a division of Discrete Drums Inc.

CASE STUDY: TONY MORRA'S GREAT TRACKS FROM A SMALL ROOM
Nashville studio drummer Tony Morra (www.downtownbatterie.com) is a chameleon of sorts: Gigs on top pop, country and Christian albums with artists ranging from Jennifer Paige to Rachel Farris to Steve B, as well as his contributions to the Heavy Mental Discrete Drums library require him to deliver clean, tight drum tracks that are appropriate for any mix. In addition to playing in some of the top studios in Music City, Morra also has a list of e-clients who send him their tracks so he can lay down drums in his 20Å~22Å~8.5-foot home studio. Getting a big, clean sound out of this small space is the result of a combination of careful room design, kit choice and placement, and a finely honed recording technique that involves particular mic placement and signal chain choices.

To get the most from his modest space, Morra hired designer Dennis Kurtilla, who helped him with some simple and inexpensive ideas to convert his garage into an ideal drum tracking room, with variable acoustics to boot. After the room was done, Morra developed his recording techniques through experimentation, observation and brainstorming with Nashville engineer Steve Marcantonio. You can download a drum recording done at Morra's studio and learn about his complete mic setup and recording chain at www.mixonline.com.
— Kevin Becka

INSTRUMENT PREP: TWEAKING AND TUNING THE KIT
Getting it right at the source is the first consideration when recording drums or any other instrument in the band. This should start with a general checkup of the hardware. Do any of the moving parts in the kick and hi-hat pedals have squeaks? WD-40 or Tri-Flow Teflon lubricant goes a long way in fixing this problem. Are there any buzzes or other noises that are undesirable? Track them down and fix them. Once you tighten up mechanical problems, you can concentrate on the heads and tuning.

New heads, like new guitar strings, will have more pronounced overtones, play better and stay in tune better. The first step in tuning a new head is to equally tighten all of the lugs on the top and bottom a bit further than you want them to be. Tighten the lugs in a star pattern across points, not like numbers on a clock. Once tightened, seat the head on the shell by pressing it down from the center of the head. Let the head settle a bit, tune them down a bit and up to where you want them to be.

When the head is close to the desired pitch, very lightly rest the meaty part of your thumb dead-center on the head with the same pressure you'd use when playing harmonics on a guitar or violin string. Tap a stick about an inch away from each tension rod. This technique allows you to better hear the pitch of the head near the tension rod so that each one can be matched to the other. In general, for tom tuning, you will have better results if the top and bottom heads are close to or perfectly in pitch with each other.

Once the heads are tuned, you can make small changes depending on the tone and effect that you want. For instance, if you want the pitch to travel down after the attack, detune the bottom head a bit; for a shorter decay, tune the bottom head higher than the top. This is a more desirable way to shorten decay than taping or using gels, which can affect the attack and tone. (A little goes a long way when pitching up a bottom head; a head that is too tight can result in a nasty buzz after the attack.) Snare heads can be further away in pitch. Tightening the bottom head will result in less-sympathetic snare chatter; the top head can then be tuned lower to taste. For a more “floppy” snare sound, the lugs nearest the snares on the bottom can be detuned.

For the kick, keep the batter head loose and get just enough tension on the front head to get some tone. A simple muting system is using a feather (not foam) pillow inside the drum. For a more open and boomy sound, a la John Bonham, omit the pillow and tune the resonant side and beater side to the same pitch.
— Kevin Becka