Hey guys,

My band did our first radio show ever last week. It was pretty fun and despite our nerves only had one real noticeable mistake. If you want to listen, their streaming the songs at:

stream

My question for guys revolves around this... My drummer likes to hit his cymbals. Overall I have no problem with this but they never seem to sit right in mixes. Especially when we practice. He plays these big heavy cymbals that drown everything else out. I know nothing about drum tone (guitar player here). Would getting lighter cymbals help here? Or should we just take them away entirely

Well yeah, smaller or lighter cymbals can make a difference, but then again so can the way he hits them.

Have the you or any of the other guys told him that his cymbals are over powering? If he knows that there is an issue he might be able to help take care of it.

On the other hand how would you feel if he was on drumgeek.com saying that he didn't think your guitar tone sat right in the mix, and asking if you should use heavier strings or if he should just take a couple of your strings off your guitar entirely?

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Re: The ten ways to make me hate your band...

8- Asking me to get closer to the stage or to put my hands in the air. If you have to ask, then you suck.

9- Taking 45 minutes to get set up for a half hour set.

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Well, I am also a long time drummer here. If he has huge cymbals, then yes. That is the problem, big cymbals equals, der, big volume. But their is also a couple other things. Pressed cymbals have a very dense sound and NEVER really sit well in the mix, if he has spun cymbals they are crisp and will set much better, though they are a little more expensive, kinda like a set neck vs bolt on. You can also go with smaller crashes but you wanna keep your ride cymbal pretty big because it projects a different sound, it projects a rhythmic sound that you use for timing as opposed to accenting, like crashes.

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Maybee I'm just the odd one out but I love loud crashes. Our drummer can't play 16" crashes because they dont project enouph nor do they cut through the mix.

You also need to take into concideration what the rest of the band is playing. What I mean is...if the rest of the band is playing a couple halfstacks and a bass stack then a 16", though experience has shown me they sound better than 18", wont cut through the mix very well, or at least wont really stand out. On the flipside, if your bass player is playing a 100W combo and the guitarists are playing 30-50w combos...a 16" should be more than plenty.

On top of all that I guess it really comes down to what you AS A BAND want. Cymbals that stand out, or cymbals that simply cut through the mix to add extra texture.

He can try hitting a bit softer, maybee hitting closer to the bell (will add to projection and brightness but wont really "overpower") or possibly investing in some smaller crashes. But like state previously at the end of the day he is the drummer and you are the guitarist...the decision should be based on the bands opinion and not one persons.

Dude you know some cymbals. An 18" is good for concert volumes and it has a better swell to it. But yeah it comes down to the band. But if he was a good drummer, He'll know what he wants in them mix, just like us guitar players. Dont tell him how to drum and he won't tell you how to play. Though both of you have to be constructive and work together.

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//Guitars:
- Ibanez Iceman IC400 (BLK)
- Ibanez SZ320 (Brown Sunburst)

//Effects:
- DigiTech Grunge Distortion
- Dan-O (Flanger)
- DigiTech RP80 (multieffects)
//Amps:
- B-52 LG-100A halfstack
- Peavey TKO 80
- First Act Practice Amp

...This is your brain on Krank.

I never knew what a cymbal-basher I was until I heard myself recorded. Open hi-hats were the worst, completely drowning out the snare. I had to train myself to go easy on the cymbals while still hitting the snare solidly.

Yeah, that is how I was when I first started now i go easy on the cymbals, hard on the bass drum, and I always check my snare volume. Cymbals and snare go a long way, so I know what you mean, you listen back on it and your thinking good god, I didn't realize it was that bad!! lol!

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//Guitars:
- Ibanez Iceman IC400 (BLK)
- Ibanez SZ320 (Brown Sunburst)

//Effects:
- DigiTech Grunge Distortion
- Dan-O (Flanger)
- DigiTech RP80 (multieffects)
//Amps:
- B-52 LG-100A halfstack
- Peavey TKO 80
- First Act Practice Amp

...This is your brain on Krank.

put duct tape on them, they ring out less.

hey man, I went to your band's website after hearing you guys play on the radio stream -- you guys are pretty freaking good. keep it up.

hey man, I went to your band's website after hearing you guys play on the radio stream -- you guys are pretty freaking good. keep it up.
I'm a huge Replacements fan, and you guys have that feel.

-- sorry for the double post!

thanks man. I love the replacements and they're definitely big influences.

We're starting to record (for real) a bunch of the songs you heard on the radio now.

We've managed to get our drummer to calm down on the cymbals a little bit. He's also working on trying to be a little more consistent on them (they're such a heavy cymbal you gotta hit'em consistently or you get sounds all over the map).

Look I am a guitarist to , but you need to tell your vocallist. there are three types of singers. People who can sing, people who can scream and people who can sing a scream.

You man just screams, most of the notes are wrong, and yes it is possible for him to do it right. What if the bassist played everything a litttle flat, it would suck, same is true.

What recordings were you listening too primarily? the radio show?

It's funny, our other guitar player is the primary vocalist and he is thoroghly embarrassed by his performance on that radio show. It was unfortunate but the college radio station where we did that show had some technical difficulties with the monitors. He had to more or less scream to hear himself at all. We tried to get it fixed but to little avail and we were on a tight schedule. It sucked and he knew it. Right away. Then they went and mixed his vocals extremely high in the mix. (it was like pouring salt on a wound for him) oh well... thems the breaks is how the saying goes.

For the record, the vocals are a weak part of the band regardless... always have been. We started the band as 4 friends having fun, it got serious, we brought a 5th guy into sing. A really super nice guy but he didn't work out. We decided after that episode that we'd just have to suck it up and sing ourselves. We've steadily improved over time but it is an issue and something we proactively work on.

One strategy we have to make up for the fact that we're not great singers is that we all sing leads. We all have strengths and weaknesses and if we mix it up, we minimize the damage I don't know if you go far enough into listening to the show though to hear the different guys.

I haven't had a chance to listen to your stuff. My last band went through the same thing in terms of looking for a singer because we weren't happy with how we sounded singing (I and another guys pretty much split singing duties). We tried out tons of people to sing our songs, most of whom were better singers than either of us, but it just never quite felt right. We wound up having a femail friend of mine sing with us who was a really strong singer. The contrast often worked.

At any rate, I think if you find the perfect front person, that is great. Other wise, just keep working on your vocals and try to find the right key for your songs (it is amazing how helpful a capo can be on even the loudest songs). Besides if you are going for a drunk scrappy replacementsesque sound, you probably don't need anyone perfect. It just needs to be good enough for punk rock.

adam

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Personally I think the vocals fit well with the music. I mean, you guys certainly have a reckless, go-for-broke sound, and not having a spot-on vocal works.

Is there a different singer from High Life to Pool Party Emergency, or just trading duties?