One take straight through, no edits. We'll see what becomes of it. I heart my drummer for playing this shit to a click like this. The beat in the bridge is sick as all fuck. This might not even be close to the final version, but again, we'll see. It's a solid take overall and I may use a lot of it. I fucked around with some compressors and EQs and... again, rough mix, so forgive me!

https://dl-web.dropbox.com/get/Graphite_rough_livedrums.mp3?w=7d740b6e

Kick in- AKG D112 - AMEK console pre
Kick out- Shure KSM27 - Studio Projects VTB-1, driven hard. Mondo low end.
Snare top- Shure Beta 57 - AMEK console pre
Snare top 2 - MXL 603 SDC, taped to the Beta 57. SP VTB-1, driven into distortion. Adds nuts to the snare.
Rack tom- MXL v67g, windscreen "mod" - ART DMPA
Floor tom- same as above.
OH L- Rode NT5- AMEK console pre
OH R- same as above
Room mid- Sterling Audio ST55 LDC, I forget what 'cause I don't have my notes on me.
Room side- MXL R144 ribbon, same as above.

This isn't the best song to get an idea of how insane the room is because the thing's so goddamn fast. Having a Led Zeppelin IV or Metallica Black Album drum sound would not be entirely appropriate.

This is just a very rough mix done to the "scratch track", which in itself is a rough mix (done to an SD2 track, muted.) of the final tracks sans vocals. No EQ on the scratch track. Like, none, on any instrument. Raw tracks, sorta mixed. Heart that bass tone!

Comping the vocals for this later after I cut my backing vox on the chorus. I sing a whopping like two lines on this one during the choruses and that's it. Snaxie does not sing all the Garda songs- myself, Mr. Chris and Ken The trade off and sing backups on each other's songs. And are known to do 3-part harmonies. An industrialish band doing singy harmony vocals, and live? Nuts. But we're really repurposing our noising into popsongs, when it comes down to it.

Bass is a Musicman Stingray --> GK700RB --> GK NEO 4x10. Ribbon and an LDC, didn't use the DI except to reamp with an OCD for more dirt and an Eventide box for chorus during the bridge. Where I have a stereo pair of room mics running. Guitars are Tele --> dirt boxes --> AC30, Shure LDC. Synths are DSI Prophet 08, Novation Xio and Absynth 4. And some breakbeat sampleshit.

Yo, dat link is busted.

Anus!

This should work better?

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/13184331/Graphite_rough_livedrums.mp3

Noice.

Sessionpictures:

The Werkstation:


Mr. James adjusts the AMEK pres:


The room:


Drumulation:

Sounds pretty wonderswell.

Don't like the snare much, but only in a personal tastes sort of way. Everything else sounds great. Cymbals a bit over the top maybe, particularly the china( ) and some of the crashes. The ride level sounds fine though.

The snare's the snare. It's a monsterdeep snare and will forever sound like an '80s drum machine. Which is why he uses it.

I've long thought the snare is really the drummer's signature "tone", so I guess you'll have to live with it. There's no really changing the fundamental sound of that snare- I did brighten up the close mics some with a bit of EQ. The cymbals are all heavy Zildjians and are what they are. Re: the levels on the crashes and china, they're a bit much mostly, I agree, but that's nothing volume automation can't fix. The hats and ride are nicely balanced, I think, which speaks for dynamic control on his part. Hat bleed into the snare mics was very minimal.

Oh i agree on the sound of the snare being the unique element between most drummers. And i know you did a proper job of capturing his, but i do wish drummers would leave that particular sound behind.

Also, yeah, the hi-hats were totally not an issue at all listening, good deal.




















Fucking china cymbals should be banned like 4Loko though.

Nownow, chinas have their place still, IMO...

Also I feel like a more direct sound from the close mics would be nice? That's just how I like it. Maybe if they were closer. That's probably what I'm used to hearing.

So that drummer plays open handed?

Considering our influences, it's at least not inappropriate though?

He's actually specifically said he uses that snare because it sounds like an old drum machine.

I rather like china cymbals, to be honest. Even if it is very cliché for metald00ds to ride on them these days. But I like splashes too- there's no accounting for taste.

You must be partly psychic. I was just about to mention the Splash Ban as well.

The close mics aren't horribly far; the toms soloed (there aren't any toms in this one save for the end fill) still sound quite close miced. Most of the drum sound is the overheads here though. I'm almost fighting the depth of the snare with that one, and because he can actually balance his brass and the hats are a really prominent part of the song. The OHs by their nature have more snare "crack!" than "donk!".

Credit where it's due, I didn't set up a single microphone on this. I wore my Producer Hat, suggested what I wanted to hear- and took Chris's suggestion on the OH/tom mics- and set up all the electrogizmos while the real drum engineer on the session worked with my drummer tuning the kit, setting up mics and troubleshooting. The snare mics are closer than I'd have placed them were I doing the session myself.

I'm sure the final mix will wind up being totally different. Or at least reasonably so.

I'm not psychic, but I am proctokinetic.

People who don't like chinas generally don't like splashes, I've noticed.

What are your feelings on the five-string bass guitar?

I've never noticed him normally playing open-handed; I think that's actually the bridge in Graphite where he's alternating the hats and ride.

I have no beef wif the five string bassamajig.

Nor do i have any probelm with Bonham's timpanis or Huge Fucking Gong.

Those things are all badass.

But. Chinas are obnoxious, splashes are pointless.



















IM

Aye, he is, and i think he is playing a two hands on the 'hats beat early on too?

Fair enough. You've not at least become entirely reactionary in your olde age.

There's a lot of 16th note hats in this song, you're correct.

Oh, i was much more against the splash/china things when i was younger actually.

They have their place as an accent. And are easily overused, IMO. But they surve a porpoise!

An aside: going back and listening to this again, I feel the need to point out I'm especially fond of the little bass fill coming out of the second verse @ about 1:57 that sounds like some sort of wigglysynth.