Ep3 Toms and the Relationship Between the Drums

Key takeaways

The Toms' placement in a kit impacts their sound and must be considered during both live and studio recordings.
Proper microphone placement and choice play pivotal roles in capturing the desired Tom sounds while reducing unwanted bleed.
Utilizing gates and effects can greatly enhance Tom sounds, but communication and understanding between the performer and engineer is crucial.
Creative processing techniques can allow live drums to sound more like they belong in the mix even in a challenging acoustic environment.
Fostering collaboration among all team members (i.e., drummer, sound engineer, artist) leads to a better overall performance experience.

Summary

Introduction to Toms and Guest Expert E-MAN

In this episode, the hosts Brian John and Brendan Draper welcome drummer Emmanuel "E-MAN" Cervantes as a guest expert. They start by joking and reminiscing about their early experiences with drums before diving into the main topic: Toms. The episode sets the stage for a deep discussion on various aspects of Toms in live sound and studio recording.

Understanding Toms: Types, Tuning, and Challenges in Recording

The trio discusses the types of Toms and their characteristics, exploring the challenges of using floor Toms both in studio and live scenarios. E-MAN shares his perspective on the difficulties of capturing Toms' sound, particularly floor Toms, due to issues like signal bleed from other instruments, particularly the snare and bass instruments. They emphasize the importance of tuning and how varying drum sizes can affect overall sound.

Microphone Placement and Techniques for Toms

The conversation shifts to microphone placement for Toms, touching on the polar patterns of various mics and their effectiveness in minimizing bleed from other instruments. They discuss strategies for miking techniques that allow for a cleaner sound while emphasizing the role of microphone distance and angles to capture the best tonal quality.

Drum Sound Manipulation: Gating and Effects

In this section, they cover the complexities of using gates to control Tom sounds and how these affect the performers on stage. The hosts discuss various approaches to using gates effectively, weighing the strengths and weaknesses of analog versus digital processing methods. They also explore the importance of communication between the drummer and the sound engineer to achieve the desired sound.

Creative Effects to Enhance Tom Sound

Brendan and Ryan share methods for enhancing the sound of Toms through creative effects like reverb. They discuss using gated reverbs, bandpass filters, and parallel processing techniques to ensure Toms blend seamlessly in the mix, contributing to the overall sound.

Conclusion and Key Takeaways from the Episode

The episode wraps up with a focus on the importance of collaboration and communication within the team, emphasizing how integral the relationship between the drummer, sound engineer, and the artist is for achieving optimal sound quality.

Show notes

In this episode we bring in a guest-expert Emmanuel “E-MAN” Cervantes (this guy literally started playing drums at age 3!), and hit the next set of inputs in the channel list: Toms. Like the previous episodes we talk about drums types, tuning, microphones, mic positions, and a heck of a lot more. In fact we probably overshare in this 70+ minute episode getting seriously detailed about how to make toms sound good in a mix.