I need help isolating drums while recording other instrument

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:22 am

My home studio is in one room. My plan right now is to find a very large blanket to cover my drums while recording other instruments. I think this will suffice. The vibration in the drums currently is subtle, especially since the walls of the room is acoustically treated. Does anybody know where I can find a blanket this size? Does anybody else here have any experience with dealing with this problem?

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:33 am

Drums always ring and mumble.

If you want a big blanket, get four cheap woolen blankets, a needle and some thread.

Just putting a blanket over will only muffle things, put some pillows on the heads and lean one against the resonant kick skin then cover with a blanket.

I use cotton sheets though, just for a dust cover. Be careful taking it off, you can pull cymbals over easily.

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:51 am

Uhaul blankets work fairly well for me. I've inherited them, so I'm not sure if Uhaul will still sell them, or if you can pick them up elsewhere.

I've also simply used heavier objects over a small blanket to stop the ringing.

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:36 pm

You're quickly finding out that all musicians shoved into a room together will not provide for any usable isolation of any kind.

Snare drum snares will continuously make noise. Even if you gate the snare drum microphones the other drum microphones which are not gated will also pick up the snare noise.

Putting a blanket over the drum set will smother the drummer. Something most bands probably would like to do?

Bottom line is, if everybody is playing together, you'll have leakage/bleed. Learn how to use it to your best advantage as it's not going away anytime soon.

I always track a band in this manner. I deal with all of the leakage. I don't use acoustically treated rooms nor gobo's much. Occasionally, I might put a drum set behind some Plexiglas. If Robert Palmer can track in a small room with everybody playing and him singing? It sounds great. It's good enough for me. It should be good enough for you also.

Everyone together now!
Ms. Remy Ann David

Still dealing with bleeding all these years
Ms. Remy Ann David

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 1:31 pm

RemyRAD wrote:

You're quickly finding out that all musicians shoved into a room together will not provide for any usable isolation of any kind.

Snare drum snares will continuously make noise. Even if you gate the snare drum microphones the other drum microphones which are not gated will also pick up the snare noise.

Putting a blanket over the drum set will smother the drummer. Something most bands probably would like to do?

Bottom line is, if everybody is playing together, you'll have leakage/bleed. Learn how to use it to your best advantage as it's not going away anytime soon.

I always track a band in this manner. I deal with all of the leakage. I don't use acoustically treated rooms nor gobo's much. Occasionally, I might put a drum set behind some Plexiglas. If Robert Palmer can track in a small room with everybody playing and him singing? It sounds great. It's good enough for me. It should be good enough for you also.

Everyone together now!
Ms. Remy Ann David

Still dealing with bleeding all these years
Ms. Remy Ann David

A little confused about your comment about smother the drummer, unless you were making a joke. Which in that case it would be funny.

Only one musician will be playing at a time. This will be used for recording everything but the drums. When the drummer is recording, the
blanket will obviously be removed.

Shipping blankets would probably work well, but I have no idea if they sell them or not.

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:57 pm

How about removing the drums from the room while tracking other instruments?

Ok, you obviously have a reason for not doing that.

How about instead of looking for one large magical blanket, just cover the kit with a bunch of blankets? Even sheets. Add some pillows. I've done this in the past. A good blanket is expensive. A really good big blanket is even more expensive.

Use your ears. Listen to what's making the noise. Cover it with anything. Listen again. Honestly. I started using my ears just two years ago. It was the best advise I've been given in regards to recording. It's amazing how we can forget such an important sense. Even as musicians.

Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:51 pm

I don't know how many magazines/trade publications and/or books you have read? You need to track the entire band together as a whole. Multitrack recording does not mean recording everybody individually at individual times. Nothing is cohesive that way.

I just love beginners. Clueless.
Ms. Remy Ann David

Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 4:02 pm

Greener wrote:

Drums always ring and mumble.

Are you sure you didn't mean to say "drummERS always ring and mumble" Mad

Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 4:43 pm

Remy I usually enjoy reading your posts, but don't get carried away.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has tracked each instrument separately, because of space constraints or the fact that one person plays more than one instrument.

This does not mean we're clueless, it means we have less than ideal conditions to work with. Or we just like to be different.

That's my rant for the day.

Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:18 pm

How much noise do you really have if you put the snare and the cymbals in the closet? If it is a lot then my guess is that you are tracking much too loud.

If you look at all the threads on recording guitar you will see a lot of people searching for the right 15 watt or 5 watt amp with one 12" or 10" or 8" speaker. That's because we can't afford to reinforce every little bit in the studio and stop the shake, rattle, and roll. When you record a guitar, bass or organ you are trying to move the little diaphragm of a mic - not make your pants flutter. My experience is that musicians who can't play with feel at reasonable low volume can't really play with feel at any volume. (They just think they can because their ears are bleeding.) I admit you need the right equipment to get good tone at lower volume, but volume is a curse, not a blessing, when you are recording.

Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 8:23 pm

Oh, another thing. If this is about the bass - record it direct at the same time you are recording drums. Better feel. Complete isolation. No vibration problems. Again - it will take time to get the tone right, but it's worth it.

Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 1:05 pm

Back in the old days when we needed to control certain drum noise/ring, we've used plenty of duct tape, wallets on top of snare drumheads. Duct tape on cymbals. Pillows under floor toms. Duct tape on bottom snare drum head snares. Then a couple of gobows in front of the drum set. That's all. We lived with the rest which might actually also have been gated during the mix.

Besides, all of you beginners that isolate everything, produced recordings that sound like they were recorded in shoe boxes. With each instrument in its own shoe box. That's really boring to listen to! All of the bleed, leakage and other ambient crap really enhances the sound more than detracts from it. I don't care what your acoustic environment is. Great recordings have been made in all sorts of non-acoustically treated places. Like your basement. Like your living room. Like your bedroom and/or garage.

So I'm quite willing to repeat myself in telling people how not to be stupid when making good recordings or bad as the case may be?

I don't make bad recordings I'm not that stupid.
Ms. Remy Ann David

How's that?

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