Category Archives: Drums

Steve Albini

Posted on by

Microphone Comparisons

Saxophone – R-121, Coles 4038
Trumpet – R-121, Neumann U-67, RCA 77DX
Acoustic Guitars (Steel String, Nylon String, 12-String) – R-121, Schoeps 221B
Electric Guitar – R-121, SM-57, Coles 4038 (being overstressed)
Drums – R-121

Recorded by Steve Albini
Recorded at Electrical Audio, Chicago, IL.

In Royer’s early days, when many people didn’t understand ribbon microphones, Steve Albini was kind enough to make a number of educational recordings for us which we included on our first demonstration CD. Steve is a well-known, well-respected engineer who has plenty of experience with ribbon mics and thousands of engineers and producers have learned from these comparison recordings over the years.

Tape Op Magazine reviewed our Demo CD #1 and said this about Steve’s recordings:
“The ‘something special’ though is the Microphone Comparisons with Steve Albini at the end of the CD. Steve goes through and compares the R-121 to other mics (Coles 4038, SM57, etc.) and provides us with his wonderful dry commentary. We love ya Steve! Truly one of our favorite CDs at the studio these days.” -LC

All of Steve’s comparison tracks are here, along with his original commentary.

Saxophone (Coles 4038, R-121, close R-121, distant R-121)


 

Trumpet (Neuman U-67, R-121, RCA 77DX)


 

Acoustic Guitar (Steel string – Schoeps 221B, R-121 / Nylon string – Schoeps
221B, R-121 / 12-string – tube condenser, R-121, condenser and R-121 blended)


 

Electric Guitar (SM-57, R-121 / Coles 4038 being overstressed)


 

Drums


Canaan

Posted on by

Acoustic Guitar (nylon and steel string) – R-121
Drum Overhead – SF-12
Vocals – R-121

Engineer – Kyle Homme. Producer – Shawn Sullivan.
Recorded in Pro Tools at World Class Audio, Anaheim, CA.

Backward R-121 on steel and nylon string acoustic guitars.
SF-12 on drum overheads.
Backward R-121 on vocals.

“Again” (©2000 Dan Sistos & Jevon McGlory)
a) Full Mix part 1 – emphasis on vocals and acoustic guitar


 

 

b) Full Mix part 2 – emphasis on nylon string guitar and drums


Ross Hogarth – Various Isolated Tracks

Posted on by

B-3 – SF-24
Drums – R-121, SF-12
Drum Room – SF-12, R-121
Bongos – SF-24
Shakers – SF-24
Electric Guitar, Heavy Rock – R-121

Engineer/Producer Ross Hogarth was one of the first engineers to ever use a Royer ribbon microphone. He has a large collection of Royers, including early serial numbers of all of our models due to his beta testing everything we’ve ever made. Over the years his contributions have been numerous and invaluable and we count him among our closest of friends.

Ross gave us the following isolated tracks to help teach engineers what Royer ribbons are capable of doing in the studio.
1) Isolated B-3 from the Damon Castillo Band, recorded on an SF-24 stereo ribbon microphone.
B-3: SF-24 on top of the Leslie with a Heil PR-30 on the bottom.
Recording chain: SF-24 into a Great River MP-2NV preamp, PR-30 into a Chandler preamp.
Recorded by Ross Hogarth at Sunset Sound Factory, Hollywood, CA in 2007.



 

2) Kenny Aronoff playing drums. One compressed R-121, 3 feet high and 6 feet back from kit.
Recorded by Ross Hogarth at Rumbo Recorders – Canoga Park, CA, B-room.



 

3) John Molo – Various Drum Tracks
This is a drum session broken down into isolated tracks cut on various Royers, with a final mix of all the Royer mics that were used on the session. This mix does not include the other mics that were used on the kit for the final drum mix.
Recorded by Ross Hogarth

3 a) SF-12 in front of the kit



 

3 b) R-121 left and right, front of the kit



 

3 c) One R-121 in front of the kit



 

3 d) All Royer mics from 3a, 3b & 3c blended



 

4) Bongos and Shakers from the Ryanhood song “All Right” recorded on an SF-24 stereo ribbon microphone. SF-24 12-inches above bongos and 8 inches from shakers.
Recording chain: SF-24 thru Great River MP-2NV pre, to Crane Song HEDD converter.
Recorded by Ross Hogarth at Track Records, North Hollywood, CA in 2008.
Play Audio



 

5) Stereo rhythm distortion guitar bed. R-121’s on two Marshall 4-12 cabinets.
Recorded by Ross Hogarth in Pro Tools at Rumbo Recorders – Canoga Park, CA.


Loudmouth

Posted on by

Electric Guitar – Heavy Rock – R-121
Drum Room Mics – R-121

Engineered by Joe Barresi, Allen Sides and Johnny K. Produced by Joe Barresi and John Sullivan.
Recorded at Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, CA / Bay 7, Valley Village, CA /
Groovemaster Studios – Chicago, IL.
From the Hollywood Records release “Loudmouth”.

R-121’s on electric guitars.
Two R-121’s as drum room mics.

1) “Rats In The Maze” (John Sullivan)

 

2) “Maybe” (Tony McQuaid)

 

3) “End Of The Century” (John Sullivan)

 

4) “No Heroes” (John Sullivan)

The Carl Verheyen Band – Full Mix and Isolated Track

Posted on by

Electric Guitar – R-121 & SM57
Drum Room – SF-12

Recorded by Shawn Sullivan
Recorded at World Class Audio, Anaheim CA

R-121 and SM57 on guitar (blend of 60% R-121, 40% SM57), with an SF-12 further back in the room for ambience.
SF-12 as drum room mic.
This is a rough mix of the first session, with Carl’s guide vocal track.

“Lay Your Hammer Down” (Carl Verheyen)
a) Full Mix

 
 

b) Isolated SF-12 as drum room mic.

Pirates of the Caribbean Score

Posted on by

Drum Overhead – R-122V

Score recorded and mixed by Alan Meyerson
Recorded at Sony Scoring Stage, Culver City, CA.

Recording chain: R-122V’s to Grace 801 preamps. Recorded to Pro Tools HD using Digi 192 converters.

Isolated drum tracks excerpted from the Pirates of the Caribbean score. Three drummers (Vinnie Colaiuta, Abe Laboriel Jr. and JR Robinson) playing simultaneously with nothing but one R-122V over each kit and a kick drum mic on each kit.

Drummers: Vinnie Colaiuta, Abe Laboriel Jr., JR Robinson

a) Isolated drums: overhead and kick mics only.

 

b) Same track as “a,” with room mics added.

 

 

Arturo Sandoval’s “Trumpet Evolution”

Posted on by

Brass – R-121, R-122, SF-12
Trumpet – R-121, R-122
Trombone – R-121
Drum Overhead – SF-12
Room Mic – SF-12

Engineer: Al Schmitt, Producer: Gary Grant
Recorded at Capitol Studios (Studio A), Hollywood, CA.

Recording chain: All mics routed through an assortment of Mastering Lab, Neve and Studer tube mic preamps. Recorded to Pro Tools

One R-122 on Arturo Sandoval’s solo trumpet
Four R-121’s on the trumpets
Four R-121’s on the trombones
SF-12 overall big band room mic
SF-12 drum overhead

1) “Manteca” (Dizzy Gillespie, Fuller, O’Farrill, Pozo)

 

2) “Concerto for Cootie” (Duke Ellington)

 

3) “My Funny Valentine” (Hart, Rodgers)

 

Tony Furtado

Posted on by

Electric Guitar – R-121
Drum Room – SF-12
Acoustic Guitar – R-121

Engineer: Dusty Wakeman
Recorded at Mad Dog Studios, Burbank, CA

Recording chain Electric Guitar: Mics into API 312 preamps to Pro Tools.
Close miked R-121 and SM57 on guitar cabinet, mics blended 50-50 in the mix.
Recording chain Drums: SF-12 into Neve 1272 preamps, recorded to Pro Tools.
SF-12 four ft high and 5 ft in front of kit.
Recording chain Acoustic Guitar: Mics into John Hardy M-1 preamps, recorded to Pro Tools.
R-121 and Naumann M-149 positioned head to head off the 14th fret. Mics blended 50-50 in the mix.

Recorded to Pro Tools Mix Plus system.

“These Chains” (Tony Furtado)

Dirty Dozen Brass Band 1

Posted on by

Brass – R-121, R-122
Saxophone – R-121
Drums – SF-12
Percussion – SF-24
Vocals – SF-24
Sousaphone – R-122

Recorded and mixed by Clint Bennett. Produced by Anthony Marinelli & Shawn Amos.
Recorded at Westlake Studio D (Los Angeles, CA) and Bismeaux Studio (Austin, TX). Additional recording and all mixing at Music Forever.

Recording chain: All mics into Neve VR console preamps at Westlake and API console preamps at Bismeaux.  Recorded to Pro Tools HD at 96k. Digi 192 converters at Westlake and Bismeaux, and Apogee converters at Music Forever.

Special thanks to Shout Factory for the use of these recordings.

“Flying High” (Gaye, Stover) – SONG INTRO

1a) Full Mix

 

 

1b) Isolated Saxophone: R-121 on saxophone

 

 

“Flying High” (Gaye, Stover) – SONG ENDING

2a) Mix

 

 

2b) Isolated Vocals, Claps, Percussion: One SF-24 with musicians gathered around it.

 

 

2c) Isolated Horn Stem: R-121’s and R-122 on various horns.

 

 

2d) Isolated Drums: SF-12 on drum overhead, low and towards the front of the kit.

 

 

2e) Isolated Sousaphone: R-122 on sousaphone.

 

 

 

Coal Chamber – Full Mixes and Isolated Tracks

Posted on by

Electric Guitar – R-121
Drum Rooms – R-121

Produced, engineered and mixed by Ross Hogarth.
Recorded at Rumbo Recorders, Canoga Park, CA.

All tracks recorded to ProTools at 48K.

1) “Rowboat” (Casey, Daniels, French)

a) Full Mix

 

b) Electric Guitars: R-121, SM-57 and 421 clustered on one 4X12 cabinet speaker.
Recording chain: R-121 to V72 Telefunken tube pre, SM-57 and 421 to Trident console preamps.

 

c) Drum rooms: R-121 & Coles 4038 blended. Coles 2 ft back from kit, 121 five ft back from kit.
Recording chain: R-121 and 4038 to Trident console preamps, to Chandler EMI compressor. Recorded to ProTools at 48K.