davidtomaloff.com

02/25/08
Trying To Stay Updated....

I've added more of Chris Garges' notes to reflect what's currently going on with the drums side of things. Unfortunately, I haven't had time to really get into updating the rest of it and, as a result, the RecLog is a little (well....maybe even way) out of date. The record is actually nearing completeion....I'll get the rest of it up to date in due time. Stay tuned!

Sticks and Stones
Till Tomorrow
I'm Alright
Hold On
Outta Touch/Tune
Where I'll Be Found
Roll Over
Hard Enough
Straight Time
Hyde, CA
I'm a Madhouse
The Losing Kind

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Sticks and Stones:
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Drums:
Played, engineered, noted and chronicled by Chris Garges:

I actually put two shaker tracks down with the intention of using only one of them (they're two different sounding shakers and the performances differ just slightly in terms of cut-offs and thing), but they sound kind of cool together ("In STEREO"), too.

Kick--- Lawson L47FET, -10 pad (Good, mushy kick drum mic, very similar to the Neumann FET47)--- Shure pad, -20 (to avoid the pad on the pre--it's a subtle difference, but hey, why not?)--- API 512C, just above all the way down (Good, forward, modern-sounding API)--- API 550A (1974), -12@400Hz (to get rid of the boxy stuff and make it sound a little like a record) -4@200 (just to get rid of a littel excess boom from the full resonant front head)--- Purple MC76, input around 30, output around 18, attack pretty slow, release very slow, "4 & 8" ratio buttons both pushed in (this makes the kick drum sort of "poofy" and controlled at the same time)

Snare Top--- Blue Mouse (good for getting a thick snare sound)--- Shure pad, -20 (same deal)--- API 512C (set pretty low)--- dbx 161, high threshold, about 2.5:1, makeup gain a little below unity, just because that's where it sounded good (The 160/and 161 have this certain thick grabbiness that can be good for imparting a very identifiable sound. I like it on snare and sometimes on kick when I want something a little shorter and more upfront. There's barely any gain reduction going on, but it's more about the sound of those electronics than the actual compression.)

Snare Bottom--- Sennheiser MD421 MKII--- Shure pad, -25--- API 312 (just a little mushier and slightly more "vintage-sounding" than the 512Cs), all the way down. Polarity reverse engaged.

Mono OH--- Weird old Oktava MK13M with a tube in it. (The MK13s had tubes and the 13Ms didn't m but I know of several MK13Ms with tubes. Originally I thought they were weird prototypes, but now I'm thinking that some guys in Russia might be into modding these things. Anyway, it's a cool, 3-pattern mic (cardioid, onmi, figure-eight) and I used the cardioid pattern. I originally auditioned this mic AND the Lawson L251 on slightly wide cardioid. The Lawson actually sounded better-- like more Nashville or something-- but the Oktava sounded far more "correct.")--- Polarity reverse cable--- Averill-racked Neve 1272, gain at 35, output slightly below midway (1272s have a really dramatic grab and roundness that I've recently started liking when paired with a bright or clear overhead mic-- just something pleasantly "earthy" about it. It helps the snare drum out a bit, too.)

Hi Hat-- Akai DM11 mic from reel-to-reel machine--- Original Whirlwind Imp DI, 600 ohm setting (the Akai mic has a 1/4" plug on it, so it needs to go to a DI)--- Amek 9098 preamp, 30dB, hi=pass engaged--- API 550A, -12@400, shelf (I think---double-check the photos to be sure)

MS Room-- AT 4050s, cardioid mic, hi-pass and -10 pad engaged on both mic--- Sytek (Burr Brown ICs) set about 1/3rd of the way up, polarity reversed on both mics and right mic mult flipped again for proper MS decoding. (This is just a great setup for drums in that room.)

Far room mics, pointed at the floor in separate iso booths-- Oktava MK-12s, omni capsules--- Sytek (Burr Browns), right channel slightly higher than left and polarity reversed, but both about 1/3 of the way up--- Distressors, detector hi-pass and distortion 3 engaged, both units linked, Nuke ratio, input 6, attack 4 (pretty fast), release 0 (fastest), output 4.5 (this just makes the room decay more apparent)--- Weird custom Inward Connections EQ-2 protoype Sontec-ish EQ built for Danny Wilde of the Rembrandts, left channel= -6@140, narrow Q, -7@260, slightly wider Q, right channel= -6@200 wider Q, -7@260, wider Q (this just takes soem of the boxiness out of the room mics)

The snare drum is a 7x14 solid maple Noble & Cooley drum. Remo Renaissance Emperor on top, one piece of Moongel and a little bit or gaffer's tape with ridges in it. The kick drum was a 16x20 Gretsch Catalina Birch drum with the stock full front head and an Aquarian Super Kick I on the batter side. There's a small blanket inside the drum just barely touching the front head. I used the vertically-curved felt side of one of those Pearl quad bass drum beaters. The "sticks" for that tune were those ProMark Broom Stick things. The second snare drum (that one note in the break) was a 4x10 Ayotte maple ply drum with steel hoops and a Remo Renaissance Ambassador head, played with a normal Regal Tip brush.

Cymbals were brand new Paiste Twenty Series 14" hi hats, vintage 20" Formula 602 paperthin with 3 rivets, and a 20" Formula 602 thin crash.

The shakers and second snare drum were recorded with a Beyer M500 ribbon mic into an Averill-racked Neve 1272. The tambourine was recorded with the right room mic (in the booth-- I stood out in the main room to record it--I usually like that far away tambourine thing, although it didn't really come across that way on this tune for some reason). The triangle was recorded with an AKG 451 into an API 312. I tried a Tube Tech mic pre, but it was just too fuzzy-sounding.

Bass:
My trusty 70's Fender Precision split to two channels....one goes to the Sansamp Bass DI, into the Seventh Circle N72 (pushing the pre just a bit), compressed a bit with the Summit TLA-50 and run through the ART VLA for the "color" it provides. The second channel is kept clean, simply run through the Hamptone JFET's DI (this pre is worth the price for the DI alone). With the exception of a few minor tweaks, this has really been my "go-to" for this project....it's big and low and sits where I want it to.

Guitars:
Main (L and R):
This is an interesting case. Originally I had put down a couple of tracks to replace the "guide" tracks that were there for the drummer to follow. These tracks involved my Larrivee L-03R into a Blue Mouse and, further, into a DBX 160SL. While these tracks were good tracks, I kept feeling that the original guide tracks had a certain "vibe" that I really came to appreciate and ended up staying with them instead. It's cool when that happens. I don't exactly remember what I used to record the drum tracks...I didn't really pay much attention at the time!

Resonator:
I used my Goldtone PB-GRB Reso to add some midrange and percussion straight up the middle. This is an interesting way to add an almost "electric guitar" midrange acoustically. Chain was a Sennheiser 421 to the Seventh Circle N72 and squeezed a bit with a DBX 160SL.

High Strung:
I added a track of "Nashville Tuned" guitar for a little added harmonic excitement up the middle. This is a great technique that involves stringing a guitar with the high side of a 12 string set. Of course, nowadays, we don't have to cannibalize a 12 string set of strings...we just buy a "high string" set.

I ended up doubling the track to get twice the swirly harmonic goodness. The chain was one of my current "go-tos" for acoustic guitar....Martin 000-15, AT4047 w/ high pass and pad engaged, Seventh Circle A12 and into the Summit TLA-50 with medium attack/fast release, taking down about -3dB on peaks.
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Till Tomorrow:
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Drums:
Played, engineered, noted and chronicled by Chris Garges:
I did a session the day before I recorded these drums and I thought the general drum sound would be appropriate for these songs as well. The setup included the infamous Glyn John-type mic setup with close mics on the kick and snare, spaced overheads above the snare drum/rack tom and out beside the floor tom, and a stereo pair of room mics. Much of the experimentation occurred during the previous tracking session, but some minor adjustments were made for this particular recording.

For this tune, the RADAR's inputs were calibrated to +20dBu for more headroom on the converters than the +18dBu setting I usually prefer.

Kick was a sixties 14x20 Gretsch drum with a coated Evans EQ3 batter head and no front head. There was a small pillow against the batter head with a big, heavy rock on top of it for some weight. The bass drum beater was the felt side of a DW two-sided beater. The snare drum was a late seventies (I think) 7x14 Ludwig wood snare with a Remo CS Coated Reverse Dot batter and an Ambassador snare side head. There was a Premiere muffling ring around the outer edge of the better head (essentially a cutout drum head "donut"). The toms were mid-Sixties Gretsch 8x12 rack (on a RIMS mount) and 16x16 floor tom with Aquarian TCS2s on top (I'm trying these heads out on these drums and really like them) and Remo coated heads (Diplomat on rack tom, Ambassador on floor tom) on the bottoms.

The cymbals were a Paiste blue-label Formula 602 20" paperthin and a Paiste blue-label Formula 602 20" thin crash for crashes and a 20" sixties K. Zildjian (Istanbul) with one rivet for the ride cymbal. The hi hats were 13" Paiste blue-label Formula 602 medium hi hats.

Signal path:
Kick--- AKG D12E (I auditioned a Lawson 47FET and decided I wanted the boxier tone of the D12E)--- Daking 52270 preamp/EQ (I auditioned an API 312, but decided I wanted a less-hard sound, so I went with the Daking... gain set at -15dB, output knob about 3/4 of the way up, EQ engaged with about 5dB removed at 250Hz and about two dB boosted at 80Hz, hi-pass filter engaged at 50Hz) --- Manley Variable MU in "limit" mode (I auditioned a DBX 161 and wanted something a little less "grabby"... input set at 2/3 of the way up, attack= fastest, release= medium fast, threshold about 3/4 of the way up, output at 1 o'clock)

Snare--- I auditioned a 1970s Neumann U87, but decided on the more attack-heavy sound of a Shure KSM 141 in cardioid with the 25dB pad and low-frequency roll-off engaged--- Averill-racked vintage API 312 (pad engaged, about 3/4 of the way up, polarity reversed)--- ADR Vocal Stresser (input almost at unity, EQ active, small dip at around 300Hz, small peak at around 5kHz, Compex section post EQ, input= 2.5, attack at 25, release= auto, threshold= all the way up, 3:1 ratio, no expander or peak limiter active, output= almost all the way up)

Glyn Johns-type Overheads--- Neumann Gefell CMV 563s with cardioid M7 capsules--- API 512C (20dB pad engaged, gain almost all the way down... I found it oddly necessary to reverse the polarity of the "floor tom side" mic... these mics are new to me, so I'm not sure if there's a polarity issue in the wiring of the mics or PSUs... I'll need to check that out.)--- GML 8900 compressor (inserted to balance the sound of the drums and cymbals a little better... general threshold around 4, timing= medium fast, release hysteresis not engaged, fast threshold at medium, peak threshold full-on, auto ratio, output about +1dB, channels linked)

Room Mics (spaced pair, placed almost touching the floor in front of the kit, maybe five feet away, with both mics equidistant to the front of the bass drum)--- AT4050s (omni, hi-pass filter and 10dB pad engaged)--- Auditioned Buzz Audio Elixirs, but decided to go with the trashier sound of the Drawmer 1960 (I also wanted to use the Drawmer's FET compressors... Polarity reversed cables were inserted before the mic preamps, gain set at around 20, no filters, threshold around -1, fast attack, release curve 6, output around +5, channels linked)

There are two additional percussion tracks. One has the tambourine on it, the other has the sleighbells, keys (a bunch of door keys strung together as a sort of rattle), and the gong on the same track. The gong is scraped with a screwdriver. The one in the first break is reversed (played backwards) and then the one in the second break is how it actually sounds.

Bass:
Once again, the trusty 70's Precision Bass split and sent through the Fulltone OCD for grit, the Sansamp Bass DI, the Seventh Circle N72 and a given a healthy bit of squeeze through the Summit TLA-50. The second channel was left clean and sent through the Hamptone JFET.

Guitars:
Main (L and R):
Both tracks were played on the Larrivee L-03R. The chain was the AT4047 with Pad and Hi-Pass engaged, into the Seventh Circle A12 and just barely touched with the Summit TLA-50 (med attack/fast release, pulling -3dB at peaks. For track 2, we swapped out the 4047 for the Neumann U87, keeping the rest of the chain the same...we might might have hitting the compressor a tad bit harder.
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I'm Alright:
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Drums:
Played, engineered, noted and chronicled by Chris Garges:
Kick drum stayed the same as SnS. Snare drum was a 1960s 5x14 Rogers Powertone chrome-over-brass drum (another one of my gems). Remo coated Ambassador head, two pieces of gaffer's tape.

Cymbals were Paiste Formula 602 13" medium hi hats, 16" Traditional thin crash (I tried an 18" Traditional thin and a 16" Traditional extra thin, as well), and the 20" Formula 602 thin crash (which also served as the ride cymbal). The crash sounds are pretty extreme, so it's easy to tell which is which.

The conga was an original Toca Custom Series 11" drum.

In general, I just went for a little "fuzzier"-sounding. It just kind of
seemed right. A little less hi-fi without being lo-fi, you know?

Kick--- AKG D12E (Sort of boxy kick drum mic with a ridiculous amount of low end)--- Shure pad, -15--- API 512C, just above all the way down--- API 550A (the same EQ settings worked for this setup as well)--- Purple MC76, input between 36 and 30, output around 12, attack halfway, release petty fast, "4 & 8" ratio buttons both pushed in

Snare Top--- Shure KSM141, -25 pad, hi-cut engaged (good for capturing an aggressive snare sound-- really natural-sounding mic)--- Shure pad, -20 (same deal)--- API 512C, pad engaged (to get a little more "working preamp" thing), higher gain setting, polarity reversed--- dbx 161, high threshold, about 2.5:1, makeup gain a little below unity, just because that's where it sounded good (The same as SnS.)

Snare Bottom--- Sennheiser MD421 MKII--- Shure pad, -25--- API 312, pad engaged, gain about 1/3rd up, polarity NOT reversed.

Mono OH (raised a couple of feet fro this one, since I was playing
louder)--- Oktava MK13M with a tube in it, cardioid--- Polarity reverse
cable--- Averill-racked Neve 1272, gain at 30, output midway--- ADR Vocal Stresser (just to wig out the overhead a bit and make it a little more aggressive-sounding), very slight EQ dip at around 500Hz, and a very slight peak at around 6k, "Compex" section had the expander on, but not really working at all (this was purely an accident) and compressor set with 2.5ms attack, auto release, threshold -4, and 3:1 ratio.

Hi Hat (moved a little closer to the cymbals)-- Akai DM11--- Whirlwind Imp DI, 600 ohm setting--- Amek 9098 preamp, 26dB, hi=pass engaged--- API 550A, -12@400, shelf (didn't change it from SnS)

MS Room-- AT 4050s, cardioid mic, hi-pass and -10 pad engaged on both mic--- Sytek (Burr Brown ICs) set about 1/3rd of the way up, polarity NOT reversed (right mic mult still flipped again for proper MS decoding)

Far room mics, pointed at the floor in separate iso booths-- Oktava MK-12s, omni capsules--- Sytek (Burr Browns), right channel slightly higher than left, but both slightly higher than SnS, left mic polarity reversed---
Distressors, detector hi-pass and distortion 3 engaged, both units linked, Nuke ratio, input 5.5, attack 2 (fast), release 0 (fastest), output 4.5 (this just makes the room decay more apparent)--- Inward Connections EQ-2, left channel= -6@140, narrow Q, -7@260, slightly wider Q, right channel= -6@200 wider Q, -7@260, wider Q (same as SnS)

Bells and Shaker--- Beyer M500--- Averill Neve 1272

Conga--- Oktava MC012 with Red capsule (I've got some of this Red mic stuff to review, so I decided to try this out. Sounded pretty good, I thought)--- GML 8900 limiter (just to even out some peaks in the slaps and stuff and make it sit more evenly behind the track)

Tambourine-- I used the conga mic setup with the same pre and limiter

Bass:
70's Fender Precision split to 2 channels: one being sent through the Sansamp Bass DI, the N72, the Summit TLA-50 and to the ART VLA for a bit of "color". The second, again run clean through the Hamptone JFET. What can I say...it just works.

Guitars:
Main (L and R):
The fingerpicked track was done on the Martin 000-15S through a Neumann KM84, the Seventh Circle A12 and given a little broader shoulders with the Summit TLA-50. The strummed track was the Martin 000-15 with my current "go-to" acoustic chain: AT4047 with pad and hi-pass engaged, the Seventh Circle A12 and the Summit TLA-50 (med attack/fast release and taking down about -3dB on peaks). This chain has just been a great starting point for much of the acoustic guitar on this project. Thought the Summit isn't necessarily compressing much, it imparts a certain color that just works for me and there is something about the 4047 that just makes it a different mic with the pad engaged...especially on low volume sources....it gets really smooth in a really cool 70's kind of way on acoustic guitars.

Others:
One guitar track, I like to call the "tic-toc guitar" does kind of the old "boom-chicka" thing that you might hear following the upright bass tracks on old Johnny Cash records. Here, it kinda follows somewhere between the bass and Chris's conga drum. This was the Martin 000-15S going through the old standby chain described above (AT4047, A12, TLA).

There are 2 lead guitar tracks working together, playing some almost baritone-ish lines (Chris called them "Marlboro Man Guitars") throughout. The first was the Larrivee L-03R into the Neumann U87, Seventh Circle A12 and Summit TLA-50. The second was the Gibson ES-137 Custom into Allen 5F1+ small tube amp. This track was kept super clean using the front pickup and the amp was mic'd at pretty good distance (maybe 5') for a sense of space. The chain was the same (U87, A12, TLA)
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Hold On:
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Drums:
Played, engineered, noted and chronicled by Chris Garges:

Kick was a 16x20 Gretsch Catalina Birch drum with an Aquarian Super Kick I batter head and full Gretsch logo front head with a felt strip behind it. Small, but weighty blanket barely touching the front head. Very fluffy Vater wool beater on kick pedal. Snare was a 1960s Grestch 4x14 wood Max Roach Progressive Jazz Model with a coated Ambassador batter and Ambassador snare bottom. Snares on. (Some people play brushes with the snares off.) There was a business card taped to the top head for muffling.

Cymbals were a Paiste 20" Formula 602 thin crash and the 20" 60s K. Zildjian with 1 rivet. The hi hats were this weird combination of dark 14" cymbals. The bottom is a Kent and the top has no name, but is ever-so-slightly smaller than the bottom.

The frame drum was a 20" Remo Buffalo Drum.

There were two tambourines played simultaneously (one in left hand, one in right) and miked from two different rooms.

Signal path:
Kick--- Heavy blanket over front of drum to reduce high-frequencies from
brushes and cymbals in quietly-played kick drum mic--- Lawson L47FET
(-10pad)--- Averill Neve 1272--- Sphere 900 (1970s) graphic EQ (-2@1.6k, -6@800, -15@200, -4@50)--- ART VLA (to peak-limit loud passages, threshold=+7, 2:1, output=+4, but the unit normally adds about 4dB of gain anyway, so there's a more accurate total of 8dB makeup). I checked out several compressors including a Purple MC76, a Federal AM-864/U, and a custom-built LA2A clone, and decided on the VLA, which imparts a nice bit of extra low end and a tiny bit of smooth and pleasant distortion with conservative input levels.

Snare--- AT 4051 (hi-pass engaged, a great hi-fi mic that's excellent for
brushes)--- Buzz Audio Elixir (-20 pad... the 4051 has a very high output... 34dB gain, high impedence selected)--- Distressor, again to even out peaks in some of the backbeats (detector hi-pass, mid-emphasis, audio hi-pass, 6:1, input=7.5, attack= 3.5, release= 5, output= 3.7)

Mono Overhead--- Went with the trusty Oktava MK13M tube prototype mic again...wanted something slighty "dirty" sounding (tried omni pattern, but wound up using cardioid, close to the cymbals to reduce snare bleed and make this more of a dedicated cymbal mic)--- Buzz Audio Elixir (this is the first session I've used them on... I had to do it... -20pad, gain all the way down)--- ADR Vocal Stresser, for a bit of dirty compression and grit (EQ= -6@300, -2@500, "Compex" section post EQ, no expander or peak limiting, compressor attack=25, release= auto, threshold= -18, 2:1, about 4-8dB reduction on peaks, gain set to take advantage of the sound of the unit)

HiHat--- Akai DM11--- Amek 9098 (hi-pass, polarity reverse, 37dB)---
Langevin EQP-1 (all cut at 120Hz)

MS Rooms--- AT4050, caridoid mid--- Sytek (Burr Browns, gain around 6.5)

Frame Drum- Oktava MC012 with Red capsule--- Buzz Audio Elixir (28dB)

Tambourines left--- MXL V67 in kitchen--- Buzz Elixir (25dB)--- Langevin
EQP-1 (cut all at 90Hz)
Tambourines right--- Oktava MC012 with Red capsule (pointed at iso booth door in studio)--- Buzz Elixir (22dB)--- Langevin EQP-1 (cut all at 90Hz)

Bass:
The good ol' standard 70's Fender Precision into the Sansamp Bass DI, N72 and squeezed pretty well with the Summit TLA-50. No "clean" DI on this one as it was more of a happy accident. I had put down a working scratch track with intentions on replacing it but I ended up liking the track's lazy "vibe" and couldn't bring myself to replace it. Clinical perfection isn't always what makes a good track.

Guitars:
This one would seem to have a lot of guitar tracks but it doesn't amount to quite as many as it sounds like. I wanted to give this song kind of a raggedy old-school feel....like a 70's Nashville Dylan track or something.

Main Guitars:
Again, this was one of those odd happy accidents where I liked the 2 original "guide" tracks and couldn't bring myself to replace them. They have a lot of very interesting "phrasing" and interplay that just seems to fit perfectly in the context of the song. The phrasing reminds me of some old school Willie Nelson record or something....it's a little weathered sounding, a little funky but "right". You just can't pay for that kind of stuff.
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Outta Touch/Tune:
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Drums:
Played, engineered, noted and chronicled by Chris Garges:

Kick was a 1966-ish Gretsch 14x20 bass drum with an Evans coated EQ3 on the batter, a full Remo Fiberskyn 3 on the front with a felt strip behind it and crumpled-up shreds of newspaper in the drum. Bass drum beater was a cork beater that I got by removing the wool from one of those new Vater beaters.
Snare was a similar-period Gretsch Max Roach Progressive Jazz Model 4x14 wood drum with a coated Ambassador batter and an Ambassador Snare bottom. No muffling. Rack tom was a 1966-ish 8x12 Gretsch tom with a coated Emperor on top and a coated Diplomat on the bottom with a piece of tape stretched from the head to the rim. It was on a snare drum stand, which tends to muffle the drum a bit. Floor tom (second take only) was a 1966-ish 16x16 Gretsch with a coated Emperor on top (with a looped piece of tape for muffling) and a coated Ambassador on the bottom.

Cymbals included Paiste Formula 602 13" medium hi hats, 20" Formula 602 thin crash, and 20" Formula 206 paperthin.

For this tune, the RADAR was calibrated with a slightly lower input level,
for a little more headroom on the converters.

Kick--- Beyer M88 (with blanket over the drum to reduce cymbal and snare leakage)--- vintage RCA BC-2B preamps (these are old solid-state preamps that sound thick and almost sort of crappy-- great for guitars-- not driven too hard for this setup)--- Sphere 900 EQ (-4@800, -15@400, -4@50)

Snare--- Altec 195A with 29B capsule--- RCA BC-2B preamp (again, not driven too hard)

Mono OH--- Oktava MK13M with tube--- Averill Neve 1272 (30dB gain, output lowered a bit to "drive" the pre)--- ADR Vocal Stresser (no EQ, "Compex" section: attack=2.5ms, release=auto, threshold=0, ratio=3:1, gain set up to drive 3-5 dB of reduction)

MS Rooms--- AT4050s with a cardioid mid (-10dB pad, hi-pass engaged)--- vintage Langevin AM-16 preamps (very forward-sounding preamps with an aggressive coloration-- again, outstanding for over-the-top guitars)--- Manley Variable MU set to limit, not linked (left side [mid]= medium input, medium threshold, driving 3-4 dB or reduction, fast attack, medium recovery... right side [sides]= same settings with slightly lower threshold [differences in mid and side mic levels in this instance meant LESS gain reduction on the side mics, even though the threshold was slightly lower... this took a while to set up correctly], and slightly slower recovery, just to make the mid and side mics move in and out a little differently... oooooh, 3D!)

Hi Hat--- Akai DM11 (why mess with a good thing)--- Averill Neve 1272 (gain set at 50dB with output reduced significantly, just to mess up the hi hat sound a bit)--- Langevin EQP-1 (large cut at 120Hz)

Far Room Mic (in kitchen with studio door open)--- MXL V67 on kitchen
counter--- Buzz Elixir (32dB gain)

*** It's interesting to note that for some reason, none of these mics
required polarity reversal (aside from the multed MS mic). That's a rare
occurance on a drumkit, but this just proves that it happens from
time-to-time.

Maracas--- Royer R-121--- Buzz Elixir (47dB of gain, then reduced 7dB in RADAR-- this was to open up the sound of the maracas to the recording device, but then trash it up a bit and make it sit with the kit correctly afterwards)

Other stuff--- MXL V67 (still on kitchen counter, instruments played in
studio with door open except second cowbell, which was played in the lounge next to the kitchen)--- Buzz Elixir (47dB gain)--- Cowbells also got blasted with a Distressor (both HP filters and mid=emphasis engaged, Nuke setting, input 6, attack 1.5, release 0.5, output 5)

Bass:
Nothing seriously new here...the 70's Precision split two ways: One to the Sansamp Bass DI, Seventh Circle N72 and Summit TLA-50 with one kept clean to the Hamptone JFET. It works....what can I say?

Guitars:
Main (L and R):
This one was really fun to do. I wanted to keep the guitars "acoustic" but I wanted to be able to add in some Stones-y grit without clouding things up by tracking lots of guitars. We ended up micing the acoustic guitars and simultaneously jacking into a small Allen tube amp placed in an iso-booth. This gave us 2 tracks of each guitar....one clean and one dirty, mixable to taste later. It worked out really well.

The chain on both sets of guitars were the same:
Martin 000-15S mic'd pretty closely with the AT4047 (pad and hi-pass engaged), into the Seventh Circle A12 and into the Summit TLA-50 (med attack/fast release, probably pulling down around -3 to -10dB on big peaks). The amp'd and overdriven side was the K&K Pure Western Mini pickup (installed in the guitar) into the Fulltone OCD for overdrive and into the Allen 5F1+ small tube amp in the iso-booth. The amp was mic'd at a short distance with the AKG 414 going again into the Seventh Circle A12 and into the Summit TLA-50 for peaks.

Fun fact....the live room reeked with the smell and fog of toasty electronics that can only come from an all too hasty and (not so) brilliant guitartist putting in a power tube backwards. Yep. It's a good thing those Allen Amplifiers are practically bulletproof. That'll learn ya in a hurry though!
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Where I'll Be Found:
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Drums:
Played, engineered, noted and chronicled by Chris Garges:

Kick was an 18x22 maple-shell Fibes drum with an Aquarian Super Kick II batter head and a front head with a 10" hole in the center. There was a
small pillow against the outside of the front head and no internal muffling.
The bass drum beater was this awesome large and very heavy felt beater that I bought at The Chicago Store in downtown Tucson during the 2006 TapeOp Conference. The "snare drum" was a box of Emtec 900 2" tape (with the tape in it) on a snare drum stand, played with ProMark Broom Sticks.

The cymbal was a 1960s 20" Turkish K. Zildjian (made in Istanbul) with one rivet in it. The hi hats (both with the kit and the overdub) were 13" Paiste Formula 602 medium hi hats.

Signal path:
Kick--- U87 (late 1970s, in caridoid with -10 pad)--- Daking 52270 mic
pre/EQ (gain at 30, -15@200, +1@80, hi-pass filter in at 50)--- Auditioned Purple Audio MC76 and Drawmer 1960, but went with Distressor (Nuke, no filters, distortion, or sidechain stuff, input 8, attack 1, release 1, output 6)--- Still needed a little low-end shaping, so I used a Sontec MEP-250EX (+2@70, -6@550, -6@900)

Tape Box--- Shure SM77 (slightly more pleasant and smaller relative of the SM57)--- polarity reverse cable--- Averill-racked Neve 1272 (for some
"thump" to the sound, 40dB)--- dbx 161 (threshold=+1, 3:1, output= -1... in retrospect, I should have been more aggressive with this unit in this
particular situation)

Cymbal--- Extremely close-miked with Avenson STO-2 (Stapes production mic--- went with the Avenson because of reduced proximity effect from omni pattern, which makes it nice for close-miking cymbals)--- Sytek (with Burr Brown ICs) set at "4", with polarity reversed

Hi Hat--- Akai DM11--- Amek 9098 (hi-pass, polarity invert, 37dB)---
Langevin "Pultec-type" EQP-1 for additional low roll-off (total cut at
120Hz). For the overdub, the mic was positioned slightly higher and towards the point of contact with the sticks. Also, a couple of dB at 16kHz added on the Langevin EQ.

MS Room Mics--- AT4050s with a cardioid mid--- Syteks (with Burr Brown ICs)

Bells--- MXL V67--- Buzz Elixir

Tambourine--- MXL V67, with the tambourine around the mic--- Buzz Elixir

(On a secondary round of percussion)
The tambourine and shaker were recorded with a Royer R-121 sent to a Buzz
Elixir preamp.

Bass:
70's Fender Precision split to 2 channels...one through the Fulltone OCD for grit, into the Sansamp Bass DI, the Seventh Circle N72, squeezed a bit with the Summit TLA-50 and gently touched with the ART VLA for "color". The second channel goes clean into the DI of the Hamptone JFET.

Guitars:
Main (left, right, center)
Up the center is a Larrivee L-03R into the Blue Mouse, the Seventh Circle N72 and the DBX 160SL. There is also a more driving version of the same guitar and chain to beef it up a little. I'm not sure if it was necessary but the idea was there and I did it. To either side are supportive tracks played with the Martin 000-15. The rest of the chain is the same.

High Strung:
Somebody stop me...I'm nuts with these, I think. I was looking for something to kind of harmonically excite the center without adding too much more "weight". I ended up putting down 3 different passes of High-Strung (Nashville Tuned) guitar: one to drive along with the center guitar, one to accentuate the backbeats and one that was capo'd up and played with this sort of "pseudo-mandolin" feel in mind. How much of "what" gets used will remain to be seen but it sounds pretty cool as it stands. The chain was the usual Martin 000-15 strung with a Martin High-Strung set...AT4047, Seventh Circle A12 and the Summit TLA-50. A bit of careful tuning, mic placement and pick-hand positioning was necessary for each take to "stack" well.
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Roll Over:
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Drums:
Played, engineered, noted and chronicled by Chris Garges:

The setup involved a 16x20 Gretsch Catalina Birch bass drum with an Aquarian Super Kick I batter head and a full Gretsch logo head on the front. There is a small blanket inside, just barely touching the front head. The kick drum pedal had the vertically-rounded felt side of a Pearl quad bass drum beater on it. The snare was a 6.5x14 Pearl Maple Free-Floating drum with a Remo coated Ambassador batter and Remo Ambassador Snare head on the bottom. The floor tom was a 1960s round-badge 16x16 Gretsch drum with a Remo coated Emperor on top and a Remo coated Ambassador on the bottom.

Cymbals were a 20" blue-label Paiste Formula 602 thin crash, a 20"
blue-label Paiste Formula 602 paperthin for the ride, and a 16" Paiste
Traditional extra thin crash. Hi hats were 13" blue-label Paiste Formula 602 mediums. The suspended cymbal overdub was an 18" Paiste Signature Symphonic medium hand cymbal.

The bass drum was miked with a Beyer M88TG. I decided to go with a softer drum sound for these two tunes, so I went with Daking 52270 preamps (with EQ) for the kick and snare, which can sound pleasantly "mushy." The kick drum preamp was set at -15 with the output control about 3/4 of the way up. There was a 12dB-ish cut at 250Hz applied and the hi-pass filter was engaged at 25Hz. The kick drum then went to a Purple Audio MC76 compressor (after listening to it, then the ART VLA, then going back to the MC76), with the input set just below 30, output at about 15, attack and release at their fastest settings, and both the 4:1 and 8:1 ratio buttons pushed in.

The snare drum was miked on top with a Shure KSM 141 (cardioid pattern, -25 pad and low frequency roll-off engaged) and also went to a Daking 52270 with the gain at the -15 setting and the output knob about 4/5 of the way up. It was compressed with a dbx 161 (threshold +1, ratio= 1.5:1, output at 0) measuring a few dB of gain reduction on peaks.

The overhead was again the trusty Oktava MK13M with a tube in it in the cardioid pattern, positioned over the kit, but aimed toward the ride cymbal, 16" crash, and floor tom, all of which seemed quieter in the overhead than the 20" crash and snare. The overhead mic went to an Averill-racked Neve 1272 set at 30dB of gain, with the output knob at about 4/5 of the way up. It was compressed with a GML 8900 with the basic threshold set at 3, timing control at 5, release hysteresis just on, fast detector at 10, peak detector at it's lowest threshold, ratio set to soft-knee/auto, and output set at 3.

The hi hat was again miked with the weirdo Akai DM-11 and went through the Neve 1272 (gain=45dB, output at 1/3 up), then on to a Langevin EQP1A where a healthy cut at 120Hz was applied.

I stayed with the same MS room setup, using Audio Technica 4050s with a cardioid mid and routed them to Buzz Audio Elixir preamps, which were set at 24dB.

Again, this was one of those weird instances where no polarity reversal was required to get the kit in-phase.

The suspended cymbal was recorded with an Oktava MC-012 with a Red R-12 large-diapragm capsule directly over the bell of the cymbal and a few feet up. It went to a Sytek MPX-4Aii preamp. Claves, shaker, and tambourines were recorded with a Beyer M260 into a Sytek preamp.
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Hard Enough:
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Drums:
Played, engineered, noted and chronicled by Chris Garges:

I wanted a thicker, fatter drum sound on this and tried to play sort of
lightly, but with a little bit of "weight."

The kit included the same 16x20 Gretsch Catalina Birch bass drum with an Aquarian Super Kick I batter head and a full Gretsch logo head on the front. Small blanket inside, barely touching the front head. The kick drum pedal had the vertically-rounded felt side of a Pearl quad bass drum beater on it.

I checked out a few snare drums and settled on what I think is an early
1970s 8x14 Ludwig wood snare. It had a Remo coated CS (dot) batter and Remo Ambassador Snare head on the bottom. Initially, I loosened the snares, tuned the drum to a pitch that worked (I did it by ear, so I'm not sure what note I tuned it to), and tried to record a bit of it. It was gorgeously ringy, but just too much so for the track (it sounded too attention-getting, if that makes any sense. I thought it would take away from the vocals in the long run), so I decided to go with one of my favorite snare sounds and stack a few pieces of paper over the top of the drum head. I taped them down and tried to play dead-center on the drum and it gave me "that thing." I liked it.

Cymbals were a 20" blue-label Paiste Formula 602 thin crash, a 20"
blue-label Paiste Formula 602 paperthin with a small beaded chain on it for the ride (after auditioning a dry and heavy Paiste prototype ride), and an 18" Paiste Signature fast crash. Hi hats were a pair of 18" Paiste
Signature Symphonic medium hand cymbals. One of my favorite sets of hi hats. Great for either big, bashy rock stuff, or weirder, softer playing.

The bass drum was again miked with a Beyer M88TG into a Daking 52270 preamp.

The kick drum preamp was set at -15 with the output control about 3/4 of the way up. There was a 12dB-ish cut at 250Hz applied and the hi-pass filter was engaged at 25Hz. The kick drum then went to a Purple Audio MC76 compressor, with the input set just below 30, output at about 15, attack and release at their fastest settings, and both the 4:1 and 8:1 ratio buttons pushed in.

The overhead was again the trusty Oktava MK13M with a tube in it in the cardioid pattern, positioned over the bass drum. The overhead mic went to an Averill-racked Neve 1272 set at 30dB of gain, with the output knob at about 4/5 of the way up. It was compressed with an ADR Vocal Stresser, just using the "Compex" section. The overhead required a polarity reversal (because of the use of this particular compressor), so a polarity-reversed cable was inserted before the ADR.

The hi hat was again miked with the weirdo Akai DM-11 and went through the Neve 1272 (gain=45dB, output at 1/3 up), then on to a Langevin EQP1A where a healthy cut at 120Hz was applied.

I stayed with the same MS room setup, using Audio Technica 4050s with a cardioid mid and routed them to Buzz Audio Elixir preamps, which were set at about 34dB.

The tambourine tracks (takes one and two) were both recorded with a Royer R-121 using a vintage Langevin AM-16 preamp because I wanted a really hard tambourine sound that wasn't too peaky in the top end. I used the same setup for the sleigh bells.
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Straight Time:
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Drums:
Played, engineered, noted and chronicled by Chris Garges:

Kick was a sixties 14x20 Gretsch drum with a coated Evans EQ4 batter head and no front head. There was a small pillow against the batter head with a big, heavy rock on top of it for some weight. The bass drum beater was the felt side of a Pearl quad beater. The snare drum was a late seventies 5x14 Ludwig Acrolite snare with a Remo Fiberskyn 3 Ambassador batter and an Ambassador snare side head. (No muffling.) I auditioned a mid-Sixites Gretsch 14x14 floor tom, but decided I wanted a lower pitch and bigger sound, so I went with a mid-Sixties Gretsch 16x16 floor tom with a Remo coated Emperor on top (with one piece of Moon Gel at the edge of the head) and a Remo coated Ambassador on the bottom.

The cymbals were a Paiste blue-label Formula 602 20" paperthin and a Paiste blue-label Formula 602 20" thin crash (that was the ride cymbal). The hi hats were 13" Paiste blue-label Formula 602 medium hi hats.

Signal path:
Kick--- AKG D12E--- Shure 15dB pad--- Averill-racked vintage API 312 preamp (all the way down)--- ADR Vocal Stresser (no EQ, "Compex" section, input 2.2, attack= 2.5, release= .2, threshold= -4, ratio= 3:1, output= 4.3)

Snare--- 1970s Neumann U87 (cardioid, hi-pass filter, -10 pad)--- Shure variable pad set at -15dB--- Averill-racked vintage API 312 (all the way down)--- Purple Audio MC76 (compression not active, just using the amplifiers in the MC76 for tone, input=about 35, output= about 18)

Floor tom--- Sennhesier MD409--- Averill-racked vintage API 312 (all the way down)

Mono Overhead--- Oktava MK13M tube prototype mic in cardioid--- Sytek MPX-4Aii with Burr Brown ICs (gain all the way down)

Hi Hat--- Akai DM11--- Whirlwind IMP DI (set at 600ohms)--- polarity-reversed cable--- Averill-racked Neve 1272 (gain at 30dB, output 3/4 of the way up)--- API 550A (filter engaged, -12@400Hz, low shelf)

MS Room Mics--- AT4050s with a cardioid mid--- Buzz Elixirs at 24dB, polrity reversed on both preamps (independent of right-side mult polarity reversal)

Far Room (Kitchen)--- MXL V67--- API 512C (gain just above all the way down)--- Langevin EQP1A (cut halfway at 30dB to take care of some rumble)

Far Room (Bathroom)--- Oktava MC012 (omni capsule)--- API 512C (gain about a third of the way up, polarity reversed)--- Langevin EQP1A (cut about two thirds of the way at 30dB to take care of some rumble)
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Hyde, CA:
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Drums:
Played, engineered, noted and chronicled by Chris Garges:

The cymbals were a Paiste Signature 18" fast crash and a Paiste blue-label Formula 602 20" thin crash with a small metal beaded chain across it for a sizzle effect (that was the ride cymbal). The hi hats were 13" Paiste blue-label Formula 602 medium hi hats.

The tambourine was an LP cyclops with brass jingles. The shaker was a Foster's beer can with tiny glass beads in it, made for me by Dave Brockway of Day By The River many years ago.

Signal path:
Kick--- Chameleon Labs TS-2 that I'm reviewing for TapeOp (in tight caridoid with -20 pad)--- Shure 15dB pad--- Averill-racked vintage API 312 preamp (all the way down). Sounded pretty great with no additional EQ or compression.

Snare--- Auditioned Sennheiser MD431, but decided on the slighty brighter and more detailed sound of a 1970s Neumann U87 (cardioid, hi-pass filter, -10 pad)--- Shure variable pad set at -15dB--- Averill-racked vintage API 312 (slightly above all the way down)--- dbx 161 (threshold=+1, 2:1, output= +7, maybe 3-4dB of reduction)

Mono Overhead--- Auditioned Lomo 19a18, but went with the slightly brighter sound and tighter pattern of the trusty Oktava MK13M tube prototype mic in cardioid--- Sytek MPX-4Aii with Burr Brown ICs (gain all the way down)

MS Room Mics--- AT4050s with a cardioid mid--- Buzz Elixirs at 24dB, polrity reversed on both preamps (independent of right-side mult polarity reversal)

Far Room (Kitchen)--- MXL V67--- API 512C (gain just above all the way down)--- Langevin EQP1A (cut halfway at 30dB to take care of some rumble)

Tambourine--- Akai DM11--- Whirlwind IMP DI (set at 600ohms)--- polarity-reversed cable--- Averill-racked Neve 1272 (gain at 35dB, output all the way up)--- API 550A (filter engaged, -12@100Hz, low shelf)--- Distressor ("Nuke," 3rd-harmonic distorition, input=6, attack=0, release=3, output=5.5)

Shaker--- Akai DM11--- Whirlwind IMP DI (set at 600ohms)--- polarity-reversed cable--- Averill-racked Neve 1272 (gain at 40dB, output all the way up)--- API 550A (filter engaged, -12@100Hz, low shelf)
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Madhouse:
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Drums:
Played, engineered, noted and chronicled by Chris Garges:

I don't think I have much in the way of official tech notes. I think the djembe was recorded with a Chameleon Labs TS-2, near the edge of the head, almost pointing at the side of the shell. The preamp was probably a Buzz Elixir and I think it was recorded with the MC76 in line. The gangokui bells were played with the back end of a pencil and recorded with a Royer 121 also going into the Buzz Elixir. I think I stood a little bit away from the mic. From there, the signal went to an Empirical Labs Distressor. I didn't make notes on the precise settings, but I'm pretty sure it was set to Nuke with the mid-band emphasis in the detector and audio hi-pass filter engaged. The 3rd-harmonic distortion setting was also active and I may have had the unit in "link mode" without actually having it linked to another unit, which triggers the distortion harder. The attack and release times were probably both REALLY fast and I'm sure there's like 30dB of gain reduction going on. The "gut mic" was an AKG 451EB with the 150 hi-pass filter engaged. I believe it went to a Brent Averill-racked Neve 1272.

There's a mono djembe track that I initially envisioned doubling, tripling, hell, maybe doing a shit load of passes on, but I really like the intimacy of the one. Then, there are the African bells (Gangokui bells) that I played with a pencil and slammed as hard as I could with a Distressor. The individual tracks are actually a little distorted, but I think it works in context. Those are doubled and hard-panned. Then at the end, there's a doubled and hard-panned floor tom part that was played with yarn mallets.

When I got this much done, I thought about how dark all the sounds were and thought it needed some kind of subtle hi-frequency thing happening, but didn't want to go shaker on it. I thought about playing a tape box or something with the broom sticks, just doing 16th notes and as I was listening and thinking about it, I started playing with my hands on my stomach. Instantly, that was the sound, so I recorded it and though it worked just fine. I also thought about adding some creepy other little
stuff here and there-- cymbal scrapes, cymbal rolls, bells, etc., but I really just kind of like it like it is. It really leaves room for the guitar and vocal without sounding empty.
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The Losing Kind:
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