Rio DeJaneiro Blues - Joe Sample - SJL Drums 6-18-2025.T1.M1 . . .
Many things have changed recently . . . I decided to order some different drums sticks - length, tip type and diameter/weight to see if I could improve my rudiments/smoothness in playing and YES, it does make a difference!! [I felt I was stagnating as a drummer and the sticks I have been using seem too light for heavier beats/songs and it was wearing me out trying to maintain my dynamics - very much a physical control-thing.
I just found out that Zildjian makes some excellent drumsticks that have anti vibration inserts for us old nerve damaged drummers and used a pair of their 5ANA sticks to play/record this tune.
Well, That ^ AND the headphone reference mixing software (SSA VSX) just had a major upgrade today which has brightened up the mix according to my ears - how about yours?
. . . recorded this in one take tonight:
Went back at this ^ one again and remixed the tracks plus edited my drumming slightly - it has more depth/low-end now - hope it works for you - still learning to use VSX v5.01 headphone referencing system:
Try this one and see if it meets your approval: (the preceding 3 posts ^ are from tonight as well)
Other People - Acoustic Alchemy - SJL Drums 6-22-2025.T3.M1 . . .
This learning session inspired by all of those who responded [you know who you are] with a love for the song and the drumming - I just couldn't stand how it was rendering out so I started from scratch again tonight with the mix process.
There is still a noticeable difference in tonality from my raw Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) renderings/mixes than what you are hearing - I think its the file type conversion done by the compression algorithms employed - I go from .FLAC to .WAV and back to .FLAC - it kills the presence/ambience frequencies of the drum work and source audio - I'm sure Decible [sp?] will have some insight here. (wake up dude!).
Instead of boring you with the the details of focused hours spent - here is the culmination of my efforts:
I've noticed the same issues going from DAW to WAV. I'll have to go back and adjust levels of tracks to get the WAV to sound right to me before running through my Mastering Scheme.
Alright, I'm back from the woodshed (working on this for the last time) . . .
. . . this MIX is how I hear it on my end for you to listen too (finally).
Comments
Rio DeJaneiro Blues - Joe Sample - SJL Drums 6-18-2025.T1.M1 . . .
Many things have changed recently . . . I decided to order some different drums sticks - length, tip type and diameter/weight to see if I could improve my rudiments/smoothness in playing and YES, it does make a difference!! [I felt I was stagnating as a drummer and the sticks I have been using seem too light for heavier beats/songs and it was wearing me out trying to maintain my dynamics - very much a physical control-thing.
I just found out that Zildjian makes some excellent drumsticks that have anti vibration inserts for us old nerve damaged drummers and used a pair of their 5ANA sticks to play/record this tune.
Well, That ^ AND the headphone reference mixing software (SSA VSX) just had a major upgrade today which has brightened up the mix according to my ears - how about yours?
. . . recorded this in one take tonight:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/qtbkqdgj7w0y8pdlines3/Rio-DeJaneiro-Blues-Joe-Sample-SJL-Drums-6-18-2025.T1.M1.flac?rlkey=trytpeky5jgxyp83h7zxdtplq&dl=0
Best!
Drops of Jupiter - Train - SJL Drums 6-22-2025.T7.M1 . . .
This one has been extremely difficult to mix-down acceptably - took a lot of time to get it to sound like this.
I think that "AI" software has a challenge with busy music tracks and in the upper mid-range of the audio spectrum.
I had to do a lot of special mixing to the tracks to get a decent balance. [However, I AM learning a lot - keeps my brains functioning . . .]
Hope you enjoy . . .
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/k6pzfyhwgq8k3i7g8aedx/Drops-of-Jupiter-Train-SJL-Drums-6-16-2025.T7.M1.flac?rlkey=ge94m0m3esocrgh7898vfjh1g&dl=0
Went back at this ^ one again and remixed the tracks plus edited my drumming slightly - it has more depth/low-end now - hope it works for you - still learning to use VSX v5.01 headphone referencing system:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/uzpu6isbuy4khntbeq8n1/Drops-of-Jupiter-Train-SJL-Drums-6-16-2025.T7.M2.flac?rlkey=txia3y0e5vcyrsh8q04t45yfo&dl=0
Crazy River - Robbie Robertson - SJL Drums 6-21-2025.T10.M1 . . .
I've worked on this one for a while - took some time to learn the groove and then play it acceptably well.
The mix was difficult too but I figured it out - hope it sounds good for you:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/52nmpp1n0x1mieq96ouc5/Crazy-River-Robbie-Robertson-SJL-Drums-6-21-2025.T10.M1.flac?rlkey=8zqiol23ywla7jxg0q8akbqog&dl=0
Try this one and see if it meets your approval: (the preceding 3 posts ^ are from tonight as well)
Other People - Acoustic Alchemy - SJL Drums 6-22-2025.T3.M1 . . .
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9jf1iuuep1omz9dg10cjw/Other-People-Acoustic-Alchemy-SJL-Drums-6-22-2025.T3.M1.flac?rlkey=ggjxkoq9yrbccgqsg4dmlgn6c&dl=0
This learning session inspired by all of those who responded [you know who you are] with a love for the song and the drumming - I just couldn't stand how it was rendering out so I started from scratch again tonight with the mix process.
There is still a noticeable difference in tonality from my raw Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) renderings/mixes than what you are hearing - I think its the file type conversion done by the compression algorithms employed - I go from .FLAC to .WAV and back to .FLAC - it kills the presence/ambience frequencies of the drum work and source audio - I'm sure Decible [sp?] will have some insight here. (wake up dude!).
Instead of boring you with the the details of focused hours spent - here is the culmination of my efforts:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1wuzwgraexytp2b5dkkft/Drops-of-Jupiter-Train-SJL-Drums-6-16-2025.T7.M3.flac?rlkey=1ivx1ash3jhy98wb4b88l40dq&dl=0
I've noticed the same issues going from DAW to WAV. I'll have to go back and adjust levels of tracks to get the WAV to sound right to me before running through my Mastering Scheme.
Thanks for that feedback, Eric - Got another mixing friend saying similar too - back to the DAWing board . . .
Alright, I'm back from the woodshed (working on this for the last time) . . .
. . . this MIX is how I hear it on my end for you to listen too (finally).
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/xpv4e2gsfbwd07h5pgtj9/Drops-of-Jupiter-Train-SJL-Drums-6-16-2025.T7.M4.flac?rlkey=1loeo23aahwolh8g9wvui4b84&dl=0