Gavin Harrison here!

[cjcdrums]

Originally Posted by Drum-Head

Sorry to Gavin for posting this here but, Charles is that you?!

Hey Chris, it's me. =)

Just making one of my rare appearances. Whenever I've had the chance I've always asked exceptional drummers this question, and Gavin here is no exception. I think there is something about the ideas and beliefs of a drummer of that level that got them to that level, and these concepts are what interest me.

[e7z]

Greetings Gavin!

How do you rest? Home and in the tour. Do you like some books, cinema, maybe fishing ))), or any other, for example you go to night clubs? Have you a car? You like fast driving? What kind of music you like to listen in the car?

[cvighals]

Hi Gavin!

Im just wondering how you participate when making and arranging songs?
And how do you come up with your parts? Do you find that when you hear a riff you instantly think of some genius way to play that part, or do you try 20 different ways to do it before you settle with the one way you think is best?

And finally Do you think drummers get enough credit for what they do? Drummers rarely get creditet, but sometimes they really are the x-factor to why a song shines!

PS: I think "The Start of Something Beautiful" is best flowing and grooving 9/8 I have ever heard! Simply brilliant!!

Keep Up The Good Work!!

[Gavin Harrison]

Hi Chris
" Is there a specific way that you practice that gives you consistent and reliable progress?"

I changed the way I practise about 10 years ago. I don't spend much time working on my muscle technique anymore. If I do it tends to be on a pad whilst I'm watching TV....and it's hardly ever these days.
My practise is much more random in a way - I think of ideas that I want to express on the drums - and then see if I can play them - if I can't - it's usually just a question of co-ordination. When I'm using my imagination to just 'dream up' a fill or pattern, I don't really think of 64th notes on the kick with cross arm patterns on the crash cymbals, so I usually have enough muscle technique to execute want I want anyway.

I write down a lot of my ideas on scraps of paper - and revisit some of them from time to time to see if the 'rhythmic design' still holds up. I'm trying to get to a point where I'm much more in touch with my imagination - and have the facility on the instrument to perform them without tripping up.

Regurgitating licks based heavily on technique are becoming very boring and disappointing to me.

Cheers
Gavin

[Gavin Harrison]

Hi e7z,
I don't have many interests outside music - I've got a lot of work to do - and that keeps my mind flowing. Getting enough sleep seems to be the hardest thing to do when I'm working. I'm in Japan at the moment and suffering some bad jet lag,
I do have a car - but don't get chance to drive it fast much around London.

Hi cvighals,
Glad you like "The Start of Something Beautiful". That one is a good example of how my drum parts took shape. One day I was listening to a Sting song called "Big Lie, Small World" and I really didn't like the programmed drums on that track, so I thought to myself - what would I have played on that song? So I jammed along - and after a while I settled on a pattern that I liked. I wrote it down and thought nothing more of it. A few months later, I looked at the rhythm I'd come up with and still liked it. Sometime later - I played the drum pattern to Steve Wilson and suggested a different type of bass line that closely follows the way the drums move. That's how the verse groove got going to "The Start of Something Beautiful". I also had a much more urgent rhythm in 5/8 that contrasted the slow vibe of the 9/8. In fact I originally called the piece (as a joke) "9 to 5". I worked closely with Steve to create the basis of that piece - and I was very pleased with the design of the rhythmic elements. Steve of course turned it into a very nice song.

Cheers
Gavin

[e7z]

Thank you Gavin.

OK, then may I ask you working question? Tell the recipe of your snare drum and bass drum sound . If it is possible in full details: what equipment to use, and, the most important, as it to adjust. For certain you have favourite adjustments which you use. I see that it is very big theme, but maybe you will find a time.

Thank you.

[tmccartney]

Hi, Gavin! Major fangirl here, and I think it's beyond cool that you're willing to answer questions. I saw PT in Chicago last fall, the first night of your two-night stand to record the DVD. It was my first PT show, and something I won't soon forget. And I met Adrian. :)

Now, to my question: I've heard a few live versions of Hatesong and Tinto Brass, and during the extended outros you often do one of your rhythmic displacements (I hope that's the right term) for a bar or two. Does Colin ever say backstage, "Yo, mate, those things you do are screwing with my head!"? Is he so used to those little curveballs that they're not a problem for him and the band? Does he have a click track in his ear?

I suspect the answer is that he's such a pro nothing throws him, but it throws me - in a good way - every time I hear it. :)

Thanks!


Tracey

[Melvin]

GAvin is a great, great drummer. He plays Sonor drums, Zildjian cymbals and Remo heads. Nice equipment eh? Man I love his style and creativity.

[Gavin Harrison]

Hi e7z,
I'm not sure I understand your question about the "recipe of your snare drum and bass drum sound".?

Hi Tracey,
wow, your first post is a question to me!!! Yes your first PT experience will soon be a DVD.
I've try to improvise over those sections in "Hatesong" and "Tinto Brass" and in doing so - occasionally - a bit of rhythmic displacement or modulation might slip in. Colin, and the rest of the band, know that I might do something of this nature in an improvised section and are prepared for such an event. So to answer your question he has never said to me "Yo, mate, those things you do are screwing with my head!". (I like the phrase though).

Hi Melvin,
thanks for the kind words!!

cheers
Gavin

[TitanSound]

Hey Gavin,

Just a quick note to say thanks! I have been experimenting with diffrent grips over the past year and you have made me realised that holding the stick quite far back is not a bad thing as this is the most comfortable way for me too play also. I also took note of how far you sat back from the kit and this has also helped me!

On a more personal note, where abouts are you in London and will you ever allow fellow London DW members to get lessons from you? hehehe.

Cheers,

Chris

Well, since I last posted in here, I've been trying some of the fills in the Futile video. Wow, man, they are versatile (my favourite is the one in which you adjust the hihat clutch just before it, buzz roll, and then the fill, it's GREAT)!!! Also, I love the way you make odd time signatures seem very natural. Flams on the drums between alternating cymbals, they are great, also very good.

It's great to see a drummer with great chops, but also with a great sense of rhythm. Very satisfying. No luck finding the album....yet. I'll have to look on the 'net (buying of course) or at a bigger music store.

I have been experimenting with diffrent grips over the past year and you have made me realised that holding the stick quite far back is not a bad thing as this is the most confortable way for me too play also.

I also realised this from a mix of Gavin and Keith Carlock. I tend not to use it though (I don't have enough control for it yet, me thinks), as the stick likes to slip further back, and I get a stick butt in the middle of palm. Ow, tingly.

[e7z]

Sorry Gavin. I means how do you make you sound. I want practical instrustions. If it's possible.

[TomasHakkesBrain]

Alright Gav, i got your latest dvd and noticed you changed to K hi hats?. Is this a permanent change-i loved the sound of your remix hi hats previously-if that was what you used on the last PT record. Shallow is one of the best rock songs ive heard by the way.

Cheers Mate

[Gavin Harrison]

Hi Chris,
Glad to hear you're having fun. In my view, there is nothing wrong with holding the stick right at the end if it feels natural to you.
I grip the left stick with my little finger - and it's about 1 cm from the end of the stick. I don't really use the little finger on my right hand at all - instead my third finger is about 1 cm from the end of that stick too.

Hi e7z,
I think making 'your sound' really comes from how you strike the drum. (see the post above about grip). I tend to get a similar sound out of most of my snares because of it.
Generally I use a double ply skin on the snare like a coated pinstripe or emperor - and a dampening ring. I cut the snares down to 8 strands...and always hit a rim shot for a backbeat. That's about it.

Hi TomasHakkesBrain,
Yes I've changed over to K hi hats because - first they sound very musical to me, and second I broke too many top cymbals of the Remix series. I still have the Remix hats and still really like them - but I know they won't take a lot of heavy hitting.
Glad you liked "Shallow" - I used the K hi hats on that song.

Cheers
Gavin

[TitanSound]

Yeah thats pretty much what I do myself! As when I use the moller technique...my back 2 fingers provide the fulcrum.

@ Chip. I find that my right hand has some issues with the force of grip I apply. I try to keep it loose so I am not tensing up too much but I have not found the "sweet spot" of grip to keep it firm and too stop it sliding. After all these years I thought my left hand was giving me the most amount of grief but since I have been evaluating my playing style I have noticed my right hand is not as advanced as I thought it was. Back to the practice pad for me!

[e7z]

Thank you Gavin.

But I am interesting how to record very well this good acoustic sound of snare and bass drums?

Thanks.

[Gavin Harrison]

Hi e7z,
there's no big secret really. I use a Shure SM57 on the top and bottom of the snare drum. Sometimes an Audix i5 on the top. I reverse the phase of the bottom mic - and that's it.
Playing in a good sounding room really helps too. Usually I use a Waves C1 compressor plug-in - depends on which snare drum and the song of course.
My main bass drum is pretty dead - with a large pillow inside. A port hole in the front head and an Audix D6 mic just inside the hole.
Sometimes I use a bass drum with two coated Ambassador heads on and no dampening. I put a Shure SM91 inside the drum and a Neumann TLM103 close to the front head for a big sound. Experimentation is always worthwhile until you find a sound you like - and that fits the style of music you are playing.

Cheers
Gavin

[e7z]

Very BIG thank you Gavin.

I will be trying to record this way. It's need only to buy wanting mics )), as Neumann TLM103, for example.

[Drum-Head]

Originally Posted by Gavin Harrison

Generally I use a double ply skin on the snare like a coated pinstripe or emperor - and a dampening ring. I cut the snares down to 8 strands...and always hit a rim shot for a backbeat. That's about it.

Gavin,


That's funny to read that because you snare sound has a lot of body in my opinion.


Cheers,
Christopher.

[Drummer Karl]

Ah, another thing I wanna know...What finish has you kit in your new DVD "rhythmic horizons"? looks awesome!

Karl

[Gavin Harrison]

Hi Karl,
the finish is called "Earth". Sonor first used it on one of their Artist snare drums.

Cheers
Gavin

[Drummer Karl]

Originally Posted by Gavin Harrison

Hi Karl,
the finish is called "Earth". Sonor first used it on one of their Artist snare drums.

Cheers
Gavin

yes, actually just know this finish from this thick beech artist snare wich also JoJo Mayer uses...I really like this finish, it is crazy in a positive way...

thanks Gavin!

Karl

[Kenneth Wilson]

Hey Gavin,

First off, I want to tell you how much I admire your work and your playing. It's a really great thing that you can be so personable as well.

Here's my question(s):

I hear a lot of bad things about the board that you use to record your drums (Mackie 32*8), but you seem to get really great sounds out of it. Do you find that the Mackie's apparent low quality preamps hinder you in any way or do you have to spice up your drum sound afterwards in Logic. Also, what recording gear are you using these days and how many channels of drums do you usually use per song? What AD/DA converters are you using and what's your signal chain look like?

Thanks very much for your time,
KW

[Gavin Harrison]

Hi Kenneth,
I haven't heard bad things about the Mackie 8 bus desks.
Sounds good to my ears - in fact the drums for the last PT album Deadwing were recorded through it.
I record 14 tracks together

BD
Sn top
Sn bottom
Hi Hat
Toms 1-5
Stereo overheads
Stereo Room
Ride

They all get routed through two Apogee 192 Rosetta's to make the A/D

Cheers
Gavin

[Kenneth Wilson]

Thanks for answering my questions, Gavin. I didn't think that the Mackie sounded bad to my ears either, but I've been told by several engineers to avoid it. Do you record flat or with a little bit of EQ and is your drum room completely dead? The drums on Deadwing sound very "in your face" and it sounds as if the drum room is dead quiet.

Have a good one,
KW

[Gavin Harrison]

Hi Kenneth,
I use very little eq on the Mackie desk - I didn't use the big ambient room on Deadwing because I wanted a kind of "in your face" sound from the drums. Yes the drum room is pretty dead.

Same method on my new DVD that you can hear on "Futile" - there's just a bit of Space Designer reverb going on.

http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers..._Harrison.html

cheers
Gavin

[Kenneth Wilson]

How was the recording process different for In Absentia compared to Deadwing? I know you recorded at Avatar in New York on their Neve board. Did Paul Northfield have a lot of say on your drum sounds or were you in control of your own sound? I also read that you used a rented DW kit for the tracking of that album, was that set up differently from your usual Sonor set up?

I find your drum sound (and playing) to be incredibly tasteful on all the work I've heard of yours, especially Deadwing (the new Shesmovedon comes to mind). Also Sanity & Gravity is excellent.

Have a good one,
KW

[Gavin Harrison]

Hi Kenneth,
Yes In Absentia was recorded in Avatar in NY and Deadwing was recorded at home in my studio. I had as much say as a drummer can in those studio circumstances about microphone choice and placement - but I wasn't in the control room dialling in eq - because I was playing out in the studio live room.
And in any case I prefer to be thinking about playing the drums and concentrating on the songs rather than engineering.
Of course Paul is a great engineer - so I only commented on something if I didn't like the tone of a particular drum...which I can't really remember doing as it was all sounding great.
I think the DW kit was 10,12,14 rack toms, a 16 floor tom and a 22” bass drum. I didn't like the sound of the 8" tom - so I left it out.

Glad you like Sanity & Gravity - it was recorded a long time ago in primitive conditions on a Fostex 24 track 1" tape machine.

cheers
Gavin

[Kenneth Wilson]

I have yet to order the Rhythmic Horizons DVD, but I will probably do that within the week so expect an order soon. I have your first DVD and I know you did all of the production yourself. Were you using Logic to sync up the video or was it some other program?

I think the album sounded excellent despite being recorded cheaply. The sound was befitting of the songs. Are there any plans for another solo album in the future or are you too busy with studio work and PT?

Take care,
KW

[Gavin Harrison]

Hi Kenneth,
the audio was recorded through Logic - but synced to the picture in Final Cut Pro - or rather the picture was synced to the audio in FCP.

I have no plans at the moment to attempt another solo album. It's always in the back of my mind, but I'm too busy right now to get on and start such a large project.

Cheers
Gavin

[drummerchick435]

Hey ,Gavin! I was checking out your kit and the tom set up is exactly what I want. The pic didn't show the company they were from. I watched the "futile" clip on your DW page. What are they?
Also what's the co. for your double pedal?

[Kenneth Wilson]

Gavin uses the Sonor Designer series in that clip. The finish is called Earth. He also uses Sonor pedals. This was answered earlier in the thread.

[drummerchick435]

Originally Posted by Kenneth Wilson

Gavin uses the Sonor Designer series in that clip. The finish is called Earth. He also uses Sonor pedals. This was answered earlier in the thread.

Thanks. I didn't know it was already said. I'm too lazy read every post.

[Kenneth Wilson]

It's cool. If you need some information about his set up I wrote an article for Wikipedia which has his live set up. I'm not sure how accurate it is, but if Gavin would like to tell us of any changes I'd be happy to add it to my WIkipedia article.

Maybe Gavin should check the article out and let me know if any changes need to be made...

KW

[e7z]

Cheers, Gavin!

I saw PT Live in Rockpalast DVD. It was pleasant o me very much. One question: Your snare stands very highly. It is made specially to play rimshot. Do you like to play rim?

[ege_the_drummer]

Hey again Gavin.

Just another quick question. What do you use for snare and kick heads and how do you tune them? Thanks for any reply.

Ege

[Kenneth Wilson]

Hi e7z,
I think making 'your sound' really comes from how you strike the drum. (see the post above about grip). I tend to get a similar sound out of most of my snares because of it.
Generally I use a double ply skin on the snare like a coated pinstripe or emperor - and a dampening ring. I cut the snares down to 8 strands...and always hit a rim shot for a backbeat. That's about it.

[Midnite Mike]

Hey Gavin,

I'm up here in Upstate New York trying to get everyone that i know to listen to PT, and i've put a pretty big dent in the scene. I am a Music and Media Technology Major at the University at Albany and I've even given the chair of the music department a copy of In Absentia... and he loves it. Last semester I did an aural presentation on "The Sound of Musak," and the class loved it.
For the past 8 or so years i have been very disappointed with the music scene and what these corporate pukes have been putting on the shelves. Last year my friend turned me onto PT by way of Blackest Eyes. I lost it!!!! This is what ive been waiting for, a breath of fresh air. This was around the same time that Deadwing was released, so i bought both albums. Best musical purchase i've made in a long time, with the exception of Rush's Chronicles.
Great job on the new DVD. The PDF's are a huge help, but i was disappointed that there werent more MIDI files present. I am a huge MIDI freak, basically cuz i cant stand click tracks. I would much rather sequence the drum parts out myself, getting the rough idea out in audible form and then use that as my click track. Got a real user freindly program called Guitar Pro.
http://www.guitar-pro.com/en/index.php
I've been experimenting with some of your concepts in this program and it gives an accurate represention in a short amount of time. (just a few keystrokes). There is a speed training option that allows for selection of specific bars, and allows for input and increase of bpm, very helpful when dealing with difficult passages such as some of your neat little tricks. I have transcibed some PT songs in this program and the turn around time for learning these licks is staggering.
Anyway, I'd just like to thank you, Steve, Richard, and Colin for keeping the passion alive, cuz i can hear it in the music. I have tickets to see you guys in NYC on Oct. 6th at the Nokia Theatre. I cant wait. Take care and God bless.

[e7z]

Thank you Kenneth. I think that I lost that post.

[Foog]

Gavin, if you're still around anymore:

I am befuddled by the incredible triplet fill at 6:16 in Gravity Eyelids. Any words of wisdom, explanation, gloating? I'm interested in anything you can say about that lick. Thanks.