Man, this song is sounding like crap and it's pissing me off. What's the deal??

Breakin' it Down

Okay, I know why the guitar sounds bad - it was recorded direct (strat, bridge pickup) and I'm trying to get the tone using plugins. Just not happening.

But what the crap is up with the bass and kick?

It would be helpful if you told us how you recorded it. (mics, chain, placement)

I think it's more the performance & the tone dialed with instruments, may be the kick drum sucks I think you need a better drumkit man.

Who's the drummer? You need a firm hand & foot for the snare & kick to sound right.

And get a mic on your amp finally, what's the matter with you

Okay, signal chains:

Bass - DI into Behringer T1953 preamp. Compressed with T-Racks Tube Compressor and hit with BBE Sonic Maximizer plugin.

Kick - Beta 52 inside kick (I've been liking the mic outside the drum lately, but this was recorded a while ago.)

Snare - SM57 on bottom (sounds better than the top to my ear).

OH - SM81 over hats and Rode NT1 over ride. Probably about 1' over the cymbals (crashes), aimed at the cymbals.


Obviously, it all could've been recorded better. I tracked these drums a while ago, before I'd really investigated and learned about proper miking techniques. I'd love to have better tracks to work with, but I'm far too lazy to retrack the drums.

Yeah, that's me playing drums, and I'm well aware of the less than perfect performance. I'm not really too worried about it with this song, unless there's a section that really sticks out as being horrible. A little sloppy is okay, but let me know if you notice something that's uncomfortable to listen to. I can edit crappy parts easily enough.

And yeah, I'd love to mic my amp, but all I've got is a shitty Crate, and plugins actually sound better. A Fender amp is my next purchase, trust me.

I think the drum kit is good. I love the sound of it in the room, so I think it's just getting a better sound to tape that's the issue.

Trust me, I couldn't care less about sloppiness. It's not that, it's just the way you hit the snare & kick.

quote:

I love the sound of it in the room, so I think it's just getting a better sound to tape that's the issue.

See, I don't know how to say this not to sound like an idiot, but there is this thing that your brains sometimes make you hear things different than they really sound. I may be wrong, but I don't think your drumkit sounds good in the room.