Hi JeffV71,
thanks for the comments about the preview - I don't hear it as a "50 Ways" thing myself, but I know what you mean.
Unfortunately I don't think we're going to make it to Chicago on our next US trip. We trying to get to some areas that we haven't been to - or not been to for a long time.
Hi Vinnysimmo,
If you could only practice for 1 hour of any day, what would your practice regime?
I don't have practice regimes anymore. When I did - one hour would certainly not have been long enough by far...back in those days I would practice for 6 hours a day. It really depends at what stage you are in your development. I guess you first need to ask yourself questions like these : How's your time keeping skills? How's your reading? What do you want achieve in drumming? Do you want to be a pro player or just play for fun and earn a living doing something else?
Having a good teacher guiding you along is a big help too.
Hi cygnify,
I was curious, for a player of your level (staggering for many here to comprehend!), are there types of fills or rhythms that give you trouble? What types of things have you found most challenging recently? How did you overcome that challenge? Were there specific PT songs that pushed you to the edge of your ability or is PT more musically within your comfort zone?
All fills and rhythms gave me trouble at some point in time. I can't think of a PT tune that pushes me to the edge of my ability - none of it is really that hard to play (on paper). Pulling it off successfully night after night is another thing - and improvising fills/rhythms can be as challenging as I want to make it. Should I play safe and do exactly what I've already worked out on the record - or should I live on the edge and take some chances? It depends on my mood on a particular night - but when I can I try to push myself into taking some chances.
From a difficulty point of view - I think there's some stuff on the new PT EP that is as challenging as we've gone so far. My new project with 05Ric is probably the hardest material I've ever played to date. Not because it's mind boggling difficult or anything - but just from my point of view of trying to make musical rhythmic designs that mean something to the compositions and have a smooth flow through the odd time signatures and dynamics of the pieces.
Hi SantiBanks,
Another "production" question from me. Again about In Absentia
In your studio, do you use the built in preamps from the mackie desk as the preamps for all the mics? Or is there any other kind of preamp you use for (some of) the mics? I know you have some very good mics that sound just great but still, preamps can make it sound different.
First of all In Absentia was recorded at Avatar in NYC. Only the drums on Deadwing and FOABP were recorded at my home. Yes I used the mic amps on the Mackie 3208. They sound good to my ears. I hired a set of very high end mic amps and did a direct A-B test with them and the Mackie - and I honestly couldn't tell the difference. I had some musician friends come round and I blind tested them. They couldn't hear it either. Maybe they make a difference with vocals/guitars/strings etc - but certainly not with my drums.
Yes, I am using a G5 now - and I use Apogee Rosetta 800's.
cheers
Gavin