DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

I’m in gear-buying mode, as I prepare for another month of recording. Recent research has revealed the folly of previous purchases.

Last year, I recorded drums for five songs, as chronicled here in excruciating detail. I think I captured workable, but not stellar sounds from my drum kit. (You can, in fact, judge for yourself, as I posted some early mixes: Bleed, Groove95, Cincinnati Summer, Best in Me, Ode to Soup.) This time out, I’ve upgraded a few key pieces of equipment. [Note to future self: I already know I’ll write this exact same article again next year.]

I was using AKG C1000S mics for drum overheads. Of all my mics, I was the least pleased with the sound of these, and so I started my upgrade process here. The question I asked was simply what mics should I use?

Net.wisdom says that the Oktava MK-012 is the best cheap drum overhead mic. And you know where that led me. But finally I did order a genuine pair of Russian “OktaBa” mics and shock-mounts. If I have time I hope to post an A/B comparison of the AKGs and the Oktavas.

I tracked my drums with compression, because I figured it would be easier to spend $100 on a compressor than spend five years learning how to hit each drum with exactly the same force every time I hit it. Not using compression risks clipping, which could blow a take. Or, alternatively, recording drums without compression requires dialing the gain back so far (to accomodate the risk of a louder hit) that the signal gets lost in the noise.

Anyway, after about 10 minutes of exhaustive research, I’d decided on a dbx 286, which is a 1U rackmount compressor/gate device that enjoys great reviews on the dbx corporate website. It has the added attraction that it can be picked up used for less than $100, in fact for about $40 if you happen to buy from someone who ships it with literally no padding inside a box from a microwave oven and who agrees to refund 60% of your purchase price as compensation for the years of abuse endured thereby.

But like the C1000S mics, the dbx 286 has a lousy reputation within the community of online audio engineers — a reputation best summarized as “the first thing to sell to finance an upgrade.”

The low-cost compressor with the best reputation is the RNC — which, ironically, a coworker had suggested to me before I bought the dbx. Anyway, I’ve ordered two RNCs (one for the kick and one for the snare) and I’ll likely add a 3rd if I feel the need to compress toms or overheads too.