It’s so weird to hear Gavin mention Hammonds Hammers I’d forgotten those. I remember when Gavin would come into the shop in Watford with myself, Matt and Pete and he’d just chill out, grab sticks and talk drums. He’s always been a top guy 👍
Instead of taking a box and packing it to see what fits inside, Gavin Harrison takes multiple boxes and puts them inside and on top of one another. It’s so inspiring how creative he is while also keeping totally in control of his timing, volume, and timbre to fit the song. Definitely my favorite drummer of all time. I’m just sad I don’t live in Europe lol
i just saw him live at Bospop, so seeing this just makes me more excited to sit behind the kit again, and actually getting my own acoustic set and studio. Man, i love your work Gavin, espaccialy the 'porqupine tree' stuff! So this was super valluable to me❤!
I have the fortune to be a Vic Firth artist myself and what it’s really interesting for me to note is the fact that I had in my hands of both the Rock models and the Spears just before landing to your model! I must also say that in the middle I used for several years the Buddy Rich, both for their length and for the shape of the fabulous tip that work so well on the cymbals and that reminds me a lot of both the model Spears that yours. I’ve been using your model for about 6/7 years now and I find them the best drumsticks ever and I think I will use them for a long time. Thank you Gavin, thank you Vic Firth!!!
Gavin just makes it look so easy its so natural when he plays. He is one of the most influencing drummers i 've ever come across. Learned a hell lot of things with Gavin every time I hear his music. He really makes the drums proud when he is playing them .
Please, someone upload this version of Uncovering Your Tracks! At 13:59 in this video. Its great to hear Gavin talking, but this song I have to listen to again and again :-) A drumming masterpiece.
Great interview with Gavin! I love his sound for more than a decade now. It's so recognisable. First time I heard him was live with PT. Those first opening drum hits in FOABP (which was not yet recorded at that time) really hit me like a hammer. I never heard a drummer sound like that and have that effect. Just a few notes regarding his recording. The SOR8 plugin (highly recommended) is supposed to emulate the EL Distressor hardware too. And Gavin can use a lot of bleed from the tom mics in his recordings because his kit sounds top-notch, his recording space is tuned, his playing is stellar, and the quality of his mics is very high. The problem with bleed is that stuff ringing all the time is the sound of a drumkit, but most people are not able to capture their drums nicely, especially the toms. This means that as a mix engineer, you will try to make the toms sound nicer by adding a lot of processing. The problem is that by changing the sound of the tom, you are also changing the sound of the other elements in the kit because they are captured on that same track. To make things worse, bad mic setups will then cause you phase issues and the panning might be weird because the snare sound is coming from multiple sources panned all over the place. And to add insult to injury: certain drummers are loud on their snare and cymbals but weak on their toms, resulting in tom mic recordings which have more cymbals and snare in them than actual tom sounds. To finally top it off with that the sound of the snare mic is out of time with other mics. Simply because sound waves need to travel and the snare mic will be hit first, then the toms, then the overheads. There is a good few milliseconds difference which can give you phase issues. Personally: i'd usually either gate or cut up the tom track to have just the hits. Mixes far easier and gives better control over the sound. It takes a lot of investment and practice to get the quality Gavin is getting. I can tell you that even in professional studios and trained engineers, not all of them will be able to get the sound Gavin gets.
Fantastic! Gavin is the epitome of skill, musicality, eloquence, and intelligence - both behind and in front of the kit. Thank you Vic Firth and Mr. Harrison!
This should be advertised more. Honestly, so many questions I've for many years have been answered RE his mix and studio sound. and I accidently stumbled across this!
Wow it’s really amazing how meticulous, well practiced and knowledgeable Gavin is with absolutely everything related to his craft. I guess there is a reason he has one of the most recognizable sounds in drum history.
Anyone wanting to record professional drums, this is an excellent video to bookmark. So many great tips, all adding up to an excellent drum sound. Gavin is a master at the craft, start to finish.
Mixing is such an important aspect of drumming itself, every drummer should learn about it, at least the basics. And it's true, compressors are great tools. When used correctly, it will appear you didn't use them, but the sound will be huge.
you're 100% correct! I've been learning a lot about mixing using Superior Drummer 3 as it gives you access to a LOT of microphone setups and bussing options. I haven't got the space or ideal setup for my own acoustic drums yet but i'm sure if I did I'd be able to apply the skills learned from the Superior mixer to the real life mixer and drums :)
That was great...always love to hear what time has unfolded for an honest and willing knowledge transfer. I don't have a big room, but the overhead placement and explanation was a light bulb moment for sure....thanks for sharing G.
I have been waiting for this video since May 28th 🔥💯and no matter how many times I see Sir Gavin Harrison play, talk, or deconstruct a simple concept, fact or just show us a magic trick. There's something to learn in every second of his music, published videos, or interviews. This lockdown has been so tough on me, I have not had a chance to play the drums as much due to a variety of ill-fitting cogs which hinder motion and progress. So stoked to see the big hall and the big room mics, that made me smile the most-your home is an absolute marvel! I love the sunlight falling inside and the architecture, down to the star-studded knob on the staircase. The mixing masterclass was phenomenal, so many easter eggs to learn from. Thank you for being a beaming lighthouse of inspiration for us kids in India, who have grown up listening to your albums on repeat and dared to pick up drumsticks, in the hope to have 0.01% of your skill, dedication, focus, and commitment. Lastly, thank you Vic Firth for this wonderful series release! 🌟
This “behind the sleeves” series by Vic Firth is amazing, I must say. I have loved every episode of it I’ve seen, and this is no different: amazing stories, insights, in such a nice format. Thank you!
My favorite stick. I switched to them after my hands hurt when using smaller sizes. Thank you for doing this Gavin. Thank you Vic Firth for doing this.
I am so glad I found this! Thank you Vic Firth for doing this. Gavin’s drums sound so good and this is a wonderful insight into how he accomplishes that! 🙏🥁🙏
Great class Sir Gavin Harrison! (hope the Queen takes notice soon as the Sir of Drums! Such knowledge and wisdom paired with mastery and elegance, and always delivered with such simplicity and humility. Wondeful human being. Thanks!
It cannot be understated just how much The Pineapple Thief lucked out when they got Gavin. Obviously no ill will towards the band, they just couldn't have gotten a better man for the job.
One small but potentially important thing he didn't mention about initially seating the lugs when tuning a head; it's also a good idea to make sure that the resistance you're feeling is indeed from the lug pulling on the rim. I spent a decent amount of time having a _lot_ of trouble tuning toms until I noticed once that some of the lugs would encounter resistance _before_ they would contact the rim. This was not from negligence either, my drum set has spent its life indoors and I've put a small dab of grease on every lug. From then on, when I snug down my lugs, I wiggle them back and forth until I see that washer no longer moves around loosely. Another thing that's loosely related but might be good to know; there was a time when my bass drum playing quality went down and I thought I was just losing my feel for it, but after too long I inspected my pedal and found hairs or threads tangled in the bearings. Cleaning it up made a huge difference.
@gavinharrison thanks so much for this video. What an interesting and unique way of thinking about drums. Definitely the best drum sound in my opinion!
Well that was pretty epic! haha I didn't expect to see so much of his recording/mixing technique and he really lucked out with that big open area for his ambient mics :)
Gavin, I’m a huge fan! If you’re reading this I was wondering, will you be coming down to Texas with King crimson on July 31? It would be amazing to get to see you play live!
@gavinharrison , You talked about learning gain staging to help with mixing. I use Logic as well and I noticed that lots of the individual track channels are in the red over zero DB but it sounds great! I have always thought I needed to keep the levels under zero db as well as the summed mix. However when I do that the visual transients are pretty small so I end up pressing the magnify samples button on the transport bar. I know that you can view pre input mix as well as after the effects etc. I’m just wondering if I should not worry as much about it or if there’s a resource video I can use to learn more about it. Always love your lessons and projects! Thanks for the inspiration!
It doesn't matter if the individual channels go way into the red as long as the Master never goes over zero. Sound On Sound magazine proved this many years ago.
@@matthewpaluch777 They've got a huge production and logistics line going; they're not going to disrupt that for 144 sticks. Try contacting Coca Cola and ask them for 10 cases of coke with half as much sugar, and report back with their reply.
@@Streichholztasche They are, but they're so incredibly well balanced, you just don't think about it after a while. They also last a very long time, which is great.
