Constructive criticism required

[Lee Collins]

I'm posting these clips for 2 reasons. One, so you can hear my lurrvelly new ufip class series 13" hihats and istanbul agop ride, and two, because it'd be good to get some feedback on my playing, mostly about my ghost notes. Are they sounding ok? Timing wise, well, could be better, but I did them in between waiting for a student. Personally, I'd love to have spent a day on each groove if I could. I recorded these yesterday on a school kit, but just with my cymbals.

http://jamesseph.phpwebhosting.com/DRuM's%20Stuff/FlamacueRudy%203.mp3


http://jamesseph.phpwebhosting.com/DRuM's%20Stuff/FlamacueRudy%202.mp3


http://jamesseph.phpwebhosting.com/DRuM's%20Stuff/FlamacueRudy%204.mp3

http://jamesseph.phpwebhosting.com/DRuM's%20Stuff/FlamacueRudy1.mp3

[Suspiria]

It goes without saying that this was great playing as usual Rudy - you know that.
Generally speaking there isn't much to complain, but lets get specific shall we? [img]wink.gif[/img]

In reference to the first groove I'd say the following: Especially the first few bars are full of ghost notes flying everywhere. As you probably know, such a groove would rarely be played throughout, say, a whole verse of a tune. Rather, it could be played like a fill, for one or maybe two bars. Gadd does this a lot as you know.
Your playing sounds close to perfect but if I were to be really picky (which is probably what you want) I would say that you may want to drop the tempo on this one a little bit. I find that this will enable you to became that little bit more fluid when playing.
Major plus points are the even-sounding ghost notes. It's so important for them to be at the some volume, which you have mastered already.
Although there isn't much to complain, I hope you find my advice helpful. Again: There isn't too much to improve, but you could take the groove from being really good to really, really good!

On a sidenote: The hi-hats sounds insane on the second track. That crisp *smooch* sound is what I like for in a hi-hat when playing on the ride. keep up the good work!

[MethodAir]

FlamacueRudy 3 sounds really cool; the ghost note dynamics are working. For a variation, you could try dropping the tempo a bit, use larger sticks and go for more volume and thickness, while still keeping the dynamics. The cymbals sound good, it goes without saying, better drums and recording will do your sound more justice.

[ntbCreative]

Hey Rudy_ment.....
It all sounds cool...if I can give you one bit of advice....try to use these little bits of flash and groove in more of a fill setting. Just lay down a solid pocket for 4 or 8 bars and do whatever comes to you leading up to the 1st bar...then keep the groove solid and simple while concentrating on the flow..thats why Gadd sounds that way...all groove and then out comes this slick little flurry of notes or just a simple 8th note or 2...then back to the groove...
Oh...and drop the tempo on those grooves it just makes it cleaner sounding and more in the pocket.
Your grace notes sound fine...maybe muffle the snare a bit with a hinged muffle or a piece of a zero ring (cut it in 8th's)?...again...thats what makes Gadd sound so good... its like the 2 sound level concept form Garibaldi.
But you sound great man.....and yes nice hats !!!
Cheers!!

[Lee Collins]

Thank you ever so much for your great advice guys, cool!

Alright, so it seems the general concensus is to drop the tempo a bit which I will do next time. In fact, next time I record, I'm gonna do it to a click. Just one thing I'm not sure of, do you mean drop the tempo of all the things recorded, and if so, what kind of tempo would you recommend?
Thanks again. [img]smile.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

edit: methodair, I never thought about using larger sticks, but that's a great idea, I'll try it. Cheers.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 17, 2005 04:20 AM: Message edited by: Rudy_Ment ]</font>

[Henry II]

As for the new cymbals the recording was too flat to really hear anything distictive about them other than, as recorded, they sound very dry. How did you record.

I think your playing is excellent. Your timekeeping is good although you seem to rush your fills just a bit. Your phrasing is funky and your musicianship is excellent. From your post I'm guessing you're a teenager, [img]redface.gif[/img] but you play like a pro. [img]cool.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 17, 2005 09:28 AM: Message edited by: Henry II ]</font>

[LDGuy]

Nice playing there... [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

Question: Were you trying to sound like Steve Gadd or is that just the way you play?

[cjbdrm]

Overall, I think your ghost strokes sound great. Nice dynamic balance between strokes. And I noticed you had a consistent rimshot, too, which is often overlooked. Couldn't hear the ride cymbal very well due to mic placement- hi-hat was out of balance with the rest of the kit. Hi-hats sound a little harsh to me, too...almost unnatural.

You were rushing your hi-hat 'barks', or accents, which is very common. Just practice them with a metronome to correct the 'space between the notes'. I also would recommend practicing playing 'upbeats', or the 'unaccented' part of the beat. For instance, playing the ee's and ah's of sixteenth notes(1-ee-&-ah). Put on the metronome or a favorite tune and just play the second and last sixteenth note of the beat along to a metronome or piece of music. Don't cheat and play any other part of the beat with any other part of your body. Let the quarter note pulse come from within. trust me, this works!

[Lee Collins]

drumdawg, I agree that they do sound a bit harsh. I love them for their crispness, but slicing them open they're not as smooth as my other hats, or say, weckls hats. So I dunno, I'm still want to try out some more hats, maybe mastersounds, or maybe the royster ones, the K darks.

LDGuy, it's the gadd style lick I started doing and I'd like to incorporate it into my playing but with my own sound, even though I know this currently sounds like a poor mans ripoff of gadd. I recorded it though after having seen that thread about the gadd paradiddle.

cjbdrm, that sounds cool. When you say play the 'e' and 'a' only, do you mean just on the hihat and don't play any other part of the kit?

[donu]

Nice playing [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

Could describe the rudiments you used ( i think it's old rudiments i have to go back btw.. )on clip 4 ?

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 17, 2005 04:42 PM: Message edited by: donu ]</font>