Back in July, I wrote a series of posts about recording drums. Now that it’s practically September, I thought I’d compile a list of these posts here, as an easy access “table of contents” of sorts. The idea behind each one of these “recording drums” posts is to share my simplistic, quick, phase-accurate, and easy to mix approach. Less is more.

The #1 Best Drum Miking Technique

Recording A Kick Drum

Recording A Kick Drum: Mic Selection

Recording Snare

Recording Snare: Mic Selection

Recording Drum Overheads

Recording Drum Overheads: Mic Selection

Recording Toms

Recording Toms: Mic Selection

Recording A Hi-Hat

Recording A Hi-Hat: Mic Selection

Recording Drum Room Ambience

Recording Drum Room Ambience: Mic Selection

Bonus: I actually wrote this post in August, but as it’s about percussion, I threw it in with this list. Using Household Objects As Percussion Instruments

Recording can get over-complicated way too fast. Especially recording drums. That’s when fidelity and performance captured in those recordings suffers. By keeping your recording setup as simple as possible, in a kind of ironic way, is usually when you create an environment where things actually end up sound big, punchy, full of life – creating a soundscape that is made up of multiple complex layers. Less is more.

Thanks for reading. Hope you’ve not only gotten something out of Producer Notes this August, but also enjoyed reading the blog.

//Jon
Website: jonstinson.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stnsn
Twitter: @stsn

People skills.

Making records is more about interacting with people than it is about anything else. Great people skills can take you the distance in a career in recording, even when you may not be the most knowledgeable or the definitively most talented person to ever step into the studio. On top of that, it’s very likely that if you have great people skills, clients will choose you over someone else who may know more, or be more “talented” than you.

When I got my first studio job as an intern, there was an assistant engineer who was a huge jerk. He knew everything there was to ever know about being an audio engineer – all the nuances and ultra technical particulars of how every piece of gear worked, the science behind capturing great sounds, how to repair broken gear – everything. But he was a jerk, and a loudmouth with poor work ethic. Clients constantly asked for him to be replaced with someone – anyone! – else.

If you’re cold and stale, do the bare minimum to get the job done, and run you mouth off every minute of the day, you’re going to be asked to leave.

If you treat people kindly, if you’re authentic, honest, and genuine, people will enjoy the work they do with you, and feel good about what you’ve created together.

Technical knowledge and production skills are important. But not nearly as important as treating people right. Of all the skills it’s important to have in the studio, none of them will provide a secure, long-term path to success like having good people skills will.

//Jon
Twitter: @stsn

Last week I posted that my friends in the band o, don piano were running a kickstarter campaign to raise money for their upcoming LP, Hearts from the Songland.

Well, I’m happy to announce that they did indeed successfully get their project funded, and will be soon entering the studio with producer/engineer Jeremy Ferguson. I wanted to follow last week’s post with an update to let everyone know, and to say thanks to any of my readers who may have contributed.

Congrats to the band, glad the fundraising was a success, and look forward to hearing the results of yours and Jeremy’s magic in the studio. Have fun. Perhaps I’ll get the chance to drop by and hang on a session or two, and share in a little of that fun with you :)

While the band has reached their goal, and this project is officially funded, there are still 11 days left to make a contribution [Update 8/22/11: Oops! when I published this post, I meant to say 11 hours. In any case, this campaign is gonna be over by the end of the day today, so if you wanna pledge, do so by clicking the link at the end of this post]. If you’re not familiar with Kickstarter, it’s a site put together specifically for creators to raise money for their projects. But the people who contribute don’t walk away empty handed. The creators offer items in return for the money people choose to pledge. There are nine different tiers involved with the o, don piano campaign, so at the very least you’re essentially “pre-ordering” the finished record. Which is more than worth it. As I mentioned before, this is brilliant music that creates meaning in a rare way.

Click here to make your pledge, and reserve your “pre-order”

Cheers…

//Jon

About six or seven years ago I was fortunate, as we sometimes are, to work along side a very talented individual who would end up becoming one of my dearest friends. At the time we were both working as assistant engineers for the same producer, and through this experience we discovered how much we had in common-both personally, and from a music/art standpoint.

Working with Josh on these projects, I came to realize how talented of a musician he was, and later decided to hire him to play drums on a couple projects I produced. All this was around 2007-2009.

And somewhere in the middle of all that Josh put together his own band-o, don piano.

Josh and o, don piano are now embarking on the journey of making their first LP, Hearts from the Songland, and are six days away from concluding a fundraising campaign through Kickstarter. [Update 8/19/11: This campaign only has mere days left at this point, as it ends on Tuesday, August 23rd.]

[Update 8/22/11: I'm happy to announce that o, don piano have reached their fundraising goals for this project. Congrats, guys!]

Crossing paths with Josh those handful of years ago was literally nothing short of a miracle, as he has opened my mind to so many new ways to think about music and production, as well as turned me on to a selection of bands, musicians, and producers that have had significant influence throughout my quest as record maker. It genuinely improved my career.

All this to say that the music Josh has created with o, don piano is the real thing-brilliant-and worth your contribution.

Which is exactly why I’ve written this blog post today. To candidly ask you to consider making a contribution to the realization of Hearts from the Songland.

Yes, I am close friends with Josh, which perhaps does make my credibility subject to a questionable bias. But as someone who works daily in the music business, I inevitably make friends with a lot of people who are in bands. Nevertheless, not everyone I’m friends with makes the same caliber of music Josh does. Which is the caliber of music that needs to be heard, the caliber of music that creates meaning, and the caliber of music that tells an honest story people resonate with.

So please take a few minutes to check out o, don piano, and if you like what you hear, consider contributing a few dollars to help them fund their Hearts from the Songland project.

Lastly, I do want to assure everyone that my motivation is pure. I in no way benefit from the making or promoting of this project. While I may end up working with the band on a future project sometime, my current motivation is to simply see this project succeed, and do my part in helping authentic music resonate with others as it has with me.

Make a contribution to Hearts from the Songland by clicking this link

Doubling a vocal (singer sings a second pass in unison with themselves) is one of the easiest and most straightforward ways you can bring up the intensity to a section of a song in which you’re trying elevate the energy (typically the chorus). The end result is often very subtle to the listener. Most of the time, a doubled vocal is rarely an effect that music fans consciously are aware of-they simply feel the emotional shift of a raised energy level.

A little while back I came across some video interviews on YouTube of Butch Vig breaking down some of the production techniques used to record Nirvana’s Nevermind record.

In one of the videos Butch dissects the song “In Bloom”, and how they doubled Kurt Cobain’s lead vocal, as well as Dave Grohl’s harmony vocal in the choruses. Butch pulls up each part one at a time, so you can clearly hear how this technique filled out the arrangement in a powerful way.

I’m currently in the studio with the band Kink Ador. On Monday we singled out one of the songs we’re working on, and focused on recording some background vocal and additional guitar parts for it. One of the first things we did was double the lead vocal in all the choruses.

But in the middle of recording the vocal double, I began to think back to that Butch Vig interview, and I got inspired with another idea. I liked the approach Butch took of having a different voice sing and double the harmony vocals. So I basically copied the essence of that idea, but with a bit of a spin on it.

Kink Ador is a band made up of one female lead vocalist-Sharon. The rest of the band is guys. Nick, the lead guitar player, also sings background vocals. In the middle of tracking Sharon’s lead vocal double, I got the wild idea to go back and triple the lead vocal in the choruses-but with Nick singing the tripled part.

I was a bit hesitant with the idea, but we tried it and it turned out awesome. It added another layer of just the right amount of texture and intensity to Sharon’s vocal in the choruses. The end result is very subtle-you can’t tell that there’s a male vocal layered underneath. In the end, it simply imparts a sort of gruffness to Sharon’s lead vocal, which is perfect for adding energy to the choruses.

So next time you’re looking for ways to add intensity to certain sections of a song, it may be as simple as doubling the lead vocal, or even tripling the part with another member of the band.

Here’s the Butch Vig interview that inspired this idea in the first place:

//Jon
Website: jonstinson.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/stnsn
Twitter: @stsn

Since I just finished up a series of posts on recording drums, I thought it would be fitting to follow all that up with a post on recording percussion. Percussion is one of the most fun things to record. But if you’re like me, you don’t own too many percussion instruments. Since I’m not a percussionist, I can’t justify the expense of owning too many percussion instruments. But that does not stop me from finding ways to put percussion parts in recordings.

All you have to do is get a little creative with household objects-pots, pans, spoons, etc. I’ve used all kinds of items around the house and studio as percussion instruments to create sounds and textures of a wide variation. With a little creativity, you really can use almost any item from around your house to create that sound you have in your head.

Here’s some examples of the types of things I’ve used around the house to get some wild percussion sounds:

• Pots
• Pans
• Spoons
• Weights
• Lampshade
• Baking items (cookie sheet, casserole pan, etc)
• Shower curtain rod
• Grill
• Oven racks
• Boxes
• Tin cans (you can simply beat on this, or put something inside it, such as dry rice, beans, or pennies to create a shaker)
• Glass cups filled with various amounts of water
• Metal bowl filled with water (beat on the side gently with a mallet)

Next time you’re thinking of a percussion part for one of your recordings, look around the house and/or studio for some common items that you may be able to use to get the job done. It will be a lot quicker and cheaper than buying a percussion instrument, and chances are you will get something a lot more unique and inspiring.

//Jon
Twitter: @stsn

Since today is the last day I’ll be posting in July, and as I plan to tweak my posting schedule next month (posting a little less), I thought I’d post twice today in order to get to a conclusion to my series of posts on recording drums.

I suggested in my post earlier today that recording ambient/room tracks for drums is a bit of a wild card, and that you should take the liberty to experiment. I think this applies to choosing microphones as well. Get crazy. Try anything and everything. Have fun. Room mics are the “special sauce” that goes on top of the main drum sound. It’s the part of the sound that should, in a way, stand out from the rest of the drums.

I’ve literally tried all kinds of mics for recording drum ambience-from super expensive mics that I could never afford to own, to super cheap mics that I don’t care to own, to really quirky mics that I didn’t know existed.

This time, rather than make specific suggestions for what I know to have worked for people, I encourage you to experiment with anything and everything you can get your hands on-whether its’s a tube mic, dynamic mic, ribbon mic, or condenser mic. Hey, I once co-produced a project where we got our room sounds using a couple of built in mics from an old quirky reel-to-reel two track. My point being… get really creative…

Just jumping into this discussion on recording drums? Check out my previous posts on the topic:

The #1 Best Drum Miking Technique

Recording A Kick Drum

Recording A Kick Drum: Mic Selection

Recording Snare

Recording Snare: Mic Selection

Recording Drum Overheads

Recording Drum Overheads: Mic Selection

Recording Toms

Recording Toms: Mic Selection

Recording A Hi-Hat

Recording A Hi-Hat: Mic Selection

Recording Drum Room Ambience

Thanks for reading. Hope you’ve not only gotten something out of Producer Notes this July, but also enjoyed reading the blog.

//Jon
Twitter: @stsn

BTW-July 2011 signified the 4 year mark of Producer Notes. Thought I’d share :)

This is where things get creative, and where you should take the most liberties to experiment. Treat your room mics as the “wild card” of sorts for your drum setup and sound. Have a bit of fun.

I’ve taken all kinds of approaches to setting up mics to capture a room sound-stero mics, mics I treat as multi-mono, playing around with a combination of distant and far… It really all depends on the overall sound you’re going for.

If you’re looking for a really dry and tight sound, then you may want to use only one or two mics, placing them a little bit closer to the kit, and recording/blending them low in the mix (or don’t use any room mics at all). On the other hand, if you want to create a bigger sound, then placing a couple mics a bit further from the kit, and angled in such a way as to pick up mostly the ambient sound of the room is the best approach.

Play around with different ideas. Take the opportunity to experiment. I experiment with a slightly different room miking technique on pretty much every project I produce. I may end up changing some things around, but I always learn something from the experimentation process.

Here’s a few suggestions to get you started:

• A spaced pair across the room (6 or more feet away) in cardiod polar pattern (or even omni) – This is good for a bigger drum sound
• A mono mic in omni polar pattern placed directly in front of the kit, about 3 to 6 feet away, and 3 to 5 feet in hight – Good for adding ambience that fits right “behind” the kit in the mix, and adding a bit of “ooph” and presence to the kit just a bit.
• A mismatched pair of mono rooms – two completely different room mics, such as a condenser mic and a ribbon mic, placed in uneven distances/positions from each other. For example, one mic slightly more on the hi-hat side of the kit, about waist high and 3 to 4 feet in distance. Another mic more on the ride side of the kit about as high as your head, and 5 to 6 feet away from the kit.
• A mono mic behind the drummer
• Any combination of all of the above
• Don’t do any of the above – Check the post I wrote on that a while ago: Creating Drum Ambience With No Room Mics.

Just remember how phase plays into the equation-the more microphones you use, the more chance for phase issues. And phase issues=a less focused, lower quality sound. With room mics, a little goes a long way. Typically, two mics is the most you will ever need. If you want to experiment with more, go for it, but just keep your phase in check.

Just jumping into this “drum recording” discussion? Check out my previous posts on the topic:

The #1 Best Drum Miking Technique

Recording A Kick Drum

Recording A Kick Drum: Mic Selection

Recording Snare

Recording Snare: Mic Selection

Recording Drum Overheads

Recording Drum Overheads: Mic Selection

Recording Toms

Recording Toms: Mic Selection

Recording A Hi-Hat

Recording A Hi-Hat: Mic Selection

//Jon
Twitter: @stsn

Cymbals can quickly get harsh. And just as I mentioned in my post yesterday, hi-hats want to bleed all over your drum tracks like none other. Therefore, using a darker, dynamic or ribon mic to kind of tame the harshness of it all is my default preference.

Here’s what I know has worked well for people (myself included):

• Shure SM 57 – Seriously, you should just assume I’m always going to suggest this mic for everything.
• Shure SM7 – Kinda different to use this on hi-hat, but there’s a studio I work at quite often, that keeps the drum mics always set up. SM7 is what is on the hat, and it works!
• Salt Shaker Mic – These are awesome military-esque microphones from the 30s, 40s, and 50s, Such as the Western Electric 633, the Altec 632C, or the Electro Voice 630. They’re not “go-to” mics by any means, but if you ask around, it’s not impossible to track them down.

Instead of again telling you, “don’t go out and buy these mics,” I’m not only going to spare you from that spiel, but actually suggest that you go purchase a 57. After continually suggesting the 57 in pretty much every single one of my drum mic recommendations, it made me fully realize how essential that mic is. Even if you’re only recording once a month, it’s silly not to own this mic as it honestly is a decent choice for recording anything. Since it’s pretty cheap, and considering how much use it will get, you will actually save yourself some money if you just go ahead and buy one.

This post is a part of a bigger “recording drums” discussion. If you’re just now jumping in, take a look at my earlier posts on this topic:

The #1 Best Drum Miking Technique
Recording A Kick Drum
Recording A Kick Drum: Mic Selection
Recording Snare
Recording Snare: Mic Selection
Recording Drum Overheads
Recording Drum Overheads: Mic Selection
Recording Toms
Recording Toms: Mic Selection
Recording A Hi-Hat

//Jon
Twitter: @stsn

I have a real love/hate relationship with the hi-hat. To be honest I feel that most of the time it messes up what would otherwise be a great drum sound that I’m really proud of. It washes all over the place, and bleeds into every other mic excessively. However, I do really appreciate some good hi-hat work (Stewart Copeland?). There are a great many songs in which the hi-hat is so important to the arrangement. And it’s those rotten songs that make me have to actually like the ghastly thing.

Because of the excessive bleed, a lot of the time I don’t record the hi-hat at all. Even still if I do, I’ll keep it way down in the mix, and kind of take it as it goes-seeing how the drum sound and track is coming together, making decisions about how much hi-hat to put in the mix as things unfold.

Here’s how to get a useable hi-hat sound:

Place a mic at the 9 or 10 o’clock position (from the drummers perspective), on-axis, and about halfway between the bell, and the edge of the hat. As far as how much gain to apply to the mic-you don’t need very much at all. -10dB at the very most is all it takes.

Just jumping into this drum recording discussion? Here’s my previous posts on the subject:
The #1 Best Drum Miking Technique
Recording A Kick Drum
Recording A Kick Drum: Mic Selection
Recording Snare
Recording Snare: Mic Selection
Recording Drum Overheads
Recording Drum Overheads: Mic Selection
Recording Toms
Recording Toms: Mic Selection

//Jon
Twitter: @stsn