Torched Laughter Studio Diary: Day 29 - Obstacles? I Love That Greek Philospher

Thus we get to the hardest part of this recording process (for me Hand drumming.

I am not up to the performance aspect of it yet. Just trying to capture the natural sound of each drum has been frustrating. The rule of thumb for this project has been to avoid compressors at all times. It can be done, but it takes good performance technique and mic placement to do such a thing. Haven’t had any luck yet. I’ll keep trying until I find the right placement. When I mean Mic Placement: I’m talking about the world of centimeters, not feet or distance. The general rule is place a mic near the head of the drum and one underneath to capture the bass/body.

The djembe I’m using (an animal skinned drum) is very unruly with rich overtones and punchy bass. Perhaps the spirit within the drum does not approve…Perhaps it longs to be with a New Age artist, safely away from my dungeon of megalomania and chain smoking.

~ by ikonowerk on February 12, 2008.