PERCUSSION

As you may suspect I own a multitude of percussion instruments that could easily fill a couple of large rooms up to the ceiling! The majority are professional level Meinl Percussion instruments, which I endorse, as well as many other vintage and traditional instruments that I bought around the world during my trips.

 

DRUM KITS:

My main recording drum kit is a vintage Yamaha 9000 series Recording Custom kit which has a balanced and focussed tone, compatible with most modern styles..

Although I possess all of the toms, ranging from 8" to 14", however I am quite minimalist in my set up and tend to use only a 10" rack tom and a 14" floor tom, sometimes adding the 8" tom for an additional colour.

I mainly use a 20" kick in the studio or sometimes a vintage Yamaha 8000 series 18" bass drum.

I also own a more modern Tama Superstar kit which has a more open timbre and a 22" kick, ideal when a more resonant quality is required.

 

SNARES:

Here is my collection of snare drums with which I can sonically cover any styles or textures.

 

Vintage Roger Dyanasonic COB (chrome over brass) 14x5

Vintage Slingerland Radio King COB 14x5

Vintage Ludwig Acrolite Aluminium 14x5

DW Collector's Maple 14x5

Yamaha Tour Custom Maple 14x5

Vintage Tama RoyalStar Steel 14x5.5

Pearl Sensitone Brass 14x5.5

Vintage Asama Maple (pre-Tama) hardwood 14x7.5

 

CYMBALS

I have a large collection cymbals which comprise several vintage ones such as Zildjian K, Toscos, Zankis and Paistes as well as modern ones from Meinl, Anatolian, Bosphorus, Bliss and Amedia.

I tend to favour a darker tone which I like both live and in studio

 

MICROPHONES:

I also own a great collection of top vintage microphones which will suit any sonic possibilities in my studio from AKG, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Electro Voice, Shure and others.

 

PREAMPLIFIERS:

I mainly use Universal Audio preamplifiers.

 

SOUNDCARD:

I continue using my faithful Mac Pro system with two (now vintage) MOTU 828 soundacrds (up to 20 tracks) and record at 24bits 44.1 KHz, which seems to be well accepted by most of the producers I work with.

 

DAW

Apple Logic Pro

 

RECORDING SET UP

I normally record overdubs without any compression or EQ applied and deliver them as single tracks, all beginning at bar 1 but I am happy to produce them and mix them if this is preferred. I normally require producers to send me a guide track with tempo information embedded (especially if this has tempo changes) and two bars count-in.