Thank you so much for the kind words!! I know content is king (and I hope my content is useful and interesting to folks), but I do want the videos to look appealing as well, and I'm slowly learning how to improve things over time. Your encouragement is so appreciated! Cheers!

I agree, the production quality is excellent as well as the content!

It will tho sadly as drumming KZfaq isn't really a big thing.theres alot of ppl in it,but not very many catch all nets. It's not that it can't happen,it just hasn't. Maybe estepario?

You simply explain things so well, especially when you explain how new technology can can be utilized to achieve old school sound. This video was very useful . Tuning up to midrange, for this type of mic placement, is what I was missing. Thanks man !

Excellent !

Wow, thanks!

Wow, thank you for sharing!

Thanks so much for your kind remarks!

Also, it’s frakin Bonham. He and Ringo and Keith Moon jammed at Ringo’s house and Ringo described that each person sounded totally different, on his kit. (And that they physically held down the kick when Keith Moon played).

That whole snare tonality changing thing was fascinating.

Thank you so much!

I LOVE snare drums (have wayyyy too many... need to thin the herd). But I"m all ears!!

Precisely! Back before drums were individually miked the only way you'd hear the toms is to tune them up (listen to the rack tom on Beatles 'She Loves You' for a common example of how drums were typically tuned back then). Only when drums started getting individual mics (Geoff Emerick used 8 mics on Ringo's drums on Abbey Road!!) could drummers start tuning down (like Ringo did on Abbey Road) and get solid, intimate sounds. That tuning won't translate with minimal/distant/area miking. Gotta bring them up to project!! Thanks for your comment!

@@drumdotpizza Thanks for highlighting the matter, it's really useful 😀

Bonham's preference for higher tunings really helped the drums translate with Glynn's approach to miking.

Thanks so much!!

Perfect name!! :)

I will be posting a video showing the modification I did with these mics in a current set of MXL mics on my recording channel, RecordingDotPizza, soon. Stay tuned..

Also would you use this method on a kit with 4 toms? Or a really lively room?

Thanks for your question. I'm thinking of reviving my previous YT channel at some point and focusing on audio engineering there, and might very do such a video at that time. In the meantime, you can check out this: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oNZzqLJqtNGUfWg.html which is the mod, though apparently this fellow bought a kit with the 3 caps and some instructions. I just used parts from my inventory (I design recording equipment in another role of my life). A kit might not be a bad idea (I know someone on eBay used to sell one) as the polystyrene for coupling the mic's capsule needs to be rated 63v or more (it sees phantom power), and polys can sometimes be hard to find above 50v in most supply houses. The guy in that video doesn't replace the capsule, however (or even remove the absurdly bulky brass ring around the stock capsule that does absolutely NOTHING to help the sound (add aggressive high mid character). Just removing that brass ring makes the 990/440/etc (mics with that capsule and ring) sound much smoother. Also, MXL has made these mics with surface mount pcbs in recent years, so they can be a little trickier to mod, but not so much... the capsule capacitor is still through hole (a film cap), so that's easy to replace, and a regular soldering iron will allow you to remove the two SMD ceramic caps (caps 3 & 4, IIRC, though check them first to make sure they're both 220nF ceramics before you swap them). Then clean the solder pads (flat, no holes) with isopropyl, bend the legs of the new film caps so they lay flap along the plane of the side of the cap and cut the leads only as long as needed to lay on the SMD pads of the previous caps. Then just lay them in position and solder. Pretty simple, though you might want help from someone a bit more familiar with soldering if you are not. Still, just take your time, and it's not that hard. I used nicer capsules from a pair of other mics that I owned (and also got for cheap, but they sounded quite good), but you can always buy nicer capsules for Chinese mics (true, large-diaphragm types) at microphone-parts.com. They also make mod kits, but their kits are all complete with new pcbs and components, if I'm not mistaken. Not necessary to make cheap mics better, but certainly very nice and worth it if you want a solid studio tool for the foreseeable future. Hope that helps! Thanks so much for being here!

@@vlkiller I would experiment with placement to try to get a consistent balance between toms. The nice thing about the Glyn Johns approach is it works well with 4 pc kits for a balanced tom sound, but depending on where additional toms might be the mics may favor some over others in terms of tone, level, or sense of proximity. So some experimentation is called for. And, FWIW, Hal Blaine's 'monster' kit (7 fiberglass toms) was commonly mics with 3-4 mics above the kit, spread out along the toms, and many of those records sounded really cool. So it really comes down to placement (and there are no rules... just truly trust your ears, not your eyes). Thanks again!

Hey, Steve, thanks! Good to hear from you! I can't say I've really analyzed Simon's technique, but I do appreciate the comparison! I'll never forget watching Simon from 20 feet away at Zildjian Day 1985 in Dallas (you were with us there, right? Summer before your sophomore year?). That video is on YT, BTW... have you watched it? I've watched it a few times, but still can't see any hint of us in the audience! Now if I can just learn to lead with my left....

@@drumdotpizza Zildjian Day in Dallas was extraordinary. I wish I still had my grey t-shirt. Simon and Vinnie were mind blowing. I remember Lenny White playing a keyboard with his left hand while he laid down a groove. Tommy Aldridge and Tony Williams too. What a day.

Awesome! Thanks, Dean, for the recommendation, and thank YOU for being here!!

I've actually got quite a few MXL's, all modified in various ways (I can't leave well enough alone). For people willing to do a little soldering the 990s are a spectacularly useful mic, even with the stock capsule (just remove that hideous brass ring that makes it sound so brittle... the capsule is actually the same as the 603 pencil mic, and it's not half bad! Remove that ring and swap a few caps, and it become quite a workhorse, particularly if you want to stick them somewhere you might be afraid to place a more costly mic. I've never used the Austrian Audio mics. I've seen them, but don't know much about them. You like??

@@drumdotpizza As AKG is being sold the stock people in Austria separated and made their own company. So the OC18 and OC118 are basically their version of an AKG 414, some say with much better build quality. I‘ve tried some ribbons at first but my room has no great ambience, it‘s very dull. The ribbons picked up too much of it because of their polar patterns. What are your go-to OH mics?

@@thomasnussbaum4711 I'll have to look into those, thanks! I'm always changing things around, so for overheads it's usually either Ehrlund EHR-M, AKG C460 (w/ either cardioid or omni capsules), a pair of C12 clones I have made with legit, resonator-style brass CK12 capsules, or ribbons like Extinct Audio BM-9 or Samar AL95 (their new, cheaper ribbon, which I quite enjoy!). Or EV 635 (not joking) or something else for more character. Whatever fits my fancy for the tune at the moment. Tha't's probably not helpful, I'm sorry. I guess the most common for me are the Ehrlunds for condensers and the Extinct Audios for ribbons.

Of course, it’s helpful. That makes this whole drum recording thing so exiting that everyone has their take on it. My regret, that I haven’t enough technical knowledge to modify microphones like you do!

I don't, other than with a bass drum, so I can't really say. Such a system would greatly simplify miking a large kit, but I just can't comment on the quality of sound. I'm very sorry. Thank you for your question, though!

Ha! Thank you for the compliment... er... no, I'll keep the snare (I have wanted an early Bell Brass forever, and finally got one (sort of) last year. It's actually a custom clone made for me by Cade over at Savage Drums. He makes cast bronze shells (and is a Bell Brass guru, recreating the same edges and snare beds as the various incarnations of Tama's BB snare throughout the decades). I bought a steel Mastercraft snare for the hardware (a donor drum) and Cade did the rest. It's not legit Tama.... but it's legit! Probably (and shockingly) the most versatile drum I have... I really didn't expect it to be as full sounding as it is... it can mimic wood (just really LOUD wood), as well as be very metallic depending on the heads an tuning. They aren't cheap, but Cade does fantastic work (he even makes the Tama Bell Brass cast hoops that they made in the late 1980s as well). And pricey as they are they are a fraction of the cost of a Tama original (if you can even find one). I'm going to do a video on this snare at some point and demonstrate its versatility. Thanks for the comments!

@@drumdotpizza My Savage bronze shell is one of my pride and joys out of a truly wonderful collection of snares. I live in Everett, about an hour south of him! Thanks for taking the time to not only write, but share more info than asked for. You are really generous with your time and energy, I can't thank you enough. I appreciate you, and your channel, I hope you keep doing videos for many years to come! Maybe our paths will cross one day and I can return the generosity somehow. Until then, be well, and thanks again!

Too late to log that, I'm sorry. I should probably start measuring my tunings and posting them in the description with each video. I generally only use the Tunebot to log tunings for later recall (or matching between drums I'm comparing), not for regular tuning duties, so I rarely think of this. I'll try to make this more consistent part of my videos. Thanks for the question!

Happy to! All toms have Aquarian Texture Coated (single ply, 10mil) with Aquarian Classic Clear on bottom. Tune Bot numbers for rack toms are 180 batter, 195 bottom head, and floor toms 124 batter with 135 bottom.

@@drumdotpizza Thanks!

I will be doing a video on this topic on my recording channel, RecordingDotPizza shortly. Thank you for the interest!

The overhead mics were originally Nady SCM900 (I believe). Typical Chinese made cardioid large diaphragm mic with the Schoeps style transformerless circuit and knock off 32mm K67-type backplate design. I swapped the capsule capacitor for a 1000pF polystyrene (make sure you get one that can handle 60-ish volts for the polarization) and then swapped the two 220nF (IIRC) ceramic caps in the output section with 330nF (or higher) film caps (higher values will extend LF response to lower range). I also swapped the capsules with capsules I took from a pair of SE electronics X1D mics they used to make (good mic, horrible body!! Body hummed and vibrated like crazy and no amount of caulking or taping would stop it. I liked the sound of the mics, however, so I pulled the capsules out and put them in the Nady bodies and modified the circuit. They are LOVELY microphone now (shockingly good!). Great for all kinds of things. I got the replacement capacitors from a local electronics surplus outlet that unfortunately closed its doors last year. The only difficult one to source is the 1000pF polystyrene as most that you can find aren't rated for anything over 50 volts. You can find proper ones on ebay, however, so keep your eyes peeled. The film caps you can get from Mouser or DigiKey. I'm going to be posting a video on my recording channel (RecordingDotPizza) shortly showing this same mod on a some MXL microphones, including the newer surface mount boards. People think you can't mod the surface mount versions, but you can, it's not that hard (and the capsule capacitor is a through hole film cap in those SMT boards from the factory, so swapping for a polystyrene is easy). Anyway, that will be coming shortly, so jump over there and stay tuned!

@@drumdotpizza Awesome, thanks for the detailed response! I'll go subscribe to the other channel and am especially looking forward to the video on modding the surface-mount mics!

If you close mic the toms you can pretty much do what you want. Up close with a cardioid mic will produce artificial, exaggerated low end, so larger toms might be a bit overwhelming... you can always back the mic(s) off a tad to compensate. When I think of a 'wet' sound I think of more subdued harmonics and really a bit more 'slap' from the attack such as a looser head might produce. I'd probably go fairly unmuffled 2-ply heads, likely coated and then add, if really needed, a small fold of gaff tape. Close mics will tame the perception of higher frequencies, so try not to go nuts with muffling -- if you have much midrange information in the mix (guitars, synth pads, etc.) then those elements will significantly reduce the perception of these frequencies in the drums, so try not to deaden things too much or they'll wind up sounding like cardboard boxes, and all the EQ in the world won't add the harmonic that's lost. For a wetter sound with minimal miking I'd go double-ply batter heads on larger toms and tune them a touch below the midrange of each drum (the point where you can tell the sustain is getting shorter), but don't go much below that -- will require a little trial and error to find the right amount, but remember, unless the drums are gonna be solo you need to take into account the frequency ranges of the other elements of the mix and be sure to muffle only as much as needed, or they'll be rendered rather lifeless when all is said and done. Thanks for being here!

@@drumdotpizza outstanding Joel! Thank you!

To get the same effect you'll just have to tune them higher. Also making sure you have single ply heads will help. All of the overtones/harmonics common to unmuffled single ply heads will help the tone of the toms reach the mics. It can be annoying up close, but those overtones are the 'life' that is needed to translate to distant/area mics.

Well, the position of the playing surface didn't change (the batter heads didn't get closer or farther away from me or the mics between the two sizes of each), though the outer dimensions (edges and depth) did... would that account for such changes? Not sure what math is involved in determining that, but my guess is that whatever effect that would have on the perception from the mics would be minimal compared to the dramatically altered tone created by the higher tension on each tom. Just my best guess.

@@drumdotpizza perfect that clarified that. It's amazing though how little distance affects the phase and hence transients. And they for sure contribute to the clarity of the sound.

Great question! Minimalist techniques like Glyn Johns and recorderman, etc. get pretty weird when you pan too widely (though the time alignment with both snare AND kick with the latter makes wide panning a little less weird, comparatively). The addition of a snare mic (instead of relying only on the 'kit' mics for the entire snare sound) helps to focus the image of that drum making wider panning less odd as well. With "0" as center and "100" being hard left or right, I panned the kit mics in this session at 50. It gives the toms appropriate positioning while still retaining a natural image, and the separate snare mic (which isn't up very much at all) does help to center that drum in the mix while still feeling natural in the sense of space. Hope that helps! Thanks so much for asking!

@@drumdotpizza thanks so much for taking the time to explain that. Very helpful! Definitely going to try that out.

That is my Tama Bell Brass Mastercraft (1980) clone which was made for me by Cade at Savage Drums. He's brilliant with cast bronze shells and has all the details of the various Tama BB snare drums over the decades (including the original Mastercraft version) -- shell composition, thickness and finish (mine is the original burnished finish), bearing edge design, snare beds, the whole deal, just like Tama did them. No way I'm paying $8-10k for an original (if I could even find one), but for around $2k (plus a donor steel Mastercraft from which I took all the proper hardware) he can built me a legit clone with all the mojo. It is perhaps my absolute favorite snare drum -- very hard to make it sound bad, and more balls than anything else I've ever played!

I'm not sure I understand the question. Can you ask it again?

Analog hardware is going to be quite different, model to model, so what works well on one desk may not work at all on another (older, transformer balanced pres with discrete or vacuum tube circuitry will tend to saturate in a musical way, while modern, transformer less designs won't (which is why I used a plugin for this video). At the risk of sparking a 'digital vs. analog' debate (which I won't participate in) I do not find plugins as satisfying to use as my vintage outboard gear. The difference for me isn't so much in the sonics as in an undefinable visceral response from my body, it seems. My outboard gear FEELS good to listen to... my plugins SOUND really good. I can't define it more than that, and I am absolutely certain of my experiences with this. Plugins have become quite amazing, and I do believe they will soon create this same visceral response from my physiology... but it hasn't yet. Thanks for being here!