Written by Shan Zhi Liu 12/02/2024
Recording drums in the studio presents the biggest opportunities for creative variables. This week, our resident Chief Sound Engineer Dallas Lander took his vision and years of expertise on drums to the studio.
"Yeahh.. I'm sorry if it's all backwards for you guys."
"I hated every take of that."
Dallas's humility may speak only for himself as he proved to his fellow colleagues at South Bound this week. It's safe to say his efficacy for drumming proves that he will be a great talent to lay down the foundation of our tracks.
With specific sounds required for each artist and each song, each drum setup called for almost entirely unique microphone combinations. The mellower nature of the indie singer-songwriter and of the ballad style called for the modest but legendary sound signature of the Royer 121 ribbon microphones for overheads, and a solid base of an ElectroVoice RE20 for the kick.
Turning another page the next day, a heavier rock oriented style was just asking for brighter overheads and a snappier kick. Dallas and the team could only be obliged to put nothing less than AKG C414 in our overheads.
With the most room for experimentation as well, what is a little extra channel use if not for every opportunity to add Neumann U87's in both the front and back of the room. This moody recording room seen above has multiple rooms, nooks and crannies, all asking for some quality mics to take up. And just for bonus points, implementing a crush microphone was one liberty we could not pass up on.
High upon the throne of API preamps, our drum captain commandeered from his percussive cushion and hand picked some of his favourite outboard combo's. Empirical Labs EL-8X Distressor on our overheads, EL7 Fatso Jr on our kick, and 1176 compression on our snare, all made for our ideal analog signal flow foundation going into mixing in the box.
As one week goes by, South Bound is ecstatic to bring you new developments and insights upon our creative ventures. Our work here could not be possible without the immense efforts and initiative brought by our very own Dallas Lander, so please support us by following us on our website and socials.
As always, inviting you down under. 🇦🇺
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