Macabre - guitars

[George Necola]

well.. me again I thought off starting diffrent threads..

I like the drumsound very much on your macabre record.. how did you place the OHs? what did u use? preamps?

and how did you get the job as leadguitarist there?

cheers

 

[NK]

Thanks very much. I'm presuming you mean the Dahmer album (I've produced two albums for Macabre to date).

As far as the overheads I think I probably used AKG 451s or 462s. It's hard to remember exactly how I placed them, as that depends on how many cymbals the drummer uses and where they are placed. It varies on every album based on that. The preamps on those would almost certainly have been SSL "E" series.

As far as the soloing, CD knew that I was a guitarist and had invited me to play something on the record, so after all his solos were complete I happily obliged. The only problem for me was the fact that the only guitar available was a right handed one (I'm left handed) so I had to do the stuff upside down. Combine the fact that the song was in 5/4, basically in F (well, in C in B tuning) and that it was about 4 in the morning at the time, and I had my work cut out for me. Still, it was definitely a lot of fun!

 

[George Necola]

thanx for the detailed expl yes the Dahmer album

so you are more into A/B OH-placement than XY or ORTF-guy.. makes sense.. because drummers usually have more than 4 cymbals..

am I allowed to ask if you like triggering kick and stuff? (backup or in use?)

wow.. SSL E's are a bit on the cleanside? no`? I have some experience with SSL G+ pres..

thanx a lot

George

 

[NK]

I use drum samples when necessary, not always.

SSL "E" preamps have constantly won out in tests for me, both for guitars and drums. I don't always have them available to me of course, but if I do and am able to do A/B tests with other preamps SSL "E" and "G" often "win" the competitions. APIs are usually close, and sometimes Neve or Focusrite. I don't use one method all the time though - I prefer to see what's best for each job and each project. I do know what ends up winning out, and it is occasionally surprising at times. Having said that, there are always combinations of mic -> preamp that you know will sound great though (as long as the mic and/or the pre isn't under the weather at the time of course)

 

[RemoWilliams]

The only problem for me was the fact that the only guitar available was a right handed one (I'm left handed) so I had to do the stuff upside down. Combine the fact that the song was in 5/4, basically in F (well, in C in B tuning) and that it was about 4 in the morning at the time, and I had my work cut out for me. Still, it was definitely a lot of fun!

I'm a lefty too, but before I played guitar I would air guitar right handed, so I think thats why I play right handed even though I'm a lefty. Either that or I'm ambitexterous. Actually I do a lot of stuff with either hand, but I can't play left handed too well. Go Lefties!

 

[Gnash]

I'm a lefty too Go Lefties!

Lefty here too! No one who comes in can play my guitars, EVER!
All my guitars are black though! I wanted black anyway!
'84 Gibson Flying V
4 '92 Ibanez RG550s
'05 Ibanez 1570 just put Dimarzio EVO in the neck! RULES!
'05 Wechter Pathmaker
? Martin D?
'03 Shecter C1 Stealth

 

[madbutcher]

Did you ever accidentally call Corporate Death Rob Schneider while working with them? The resemblance is uncanny. Great work on all the Macabre stuff. Big fan of them and your work.

 

[George Necola]

hm, you didnt mention the amount of detail I wanted to know

I try asking you again. are you more the XY guy or more A/B? you know what I mean? any support from roommicrophones? *just want to have a reality-check before my next project starts*

 

[NK]

George,

I don't use any one micing technique to be honest, because cymbal setups are often very different, and doing it only one way might not be right in every set of circumstances. I use the appropriate amount of OH mics for each setup - as few as two and as many as about eight for some setups. I recently worked with a drummer who had about 15 cymbals, so using two mics would have drastically reduced the amount of flexibility I have to adjust things in the mix. I ended up using 6 OH mics for that setup.

I only use room mics if the musical style calls out for it - i.e. a big bashy drum sound. With faster stuff room mics can just end up blurring the detail so use your discretion on that.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

George,

I don't use any one micing technique to be honest, because cymbal setups are often very different, and doing it only one way might not be right in every set of circumstances. I use the appropriate amount of OH mics for each setup - as few as two and as many as about eight for some setups. I recently worked with a drummer who had about 15 cymbals, so using two mics would have drastically reduced the amount of flexibility I have to adjust things in the mix. I ended up using 6 OH mics for that setup.

I only use room mics if the musical style calls out for it - i.e. a big bashy drum sound. With faster stuff room mics can just end up blurring the detail so use your discretion on that.

Is there any sort of correlation between how good a room sounds and how few mics you use?

 

[NK]

You mean room mics? Sometimes a room has a wonderful sound for a particular project so I'll take advantage of it, adding room mics etc. Occasionally I'll find a room is too live for my uses so I'll end up working hard to deaden it down. It's really all about how the sound fits the music. With a lot of technical stuff if the room is too live it'll just take away the clarity. I'd use a more lively room for slow bashy projects, but then I suppose that's common sense really. I still close mic everything in live or dead rooms though.

 

[Ermz]

That's rad. I had never considered using any more than two OH mics. Do you have to be extra careful to avoid phase problems when using larger numbers of OHs, Neil? I find it challenging enough with just the two.

 

[NK]

I don' think I've ever had bad phase issues with overheads. If you keep an eye on exactly what each mic is picking up and also keep all the mics on separate tracks you can mess around with that in the mix.