ABBEY ROAD MODERN DRUMMER

ABBEY ROAD | MODERN DRUMMER is about using the very best instruments, recording equipment and techniques to capture the ultimate drum sound. Some techniques used:

- Drums recorded in up to 27 velocity layers, with up to six alternative hits (round robins) per drum
- Separate right and left hand samples for the most common snare, tom, and hi-hat articulations
- Snare bleed was recorded separately, so you can dial in just the amount you need.
- A Yamaha NS10 monitor was rewired and used as a mic on the kick drum to capture sub-bass frequencies
- A mic was positioned to pick up the reflection off the floor from the kick drum for an enhanced kick sound with plenty of sub-bass
- An additional snare was recorded with a splash cymbal lying on it for a unique fizzy sound, great for drum and bass, pop and R&B

Kick: 24" Pearl Reference Kick
Snare 1: 13" x 5.5" DW Edge Snare
Snare 2: 12" x 5" Pearl Sensitone Custom Alloy Steel Snare
Snare 3: 14" x 5" Pearl Sensitone Elite Brass Snare
Hi-hat: Zildjian Mastersound Hihat
Hi Rack Tom: 8" Pearl Reference Rack Tom
Mid Rack Tom: 10" Pearl Reference Rack Tom
Low Rack Tom: 12" Pearl Reference Rack Tom
Floor Tom: 16" Pearl Reference Floor Tom
Cymbals: Modern Zildjian High Crash, Low Crash, Ride, Splash and Sabian China

Kick: 22" DW Collector's Series Kick
Snare 1: 14" x 6" Sonar Artist Bronze Snare
Snare 2: 14" x 5.5" DW Collector's Stainless Steel Snare
Snare 3: 14" x 5" Ayotte Custom Maple Snare
Hi-hat: Sabian El Sabor Hihat
Hi Rack Tom: 12" DW Collector's Series Rack Tom
Low Rack Tom: 13" DW Collector's Series Rack Tom
Hi Floor Tom: 16" DW Collector's Series Floor Tom
Low Floor Tom: 18" DW Collector's Series Floor Tom
Cymbals: Modern Sabian High Crash, Low Crash, China, Zildjian Ride and Istanbul Splash

The drums were recorded with a choice mixture of state-of-the-art modern equipment and highly sought after vintage gear. Abbey Road Studio has one of the biggest mic collections in the world, so the engineers chose their all-time favorites, including the high-end modern Brauner VM1 and the vintage classic Neumann U47.

Preamps included the clean, punchy SSL 9K, Summit Audio TPA 200B, the extremely rare EMI TG12428, and the built-in preamp on the ancient REDD.47 desk. Compression and limiting was handled by Empirical Labs’ EL8 Distressor and a vintage Fairchild 660. Finally, the analog signals were translated into the digital domain using state-of-the-art Prism ADA-8 A/D converters.

Detailed specs about recording equipment...