The sound of the kick drum is critical to the overall sound of the drums. Today, you'll learn how you can get a great sound from a kick drum without a hole in the resonance head. Kick drums usually have two heads; the beater head and the resonance head. The beater head is the drum ... Read More
The Foundation of the Perfect Mix
[Guest Post from Derek Sexsmith] The title on this post is a little misleading. The “perfect mix” could mean different things to different people. But, I think most would agree the foundation for the perfect mix, when mixing a typical “rock” band (drums, bass, ... Read More
Djembe Microphone Techniques
The djembe (a type of drum) is a great musical instrument that blends well into the church worship setting. However, microphone placement for the djembe is not a hard and fast rule. Here are the guidelines you can use for providing the best amplification.Djembes are either mic'd with a ... Read More
Dealing with the Devil’s Crash Ride Cymbal | Volume Control [Gurus13]
"If there is a devil, then he created the crash ride," joked Robert Scovill during a Gurus of Tech 2013 breakout session. By the laughter from the audience, it was obvious that many of us have problems with crash ride cymbal volume control. The minute our drummers put on their headphones they ... Read More
Solving Audio Mysteries: 2 – Who Killed the Drums?
It's time for the second audio mystery. It involves a drum set, two audio techs, and a lot of head scratching. It started on a Wednesday night... The drums sounded dead. I'm talking "He's dead, Jim" dead. Steve and I were at front-of-house trying to dial in a good drum mix. There wasn't ... Read More
The Art of Snare Mixing and a Frog – Yes, a Frog
I created a frog. It wasn't intentional. Naturally, I'm not talking about a real frog but just look at that photo! You'll never read a mixing book that says, "make the snare's EQ curve look like a frog in water." If you do, immediately stop reading the book. Seriously, when it comes to snare ... Read More