"I have a tendency to like condenser mics on drummers that don't hit the cymbals real loud, and if they do hit them loud I like to use ribbon mics because they're softer in the top end.
Sometimes I'll use a 57 on a snare, sometimes I'll use a condenser, an AKG41, I might use a ribbon mic on a snare especially if there's a lot of hi hat bleed. I usually like a dynamic mic on a kick for a close mic but I like the fat 7s for the thumpier, woollier sound. It's powerful when you realise you can radically change how a listener is going to perceive a song."ĭo you have a preferred mic set-up when tracking drums? "The decision making process of how you record the drums and how much equalisation and ambience and compression and whatever you put on them defines the space of where the listener perceives the song is. If you mute those and just put in a tiny kick and snare that's very dry with no reverb it's going to sound like it was recorded in your bedroom. If you have guitars, bass and drums and put on a huge room-y drum sound with lots of reverb it's going to sound like it was recorded in an arena. Drums really give the listener a sense of where a song has been recorded and where it's taking place. "It depends on the kind of vibe you're going for. But that's not to say if you just want a trashy room sound you cant just put one mic in a corner if you get the right balance. If you've got a track that calls for really precise drums, a Neil Peart drum part or something, you'll spend a lot of time getting things balanced and use a lot of different mics and different drums to get this incredibly transparent, clear sound. I guess for me what's exciting is that I don't think there are any rules. "If there's only two mics, lets do kick and snare and record it in mono. It was around the time of the first Garbage record where I threw all of that out the window. There was a period post-Siamese Dream where I started getting more and more detailed - using more microphones, more pre-amps, spending more time getting sounds. "I don't get uptight about how I record drums any more. Have your methods for getting drum sounds changed much since Nevermind? I think it's a great sounding rock record and his drumming is incredible." Having said that the room we recorded that in at Sound City was amazing and part of it was that Dave Grohl is an incredible drummer. Miking kick and snare, overheads, toms and some room mics. Just the way I recorded those drums was pretty standard. Drum sounds can be defined by a certain era and then frequently they sound dated when a style or fad moves into fashion. Part of that is that it's pretty simple and not gimmicky. "I think that record sounds great and the drumming and drum sounds are great. How do you think it stands up 20-odd years on? You helped influence a lot of drummers with the Nevermind drum sound. That song with the feel and stop and go rhythm guitar pattern had a prog feel and with the Foos they have that kind of thing every now and then so it made perfect sense that we could do that kind of arrangement." To me that song was totally cool and allowed to have those drum fills. "I mean like 'Rope', who does a drum solo in the middle of a bridge these days?! Not too many people! That was a really fun moment. That's not to say you can't have moments the drums jump out and get to shine on their own. I've always got in the back of my head that it needs to work for the song. I think part of it is that I'm a drummer and I'm always aware of what the groove sounds like, what the drums sound like and what particular fills are.
Are you hands on with drum sounds and parts when producing?