Hi, I have a question or two about Steve's technique for recording overheads. I would like to know about the thinking that goes into this technique. Meaning, with the M/S out front already, what are the overheads aiming to capture specifically? What are they intended to contribute, in relation to the M/S mic? Additionally, how is the 1178 being used? Is it supposed to be transparent, or is it supposed to pump with the music? Is it simply to prevent overs (wouldn't the tape naturally do this?), or is it getting some consistent compression action? Is it applied only to the overhead mics or does it go over the bus with the M/S as well? Please not that I am not trying to be like Steve, if I wanted to do that I would just copy the technique. I am asking what is the reasoning behind the techniques so that I can better incorporate them into my abilities. Thanks in advance.

First, there is quite a bit of information in this collection of threads -http://www.electricalaudio.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=55031Second, have you seen this video?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvLuP4Kya8U

Hiya ancientempire, The overhead mics and the M/S mics are both going to get mostly the same stuff off the kit. The M/S is intended to give a realistic stereo image of the drum kit. Figure that the bi-directional component of the M/S pair will add a lot of room sound, reverb, etc. The overhead mics will likely be uni-directional or bi-di, and so they will have more drums and cymbals, less room. So the M/S pair and the overheads offer different perspectives of the same thing, I think. The M/S pair will be boomy-er, and the overheads will have more pshhshshh sound. Having these two pairs gives you options during mix down... you can totally change the sound of the recording with just little baby fader movements when you set up your mics in this way, I think.*disclaimer: I'm no expert here and I would like to hear what the staff at Electrical has to say, too! Mr. Steve?

I would really like to know how any pumping on the cymbals is avoided or if it is part of the sound. I would think cutting snare sounds out of the overheads wouldn't be mr albini's priority, nor would he want the cymbals pumping, so I am just curious as to what is going on here.

The overhead mics are principally there to get more action from the cymbals. The MS pair is essentially a "whole kit" stereo mic, and the overheads are used to add sustain and crispness to the cymbals. I don't always use both, but when I do, that's what I'm trying to do.The 1178 is used to keep the snare drum from dominating the sound of the overheads, and it usually does sound like it's ducking a little but I don't care because it isn't being listened to on its own, it's being used to supplement the sound of the rest of the setup. I tend to use a long-ish release time to avoid obvious pumping though.If I were using just an overhead pair as the sole drum recording, then I'd have to worry about it more.

steve wrote:I tend to use a long-ish release time to avoid obvious pumping though.If I were using just an overhead pair as the sole drum recording, then I'd have to worry about it more.Steve,Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to reply to my post. It really means a lot. Everything you said makes a lot of sense. The 1176 sound is really recognizable and I love it on snare and vocals. I also love the sounds that you get!! The long-ish release time is amazing to me, as I always thought of your sound as super crisp! Then I go to the interwebs to find out what you're doing and its ribbon mics and and 1178...WUT?! kind of a shocker but the sound is incredible....similarly I emailed one of my favorite producers of NY hardcore/post hardcore music and he's using m201s on overheads..... couldn't believe it. How would you feel about applying a peak limiter to the overheads like a Pendulum PL-2 or something...I was thinking it would be really transparent but maybe that's not the goal......or so I thought!! Are you giving any treatment to the M/S mic or is that just straight wire? Also, how do you avoid issues between all the mic pairs??

Steve I have another question for you.I checked out the In Utero multitracks that have been fluttering around the web and I would really like to know how you got the cymbals to sound so incredibly agressive in the overheads. Was it Dave, or a meticulous selection of microphones and pre-amps? I don't blame you if you can't recall 1993. That's like asking me to remember the day my balls dropped.