Jeff Porcaro on Low Down

Paul Blood

Junior Member
I have heard this song for years and always dug the groove, but the other day I finally did some "deep listening" on this track and noticed something I had never heard:
To my ears it's sounds like there is a second high hat. It sounds like Jeff was playing 8th notes with the full set and a 16th high hat part was added.

Am I just hearing things? Do you hear it too?

 
I have heard this song for years and always dug the groove, but the other day I finally did some "deep listening" on this track and noticed something I had never heard:
To my ears it's sounds like there is a second high hat. It sounds like Jeff was playing 8th notes with the full set and a 16th high hat part was added.

Am I just hearing things? Do you hear it too?

Yeah, sounds like some overdubs for sure…great drum part. :unsure: (y) :)
 
I think you are right. Might be different cymbals too? Great tune and thick groove. I think I remember Jeff during a video interview talking about how he bought his first house with the money he made from this album, but he initially did the recording as a favor for Boz Scaggs, not knowing if he would ever get anything in return. He talked about how you had to do things like that to make connections and help out other artists and that most people would be pretty generous if an album did really well.
 
I have heard this song for years and always dug the groove, but the other day I finally did some "deep listening" on this track and noticed something I had never heard:
To my ears it's sounds like there is a second high hat. It sounds like Jeff was playing 8th notes with the full set and a 16th high hat part was added.

Am I just hearing things? Do you hear it too?

Yeah, I read about that somewhere. The 16th's high hat part is an overdub. And it sounds killer!
 
I have heard this song for years and always dug the groove, but the other day I finally did some "deep listening" on this track and noticed something I had never heard:
To my ears it's sounds like there is a second high hat. It sounds like Jeff was playing 8th notes with the full set and a 16th high hat part was added.

Am I just hearing things? Do you hear it too?

Nope. There is a second hat dubbed in. That used to be my go to track for auditioning speakers and headphones.
 
Jeff tracked the song with an 8th note hi hat then went in and overdubbed the 16s

you can hear him playing off himself on the hi hat doing a sort of call and response ... great feel

I highly recommend reading the Robyn Flans book
The best feel
 
I don't have my good speakers setup yet to take a listen, but I like playing this 16th note groove with left hand on the snare for the backbeat (right handed traditional grip on conventional drumset layout), and left hand lead on hihat. Great groove!

EDIT: "Right handed traditional grip" means a right handed player playing with matched grip on their dominant hand (RH), traditional grip on their non-dominant hand (LH).
 
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One hihat is panned hard right, and the other is panned hard left. And there are several moments where all three (or ride, snare, and dubbed hihat) are playing, which is physically impossible. The hihat panned to the right go away when you'd expect them to, when that hand goes around the kit. And then the ride is panned left (audience perspective) so that's clearly the main drum kit take. Sounds like the same pair of hats to me.

Peter Gabriel's Red Rain is not dissimilar - Stewart Copeland was hired to play hihat, and only hihat, and Jerry Marotta played the kit parts.
 
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One hihat is panned hard right, and the other is panned hard left. And there are several moments where all three (or ride, snare, and dubbed hihat) are playing, which is physically impossible. The hihat panned to the right go away when you'd expect them to, when that hand goes around the kit. And then the ride is panned left (audience perspective) so that's clearly the main drum kit take. Sounds like the same pair of hats to me.

Peter Gabriel's Red Rain is not dissimilar - Stewart Copeland was hired to play hihat, and only hihat, and Jerry Marotta played the kit parts.
That would be entertaining to see live, kinda like:
 
...gotta love a crowd that sings along with a bass solo.
Shout out to my countrymen then, cause they really got into the Vulfpeck vibe...
 
Love the Antwaun and Jack bit at around the 30 minute mark.... :)
 
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