Soo … what’s been happening? Recently, I’ve upgraded my current set up with actual professional sounding mics to my drum kit, and I must admit, it is sounding fresh. I’m well chuffed with how it’s come out – you can check my first mic’d vid on my Insta now if ya want.

Of course, I couldn’t of done it without Steve (@drsweetbeef) so thanking yous!

THE DIFFERENCE

Straight from the back, one big difference is TIME. God, it takes up a lot of it. In the past, I was just uploading the raw footage on my iPhone straight from the rehearsal rooms. Now? Such a arduous process, buuuuutt it is worth it, so. This is regardless of setting up the mics on the kit itself …

First, I had to export all audio files across email, so I could access it at home, this was through WeTransfer. Then, I used Logic Pro X to sort, separate and mix the individual audio takes. Then from there, I used Adobe Premier Pro  – a platform for both audio and visual aspects. I then had to align the muted video with the audio from Logic. Like all of it, this took time, but as soon it aligns, there’s no better feeling. From Adobe, it was a simple exporting job to the desktop. Then, AirDrop to my iPhone all ready for Instagram.

So much longer than just a quick raw footage upload …

Another difference is of course the most important one. THE SOUND QUALITY. God, it is so refreshing to hear mic’d drum videos – so much more professional too. Recording without mics, the sound comes across muddier, “uglier” and rather unclean, as iPhone’s are not best for their sound quality. It actually sounds professional too, and reflects all the hard work you’ve put into it.

From my past upload, there’s a few pointers to take onto the next time I’m recording with mics. Bringing a fresh set of clothes, trying different camera positions so it gives the videos a refreshing look to them. I was too busy trying to get the recording set up just right and just playing the drums, that I seem to have forgotten to move the tripod every now and then. Also, take more time in setting the mic set up, sound checks for instance. With me being on a time scale, I didn’t soundcheck the kit the way I would’ve wanted to. I need to put my audio engineer head on too, and not just say, “oh, that’ll do,”  – I need to become a perfectionist to get the  best sounds. Also, I may need to brush up on some Logic tutorials as I am often floating from one plug-in to another, asking myself “does that sound good?”

But, above all, recording with mics is awesome, and learning new skills to add to your musical development is always a positive in my book!

That’s all from me.

Alex