Total Disaster (metal track with Drumkit from hell drums)

[jabond23]

Here's a quick song i did using ezDrummer. Specifically its the drumkit from hell expansion that goes along with ezdrummer. I'm really hoping these drums some more realistic than what i was getting out of beatcraft. Beatcraft is a good program, but not for metal. I can hear the difference already and i think it sounds so much better.

Let me know what ya think? Thanks guys.

[SLyGeN]

I'm in a bit of a rush today, but I just wanted to quickly drop in and say that I like where the track is going before I head out. Ordinarily I'd give you some more detail on specific areas I'm about to talk about.

The gripes I have are with what (I think) is your bass drum.. well, I mean it acts like a bass drum, but what it sounds like is a bunch of ducking. I hardly know the first thing about compressors, so all I can say is mess with it until we can really hear that crisp sound of the beater hitting the bass drum. It's especially important here, because you want those blast-beats to be well noticeable (although not too overpowering).

Certain drum areas do get a little repetative, too. The one that comes to mind is the section where you keep hitting the cymbal on all four beats, and it continues for a couple or three bars.

I'm also not a drummer, so take that with a grain of salt.

Other than that, I like it. You've got a very brutal sound in the making, and I want to see where it goes from here.

Keep it metal.

[jabond23]

I appreciate the comment none-the-less. As for the kick drum, i didn't even really notice that. I mean, it sounds good, but i hear what your talking about. I'll work on that. As for the constant crash hits, i need to go in there and switch it up a bit between that and some big cymbal crashes so its not too repetitive.

Again man, thanks for the comment.

Metal does indeed RULE!

[jabond23]

Alright i fixed up the cymbals to not be completely the same and i also adjusted some minor volume issues. Then i added some bass boosts/blasts at certain points to help with the overall power of the track.

[DragnBreth]

W00t! More metal!

I'm liking the new drums, man. Much more realistic and metalish than the beatcraft drums. I listened to the first one and the new one, and I have to agree with SLyGeN's comment about the kick drum... it still seems kind of lacking. I can hear it just fine, don't get me wrong... but from the sound of the rest of the track, I'm almost expecting something with a little more umph in the higher frequencies... i think... erm... Lemme see... think 'Into Eternity' style kick.

I dunno, just a suggestion, lol.

Still sounds awesome!

[jabond23]

Yeah, i just got these samples a couple days ago and this is the first track i wrote using them. So i've still got some slight tweaking to do with them. I'm glad you enjoyed the track. I loved the way this one came out.

[Dj Mokram]

You've really reached new highs with this song.

I can tell you had a lot of fun with the new samples and let your creativity speak out loud.

I dig the very dark tone of this piece, leading to a peculiar auditive experience.

The lead seems to be less prominent in some parts, blending with the rythm guitars like a mass of sound depicting pain and destruction, thus totally fitting the title.

The break at 2:41 is very appropriate, for it brings a touch of simplicity and emotion that counterbalance the rage of the track.

It's like an isle of peace lost in the eye of a cyclone.

The drums however, while sounding substancially better than usual and imo nicely sequenced, are attracting much attention on them, by sounding dry at times.

I assume they are supposed to be the star of the show somehow, so they'll need a little more work on the sound and maybe some minor variations too.

Nothing else to report from my point of view. You clearly know what you're doing with the mixing.

You're on the road to Awesome!

[SnappleMan]

The one thing I really hate about EZdrummer is the DFH expansion...

Those samples are just so badly pre-processed that making them sound good is ALMOST impossible!

Anyway, as to the song. The drums sound pretty fake and robotic, especially the blastbeetz!!!!OMG. You should try playing with the velocity and timing settings within EZD, also, Go in and edit the velocities, right now it just sounds like everything is at 127. Honestly, the drums in this could just be a soundfont and they'd sound the same, the point of EZdrummer and all that is to give you humanization options like more varied velocities and more mic positions so you can try to emulate a human PERFORMANCE more than anything else. The guitars and everything else sound good though, but you really need to work on the drum sounds.

[jabond23]

The one thing I really hate about EZdrummer is the DFH expansion...

Yeah, i know, and i appreciate Snappleman commenting on my track. Although i sense its cause you DON'T like DFH, lol. But that's ok.

I was just happy to use something that didn't take up as much room in the mix as my older drums did. I hear what your saying and even though i have the "human" button clicked, i need to mess around a little bit with the velocities. On my next update i'll try and fix that.

I'm glad at least the production is really getting there. I'll post an update of this track soon.

[SnappleMan]

Honestly, just a little bit more humanization will make the difference. Considering the genre you're working in doesn't have the most dynamic sounding drums out there (and they usually trigger the drums anyway).

[jabond23]

Ya know, of course i had to go and save over my project file for this track. I have all the sound files though. Oh well, the song is kinda done for now. I'm gonna post another song i wrote similar in style to this one tomorrow cause i wanna get the drums down better.

Thanks guys.

[Brandon Strader]

DFH has a very... err... distinct sound. I'm a big fan of Devin Townsend and his Ziltoid album which used DFH for the whole thing. I guess it is an acquired taste but I think it's pretty cool.

[jabond23]

DFH has a very... err... distinct sound. I'm a big fan of Devin Townsend and his Ziltoid album which used DFH for the whole thing. I guess it is an acquired taste but I think it's pretty cool.

I understand that and i like the Devin mention. Devin rules!

Anyways, i love the way it sounds, but mostly cause these drums mix much better for metal than my previous drums. Check the originals thead cause like i mentioned i saved OVER my damn project file for this song, lol. I've got another song i wrote after this one that's very similar in style. I'm hoping to get more feedback, especially on the drums cause that's always very important in metal.

[Jared Hudson]

I'm a fan of DFH. You just have to learn how to program is right, and especially mix it. If you're not already doing it, you'll want 8 tracks.

Close mic cymbals, toms, snare, bass, and same with far mic. This way you can freely adjust the positioning and channel certain compression on the tracks needed, then throw them all through a final compressor. You'll want it somewhat deep to really give that "smack" sound. Also, boosting 60hz on the bass drum can really give it a "thump" as well.

This is a track a friend and I put down with his guitar, bass, and all DFH drums. We mixed it similar to what I just said.

http://www.jaredhudson.com/music/Jared%20and%20Abram%20-%20Satri%20Groove.mp3

BTW....digging that insane metal track. I was laughing from it's awesomeness.

[Brandon Strader]

Wow. THE Jared Hudson commented on your song, and liked it. That's some serious encouragement, there, dude. I'm going to go find my DFH DVD now.

[jabond23]

BTW....digging that insane metal track. I was laughing from it's awesomeness.

LOL, nice!

I'm glad some people are enjoying it! I love writing just insanely metal and epic tracks like this, lol.

I actually haven't had it long enough to really get that in depth with it. It does make sense, and i kinda new about drum production already, that each part of the drum kit needs its own track. That way you can get more in depth with the mixing cause not every part of the drum kit will need/use the same exact compression and EQing.

BTW, i checked that track you wrote and i like it. You can hear how the drums sound and i like that too. I'll have spend more time on the drums like i mentioned above.