technique: old punk drums/disco drums

shanghaitang · 2nd February 2006

Does anyone have any tips on getting a dead snappy drum sound with today's (or yesterdays) equipment? Bands like A certain Ratio/the Ramones/Gary Glitter. A lot of disco music has a similar sound to me also.

Ive been sampling/using disco sample libraries ITB for now, I'd love to get a similar sound by recording and then have the benefit of capturing an actual performance.

PRobb · 2nd February 2006

Paper towels, gaffer's tape and gates. And a dead room.

Close mics- the OHs are cymbal mics, not full kit.

Cojo · 2nd February 2006

Sorry for going off topic, but this reminds me of the movie "24 hour party people". To get the right sound from the drums they put the kit outside on the roof and tell the drummer to play until they say stop. Naturaly they forgott to tell the drummer when they finished recording so when they goes home the drummer still sits on the roof, playing his drums!

Okey, I'm off now. Continue the discussion!

/Cojo

shanghaitang · 2nd February 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRobb

Paper towels, gaffer's tape and gates. And a dead room.

Close mics- the OHs are cymbal mics, not full kit.

paper towels where? over the toms or stuffed in the mouth of the drummer?

PRobb · 2nd February 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by shanghaitang

paper towels where? over the toms or stuffed in the mouth of the drummer?

unsung · 2nd February 2006

1 wallet or paper towel on the snare. Kill any overtones. when the drummer complains, you're getting close

2 close mic 57 pointed at the center of the snare. mounted 1"above the rim

3 use Api or neve or fake api or fake neve pre ( I use 512c or OSA L-3)

4 Gate and isolate the snare ( use the great and free Floorfish plug in)

5 Use way to much eq add lotsa Top AND bottom

6 Run it thru a real or fake 1176 comp ( I use UAD-1)

7 Crank the snare up real loud all by itself to make sure it will sound good thru

any late 70's JBL PA system

8 Buy a Black suit and a skinny tie.

PRobb · 2nd February 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by unsung

1 wallet or paper towel on the snare. Kill any overtones. when the drummer complains, you're getting close

2 close mic 57 pointed at the center of the snare. mounted 1"above the rim

3 use Api or neve or fake api or fake neve pre ( I use 512c or OSA L-3)

4 Gate and isolate the snare ( use the great and free Floorfish plug in)

5 Use way to much eq add lotsa Top AND bottom

6 Run it thru a real or fake 1176 comp ( I use UAD-1)

7 Crank the snare up real loud all by itself to make sure it will sound good thru

any late 70's JBL PA system

8 Buy a Black suit and a skinny tie.

All that and a little Peruvian marching powder and you'll just about have it.

jomo1234 · 2nd February 2006

Blondie said it best: Parallel Lines.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by PRobb

All that and a little Peruvian marching powder and you'll just about have it.

cdog · 2nd February 2006

I like a 421 on the snare for this application, no bass roll off.

Gives it a nice 150hz thump that acts like a second kick.

WHOOMP-KAH-WHOOMP-KAH

Start dancing

Sigma · 25th May 2006

kick drum with no front head and a pillow propped up against the bottom of the beater head-- RCA BK 5

Heavily gated snare recorded with a Altec 633A

rack toms miked INSIDE with no bottom heads-- EV Re 15's

Fl tom--- EV Re 20

soc and ovds--- AKG 451's

Wallets on everything

and oh yeah snare wires recorded by placing a speaker on the snare then triggered by the gated snare

I should know we were Billboard Disco studio of the year a few times when i was an assistant

sedohr · 25th May 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by unsung

1 wallet or paper towel on the snare. Kill any overtones. when the drummer complains, you're getting close

SO TRUE!!! (about the drummer)

Kalli

max cooper · 25th May 2006

I like to add a kick drum with a generous HPF to the snare.

vtone · 25th May 2006

Quote:

Originally Posted by SIGMA

kick drum with open front head and a pillow propped up against the bottom of the head-- RCA BK 5

Heavily gated snare recorded with a Altec 633A

rack toms miked INSIDE with no bottom heads-- EV Re 15's

Fl tom--- EV Re 20

soc and ovds--- AKG 451's

Wallets on everything

and oh yeah snare wires recorded by placing a speaker on the snare then triggered by the gated snare

I should know we were Billboard Disco studio of the year a few times when i was an assistant

very cool tips!

Sigma · 26th May 2006

fixed the areas where i was murky..but yeah i hated it and it stuck with me for a while longer that it should have but it is part of an era

machineintel · 22nd February 2008

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sigma

and oh yeah snare wires recorded by placing a speaker on the snare then triggered by the gated snare

I know this is an old thread, but could someone elaborate on this?

u b k · 22nd February 2008

lay a speaker face down on the snare, mic the bottom of the drum, and feed the gated snare signal to the speaker. when the drivers vibrate, they 'play' the snare exactly as it was performed.

it's a way to get a totally isolated bottom snare sound that you can fold back into the mix, which translates into a whole lotta snap and brightness sans eq.

gregoire
del
ubk
.

machineintel · 22nd February 2008

innnterrresting

2nd February 2006	#1
shanghaitang Gear addict Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 402 Thread Starter	technique: old punk drums/disco drums Does anyone have any tips on getting a dead snappy drum sound with today's (or yesterdays) equipment? Bands like A certain Ratio/the Ramones/Gary Glitter. A lot of disco music has a similar sound to me also. Ive been sampling/using disco sample libraries ITB for now, I'd love to get a similar sound by recording and then have the benefit of capturing an actual performance.

22nd February 2008	#16
u b k Gear Guru Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: The Land of Sunshine Posts: 11,038	lay a speaker face down on the snare, mic the bottom of the drum, and feed the gated snare signal to the speaker. when the drivers vibrate, they 'play' the snare exactly as it was performed. it's a way to get a totally isolated bottom snare sound that you can fold back into the mix, which translates into a whole lotta snap and brightness sans eq. gregoire del ubk . __________________ • Introducing UBK-1: Motion Generating Character Compressor • • Finally... Plugin Compression with Vibe, Color, and Authority • ____________________

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2nd February 2006	#2
PRobb Gear Guru Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: NYC Posts: 13,775	Paper towels, gaffer's tape and gates. And a dead room. Close mics- the OHs are cymbal mics, not full kit.

2nd February 2006	#3
Cojo Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden! Posts: 1,471	Sorry for going off topic, but this reminds me of the movie "24 hour party people". To get the right sound from the drums they put the kit outside on the roof and tell the drummer to play until they say stop. Naturaly they forgott to tell the drummer when they finished recording so when they goes home the drummer still sits on the roof, playing his drums! Okey, I'm off now. Continue the discussion! /Cojo

2nd February 2006	#6
unsung Lives for gear Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Phila PA Posts: 3,221	1 wallet or paper towel on the snare. Kill any overtones. when the drummer complains, you're getting close 2 close mic 57 pointed at the center of the snare. mounted 1"above the rim 3 use Api or neve or fake api or fake neve pre ( I use 512c or OSA L-3) 4 Gate and isolate the snare ( use the great and free Floorfish plug in) 5 Use way to much eq add lotsa Top AND bottom 6 Run it thru a real or fake 1176 comp ( I use UAD-1) 7 Crank the snare up real loud all by itself to make sure it will sound good thru any late 70's JBL PA system 8 Buy a Black suit and a skinny tie.

2nd February 2006	#9
cdog Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Brooklyn Posts: 3,437 3 Reviews written	I like a 421 on the snare for this application, no bass roll off. Gives it a nice 150hz thump that acts like a second kick. WHOOMP-KAH-WHOOMP-KAH Start dancing

25th May 2006	#10
Sigma Lives for gear Join Date: May 2006 Location: phallicdelphia Posts: 4,617	kick drum with no front head and a pillow propped up against the bottom of the beater head-- RCA BK 5 Heavily gated snare recorded with a Altec 633A rack toms miked INSIDE with no bottom heads-- EV Re 15's Fl tom--- EV Re 20 soc and ovds--- AKG 451's Wallets on everything and oh yeah snare wires recorded by placing a speaker on the snare then triggered by the gated snare I should know we were Billboard Disco studio of the year a few times when i was an assistant

25th May 2006	#12
max cooper Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: tx Posts: 8,802	I like to add a kick drum with a generous HPF to the snare.

26th May 2006	#14
Sigma Lives for gear Join Date: May 2006 Location: phallicdelphia Posts: 4,617	fixed the areas where i was murky..but yeah i hated it and it stuck with me for a while longer that it should have but it is part of an era

22nd February 2008	#17
machineintel Gear maniac Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 185	innnterrresting