Recording Studio Tips

 A Rant On Sound Replacing Sound replacing should NOT replace actual engineering! That’s right, I said it, sound replacing is used entirely way too much for drums, especially in the metal industry! Prove me wrong! I honestly believe that engineers who make it a habit to sound replace drums, are doing so because it creates a ‘passable’ product without the need to spend time dialing in the actual drum sounds.  The key is when you are tracking the drums though. To avoid the need for sound replacement, the setup / positioning of the microphones are critical as this allows you to capture the best representation of the drums. In fact, cutting corners in setting up the microphones and equalization is what forces engineers into sound replacement just to get a decent sounding product. Creating a full, high quality, representation of the drums requires that your engineer takes the time to learn how to properly set EQ, compression, side chain, gates, and of course, the blending of the mi...

  Micing Your Kick Drums Whether you are recording at a professional recording studio , performing a live set, or just producing a scratch track in your basement, micing your drums is something you will inevitably have to deal with. Don’t panic though, it's easier than you might imagine!  In this article, we will walk you through best practices for micing your drums in the Recording Studio. Before we get started, it’s important to understand that when referring to the micing of the kick drum, we are primarily focusing on 2 sets of tones which are the high and low tones. These types of tones are most often referred to as attack and body when you are speaking about a kick drum. The attack is more or less what it sounds like, it is the sound produced the moment that your beater head strikes the surface of the kick drum head. Please be aware that you can also alter your kick drum tone depending on whether you are using a plastic, wool, or felt beater head.  Now that we have t...