Here's a rough from my session yesterday. Just me and the drummer from my band working on some stuff of mine. I sit in the control room with POD and mic, scratch singing and calling out arrangements to the drummer via his phones in the next room.

anyhow, this has a few new things I've not used until yesterday at my own studio. It's my custom-made studio 4 piece drumkit, which quite possibly hasn't sounded this good before.

-Sterling ST44s for OH through the Grace 201. X/Y
-Chameleon Labs preamp on the kick with Beta 52 about a foot out front

How's it working for you?? Suggestions before I cut more tracks wednesday? (the real session is next wednesday although I probably got some keeper tracks yesterday too)


"august night" here's the MP3

http://download.yousendit.com/76D308F41E403ECD

The 7602 with the 52 sounds pretty good, really solid and punchy with plenty of bottom to work with.

Once again very nice guitar tone(and chops) Was that your Peavey?

Were the hat's just the OH's ??

that was just the POD direct, but thanks.
the guitar and vocal usually(always) gets replaced later. Yea, the hats were just OH. this is with snare in regular phase. It's fairly different when the phase is flipped on the snare, I should have included that as well for comparison..

update: wednesday I'll try the new Studio projects C4s as well. It'd be interesting to hear the difference. Might throw up a set of SM81s too.

Hi Kel,

This is pretty damned impressive for a three-mic capture. I think there's plenty there to work with come mix time. Just some thoughts (take 'em or leave 'em )

1)It's just a personal thing, but I like a little tighter/clickier kick.

2)Snare is happening!, and there's the thing about going XY in the room for the whole kit...if it sounds good in the room and the balance is there, you're done. Stick a fork in it. Fortunately, you got a great stereo representation with no room-nasties at all in there.

3)I think a hat mic would be a good thing, although things are pretty sparse at this point so it's hard to tell. If you got something (like one of those lovely 81's) to throw on there and be able to juice-up the hat without screwing with the snare, you might want to have it come mix time. "Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it".

Interestingly, I'm really loving the drum capture that Pete G. has been doing very recently, and he includes XY OH in addition to a hat mic. I'm mixing one right now and it was really good to have that track in there. Here's a short clip of the song faders-up no vocal.

Votin' Time (The Funk Is In The Air)

As a side note, the song is really cool and has a great Glen Frey kinda vibe happening.

quote:

I just love what you guys are doing up there!

-john

Thanks John, to clarify there are 6 mics goin on; 2 toms, 2 OH, K and Sn.

I'll put an ear on the kick and see what kind of attack we gots. I might track a hat mic as insurance. Probably a mono room mic too.

does it bug, or did you notice that there is only one crash cymbal?

I love the Votin Time track!


"I love what you guys are tryin to do up there".

Yikes! I thought this was all on three mics, it still sounds great to me though. On the crash thing, I think it narrows the kit a little for the drummer to not be able to slam one on each side but it didn't bug me at all. I admit I was kinda was waiting for a little ride cymbal and if that were offset from the crash panning it might spread things a little.

I realize that all this is only for the sake of tracking and the kit sounds aces over here. You should have plenty to work with come mix time (there's plenty of lovely "oomph" on the kick). Great work...great song from what I hear. I'm really looking forward to hearing it all gussied-up!

-john

Mostly good. Not a lot of tom hits to really judge that, but...

The only thing I would question is whatever mic you used on the kick. It's like this big pillowy low thing, but no real beater. Do you have a 421? In all my drum tracking (not my album, which PeteG did himself) I've used the 421 and Re20--both to very good ends. In fact, I had an old 421 track up last week, thinking "wow, that's really there w/o any work". I could work with the kick you have there, but it would take something I normally don't have to do...

FWIW, Pete uses a subkick on all but one of mine. He was considering selling it...I told him if he did, he should sell it to me. I think it makes an important difference--lets you compress the inside kick track to get the beater attack just right w/o considering whether you're losing too much low end...bring the subkick up to half the volume of the main kick, and it's just there. There was one or two at the beginning that he didn't have it yet--I cut and pasted subkick hits from another tune. It was part of the "evening out" I did to get them consistent, given the amount of time between productions.

I like the snare, if that's no EQ. If it's EQ'd...it's a little dull. A 57? I found myself using Pete's under snare mic a lot--usually, I'd EQ top and bottom, sub them out to a single compressor/EQ chain...back in as a single "blended" track.

You can always put up a high hat mic...sometimes I used'em...sometimes I don't...it's a hat heavy groove. Better safe than sorry, but it sounds fine as is to me.

Thanks for taking a spin,

never been fond of the Yam subkick, although it works, and I see it on live sound gigs all the time.
so far I've not heard the need for a hat mic. Today however I'm also putting up a 4047 into Robbie for additional kick drum tonage..