There are hundreds of dissertations on this subject around the web.  Many written by people far more qualified than I.  However, since I’ve recorded 400+ different kits over the years, and customer satisfaction has generally been high…  This is Part Two.

There was a session several years ago when the band had finished recording all of the basic tracks and were starting to overdub guitar parts when one of the band members asked, “Where did (the drummer) go?”  None of us had seen him since the last trip to his car after tear-down…it had been at least a half hour.  It turns out that he had packed his car and quit the band.  He drove three hours back home without saying goodbye thinking he was saving the band the messiness of quiting before he had recorded with them… Probably not the right call…

No Worries One:  Really cheap tom mics are fine.  You’re only going to use them to augment the overheads and bring attack, body, and increased volume to the toms anyway.  That sounded surprisingly like a shampoo ad.

No Worries Two:  Remove all of the damping, tune and reapply moon gels cut in half.  Full gels kill too much area.  If you have to, use two halves in different spots.  Drum Gum is also really effective.  I actually use little frogs that I bought at a party store which are made out of the same stuff.  Part Three.  or back to Part One.