Gavin Harrison here!

To gongbass: Just wondering if you're the gongbass on the Tama forum?

To Gavin:
I am extremely excited to see you at PASIC and was wondering if you were going to be doing a solo or if you were going to be playing along to different songs. This is just so I can be prepared to be amazed.
 
Hi Liquid_Drummer

It clicked today.. For some reason out of the blue I am now able to play polys with more ease and less "brain tangle" (which is what I call when you are barley able to play something and you feel like you can barely hold it together).Have you ever had something that seemed way out of reach technically just become available to you so suddenly ? Like the light just came on.. Weird experience isnt it ?

Virtually everything that is in my books was out of reach to me in the beginning...so yes I've had that feeling a lot. It's usually 'mind over matter' rather than some technically difficult coordination thing.

Hi NeuroAxis,

Have you by chance heard any of his solo work with the Zawinul Syndicate? He has played with some phenomenal drummers with the Syndicate like Nat Townsley and Paco Sery just to name a few...


Yes I have some Zawinul Syndicate recordings - and Paco and Nat are amazing on them.

Hi deadwing_007

seeing a poster asking you about the dw505 drop clutch reminded me of an issue i have with mine. I'm trying to figure out the best way to explain it....When i close the hi-hats, the clutch is able to move a little bit, almost like its pulling the metal clamp down a little further.Have you ever had a similar problem to this?

On the underside of the top section there is a nut that can be backed out to get rid of that unwanted movement. I believe there's an allen key screw holding that nut - you may have to undo that first.

Hi Joe P

I guess my simple question is: How do you record music such that you'll be satisfied with the product? Or is it ever even possible to be satisfied with a recording in the long run? Would my solution be to carefully structure every single groove and fill for the recording [but only in a worst-case scenario, because that sounds like it would be horrid!]?

I normally have a reasonable idea of what I want to play on a song as I'm listening to it. I know the feeling of not being happy with it - but you have to reach a compromise with yourself and say 'that's as good as it's going to get today'. A few weeks later I can't even remember the tiny details I was unhappy about on the day of recording. I've done so much recording - and I know my own playing so well - I know there will always be flaws - but I also know when I feel it's sounding good and I should leave it there. Working out every single beat and fill is not going to make me happy.

Also, I wanted to ask you if there was any recorded version of "Slippin' Away" from your DVD?

No - there's just that DVD version.

Hi SantiBanks,

Any chance that you would some kind of jazz album, I guess with a different band then the Fantasy Jazz Group ;)

I've often played with the idea of that. I know some great jazz musicians I could get it together with. It just doesn't feel like the right time to do it. Maybe when I'm older it will feel like a nice return to my roots.

Hi Gus

Do you know if will be soon avalaible through DGM, downloads of any of the american concerts with KC?.

I don't know about that. I do know that all the shows were recorded on multitrack though.

About the "Fantasy Jazz Group", when SantiBanks did the question, immediatily came Bill Evans in my mind as your pianoman... Another elegant musician like Chet, and two of my favourites.

Yes I love Bill Evans and Lyle Mays too.

Hi MoreCowbell!!

I was just wondering, how many hours did you use to practice per day when you were a kid?

As long as could - is the honest answer. Practising my lesson material was always painful to me and needed some will power to get me through - but playing along to records and just figuring out things on my own I could do as long as I could stay awake.

Hi gongbass

You mentioned those Zildjian Crash/bell prototypes any way we could get a little more info on them? where they the three little cymbals right in front of you? What are their weights and does Zildjian plan on actually selling them?

Those three cymbals are still in the prototype phase - I can tell you that they're 7" 8" 9" in size and have an unusual crash-bell sound to them. They're not splash cymbals- and they're not bells - but probably somewhere in between. I've been using them on my last couple of recording projects and I'm very pleased with the sound of them. I hope that one day Zildjian might consider marketing them. Glad you enjoyed the Crimson show in NYC.

Hi BBman

I am extremely excited to see you at PASIC and was wondering if you were going to be doing a solo or if you were going to be playing along to different songs. This is just so I can be prepared to be amazed.


I'll be playing along to tracks from PT, some tracks from my DVD's and my last project with 05Ric. I don't really do drum solos.

cheers
Gavin
 
hi gavin!

I'm not gonna bore you with all the spiel about how big a fan i am and so forth, although i did travel 3000km to see PT play in sydney this year.

I go through phases where i absolutely love your playing and then i go through phases where i'll dig someone else like brian blade or some other monster, then i'll come back to you.

Right now i'm really digging your playing again and the main thing that has and always will impress me is your time.
That leads me to ask: What did you do to work on your time when you were in your practice intense days and what would you recomend to aspiring drummers such as myself to work on our time?

also, i'm lucky i'm in a situation where i can apply for grants to get around the world and learn from all sorts of players if i bug the grants comittee enough. is there any chance you do any private lessons for situations like that? (don't answer if you think it is innappropriate to ask in public).

A huge fan, K_C.
 
Hey,

Iv been away from a while...so my questions seem to have piled up.

First up...i was given a semi endorsement deal by mapex :) so i bought a mapex saturn standard 5 piece. Any reviews? (Its the same kit that Chris Adler uses)

Secondly...i did sessions for a country/blues artist from the US and boy did listening to your playing help me out or what. She wanted that whole 60-70s type of subtle drumming and during the course of the recording your style and techniques were the only things driving me :). Oh and the whole album was recorded live on analog tape with all the musicians playing together which made things slightly more difficult. I was wondering... which of the sessions youve done so far, had the whole band playing at once ?

Skins...the skins im using are all evans
tom reso - G2
tom batt - hydraulics
snare batt - power center
bass batt - emads

i know you use Remos but if you have ever used these skins....how did u find them ?

Miking....
snare top - sm 57
snare bot - sennheiser 812
bass inside - akg d 112
tom 1 - 812
tom 2 - sm 58
tom 3 - sm 58
overheads - neumann 184
no distant mikes

il upload the songs as soon as i get them

my last question is
how exactly (scientifically...if possible) does the depth of a snare drum change its sound
i know the deeper the snare the fatter the sound
but how exactly does that work ?

cheers
 
Hi Gavin !
first time to be here,the sound of your drumming influences me alot.as Im a guitarist myself and do the recording for my band.
so it's really a great place for me to learn how you get the drum into audio path and how you play your unique drumming so that I can tell my drummer to learn abit.haha.
ok,back to the question.firstly,I read that you use rosetta 800 and got alot of mics for the whole kits.so,how you group your each tracks into 8 channels AD?as I recently got a 8 channel apogee and ready for drum tracking.and which drums would you suggest to record if you are limited in only 8 mics?thanks!!!
 
Hi king_chicken

Right now i'm really digging your playing again and the main thing that has and always will impress me is your time. That leads me to ask: What did you do to work on your time when you were in your practice intense days and what would you recomend to aspiring drummers such as myself to work on our time?

I was always very observant as a kid - and I still am now. I could hear my own time discrepancies clearly - and I still can now. I used to practise with a portastudio (a 4 track cassette machine) and record myself and listen out for different things..such as "Internal sync" - to see if my bass drum was really in time with my hi hat - same with the snare drum accents and ghost notes - I was trying to play them together but couldn't always hear if they were. With those portastudios they had a pitch wheel which meant I could slow the tape right down and hear the flams that were sometimes happening between the hi hat/snare/bass drum - a whole lot easier than at normal speed. It was like a kind of aural microscope. I'd do the same thing when playing to a click - I'd record myself - and then listen back with the tape speed going much slower.

I was listening to a lot of Steve Gadd, Jeff Porcaro and John Robinson and I could tell that my playing didn't feel as good - as smooth and relaxed as those guys did. So that gave me a focus - a goal to try to get close to - I really wanted that kind of feeling in my time. Mostly it was learning to play on the back of the beat.
I would play along to tracks with those guys on and then just listen back to my drumming (without the music going on). I would even go and stand outside my practise room so I could hear the playback of my drumming and imagine I was listening to someone else. It was easier to make a judgment like that.

I still work on timing things now - I always feel that my timing could be better.

Hi drumbumhamza

Oh and the whole album was recorded live on analog tape with all the musicians playing together which made things slightly more difficult. I was wondering... which of the sessions youve done so far, had the whole band playing at once ?

Most of the sessions I did in my early days were like that - I can't think of any lately.

i know you use Remos but if you have ever used these skins....how did u find them ?


I have used some Evans heads - but I've kind of honed my sound with the Remo ones.

my last question is - how exactly (scientifically...if possible) does the depth of a snare drum change its sound i know the deeper the snare the fatter the sound but how exactly does that work ?

I've no idea. You should ask a drum manufacturer.

Hi communion

firstly,I read that you use rosetta 800 and got alot of mics for the whole kits.so,how you group your each tracks into 8 channels AD?as I recently got a 8 channel apogee and ready for drum tracking.and which drums would you suggest to record if you are limited in only 8 mics?thanks!!!


I use two Apogee Rosettas for 16 channels. If you have to limit the drums to 8 channels then I would

1. BD
2. Snare
3&4 stereo toms sub mixed
5&6 stereo overheads
7&8 stereo room ambience

cheers
Gavin
 
Hi SantiBanks,

Any chance that you would some kind of jazz album, I guess with a different band then the Fantasy Jazz Group ;)

I've often played with the idea of that. I know some great jazz musicians I could get it together with. It just doesn't feel like the right time to do it. Maybe when I'm older it will feel like a nice return to my roots.


Yes I love Bill Evans and Lyle Mays too.

cheers
Gavin

I'll be the first to buy a copy ;)

I noticed that Mike Portnoy always videotapes the recordingsessions of the dream theater albums and releases them on his website. They include drum only, whole band and comments soundtracks. I watched some of those and find them particulary interesting and useful for learning and figuring out parts. Any chance to see something similar from you somewhere in the future?

Also, a lot of musicians tape themselves when practicing their instruments to see/hear how they really play. Did you do that a lot when you started and did you find those recordings useful? I'm thinking of starting recording my own playing to learn from it but I'm not sure if I would benefit from it and if its worth all the hassle.
 
Yes it me the same Gongbass from the Tama forum. Unlike Tama, Zildjian doesn't bend as far as special orders and sizes for non endorsers. So I'm hoping Zildjian actually carry through with these. Or at least make some available in their prototype sound lab releases.

I know Sabian is really flexible in terms of producing any cymbal a customer would want. I love Zildjian's sound but I wish they would adapt to Sabian's way of pleasing the customer.
Zildjian needs to expand their small effects cymbals department.
 
my last question is
how exactly (scientifically...if possible) does the depth of a snare drum change its sound
i know the deeper the snare the fatter the sound
but how exactly does that work ?

Hi drumbumhamza
Many factors incided of the sound of a snare
thicknesses, head, hoop and whatever. I build snares what kind of sound you get?
A deep shell produces sounds darker but also more resonance. Ask me I can help you to build your own snare sound
cheers
Angelo
 
Hi Gavin,
I am continually inspired by how original and musical your playing is, as are your books and DVD, (I can't seem to get hold of Rhythmic Visions though)
Hope this is not a stupid question, but when you put your playing under the microscope as you mentioned earlier to get your time better with less flamming etc, when you discovered a discrepancy in your playing, did you just have to practice till it improved or did you actually have to adjust your mental perception of what you thought was feeling ok but sounding a bit late or early when listening back? In any case what did you do to improve your playing to tighten it up with the click?
Regards

Baz
 
Well I tried to pull all the strings I had available at Zildjian. Apparently Gavin's Crash-bells are just prototypes made for him and they did not do a sound lab run off. I was told maybe winter NAMM. : ( You'd think for a guy who has actually bought 100+ plus ZIldjian cymbals in the last few years that they might make some exception.... NO.

Gavin can you put in a word for us pawns!!! : )

Cheers
 
Hi SantiBanks,

I noticed that Mike Portnoy always videotapes the recordingsessions of the dream theater albums and releases them on his website. They include drum only, whole band and comments soundtracks. I watched some of those and find them particulary interesting and useful for learning and figuring out parts. Any chance to see something similar from you somewhere in the future?

I think I'd find it too distracting to think that everything was being filmed...so no I won't be doing that.

Also, a lot of musicians tape themselves when practicing their instruments to see/hear how they really play. Did you do that a lot when you started and did you find those recordings useful?

I did that all the time when I was younger - and still do it now to some degree. Sometimes things can sound great when you're playing them (especially along to your favorite records) but recording yourself and checking the playback carefully is a good way to keep your feet on the ground. It speaks the truth.

Hi the baz

Hope this is not a stupid question, but when you put your playing under the microscope as you mentioned earlier to get your time better with less flamming etc, when you discovered a discrepancy in your playing, did you just have to practice till it improved or did you actually have to adjust your mental perception of what you thought was feeling ok but sounding a bit late or early when listening back? In any case what did you do to improve your playing to tighten it up with the click?

It's all about hearing it first. If you can't hear if you're rushing or dragging (or being in front or behind the click) you'll never be able to do anything about it. I would practise things nice and slow and try to nail the bass drum hits with the hi hat - same with the snare drum. Just playing really simple patterns - but you can soon focus your ears on it when you know what your listening for. Slowing down the recording helped me hear it more eaily.

cheers
Gavin
 
hi gav hows going on?

can you recomendate me any software to program some drum loops in odd times to pratice with them along, cause i try some softwares but they dont cuantize or dont have tue option to be programed in odd times, i been thinking about buy one r8 from roland but i preffer some program and its more cheaper do u have any idea?

cheers from mexico
Raul,
 
hi gav hows going on?

can you recomendate me any software to program some drum loops in odd times to pratice with them along, cause i try some softwares but they dont cuantize or dont have tue option to be programed in odd times, i been thinking about buy one r8 from roland but i preffer some program and its more cheaper do u have any idea?

cheers from mexico
Raul,

There's a very good open source (hence, free) software drum machine called Hydrogen. I've been using it for years to learn odd time patterns (most of the overriding exercises on Gavin's Rhythmic Horizons, for instance).

http://www.hydrogen-music.org/

It says it's for GNU/Linux but there are Windows and Mac versions on the download page. The drum samples they offer for free aren't quite up to the quality standards of other software drum machines but they are pretty damn good, and for practice purposes I have never had a complaint about it.
 
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Gavin,

Greetings from Venezuela, hopefully you'll come someday. I have three questions -maybe they have been already answered in the foum- concerning technical aspects of your playing:

1) When playing live with PT, do you always use a click track? Also, what sound you use for the click? What do you use, eight notes?? Does it differ from the click you use in the studio? Also, is it loud or buried in the mix?

2) From a technical standpoint, who triggers the pre-recorded tracks, and therefore the click? Is it you?

3) Finally, how does a touring drummer makes money and how does it differs from a studio musician? Certainly, I do not want to know specific amounts, but I wanna know how is the "money flow" for working drummers.

Many thanks for your time.

All the best,

Jesus

PD: If someone in the forum wants to comment please do, all opinions are accepted and well taken.
 
Hi jado,

1) When playing live with PT, do you always use a click track? Also, what sound you use for the click? What do you use, eight notes?? Does it differ from the click you use in the studio? Also, is it loud or buried in the mix?

Many of these questions have been answered before please try the "SEARCH THIS THREAD" link at the bottom of my signature. Not every song has a click - usually just the ones that have a film (which needs to be in sync) or a sound that we can't make in a live situation (like a heavily processed drum loop for example). I use the same click in the studio and live. Here is a link to the exact sounds I use..

http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showpost.php?p=318787&postcount=1141

2) From a technical standpoint, who triggers the pre-recorded tracks, and therefore the click? Is it you?

Yes I start and stop them from a remote USB keyboard.

3) Finally, how does a touring drummer makes money and how does it differs from a studio musician? Certainly, I do not want to know specific amounts, but I wanna know how is the "money flow" for working drummers.

Yes you can make money as a touring musician such as a share in the fee that the venue pays (from the ticket sales) and the profit from the merchandise. BUT the expenses can be unbelievably high - so sometimes the profit is nowhere near the amount you might have estimated.

cheers
Gavin
 
Hey Gavin;
Is that you playing on the Steven Wilson Insurgentes trailer on youtube? I thought it sounded like you- sounds great by the way, looking forward to the release and also to seeing you at the Modern Drummer Fest in September. Thanks and take care.
 
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