Guitalia, thank you for your kind sentiments.
When the internet first arrived, a whole bunch of us got involved together sharing regularly and everything about it was overwhelmingly positive.
Alas, over time a noisier, dark side of the internet became increasingly apparent and many of us, myself included quietly withdrew from the net, removing everything that we possibly could.
However, more recently, from a distance I have enjoyed reading many fine posts from the excellent calibre of folk that inhabit the TalkBass site. Many here remind me of Bassist’s I have known, whom in general as a breed of musician, lack the destructive ego, that certain musicians are sometimes possessed by. It's a great forum!
Thank you also for the many excellent links you have helpfully provided, revealing a great deal of highly interesting material indeed.
Buddy Rich’s point about Dino’s playing are well taken. Dino appears to be a natural showman in performance, something else Buddy Rich would have identified with strongly.
To be honest, he reminds me of a particular session drummer in the U.K. I liked very much, a musician I would describe as a total driving force, forming the solid backbone of any band he played with.
Normally, the one mic on drums technique featured a stand with a boom overhead coming in, just above the level of the drummer’s head, smack in the centre of the kit. Rather than a gooseneck or any device that left the mic very much closer to one part of the kit than the rest of it.
As to the over the shoulder technique, the ideal mic placement is just inches away from the drummer’s actual ear. The salient point being to capture as closely as possible the actual sonic balance and tonal sensation of experience of the kit, precisely as perceived, directly from the drummer’s seat.
Clearly, the overhead in the second movies is very high.
In all probability, this was a safety measure under live broadcast conditions, recording a particular, loud, sound source. A normal precautionary measure.
One further point about the usefulness of a single mic on drums.
As you will be well aware, although there are many different but equally worthy techniques for micing drums, it is entirely normal today for there to be a single mic for each and every singular part of the kit.
For certain drummers that will be a heck of a lot of mics!
Despite this comprehensive sonic capture of every element of the kits sound, some producers find it helpful to employ one single extra mic.
This mic is of very high quality indeed, typically a classic large diaphragm condenser and is placed in front of the kit, at some distance away from it.
About where a person wanting to hear the overall sound of the kit ideally, but wanting to experience fully the sensation and feel of sound upon their body. Not just their ears, but wanting to feel the hairs on their neck and arms stand on end, with the impact of sound.
This mic acts like a form of sonic glue and is placed to cause all the many separate mics, to combine together into a single, dynamically powerful entity. Creating a similar physical sensation to standing directly in front of the entire kit, as its played in actual performance.
As you may be aware, we simply do not hear with our ear drums and brains alone, but various parts of our bodies respond directly to the sensation of musical vibration upon them. This effect, a scintillating overall physical sensation, is what the extra mic is all about.
Total realism, the listener feeling they are actually in the room themselves.
Usefully, one great thing about mixing consoles is that one can perfect the balance between all these mics and then, direct all the separate channels, into a group fader or faders.
Finally, one thing often missed about the advantage of using a single mic on the drums, is that in great sounding studios, Abbey Rd. Western Recorders etc. et al. The drums were usually placed in a particular part of the room, somewhere that further enhanced their sound.
A place where it was felt they sounded at their very best without negatively affecting the other instruments in the recording. Therefore, it is a hallmark of many of the greatest recordings made in that era, that the drums in particular, beautifully reflected in their tonality, part of the sonic character of the room in which they were recorded.
This aspect of a drums sound can easily be lost with modern close micing techniques, and many engineers have tried a whole slew of highly inventive and incredibly complex techniques to add something of the room’s quality. The basic problem however is that today, drums are usually recorded in much smaller rooms. As you will appreciate, by their very design and nature, drums are not really made for small rooms.
Progress is a profoundly deep and mysterious thing to me!
Here’s a great film by one of the world’s greatest percussionist, explaining how we feel sound through our bodies, not simply via our ears. Everyone who is interested in understanding music should watch this
She is deaf!
How to truly listen | Evelyn Glennie - YouTube
When the internet first arrived, a whole bunch of us got involved together sharing regularly and everything about it was overwhelmingly positive.
Alas, over time a noisier, dark side of the internet became increasingly apparent and many of us, myself included quietly withdrew from the net, removing everything that we possibly could.
However, more recently, from a distance I have enjoyed reading many fine posts from the excellent calibre of folk that inhabit the TalkBass site. Many here remind me of Bassist’s I have known, whom in general as a breed of musician, lack the destructive ego, that certain musicians are sometimes possessed by. It's a great forum!
Thank you also for the many excellent links you have helpfully provided, revealing a great deal of highly interesting material indeed.
Buddy Rich’s point about Dino’s playing are well taken. Dino appears to be a natural showman in performance, something else Buddy Rich would have identified with strongly.
To be honest, he reminds me of a particular session drummer in the U.K. I liked very much, a musician I would describe as a total driving force, forming the solid backbone of any band he played with.
Normally, the one mic on drums technique featured a stand with a boom overhead coming in, just above the level of the drummer’s head, smack in the centre of the kit. Rather than a gooseneck or any device that left the mic very much closer to one part of the kit than the rest of it.
As to the over the shoulder technique, the ideal mic placement is just inches away from the drummer’s actual ear. The salient point being to capture as closely as possible the actual sonic balance and tonal sensation of experience of the kit, precisely as perceived, directly from the drummer’s seat.
Clearly, the overhead in the second movies is very high.
In all probability, this was a safety measure under live broadcast conditions, recording a particular, loud, sound source. A normal precautionary measure.
One further point about the usefulness of a single mic on drums.
As you will be well aware, although there are many different but equally worthy techniques for micing drums, it is entirely normal today for there to be a single mic for each and every singular part of the kit.
For certain drummers that will be a heck of a lot of mics!
Despite this comprehensive sonic capture of every element of the kits sound, some producers find it helpful to employ one single extra mic.
This mic is of very high quality indeed, typically a classic large diaphragm condenser and is placed in front of the kit, at some distance away from it.
About where a person wanting to hear the overall sound of the kit ideally, but wanting to experience fully the sensation and feel of sound upon their body. Not just their ears, but wanting to feel the hairs on their neck and arms stand on end, with the impact of sound.
This mic acts like a form of sonic glue and is placed to cause all the many separate mics, to combine together into a single, dynamically powerful entity. Creating a similar physical sensation to standing directly in front of the entire kit, as its played in actual performance.
As you may be aware, we simply do not hear with our ear drums and brains alone, but various parts of our bodies respond directly to the sensation of musical vibration upon them. This effect, a scintillating overall physical sensation, is what the extra mic is all about.
Total realism, the listener feeling they are actually in the room themselves.
Usefully, one great thing about mixing consoles is that one can perfect the balance between all these mics and then, direct all the separate channels, into a group fader or faders.
Finally, one thing often missed about the advantage of using a single mic on the drums, is that in great sounding studios, Abbey Rd. Western Recorders etc. et al. The drums were usually placed in a particular part of the room, somewhere that further enhanced their sound.
A place where it was felt they sounded at their very best without negatively affecting the other instruments in the recording. Therefore, it is a hallmark of many of the greatest recordings made in that era, that the drums in particular, beautifully reflected in their tonality, part of the sonic character of the room in which they were recorded.
This aspect of a drums sound can easily be lost with modern close micing techniques, and many engineers have tried a whole slew of highly inventive and incredibly complex techniques to add something of the room’s quality. The basic problem however is that today, drums are usually recorded in much smaller rooms. As you will appreciate, by their very design and nature, drums are not really made for small rooms.
Progress is a profoundly deep and mysterious thing to me!
Here’s a great film by one of the world’s greatest percussionist, explaining how we feel sound through our bodies, not simply via our ears. Everyone who is interested in understanding music should watch this
She is deaf!
How to truly listen | Evelyn Glennie - YouTube
