I thought I would start a journal /pictorial of how I make tunes.  This is for the final song of my cd which I started around last Christmas.  It's been fun and I've learned alot.  Hopefully you guys can impart some wisdom and comments as well.  Feel free to join in if you so feel the urge.  If you have any questions I will try to answer them.  There will be plenty of pics and audio files along the way for your enjoyment (hopefully).

Well, it all starts here.  Here's my 74 yamaha upright.  I pick thru the melodies and chord progressions.  Usually it takes me about a month to write a tune.  I used a couple of drum clips to suspend the sennheiser 441's.  This is a new departure for me, since I usually use mic stands.  But the clips take less space.  I like the 441's because they have a smaller pickup pattern than a 421 or condenser mic.  I live on a noisy street so I have to cut tracks early in the morning.



I have a "junk" adat laying around that I do my "remote" recording with.  I used to use a fancy pre amp and converter rig with it, but now I'm just going to use the preamps on the muckie (mackie) board.  I can monitor the three channels while I am recording them.  You want to use a "half click" in the older mackie boards to bypass the eq and get the cleanest sound.  Pushing mackie preamps too hard impart a grainy sound on your recordings 

Adat is an old recording format ( for those that don't really know) and was the shiznet back in the early 90's.  Lot's of records were done on these things.  They are heavy, loud and prone to breaking- but this one is alright for now.  I just cleaned it a couple of months ago.  They record on VHS tape.  I am recording 20 bit 48Khz (highest resolution this machine can muster).



Well I finally got a keeper and here is a boring/blurry pic of me doing a digital dump into my 24 bit machine.  I'm doing the dump via "lightpipe" adat optical cable.  The 4 bits are dithered automatically in the 24 bit machine so there is no problem as long as the sample rate is the same (48 khz).  The rest of the recording will be done at 24 bit in the latest version of ADAT HD24XR.  So three tracks, stereo piano and a click.



And now the fun begins for engineers and drummers alike.  Here is the Noble & Cooley Horizon shell pack that I have had set up but not in a playable state for the past couple of months.  It needs tuned, cymbals added and mics placed.  I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet.  I might use a few more mics this time around than I have previously.  It's kinda daunting having this beautiful canvas laid before me- ironically in a white drumset.

So far I'm going to stick with the pinstripes on top (sorta fresh) and video gloss white aquarian classic clears on the resos (fresh).  Evan's eq3 system with pillow on kick (fresh).  I'll get them sounding as good as I can in the meantime.

I have a couple of heavy rock tunes to do after this mellow one I just wrote so making the transition between the songs tonally will be kinda tricky.

I have not picked out a snare drum yet.     Maybe you guys can help me with that? 

Cool Felix!  Thanks for sharing.  As for snares, what do you have to choose from? 

Wow - I used an ADAT recorder in grad school in the early 90s. Worked great for what it was.

Geez, those NC drums, the piano, your recording set-up - I'd never leave the house.

Here are some more pics if you guys are interested.

This is an overhead shot of the kit.  Gosh, they sound great.  I'm going to start out with the Sonor siggy snare cause it is just such a well mannered drum.  No buzz to speak of and good sensitivity still.  Doesn't sound too bad either 



I'm going with the 441's on the 10 and 12 and my friend is letting me borrow his 421's for the 14 and 16.

Here's a shot of how I'm going to position the overheads... I usually move them around some to get the best balance.  This is just the initial placement.  I might go back to a "space" technique as opposed to "x-y".



Then I start plugging everything into my snake.  I run headphones thru this also.  Unfortunately one of the returns is dead, but the three others work.   



I'll be getting the rest of my mics wed from my bro.  See you then.

Thanks for your putting your stamp on my thread Chrisso.  yeah, special drums for sure.

Yeah, unfortunately I didn't really play much when I took the year or so to build the room- but I like it and all my friends do also.

My parents came up yesterday and had not seen it in a long time, they really couldn't believe how far it's come in the past 7 years (I started it in 99)

Yes more work than one could imagine.  Thanks for dropping by Nutty.  Speaking of work I'm off to try and practice a little on this thing. 

Thanks.  I've played the piano off and on for along time and have always been recording- but didn't get really into it until the 80's.

Yeah I do.  No crumb snatchers though.  I'm just way too into my thing to deal with kids.  I made enough sacrifices- fresh out of them 

My buddy Dennis and my dad helped me with the finish carpentry- they actually taught me all that I know  .  And one of my best friends is a killer electrician/guitarist (can never get him out of here when he comes over)   he did alot of the electrical (actually fixed most of it after the morons came in and pulled all the wire).

Thanks for stopping by Robyn.  I built this room above my garage.

Just ask about anything you want to know more about.  It's cool... I don't have all the answers myself.  But there are about as many ways to record as their are to play drums with respect to the basics. A studio is a personal thing and everyone's is different 

Ha! You asked for it! Now I'll pepper you w/ questions, like:
 Why is the ceiling rounded? An acoustical thing? How does it affect the sound as opposed to a flat ceiling?

What cymbals are you using w/ that (fine looking) kit?

And...how is it that you've managed to acquire six kits from people dropping them off?! How's that work? 

robyn

Hey felix, I like your set up and I really dig your room.

Are you compressing drums at all to tape?  If so, what settings are you using?
That's where I struggle when recording, getting nice sounding compression.

Also, I can't really tell from your photo, but are you using an 18" ride?