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why do cymbals on a recording sound different to live?

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  • 12-03-2010 12:33am
    #1
    Carawaystick
    Registered Users Posts: 8,779 ✭✭✭


    Why do cymbals on a recoding sound nothing like live cymbals?
    whenever I go to a gig I always wonder about this.
    I mean guitars sound the same, most other instruments and most drums sound similar, but cymbals never.

    Asked this here and this board was reccomended
    Tagged:


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    #2
    DamagedTrax
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,277 ✭✭✭DamagedTrax


    theres a mixture of reasons.

    weight/type of cymbal
    processing
    mics
    environment/room


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    #3
    jtsuited
    Registered Users Posts: 6,401 ✭✭✭jtsuited


    the answer is this.....bear with me....

    remember the episode of the simpsons where they're filming some movie and they're painting a load of horses? Someone asks why and the guy says 'to look like cows...cows don't look like cows on film'. Well that's kind of the way it is with drums.

    A drumkit sounds completely different in the room than it does on record. This is mainly due to close-micing each drum.

    Now at most small enough gigs the actual drums are close-miced and being fed to the pa. But overhead mics for the cymbals are normally not necessary (and if they are they tend to be pulled down in the front of house mix).

    The reason for this is that cymbals are really really really really loud. Especially when there's a bunch of guys playing along with big amps etc.
    So most of the sound at a gig of the cymbals is actually straight from the cymbals to your ear and hence the reason it doesn't sound the way it does on record.

    Remember cows don't look like cows on film.


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    #4
    PMI
    Registered Users Posts: 801 ✭✭✭PMI


    In what way? do you mean tone wise? Dynamics of them?


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    #5
    PMI
    Registered Users Posts: 801 ✭✭✭PMI


    My god we're getting fast on here :D


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    #6
    Anima
    Registered Users Posts: 3,945 ✭✭✭Anima


    "Eh, usually we just tape a bunch of cats together."

    Brilliant.


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    #7
    madtheory
    Registered Users Posts: 1,892 ✭✭✭madtheory


    LOL! That's a great analogy. I would've said "because recording is over rated" which would not be nearly as helpful :)


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    #8
    MilanPan!c
    Site Banned Posts: 4,415 ✭✭✭MilanPan!c


    madtheory wrote: »
    LOL! That's a great analogy. I would've said "because recording is over rated" which would not be nearly as helpful :)

    There's a rock trick for loud bands... Overdub all cymbals and manually fast fade them... The idea is that you only hear the attack live...

    Never done it personally but know some folks that swear by it.


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