OK. Two of my sons have a band called Leger. (It's french for "Light") Indie/Alt Rock/Pop Punk/kinda stuff. With some Radiohead meets Coldplay and Elliott Smith. I've recorded some demos for them, but now they want a full length cd.

Sat. Feb 4th - setup drums with much help from good friend, studio owner and great drummer, Earl. He brings toms, snares and helps us select and tune them. We end up liking his vintage Gretsch 10" and 14" maple toms and his Tama maple snare. The drummer (19 years old) prefers his own stuff, but after letting him hear what his (12", 16" and piccolo snare) sound like compared to Earl's, he agrees Earl's sounds better - this is a major achievement with a very green, but opinionated 19 year old. He also prefers a dark, old 24" ride that sounds dead. We insist on my Paiste 20" Full ride which sounds beautiful. We also use the kid's Sabian AAX 16" crash and 18" K Crash Ride.

He next breaks Earl's 17" K Dark Crash, which I end up trading Earl a mic for. We use the kid's 15" hihats, which sound great for the swishy/washy/open sound he uses alot.

We setup in my open ended drum/vocal booth - 2" foam wedges on two adjacent walls with Auralex Lenrd basstraps in the corner. Kick is about 5' out. Mics we settle on are:

Kick - Audio Technica ATM25 - 3" from beater inside.
Snare - 57 above and below
Toms - 421s
OH - MK012's in XY above drummer's head at 45˚ angle
Room mic - Gefell UM70s pointed at the wall behind my rack, about 12 feet away from the drums.

Preamps:
Kick and snare - 7th Circle Audio N72s to Fatso on Buss Comp. Kick has Tranny added.
Toms - 7th Circle J99s
OHs - Peavey VMP-2 Tube preamp with a bit (4db) of 10kz added
Snare bottom - 02R board preamp
Room mic - JoeMeek VC3 with comp on max.

At the same time we're recording the drums to a click track in DP, we're got scratch tracks of the rest of the band playing at the same time. Headphone setup takes an hour alone, with 2 guitarists/vocalists, bass player and drummer with 4 different mixes.

Bass player uses Eden head D.I. out to 02R.
2 Vocal mics to 02R.
Guitar 1 uses a Yamaha guitar preamp for his tele - he also has a digital piano.
Guitar 2 uses a line6 Spider headphone out to the board.

We record a few reference takes to hear where we're at, and everyone leaves. Whew!

Feb 7 - Tuesday 6 PM. We get started. Drums sound great. We get between 3-6 takes for 3 different songs. By 10 PM we've edited the flubs and excesses out of the best takes.

The drummer has a tendency to play way too busy, sometimes completely obliterating the vocals or solo parts. The band has been playing these songs live for a few months now, and he's a very flashy player, though excellent. We diplomatically press him to simplify, which he does, though a bit grudgingly. I'm reminded how much of what we have to do behind the board has to do with people skills.

During the tracking of the last song we hit on a formula that seems to work well. After 2 or 3 takes with the band playing, we send the other three guys out of the studio while the drummer continues to put down his takes listening to their best take. This gives us the chance to talk, examine and listen to playbacks without the pressure of the other guys around. He seems to be warming up to suggestions a bit more.

Feb 8th, 11th, 13th, 15th and 16th - We've completed drums for 15 songs. The band wants to do 1 or two more, but only want 13 total on the cd.

The last week was trying at times, with bandmates locking horns from time to time, especially my 2 sons almost acting like the brothers in Oasis, though not nearly. The goal of great drum tracks keeps everyone on track, however, and I think what we got is stellar.

On some songs we traded out the snare for the kid's 13" piccolo, which sounded great. We also tried out Earl's beautiful sounding Ludwig hammered brass Bonham snare. As much as I loved the sound of this thing, I had to admit it didn't suit the material at all.

We use the dead ride on one song that it actually works on, and on two songs in particular "Vulnerable" and "Where The Heart Is" we haul out the kid's 12" and 16" Pearl Export series toms, which sound like ass most of the time but worked really well for these two tunes.

Sunday night we'll give a listen to all we have so far, and delete any takes we know are useless to make disk space on my 80 gig that's filling up rapidly. Total file space used so far on drum keepers and band scratch takes is 26 gig.

Sun. Feb 19th 4PM - Today we finalized the drum takes. Commitment is so hard these days, we all want to keep our options open. But I'm "Old School" all the way. I threw away my black book when I got married and I learned to record in the 70s at the Hit Factory in NYC. 2" 24 track required commitment. So...

14 songs. 4 young (19 - 23) band members and 1 old guy = 8 solid hours of choosing between 3 and 12 takes for each song. Then a fairly small bit of editing out some bloopers and missed hits and a couple "I love take 6 but I like the fill on take 4" and WHEW! - done by midnight. Tomorrow I'll post some photos of the drum setup.

Total hard drive space for all drum takes was 25.6 gig. After choosing best takes, editing and committing, 12.3 gig.

Mon Feb 20 11 AM - Bass day. G&L; P Bass style to Eden Highwayman head D.I. out to 7th Circle N72 to Fatso input at 7 which causes the signal to hit the tape saturation circuit at the 0VU mark. Tracking (1176 type) compressor knocking off 3 - 7 db, Tranny on, love the thickness it adds. Out to 2408, monitoring thru 02R for 0 latency.

The bassplayer put flatwounds on his bass, which sounded nice and McCartneyish for some of the vintage/moody stuff they do, but we'll have to get a more modern sound tomorrow. Got three tracks done, one needed 20 takes because of a solo he hadn't worked out yet. Total time today - 6 1/2 hours.

Tracks sound good, although he has a tendency to pluck too hard sometimes, causing clicking as the string hits the fretboard. I'm sure I'll be fighting with that in a few places at mix time.

Tues/Wed Feb 21/22 - More bass tracks. We've been using Flatwound strings on the G&L; p-bass up until now, and they've sounded great for the more ambient/moody/vintage songs. Tonight we put on the roundwounds to start with the more modern sounding stuff. During the tracking of a particular song the drummer keeps insisting we try using a pick. When we do it, the combination of pick on flatwounds sounded like what I called "bad surf music". This made the bassist laugh and agree, while it made the drummer pout and grouse.

Some of the stuff he does in two or three takes, and some tracks have taken up to 19 or 20 for him to settle in to what he wants to play. He's great to work with overall, though, as he's very open to ideas while still knowing what does or doesn't work well for him. His timing is excellent when he's playing something that's natural to his style and feel. When he's trying to play something one of the band members suggests (or, as a bass player myself, something I might suggest) he sometimes has a hard time making it feel right. This is an important lesson for us all. Let the band be the band. Or as George Harrison once said, "I thought I was the guitarist in this band!".

Some of his best takes happen when I chase the other bandmates out of the room. They hate it, but they see the results of a relaxed and happy bassist. Surprisingly, the drummer, who had some of the same problems giving a good take while the others watched and interjected their opinions, is the most annoyed about not being able to sit and opine.

Total time Tuesday - 5 hours Wednesday - 4 1/2 hours

We're taking off until Monday night, to give some space to recharge all, including me, though I'll be tracking/mixing Pete The Cop's dance music on Sunday night and mixing Dom the Jet fan's (I hate the stinking Jets!!!) Rockabilly/Blues stuff on Monday.

Steve,

Fun read. I hope it's okay for me to post in here. I was just tickled, entertained, and taught by your narrative. I can't imagine trying to work with my two sons on a project like this. Wow. Kudos to you!

Hey fox, welcome. Here's some pix of drum setup.

Hi Steve:

I am glad to hear that the drum tracks are done because I can get my drums back! :-) LOL. No ... I was very happy to help you my brother.

The drum takes sound nice. So why did you put legs on the Floor Tom? We should have taken the RIMS mount off because mount could have made some noise ... maybe we can get together soon to spend some bucks on gear!

Earl

The legs were put on just for the pix after the clamp was taken home by Jeff.

Play that funky music...

Mon. Feb 27 6 PM - after a long day (10 Am to 4:30 PM) of mixing a friend's Rockabilly/Blues Rock project, I got back to tracking the bass player for Léger, who laid down takes for two more songs tonight. Tone was good, though since he switched to roundwound strings (first few days was all flatwound) the tone is a bit less full and more clickity-clackity.

He's quite easygoing - sometimes too much so, and will let his bandmates tell him what to play too easily. But, tonight he started standing up for some of his own choices, and rightly so. I liked a lot of what he played tonight.

On a song that is basically two notes throughout, there was almost 40 minutes of discussion as to what octave he should play the two notes and when! "I think the low E should be reserved for the rock out parts, not the pretty places." "I like the upper E there, but you have to go to the open A next." "I like what you played, but you have to redo the whole thing because the tone is too grungy."

He generally plays very straightforward stuff, which is really complimentary and a firm underpinning for the drums that are almost KeithMoonish at times. Not that there's anything wrong with that, eh?

Hi Steve:

I had different problem last night with the drum tracking session. The drummer could not find the pocket on this song for dirt (i.e., Keith Moon syndrome), but all the guys in the band were like "yea dude I like a lot of that" - no one would confront him!

We ened up getting a track on one of the two tunes because I told him to try to play a "Charlie Watts" take just for yuks! Then I let him do another Keith Moon/Stwart Coplandish take ... he actually like the Charlie Watts take, but on the next tune it was back to Keith Moon without any pocket, but the song needs a pocket!!!

Then the drummer lost his energy after five takes playing for 4:05 at 165 bpm. I said let's call it night and try this again later in the week. Now I gotta figure a way to get them to objectively listen to the difference in pocket vs. overplaying! It is a very fine line in this new rock music.

Earl

quote:

Now I gotta figure a way to get them to objectively listen to the difference in pocket vs. overplaying!

Unless you can play them some commercial tracks that illustrate what you mean, you probably won't be able to communicate it very well. Some exceptional drummers can play very "busy" and stay dead in the pocket (Copeland and Peart are good examples - Moon is not). Inexperienced players rarely, if ever, can stay in the pocket if they start getting a bit busy. Most don't even know what it is. One of the best ways to teach a drummer about this is to make him/her play on a kit with only a kick, snare and hi-hat and perhaps a floor tom (not a rack tom as its too easy to hit). Have them practice a lot to get accustomed to it and then record a few different songs with this kit. Then add all the cymbals and other toms and have them record the same songs. If they've got any potential talent as a real player, you won't have to explain anything.

drbam

Hi drbam:

That is a good idea. I suggested to him that he use less drums and actually got one of the toms taken away. But you are right that you either get it or you don't.

You know what made me get it (because I am a drummer by trade) . . . it was having a great studio drummer in Nashville play on the last 4 songs of the first album I was on. It really sucked getting replaced by the studio guy, but the experience was the best drum lesson of my career because it taught me how to hit a drum solidly, how to be creative, get a great sound, and understand what "pocket" and "groove" really means.

I think I will the play the drummer some CD examples and try to mentor him in "pocket" drumming. Thanks for the your ideas and input.

Earl: As a drummer, I too learned a great deal from many of the Nashville players, particularly the late Larrie London.

So as a drummer, you also are acutely aware that the pocket/groove is created by anyone and everyone in the band that is playing rhythm. Of course the drummer and bass player are most responsible for locking it in, but its usually the drummer who gets the blame when it ain't happening. My point is to make sure to work with the other band members as well, especially the bass player.

Good luck,

drbam

Hi Drbam:

I totally agree with you that it is the entire band's responsibility to establish the groove and pocket.

The interesting thing about this young band is that they are happy to let the drummer be all over the place while the guitar player and bass player hold the track together.

This band seems to want a drummer who is Neil Peart. Neil thinks about his parts and works out how every hit to fit into the framework of the song and he keeps great time to boot with energy.

My experience with other "young bands" playing "screamo music" is that the guitar player is usually pulling the time and groove all over the place, but not so in this band. When the guitar player is forced to play with a click track he knows his part and plays solid time with feeling.

Thanks for your advice. I plan on meeting with the drummer individually to help him understand groove by listening to other bands in their genre of music. I pray that works!

Thanks again,

Ask them who they want to sound like and then listen to the cd and play them the tracks, pointing out how simply the drummer is playing.

This was ultimately what got Derek and Jordan to start talking to Jeff about simplifying his parts.

Tues/Wed Feb 28/Mar 1 - Bass tracks done and edited/comped from best takes. Roundwounds worked well once he rolled off some of the tone on the G&L.; We did some tracks with a Sans Amp GT2 on the bass, which sounded much better than his Electro Harmonix Big Muff thing. I split the signal sending one to the Eden and one to the GT2. Eden went via normal routing while GT2 went via DI to 02R input to its own track. I'll figure out at mix time what tone works for the distortion and doesn't clash with the guitars.

Taking a couple days off and then Saturday morning we set up for electric guitars. We'll be choosing from a Randall MTS 50 watt head with XTC, Deluxe, Tweed, TopBoost, Recto, and Plexi modules, a Marshall TSL, my old 30 watt Legend, a Line 6 Spider II, and a little Vox Brian May model that sounds amazing thru a 4x12. Fun coming.

Man, been stinkin', honkin' busy.

Sunday Mar 5 - Me and my faithful 23 year old guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist/songsmith/son Derek set up for guitar tracking. He's the oldest member of Léger, and a band/road/studio veteran, having played with a number of touring and recording acts, in addition to his own solo stuff. As such he's always the most motivated to get the right sounds, track until near perfection, etc. His dedication to getting authentic sounds and feel are exemplified by the fact that he's searching for a Bogner Ecstasy 2x12 combo, bought an Eden Highwayman to use for the bass tracks, hates Pods and most of my midi stuff, and recently bought a 1973 Fender Rhodes off of ebay. Anyway, he's also always my greatest helper in all things music, even playing in my worship band every Sunday on bass or guitar. My son, the musician.

We put 2 Marshall 4x12s in the garage front portion with the heads in the studio. (I built the studio in about 2/3 to 3/5 of my oversized 2 car garage, leaving the front, or garage door portion, as is for storage, workbench, freezer, etc. When we track we put the cabs out there and let 'em fly. There can be some buzzes and rattles the aggressive levels can create, but close miking lets us pretty much ignore them.

We used a Sennheiser e609 silver on the slant cab and a 57 on the straight. We were initially thinking of splitting the guitars to two amps and two cabs, but the Y cable cut into the tone too much and gave some buzz/hum as well. (I need to invest again!!!! What's the cheapest guitar splitter that actually works?) We finally ended up putting both mics on different speakers of the slant cab, adjusting for phase and tone.

Both mics seemed to sound best dead center on their respective speakers, since we like bright, full and in-yo-face around here.

In the studio we set up a Marshall TSL, a Vox Brian May, my old 30 watt Legend and the Randall RM50 with lotsa modules to choose from.

Monday/Tuesday, Mar 6/7, 6 PM - Jordan, my 19 year old started putting down his guitar parts. He's a gifted writer, coming from a much deeper emotional place than his better trained, much more structured brother Derek. His guitar skills, however, are still developing, and under Derek's sometimes annoying scrutiny he can develop some nervousness that makes him too self conscious to play what he's able to play naturally and effortlessly while performing on stage. His other bandmates are also interjecting their opinions, forcing me to clear the room often during takes.

Jordan loves to experiment with ideas - a beautiful Strat we have access to became his first foray into tonal adventure, followed by an Epiphone Sheraton. We both liked what he got, but the other three guys did not. Especially Derek, who loves structure, balance and uniformity. "Why change what works" is Derek's nature, where Jordan's approach is more of a "let's see what happens". Derek thinks, Jordan feels.

Derek normally plays a Tele on stage as a contrast and complement to Jordan's Ibanez Artcore single cutaway hollow body. Jordan's stage tone is full, a bit dark and a bit dry, though he uses lots of delays and verb to give things that Radiohead texture.

We settled on the MTS with Plexi and Deluxe modules, and some takes were done with the TSL crunchy sound. But after two days of experimenting, and two days of the band not satisfied, we ended up with the Artcore into my old Legend into the slant 4x12, which sounded closer to Jordan's stage tone.

Wednesday I have a session with Pete the cop (www.northernmars.com) who was recently #1 on Tracy Young's dance chart. Saturday back to guitars.