[Music Playing] In todays episode, I am going to show you how to alter the sound of cymbals just by
a simple microphone adjustment.
You would be surprised that with subtle adjustments of where you place the overhead mic and how
it can shape the sound of your cymbals.
Not only can it change the attack of the cymbal, it also is a great trick for sculpting the
high end of cymbals especially when working with budget cymbals or when tone crafting
your mixes ahead of time so you do not have to use EQ when you mix.
I am Ryan and you are watching Creative Sound Lab. It is a weekly recording show with
recording tips, pointers, and off the wall recording tips.
I would like to present to you a new idea today and it is about the idea of
tuning the sound of your cymbals.
Cymbals are actually pretty expensive. Most drummers really do not have any extra money
to buy tons of extra cymbals so really when you are recording a band sometimes your just
stuck with whatever the drummer brought in that day. You typically do not have any options
to swipe out various cymbals for a better set, if whatever you have is not working for
you.
And so I would like to suggest that by using a method I am going to show you today, you
can actually tune and kind of scoop out certain frequencies that may be harsh on the ears.
Let us check it out.
We are going to start off with a budget ride cymbal, the Sabian B8.
This is with the microphone over the bell.
Over the floor tom.
Over the drummers shoulder.
Here is all three positions back-to-back.
Next we are going to hear a K Zildjian Ride.
Next we are going to hear a K Custom Dark Ride.
This was just with one mic and if you add a second mic it is a bonus
idea is that you have now two positions. You have two different angles of attack on these
cymbals. So one microphone may be getting a little bit more character of one cymbal
and as that cymbal is swaying the other mic is getting a slightly different character
of that cymbal at a different time. As the cymbal rocks it kind of makes a little bit
of a swirling sound.
Now we had talked in a previous issue about the Glyn Johns Method about how there is actually
a null at the edge of that cymbal and if you go to the extreme where a mic is so far down
so far low there is actually this void of sound and it creates this cancellation where
the cymbal actually jumps. This is not that. This is more of a subtle effect. If you are
hard panning a spaced pair of overheads. Just by having two different angles of attack on
the cymbals there actually is a slight swirling sound that you get that is actually pretty
cool. I actually find it pretty pleasing when it comes to mix the tracks.
Now if you found this helpful today, there is actually a ton that I had to leave out
for the sake of time. I have a free downloadable PDF guide that covers drum stick types such
as barrel tips, round tips, even nylon tips. I also cover how to select cymbals. So the
make and model for certain different genres and when they would be appropriate for those
genres.
So I really hope to see you over at CreativeSoundLab.TV. I will see you next week.