Drum Tuning Advice for Recording and Gigs

Step 1: New Heads
There is nothing like a new drum head to give you great tone to work with. I prefer the sound I get from thinner heads such as Remo’s Diplomat, FD and Thin/FD lines. The disadvantage to thinner heads is that they tend to wear out quickly. A general-duty head, such as Remo’s Ambassador line, will last longer and, if new, should sound nearly as good. For recording purposes, avoid heavy-duty heads, such as Remo’s Emperor, PinStripe, PowerStroke, and the Black, Clear or White Dot series. These are all great heads, but they are designed more for live performance and tend to constrict the sound, making it a bit flat sounding instead of bright and exciting. Read more…

Are Dynamics Dead in Popular Music?

Since the earliest compressors were conceived and built, the ability to modify, control, and maximize the dynamic range of a musical performance has been the quest of many an audio engineer. In the early days of audio, limits on a recording’s overall dynamic range were dictated by vinyl – the state of the art in music delivery until the CD’s debut in 1982. Today, with virtually all music being recorded and massaged in a digital environment, it’s become standard operating procedure to limit, compress, or maximize the dynamic range of a track or an entire mix. Read more…