Band Name: Soilwork
Drummer Name: Dirk Verbeuren
Album Name: The Panic Broadcast
Release Date: June 2010
Studio Name: Echo Mountain (Asheville, NC)
Engineer Name: Peter Wichers & Jens Bogren
Cymbals: Meinl
Main: 14" Mb20 Heavy Soundwave (top) + Byzance Dark (bottom) Hi-hat
Secondary: 14" Mb20 Heavy Soundwave Hi-hat
22" Mb20 Heavy Bell Ride
19" Mb 20 Heavy Crash
18" Mb20 Heavy Crash
16" Mb20 Heavy Crash
20" Mb20 Rock China
10" Mb20 Rock Splash
12” Mb20 Rock Splash
On certain songs: 14" Generation-X Filter China
On certain songs: 12”/14" Generation X Trash Hat
Drums: Tama Starclassic Maple
22" x 18" Bass drum (Evans EQ4 clear)
12" x 9" Rack tom (Evans EC2 SST clear)
13" x 10" Rack tom (Evans EC2 SST clear)
16" x 16" Floor tom (Evans EC2 SST clear)
18" x 16" Floor tom (Evans EC2 SST clear)
On certain songs: 14" x 4" Artwood Snare (Evans Hybrid)
On certain songs: 14" x 5” Rogers vintage Dyna-Sonic Brass Snare (Evans G1 coated)
Pedals: Tama Iron Cobra Power Glide w/ plastic beaters
Triggers / Microphones:
20 close-up and 6 room microphones of various brands and types
1 Ddrum trigger and 1 Yamaha Sub-Woofer mounted to my 22" x 18" kick
Studio Tips:
Tuning
- Rack toms: Tuned a little higher than my usual medium-low to help them really shine through
- Floor toms: As low as possible
- Kick drum: Medium-low tuning, with 1 small pillow inside and my Iron Cobra pedals tightened about 85%
- Snare: High or medium, depending on the song
- Hi-hats: half open and very loose, except on a few songs where I tightened them a little.
Recording techniques:
For this album, everything was recorded to a click track. After rehearsing the song a few times, I began by recording full takes until we had 2-3 overall good takes down. Then I re-recorded specific parts if necessary. A few songs I recorded in different sections, allowing me to experiment more and allowing the structure to evolve along with my ideas. During most studio sessions, my mindset is to try different things at every take- be it rhythms, accents or fills- until a rhythmic structure emerges that I’m happy with. As a result, a lot of the ideas you can hear on the album I came up with during the recording process.
Drummer Comments:
I must mention how essential it was to benefit of both engineers/producers Peter Wichers and Jens Bogren’s expert advice and patience. Recording is often a somewhat draining experience in the long run, and working with people that truly understand the big picture and support what you’re doing can make a world of difference!
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