SOS PODCASTS

The drum machine has progressed massively since the days of the home organ player. Here Oli Freke takes us through a brief history, with lots of audio examples.

In the first of this two-part series, David Mellor gives us an introduction to mic polar patterns.

A valuable test for recording engineers, David Mellor gives examples of different mic types to emphasise the importance of knowing your mic collection in detail.

In the final part of this series, Rob Toulson focuses on mic techniques for recording drums and talks us through the issue of frequency cancellation in a multiple mic setup, details how to choose the recording sweet spot in a room and explains the various stereo mic options that are available including the famous Glyn Johns technique.

Rob Toulson explains how to optimise the drum sound for recording by experimenting with drum head, damping system, tuning and drum shell combinations.

In Part 1, we look at the key principles of drum acoustics and discuss some scientific aspects of drums with respect to making music and creative recording projects.

Paul White takes us through the history and evolution of guitar synths, from early attempts at creating onboard sounds and audio-to-MIDI pickups, through to using pedals and plug-ins to emulate synth effects.