Which commonly used mic changes the cab tone the least?

[barhrecords]

Regarding needing EQ on drums because the drums "were not tuned right", many engineers and drummers would disagree with that statement. Drums can be tuned perfect with themselves and even within a basic song arrangement, but once you add more parts or mixing effects, you may have to punch frequency adjustments in those perfect drums in order for the mix to sing.

It's about personal taste I think.

On current rock records, the drums do not sound like "drums in the room" (if I dare I use that phrase? lol)

Using EQ and other tools to get drum sounds you prefer is tangent to whether or not the microphone is accurately reproducing the acoustic sound of the drums.

For some genres like classical and some jazz, getting an accurate recording of the acoustic drum sound unaltered is desirable. For rock and pop, not so much.

 

[dr bonkers]

It's about personal taste I think.

On current rock records, the drums do not sound like "drums in the room" (if I dare I use that phrase? lol)

Using EQ and other tools to get drum sounds you prefer is tangent to whether or not the microphone is accurately reproducing the acoustic sound of the drums.

For some genres like classical and some jazz, getting an accurate recording of the acoustic drum sound unaltered is desirable. For rock and pop, not so much.

For Classical music, most of it is recorded with some variation of a Decca Tree so eq moves affect everything coming into those mics, hence why room and positioning, and conductor controlling the balance is everything in those recordings.

Having recorded a lot of Jazz, always the players are tuning the drums well on the sessions I have been on. The eq in those mixes are not to correct tuning per se, but to make the frequency holes for the double bass, electric bass, horns, b-3 or keys, vox, guitar, and the mix effects to all have their moments.

So there is a difference between capturing the drum instrument in the room, versus trying to correct an improperly tuned instrument, versus shaping an instrument to fit in arrangement or mix, and needing eq for each of these use cases, hence why I was disagreeing with that blanket statement.

 

[barhrecords]

@dr bonkers I concur sir

 

[barhrecords]

Ever thought about capturing IR's with a Decca tree?

I've wondered about IR's designed for use with in ears (or headphones) being captured with alternate techniques like a Decca tree, Mid / Side, or binaural "head" microphones.

 

[Valhallir]

Ever thought about capturing IR's with a Decca tree?

I've wondered about IR's designed for use with in ears (or headphones) being captured with alternate techniques like a Decca tree, Mid / Side, or binaural "head" microphones.

We tried it already. The results were "interesting", but not very useable. You would need more than 170 ms long IRs. But there are (very expensive) binaural monitor solutions available.

 

[dr bonkers]

We tried it already. The results were "interesting", but not very useable. You would need more than 170 ms long IRs. But there are (very expensive) binaural monitor solutions available.

My experiments with a Decca Tree did not result in anything I would put my name on in a bass cab ir sense. Roomy bass cab ir's tend to give a bad demo quality to presets at least in my experimentations when trying to mix them. Also that binaural head technique would really require a 30 ft long room to truly take advantage of the long waveforms in a live end dead end room environment, something that would not fit in my current dwelling, and then you would battle to have the other instruments placed in a similar ambience so that the mix has a coherent or remotely realistic soundstage.

 

[FTR-greg]

All great stuff here folks! Love all the responses and it just backs up my belief that there are certain guidelines but no hard rules when it comes to any kind of art. I had the opportunity to work with a great producer and learned a great deal about tone. If I had to take one big lesson from him it would be this.....there are no rules, break outside of the norm and take some risks, you may find an interesting sound that has some real use.