I’m back in NYC today after recording over the weekend with The Bloodline in Boston. I’m very excited about the way the new songs turned out. This upcoming album will include all new material–some songs that you’ll recognize for our recent live shows and some that have never been heard.
This album documents a major evolution in the band’s sound since the last recordings were done. I can’t wait for you to hear the new songs. More details about the upcoming release will follow.
For now, here are some pics of my recording setup, also details about the gear below:
Pearl Masters MCX, maple shells. 20″ kick / 10″, 12″, 14″ toms / 14″ MCX snare
I played the matching Masters MCX snare on all of these recordings. (In the past, I used a 14″ Pearl UltraCast for nearly everything–it has great clarity at low dynamic levels and a thunderous “crack”. But, I’ve been toying around with this Masters snare for the past several months and I’ve become a huge fan of the fat sound I’m getting with it, using a lower tuning on it than I’ve ever used on my snare drums. I brought both drums to the session but ended up using the Masters snare for everything.)
The cymbals, left to right (drummer’s perspective):
18″ Sabian HHX Ozone Crash
14″ Zildjian K Custom Dark Hi-Hats
18″ Zildjian K Med Thin Dark Crash
19″ Sabian AAX-Plosion Crash
22″ Zildjian K Ride (or 20″ Zildjian Pre-Aged Light Ride)
16″ Paiste Twenty China
I switched between different rides depending on the song. The 20″ Pre-Aged is washier, great for crash-riding, while the 22″ K Ride is more “pingy”. The Pre-Aged ride has a big crack in the bell now after years of playing. Fortunately, it hasn’t affected the sound yet. Hoping to “ride” it out as long as possible with that one–it’s been my favorite for 5-6+ years. Both crashes above and the hats are new to my setup. I am lovin’ them all–been great for both hard-hitting rock and soft acoustic music, so I no longer need to use different sets of cymbals for each setting.
All Pearl hardware. Pearl Demon Drive double pedal. Zildjian Heavy Jazz sticks.
Also, any/every brand of coffee–very important to the sound!
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