Video summary
The evolution of drum recording techniques is closely tied to the expansion of available multitrack formats, shifting from a time when kick and bass drums were often combined on a single track with vocals and other instruments occupying separate channels. As technology progressed to eight-track systems, engineers began to isolate the full drum kit, though they frequently still grouped the kick and snare together before mixing overheads or toms into one additional track. The transition to sixteen tracks marked a significant milestone where drum components like the bass drum, snare, and overheads were typically split out individually, allowing for greater flexibility in capturing specific elements of the kit while maintaining a cohesive stereo image through single overhead mics or limited multi-mic setups mixed to one channel.
With the advent of twenty-four-track recording, the industry gained even more granular control over drum sounds, enabling engineers to record the bass drum, snare, stereo overheads, and various tom sections on distinct tracks tailored to their specific mixing needs. This increased capacity allowed for scenarios where a drummer's kit could be spread across eight or more tracks if the production did not require space for many other instruments, effectively turning the drums into a collection of individual sources rather than a single monolithic element. The decision to split the kit depended heavily on the anticipated arrangement and the need to leave room for brass, backing vocals, or other overdubs that might be added later in the session.
A critical challenge in this analog era was the management of generational loss, which occurred every time audio was bounced from one track to another due to tape hiss and noise degradation. Engineers had to be strategic about their mixing choices because they could not simply duplicate tracks infinitely as is possible with modern digital cloning; each re-recording made the signal worse by approximately three decibels of added noise. Despite these limitations, legendary figures like Les Paul managed to achieve high-quality results even after numerous overdubs, often utilizing internal single-machine setups that minimized cable clutter and potential interference, proving that careful planning could mitigate the inherent drawbacks of tape-based bouncing.
The discussion also highlights the unique microphone techniques employed by iconic drummers and engineers during this period, such as John Bonham's distinctive setup which utilized a shotgun microphone positioned above the kit to capture both the snare and overheads with a single source. This approach reflected a time when recording strategies were often experimental and driven by necessity rather than an abundance of tracks, forcing engineers to be inventive with their signal chains. Ultimately, the history of drum recording illustrates a journey from combining essential low-end frequencies onto limited channels to achieving a level of separation that allowed for complex, layered productions, all while navigating the physical constraints and noise floors inherent to analog tape technology.
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when when we started getting into
multitrack now uh like where we could
overdub like on four track basically
they still pretty much recorded that
same way u uh they they put like the
kick and the bass on one track everybody
else on another track and then then the
other two tracks were overdubb vocals
and other stuff uh it wasn't until they
got to like a track where they said okay
now we got enough tracks we can put the
drums by themselves maybe I've seen some
eight track track sheets where they they
still have the drum and and bass drum
together or the kick drum and bass
together and then the drums on their But
most of the time that you had drums,
bass, guitar, you know, so you had
enough stuff to to do that. When you got
to 16 track, the 2-in 16 track, then uh
drums usually got split out into uh uh
bass, snare, and overhead, you know,
like they they call it kit, but it was
like tom symbols, you know, just single
overhead mic or single overhead track.
Maybe they had multiple mics, but it was
all mixed to one track. When they went
to 24 track, then uh it was generally
like bass uh bass drum, snare drum,
stereo, either stereo overhead or bass
drum, snare drum, uh toms and symbols,
you know, how you wanted to split out.
And of course, if you had, you know, if
you weren't going to put a lot of other
stuff on the on the, you know, the
recording, you could have the drums on
like spread over eight tracks. You could
have a track for the hat and stereo
tracks for But, you know, it just
depended on on what, you know, what you
were going to be doing later on um to do
that.
>> Yeah. Well, I mean, that's that's the
good qu the the great question here that
you just um you kind of alluded to it,
but really so if you have a fourtrack
and you want to have uh your drums be
one of the tracks, I know you would
probably combine them with a four track,
but you would just mainly have like
would you use multiple mics and then sum
them down to one track?
>> Generally, yes. They have they had it
was done in studios. They they had they
had mixers and you know what was always
I was always so impressed with the
mixers back then because they they were
often mixing stuff that they they they
couldn't hear. You know, they would ask,
okay, what are you going to be adding to
this? And and we tell them at the
beginning of the session, oh, we're
going to maybe have some some brass come
in and and so that that was in their
mind when they were mixing it and they
would mix it slightly differently
depending on what they knew was coming
up even though they couldn't hear it,
you know, because it wasn't it hadn't
been added yet.
>> Yeah. Yeah. Really though. Okay. So, I
get it though. So you have your let's
say three drum mics or whatever into a
mixer and then the output of the mixer
would be into one of your tracks which
then could be pingpong bounced down on
top and and then you have the
generational loss.
>> Yes. Yes. That's that's somebody people
you know uh today don't even think about
because digital you can you know keep
making clones and copies. But every time
you you re-recorded something, it was
worse. You know, it was like 3dB worsen
noise and and you had uh any any issue
with the tape and in the recording you
had it actually made it worse. So, you
know, Les Paul to his credit, you know,
he did he was using full track tape and
and and one machine and I guess maybe
because it was all internal and didn't
have to run cables all over the the
house there. Uh his stuff sounded pretty
good even after that many overdubs.
Normally, normally, you know, if you
overdub it like, you know, eight, eight
or 10 times, you're going to hear, you
know, all kinds of tape.
>> Well, it's the it's the like I think you
maybe you or a teacher said something to
me about it's the it's the making, you
know, you take a piece of paper and you
make a copy of a copy of a copy of a
copy. It gets less clear each time and
that's what happens there. But yeah,
nowadays you don't we don't know the uh
um you know the the world of of that.
But and one thing you mentioned too with
the the drum mics is it's been uh
mentioned in previous episodes, but I
know I think John Bonham I don't want to
open the can of worms about John
Bonham's recording because there's a lot
of passionate people, but I believe
there was a overhead. It'd be like a
single overhead that was getting the
snare and it would be like a shotgun mic
above them to get the snare. It was just
a really interesting setup and different
technique back then for drum mics. I I
had read some years ago uh in one of the
trade mags like three Grammyinning
engineers. So they're all good. One of
them said, "You know, I only use uh
three mic