The AC30 is still periodically making some unsettling rattling noises, so it will need to see the amp doctor at some point, but I hope today sets a good precedent.

To help with some tone alternatives, we  may be aquiring a Fender Twin very shortly, which we’re all excited about.   The fender twin and an AC30 playing nice together, what more can you ask for?

It wasn’t all for naught though, as we did manage wrap up bass on “Ghosts”, which is coming along nicely.  That is however when things took a turn for the worst.  We had the silly idea to try to record some guitars, but nothing we did sounded right.

The AC30 just wasn’t cooperating.  It sounded tinny, didn’t have any bottom end, and was breaking up all kinds of funny.  We have a suspicion that it might be one or some of the tubes which need replacing, so we might try that next.

On the other hand, it could have just been “one of those days” where things just don’t sound right.  I swear there are little gremlins who swarm in and screw things up when you’re not looking.  It wouldn’t be the first time.

To help expidite our phase 2 recording efforts, I setup a make-shift workstation adjacent to where we are recording.  Since coming back from Hounds Hollow, we haven’t had a chance to get settled in properly (or to clean things up for that matter), so this is going to have to work for now.  Once we have all the main parts recorded and I start the mixing proper, i’ll be using something a little more permanent … and comfortable.

Trying to record it though, is a little bit more difficult.  It has a tone somewhere between a guitar and bass, though it definitely leans more towards the lower, bassier side, since most of the tone we user comes from a bass rig (Ampeg SVT-VR head and 6×12 cab).

Lately, we’ve found that we get the best recorded tone by also playing through a Vox AC30, which adds some bite, clarity and high end responce that isn’t there through the bass setup.

To record the bass side of things, we end up with 4 tracks; 2 mics (AKG D112 and Shure Beta 52), a direct from the SansAmp, and direct from the head.  On the AC30, we’ve found that a Rode NT5 right against the grill sounds great, helped out by the old stand by Shure SM57, and a Shure KSM27 a little further away.

Anyway, i’ll post some audio samples of what all this sounds like shortly.  But for now, it’s time to enjoy what’s left of a beautiful sunday evening.

I had lost my battery chager before we left for Hounds Hollow, so i was relegated to iPhone photos after the first day or so, but after scouring the house today, i finally found it; now i’m back in business.  Hopefully that means i’ll be posting more photos from now on, but who knows, i might get lazy and keep up with the iPhone.

This evening we set up and got sounds for the baritone jag.  Didn’t get a chance to actually lay down any tracks, but everything is ready to go for next time … just don’t change those dials.

And by the way, Sea Dog Blueberry is damn tasty!

On another note, as I was setting up Calculon in our rehearsal space today, I noticed that my “Drumstick Cemetery” is looking a little feeble right now, but it’s bound to grow to new heights shortly.  Some great things have come out of the cemetery; it must be handled with care and respect.

I resisted the urge to spend a lot of time on it, so i just sort of threw it together, but it will work out just fine.  I still need to add some more information, but there is plenty on there to keeps us busy.   Now all we have to do is to fill up all those little squares for each of the 17 songs.  Once that’s done, we have ourselves an album … sounds pretty easy.

If you are really curious (and have good eye sight), you can see the working titles of all 17 songs that we’re recording.  Don’t get too excited though, because they are definitely subject to change.   We won’t be putting all 17 songs on the record, so we plan to do so narrowing down at some point, but that’s not going to easy.  We’ll cross that bridge once the songs get closer to completion.

When I record myself playing the drums, i usually try to record what i feel are 8 to 10 good performances, and then listen back to them to see which take actually feels and sounds the best.  The take I’ve included here is one of the first ones I recorded of this song.

The final drum sound will most likely be a little different than what you’re hearing, in that once I start mixing the song, the drums will be mixed properly (I’ll probably use less room sound) as well as I’ll be adding compression, EQ, maybe a little reverb here and there, and maybe a few other tricks. Once all the other tracks (bass, guitars, keys, vocals, etc…) are added, then the drums will be finessed so everything works together. What you’re hearing is the foundation to the song, and where it all starts.

Without further ado:

Now on to the details of the recording if anyone is curious.

Drums:

DW collectors series kit:

• Bass Drum: 16″ x 23″ (yes, 23″ – not 22 or 24.  I don’t know if they still do, but DW made a small group of limited edition sets with that bass drum size.  It sounds and plays great, but is near impossible to find heads for, but that story is for another time)
• Rack Tom: 8″ x 12″ w/Evans EC2 coated head (which i don’t like at all, but it’s all i had at the time.  that’s what i get for trying something new in the middle of vermont and having no backup – you live and you learn)
• Floor Tom: 14″ x 16″ w/Evans EC2 coated (same as above)
• Snare: 6 1/2″ x 14″ Dunnett Titanium w/Evans Genera Dry

Microphones:

As far as microphones go, we had a pretty motley collection, but they all worked out pretty well.  Most of the mics we used are relatively inexpensive and easy to find.  It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that simply sticking a $3,000 Neumann in front of something will turn something that sounds crappy into gold – but i’ve tried and it doesn’t work.  As surprising as it might seem, those mics don’t have any magical properties.  And unless you’re dealing with a pristine signal path, with top of the line Preamps, DAC’s, etc… you reach a point where the difference will get negated; besides, isn’t it all about performance anyway?  In the end, we decided to save the cash, and use what mics we had (for the most part – we rented the 414’s).

• Overheads: matched pair AKG c 414 – about 3′ above cymbals, about 6′ apart, aimed at, and equidistant to the center of snare, about 1′ in front of snare
• Room Mics: Shure KSM27, Groove Tubes Large Condensor (model number escaping me at the moment) – about 15′ in front of drums, about 12′ apart
• Bass Drum inside: Audix D6 – mounted to shell, about 4″ from batter head, centered between the beater and the shell
• Bass Drum outside: AKG D112 with Earthworks KickPad – 1″ off resonant head, 1/2 way between center and edge
• Snare Top: Shure SM57
• Snare Bottom: Shure SM57
• Hi-hat: Rode NT5
• Ride: Rode NT5
• 12″ Tom: Audix D2
• 14″ Tom: Audix D4

The signal went from microphone into Presonus DigiMax FS’s for pres, then into Presonus Firestudio, and finally into Logic.  I use Logic for all our recordings because it’s a great program (though a little buggy at times), and makes comping tracks a breeze.  Besides, you can assign a pretty little icon on each track for whatever instrument it is – what more can you ask for?

Once we start to add other instruments on top of the drums, I’ll post more samples of this songs as it comes together.

-Pietro

With Love, Pietro.