpet and cut a hole in the middle,place it on top of the hats and try, if it is too much, start cutting pieces of it,untill you get the sound which you like.That could be a muffling for recording also,without placing the mics away(so not to lose the attack,and body of the signal). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hangwire Posted August 12, 2004 Author Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 Originally posted by zaragemca get a piece of carpet and cut a hole in the middle,place it on top of the hats and try, if it is too much, start cutting pieces of it,untill you get the sound which you like.That could be a muffling for recording also,without placing the mics away(so not to lose the attack,and body of the signal). I'll try that as well... thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tangman Posted August 12, 2004 Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 Originally posted by hangwire ? There's a "Z" on them, so a lower end Zildgien (sp)? ...and upgrading the kit is not an option, as it is basically my manual drum machine for recording and for this side band I am in as a drummer for fun [aka Glorified metronome doing classic rock and blues. ] ...if I was going track by track for a proper demo, thsi wouldn't be an issue because I can adjust the mics and recordings as suggested before... it is the actual practicing where I feel there is a problem. I will try the hankerchief idea, and continue to work on the tecnique! If theres a Z on them then they could be the Zildjian Z Custom Dyno beats which are reknowned for being extraordinary loud and are made for very loud music. My advice is to go with the handkerchief method or new hats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AtillaTheHungry Posted August 12, 2004 Members Share Posted August 12, 2004 Are the hats really heavy weight? I made the mistake of getting mine like that, and they're pingy, washy, and loud, without the kind of response I really want. I didn't want to end up destroying them over time, but I quickly realized that even fairly thin cymbals will hold up if they are made well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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