70's RnB Drum Mic advice needed!! - Gearslutz.com

Gearslutz.com

All Advertisers
Go Back   Gearslutz.com > The Forums > So much gear, so little time!


70's RnB Drum Mic advice needed!!

New Reply New Reply Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 19th June 2003   #1
Gear maniac
 
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: The Countryside, UK.
Posts: 268

Thread Starter
70's RnB Drum Mic advice needed!!

Hi folks...

have a session next week - overseeing a drum session which needs that US 70's R n B flavour.

We have the drummer/drums themselves sorted but I really need some advice about which mics to go for so we can either hire them in or ask the studio to provide.

Something to get that dry-ish phat sound ala mid-70's Philadelphia International (O' Jays: 'For the Love of Money' type thing) or the more compressed CTI sound on Grover Washington Jr's albums using Harvey Mason, Idris Muhammad, etc.

Specific mics or mic techniques advice required pls!

(These reference tracks I've mentioned are all circa 73-75 - would they have been all close-mic'd in dead rooms...? Studio's used would have been Rudy Van Gelder's and Sigma I guess).

Burt
Burt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 20th June 2003   #2
member no 666
 
Fletcher's Avatar
 
Joined: Jun 2002
Location: Durham, NC
Posts: 10,110

The mics haven't changed that much over the years... RE-20 or D-12E in the kik... 57 on the snare... 421's or 441's on the toms... 451's for overheads... oughtta do ya.

You should plan on a one headed kik drum with a blanket in it, one headed toms with some folded paper towel [or feminine napkin like thing] taped to the heads with a couple strips of gaffers tape and the same 'tape and pad' kind of thing for the top snare and kik heads.

Forget room mics and you're off and running...
__________________

CN Fletcher

Professional Affiliations:

R/E/P Professional Recording Engineer and Producer forums - serious hobbyists welcome

SoundPure.com


mwagener wrote on Sat, 11 September 2004 14:33
We are selling emotions, there are no emotions in a grid

Roscoe Ambel once said:
Pro-Tools is to audio what fluorescent is to light
Fletcher is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 20th June 2003   #3
Gear maniac
 
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: The Countryside, UK.
Posts: 268

Thread Starter
drums

thx Fletcher

much appreciated

Burt
Burt is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 20th June 2003   #4
Lives for gear
 
rmx16's Avatar
 
Joined: Jul 2002
Location: Philly
Posts: 1,408

Sigma Sound in Philly used Altec "saltshakers" on snare and toms back in their hayday in the late 70's

Peace
Rob
rmx16 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 20th June 2003   #5
Gear Guru
 
chrisso's Avatar
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Location: Oz
Posts: 16,865

Hey, I could use some insider info on this subject as well.
Hoping Bob O. will chime in........

Rob,
which Altec mic is a 'salt shaker'?
Fletcher I was checking out your 3 mic technique article also.

Cool thx.
chrisso is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 20th June 2003   #6
Gear Guru
 
chrisso's Avatar
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Location: Oz
Posts: 16,865

Sorry. Found it myself.
Altec 633
chrisso is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 21st June 2003   #7
Gear Guru
 
chrisso's Avatar
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Location: Oz
Posts: 16,865

Someone told me they used a lot of Reslo mics at Sigma.
chrisso is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 21st June 2003   #8
Gearslutz.com admin
 
Jules's Avatar
 
Joined: Apr 2002
Location: A Yank in London, UK
Posts: 17,808


Take as many a 3 eiderdowns to the studio, you can use them to deaden the accoutic's by throwing them over yuppy track lighting rails - this works well, kind of like you are drying your laundry in the tracking room. I think quite a few giant studios use this flags hanging from the ceiling method (Bearsville?) anyway it was from photo of one that I stole the idea. I have a favorite cheap large tracking studio I go to but DONT like the sound of, I drape these all over the place and it cuts down on the bad high mid ambient clatter / trash.

You may have to do the drums in a vocal booth - be open minded anyhow ask someone senior at the studio where the best spot is, ambience / room mic's are your enemy as Fletcher points out - CLOSE IT DOWN!

Also the 'pea soup' (try repeating that over and over and you will understand) hi hat sound is vital.. audition mic's on the hat to deliver that high triangle like 'chink' sound. AKG 414 can do it. Trident EQ helps bring it out.

Do any percussion in the DEADEST room you can find. They will hate if they can "hear the walls".

I found that running a gasping and wheezing megga compression on the monitor mix keeps these type of sessions VERY happy. If you simulate a 70's FM radio station pumping like crazy, the musicians will hop in your lap and start hugging you (so be carefull with it!)

ecue is very skilled with this genre, see what he has to add...

__________________
Jules

Add your reviews to the new reviews area!
Gearslutz on Facebook
Follow my GS picks on Twitter
Jules is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 22nd June 2003   #9
Motown legend
 
Bob Olhsson's Avatar
 
Joined: Jun 2002
Location: Songwriter Gulch, Nashville TN
Posts: 10,879

We used a lot of KM-84-86s on drums and I understand George M did too on EW&F. 421s and RE-20s were popular for kick.

Most of the great '70s R&B records were not recorded in dead rock & roll rooms like Record Plant. There weren't dedicated room mikes but there were lots of open mikes on other instruments picking up the room. Nobody ever compressed drums other than occasionally as a special effect in the mix.

Finally, the drummer makes all the difference in the world. An SM-57 on Ed Greene or Andrew Smith from across the room will sound more like a '70s R&B record than the same mikes, consoles and recorders we used back then on other drummers.
Bob Olhsson is online now   Reply With Quote
New Reply New Reply Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook  Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter  Submit Thread to LinkedIn LinkedIn 



Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread Thread starter Forum Replies Last Post
Question for Steve (Remoteness) re: drum mic Robobo1 Remote Possibilities in Acoustic Music & Location Recording 57 3 Days Ago 08:05 PM
Drum Machine advice needed. gdh Electronic Music Instruments & Electronic Music Production 0 28th April 2010 12:25 PM
Drum recording advice needed... the basics? John N Low End Theory 14 2nd April 2009 10:22 AM
small booth drum test advice needed yumdrum Work In Progress / Advice Requested / Show & Tell / Artist Showcase / Mix-Offs 3 22nd October 2008 10:30 PM
Specific Drum Miking Advice Needed TYY So much gear, so little time! 10 5th June 2005 08:56 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:41 AM.

Home - Search Forum - Contact Us - Terms Of Use - Advertise on Gearslutz - All Advertisers - Archive - Top
 
 
Powered by vBulletin®
Gearslutz.com LTD - UK Company Number 7597610.
Registered Office - 35 Ballards Lane, London, N3 1XW.
Hosted by Nimbus Hosting.

SEO by vBSEO ©2010, Crawlability, Inc.