Recording Acoustics and Drums....

[Jules]

Some advice on recording please. I’ve got a project on the go with myself- on tenor and soprano saxes, a cello player- with lots of guitar effects, and a drummer. I’m wanting to get a decent live recording of this outfit.

I’ve also got access to a high arched Victorian church which has utterly stunning acoustic properties for sax (soprano especially) and the cello but dreadful for drums. Now, this is made more awkward by my own obsessive desire to record as live and ‘in the moment’ as possible.....

Possible solutions,(a) record the drums somewhere else and put everything together afterwards (not ideal and- seeing as room ambience is such a strong element of this project, I question whether it’s even feasible) (b) manually damp Phil’s drum kit with towels and gaffa tape to mute it (maybe doable- it would certainly create an interesting variation on traditional drum sounds but he’s quite a cymbally kind of player.. not sure about this option)... or there’s a the possibility of forcing him to use a Cajon- controllable but lacking all the metallic stuff which makes his playing really special in my view) or (c) build baffles round the drum kit.... I see some skip diving for pieces of board and old mattresses!

Anyone ever had a similar situation...

 

[Colin the Bear]

Washboard?

 

[Jules]

Washboard?

I briefly played in a Zydeco band with a washboard player.... astonishingly loud pieces of kit...

 

[Veggie Dave]

Damping the kit and symbols is standard practise. In the good ol' days it was with gaffa tape and old pillows; now that drummers have got all uppity, renamed drum stools as 'thrones', they've also started wasting huge amounts of money on factory-made dampers.

Damp the kit and try and isolate it as much as possible, too. I think you're setting yourself a bit of a challenge, but it's doable. Damping with gaffa is also something of a skill. You will need to experiment.

 

[Jules]

now that drummers have got all uppity, renamed drum stools as 'thrones'....

Really! Ha.. I must mock my drummer forthwith!

 

[jbtsax]

I would record the drum tracks first and then play in the cathedral listening to the drum part in headphones. Another way of course is to record all the parts "live" in a more suitable room and add the amount of reverb you like afterward during the mix.

 

[Jules]

Another way of course is to record all the parts "live" in a more suitable room and add the amount of reverb you like afterward during the mix.

Point taken... but I'm a sucker for the mystique of this huge, echo filled space. I'm absolutely convinced I actually play better there due to the epic nature of its natural sound

 

[Veggie Dave]

There's a barn on the farm that's absolutely perfect for the sax. Somehow there's a perfect combination of natural reverb and a smoky tone. You cannot stop yourself from playing the best sax of your life in there.

Unfortunately, the barn also works as a ridiculously efficient amplifier so is out of bounds...

 

[Colin the Bear]

Didn't Buddy Holly make the drummer play his legs.

Portable kit?
Build a Suitcase Drum Set

 

[Pete Thomas]

Just build an "acoustic shed" round the drummer, screens and duvets. If on a budget get some external fencing type board from Wickes (or a skip) and borrow the duvets.

Or you can hire acoustic screen things that are used at conference halls to make sort of booths.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Putting my producers hat on now (This is the kind of thing I do for a living) , the issue is that doing it in the way I suggested is not going to get the feel/sound of a live performance all in the same space if that is what you are after.

I would find some kind of compromise. Although you can deaden drums, there's a limit to what you can do with cymbals. Plus the bass drum will be your enemy in this situation.

I would look into the drummer just finding percussion that works well and using that rather than conventional kit.

 

[Veggie Dave]

If it's a church then there will be a room off the main hall - use it as a drum booth.

 

[kevgermany]

Borrow/hire an electric drum kit for the recording.

 

[Veggie Dave]

@Jules Did you ever come up with a solution?

 

[Jules]

@Jules Did you ever come up with a solution?

The project's moved a bit- it seems I've got ongoing access to the place, as well as assistance of one of my incredibly enthusiastic guitarist/electronics/production mates. I've got an idea of trying various combos in the same space- "The St Luke's Project Vol. 1" etc...

Volume 1 is going to be just me on tenor and soprano (plus maybe saw) plus Chris on guitar and electronics…. That’ll also help us get a feel for the place and how best to use it.

 

[Veggie Dave]

Cool. Will we get to hear the results?

 

[Jules]

Sh

Cool. Will we get to hear the results?

...as soon as we get in there, do the deed, pick out anything worth saving and tweak it appropriately (Chris fancies himself as a bit of a Brian Eno character so I think there's going to be a fair bit of production)