Matt Bayles inside info

[brendondp]

I've searched and searched every forum and website and can't find any info in relation to Matt Bayles' preferred recording methods, mics, etc...

Anyone who's worked alongside him know any inside info that's not going to betray the client/friend/code of confidentiality pact...?

Basically, I'm dying to know how he achieved the ISIS Oceanic drum sound.

And face it, you are too, right?

bdp

[gilson]

man i'm so happy that you mentioned matt bayles...he has AND is doing brilliant work..ever heard his band : " minus the bear "

and yes i to am dying to know how he achieved that drum sound, otherwise try to look at his website www.mattbyles.com

good luck, and let me know ;-)

[jason]

he did a record at the studio I work for...I wasn't around when he was working though...I believe there are some pics of his setup drum setup around. I'll hunt for them. From what the other guys told me he wasn't doing anything too unconventional.

I chatted with him for an hour or so just before he started mixing. He's a great guy, knows his shit. I haven't actually heard the record he did at our shop or heard much of his stuff but he is the go to guy for that genre it seems.
I know he works a lot out of a place that has API console -> Studer 827

He doesn't carry any gear with him. He requested a distressor which we brought in for him...other than that he used our stuff.

cheers,
jason

[jason]

found a pic of the drum setup, and a pic of the outboard when he was mixing.

mics on drums:
overheads - TLM 170 spaced so they're even with hat and floor tom if you're looking from the front. About 18 inches off the cymbals.
Kick- can't see cause the mic is right up inside
snare- 57
rack/mid tom -421
floor toms-57
hat-km84
can't see room mics in pics...sorry guys.

He wasn't using a ton of outboard when mixing, he had the stuff marked with tape but I can't read most of it.

he's using api eq's, dbx160VU's (snare), drawmer gates,
1176 on room can't tell ratio but he's creamin it!!,tubetech PE1C, and the distressor on somethin, TLA-100A on overheads.

a set of 2254's are unused...the other pair may be in use but I can't see them.

Sorry guys, I don't think I'm revealing any tricks. He probably has some but it's probably more a case where he's been doing records of this genre for 10+ years and has really got it figured out.

Note- this record was lower budget and was all mixed and recorded in 10-15 days, so this may not be indicative of how he usually works.

Cheers,
jason

[Mattct]

that drum sound is 100% a result of the drummer, Aaron Harris, and the room, Fort Apache's big room.

the room was (it is no longer around) an 80 series Neve and an extremely live room. in fact we had curtains around the drums to dry and dampen it and it still was quite live. the room mics were spaced 87's in omni.

sorry to answer a thread about me, but i thought i would share.

[enharmonic]

Great thread!

Speaking of Matt, have any of your heard Isis' new one yet...Panopticon?

Sick I tell ya...just sick!

EDIT

Guess I don't have to offer up ideas of wher eyou might be able to get info on Matt when he's here!

[brendondp]

Well, believe it or not I actually recieved an email from Matt myself after sending him one via his web site. He was incredibly nice about the fact that I had emailed him and revealed all his secrets to me if I promised not to tell anyone.

No, okay he didn't, but he did say pretty much what he's written here himself - a great room and a great drummer (don't you wish it was that way more often?)

Thanky you fellow gearslutz and to Matt too for taking the time to respond in such a gracious way.

(Can I just say that while it is truly wonderful to have someone whose work you so admire respond to an email, I did say in my email to him that I also respected the fact that he has worked incredibly hard to get to the position he now occupies and that I understood his right to not reveal anything, much less respond. I am incredibly grateful for his email to me and his post here but I would hate to start an emailing frenzy that resulted in people deciding they had a right to bug the hell out of him, or any other professional whose work we admire. While it is tempting to want more and more and more, I have to say I am very content and grateful for the reply I received personally and here on this forum and will leave the rest up to my own efforts at trial and error in the studio.)

Anyway, let me also say that I am having a really great day!

bdp

[brendondp]

No more info to add except that Mastodon's Blood Mountain and Isis' In the Absence of Truth are fantastic.

(The Mastodon Making of Blood Mountain DVD is great too.)

That's all.

bdp

[maestromiles]

Originally Posted by gilson

ever heard his band : " minus the bear "

Minus The Bear are awesome.