triggers vs. natural

[backwoods]

Andy, how often would you say you use triggers for drums versus organic tones. Are there cases when you use a combination of both? If so which one is more dominant (organic or triggers)?

Also, what is your method of achieving stellar bass tone? Do you rely on a particular bass, amp and cabinet combination or do you prefer a really good direct box, i.e. the sansamp. How much do you compress your bass signal?

thanks for your time -Mike

 

[Andy Sneap]

I usually totally replace the kick and mix the snare 50 / 50, depending on the player really.
Bass is always a bitch to get right. I've had really good results out of an old Jackson (usa), Warwick (more mid range), Factor and last but not least Sandberg. The Sansamp PSA 1 usually works pretty good, and ofcourse ampeg. I always record bass after the gtr also, because tuning can be a real problem, especially with real low stuff. Quick tip here, always listen to the di, in mono with the gtrs quietly for the tuning. It's amazing how many players hit the bass sharp.

 

[Dustin]

I was actually just thinking about this!

We are starting to lay down drum tracks right now, and we have spent hours upon hours making sure the drums are sitting right.
On our last recording, we did the 50/50 thing on the snare and it turned out very well! unfortunantly it was VERY time consuming because we triggered the snare AFTER it was tracked...not while were were actually recording.

This time we decided to go at it again with a more natural approach...but like last time, kept getting other sounds coming through the snare mic. so we put two mic's on the snare this time; one on top, one underneath. This has helped out considerably with the clarity of the snare itself....but there is still other drums bleeding through!
So Andy.....How the hell can we keep the other drums sounds from bleeding through?

And yet another TRULY ironic thing.....the bass is most definatly a challange for us ( I agree it is a bitch!!!!) It seems very difficult to get the frequencies to sit just right, especially if the music has a bass guitar sound with a very "metallic attack yet round warm low end" sound. I recently bought a Warwick last year...it has been a god send for recording!!! It's sounds just as amazing direct to the board!
Have you ever recorded the bass (possibly a Warwick?) direct to the board and had a quality turn out?

(scratching his head....)
Dustin

 

[The Wanderer]

we always get bleed on the snare mic. i dont think there is a way around it. just get a good gate, and gate and compress it.

 

[Andy Sneap]

Ok, drum thing first.
I record the whole kit with D Drum triggers on also. I record the click, that comes out of the transducer (little red clip that goes on the drum) straight to a track. So all in all, I can be recording up to 24 tracks of drums. I then trigger from these later with Sound Replacer in Pro Tools. I also gate the original snare and use the triggered sound (brought forward by about 5 milliseconds) as the gate key input, so the gate opens a fraction before the hit. I also go in and erase tracks between tom hits. It takes a good couple of days to do this on an album, but it's worth it.
Warwick basses sound great I think, really solid - try it into the ampeg setting of a sans amp psa 1 or the bass driver (cheaper option), then sit on it with a good compressor.

 

[The Wanderer]

thats kinda how we do it to. our guitarist has a studio (he just finished the new cephalic) and he uses nuendo. we trigger everything and record the click to tape as well, but we take an our from his motu and go into the drum module and then back out into the motu on another track. i wonder if nuendo has a sound replacer. we haven't messed with triggered snare too much, but we also record it. our new drummer just started triggering his snare live, sounds awesome. anyway. that getting the trigger to open the gate is cool idea. have to try it. the gate he uses opens for whatever frequency you set it to, its handy. we always take tape out of the toms too. do you ever line up the overheads and the toms and snare and suc? the overheads being a little behind everythign else?

 

[Andy Sneap]

No I don't start moving the OH's, I'll use time adjuster if I can hear the plug in adding phase. OH's are so difficult to get right, as you want to hear the cymbals but the Hi Hats will kill you if your not careful. I always try and mic cymbals in pairs, pretty close, towards the edge of the cymbal, away from the kit and hat.