Page 32 - The score

MALIK ARSHAQ

Recording

Metal

drums

Nothing hits the spot like some
blisteringly massive sounding metal
track. As a huge fan of the genre, I’ve
observed and appreciated the detail
and the effort that goes into the overall
production involved in achieving the
hard-hitting sound. Since, the music is
generally loud and abrasive, with a lot
going on, it’s very easy to go wrong in the
process of recording metal, especially the
drums. In this edition, we’ll be looking
into the different recording techniques
that you can use to achieve that ideal
drum sound.
Before we get into the mixing and editing,
the first thing that we need to understand
is that to achieve a good end product,
we need to get a good recording. This
includes the choice of equipment and
microphones, the way they’re positioned
and the environment that you’re
recording in. Take a good look at the space
that you’ll be recording in. Make sure
that you have basic room treatment that stages. Having sound absorption on the of drummers have trouble with being
cancels out your standing waves and bass ceiling above the kit also helps. precise with their tuning, devices like
build ups. Correct placement of diffusers Make sure that your kit is in good the Tama Tesion Watch TW100 help
and bass traps should suffice. Ideally, shape, whether any of the cymbals are you get your drums tuned accurately.
recording in a room that does not have broken or the skin is torn or if there Invest on the best skins and cymbals
parallel walls would give you the best are loose lugs in your kit that rattle. that you can afford as the quality of the
results. The next thing that you’d want to Fixing all these issues will result in a recordings that you hand out to your
do is to make sure that your drum kit is cleaner, more professional mix. Now, it clients will be heavily dependent on
sitting on a riser or an elevated platform. is very important at this stage to start them. For example, you’d want to use a
If not, a DYI 8x8 plywood platform should considering your options and decide muting ring on the snare which will kill
do the trick. This helps you brighten the kind of tone you’d want each piece the sustaining overtones while retaining
the tone of your drums and saves a lot of your kit to have. It is essential that the attack. The type of the beater that
of effort in the later mixing and editing your kit is properly tuned. Since a lot you’ve used on your kick pedal will also

30 The Score Magazine
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