Important Drum Recording Tip

Drummers! There is nothing that can stop a session faster than a rattling drum. You may not be aware of it now, but chances are that somewhere on your kit there is something that is rattling. When you are playing a gig, there is a lot of extraneous background noise that covers up rattles and buzzes. Even when you do get to play your drums in a quiet room, your ears are still 2-5 feet away from the drums. In a recording studio drums are generally recorded with close micing techniques. This means that the mics will be only a few inches away from the heads and shells of the drums. Any extra little buzzes, rattles, or noises will be hugely amplified. Try putting your ear that close to the drum and then playing it. This will give you an idea of the sound that the mics will pick up. Be careful, don’t play too loud for too long with your ear that close or you could cause hearing damage. So before you go into the studio check every lug, every head, and every piece of hardware for anything that might make an undesirable noise. You are paying for studio time. Do you want to spend that time looking for the source of a buzz, or do you want to be relaxed and lay down some great tracks? by Bob DiGiacomo

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