Gavin Harrison here!

Hi DTrocks

Do you have any tips on tuning 12" toms? It always seems to be the hardest drum to tune, I never get mine to sound real good. It's really frustrating!

There's normally one drum that is the most awkward to tune. Mine is a 14" floor tom. So I gave up and got a 15" instead. I don't have a problem tuning the 12" and I don't really apply any different tuning techniques to it.

Hi mel corcino

1. Any coming up tours and/or clinics close to Connecticut, USA?

not at the moment.

2. Any idea of a less expensive snare drum that would emulate the sound of Ludwig Black Beauty snare? - I thought that since you have your own studio and experience with various different snares, might have an idea.


I believe there's a World Max drum that has similar characteristics. Don't know about the price though.

3. I liked the sound of your drum set. Sounds to me very modern, talkative, full and with lots of body. I imagine that your tracking room is part of that sound. Could you share your tracking room dimensions and any special sound treatment in the room?

I don't think there's much of my tracking room in that sound. It's a pretty dead sounding room and most of the sound is coming from the close mics.

Hi tobiashula

While watching your Interview on Drumdepartment.de I realized that there is a dynamic mic next to your bassdrum that is mounted in the direction of the crowd. Is this another trick do get a better bassdrum sound?

No that was just an experiment with an SM58 so I could hear some ambience - back in the days when I was using the "Ultimate Ears UE10's". I've since switched to Sensaphonics 3D ambient IEMs.

Hi steste50

One of the things that caught my attention was what's in the attached pic: he put a paint can in the bass drum. Its mass is supposed to enhance the low end and the high end caught by the mic. I just wanted a feedback from you too, before going to the paint shop

I've never tried it - I'll have to ask Simon about that next time I see him. Pretty easy experiment to try at home though.

Hi Fox622003

what's up with the big and fast "Even Less" tom drum fill in the middle, it's 16th note triplets, right?

No - it's just fast singles - no subdivisions intended.

Hi talgtitten

In Sound of Muzak, it sounds to me like you're phrasing the verse beat in 4+3, whilst the guitar is phrasing in 3+4 . Were you conscious of this when you came up with the groove? If yes, why did you choose to phrase differently from the guitar/vocals?

I think of it as two patterns of 7/8. Really the bass drum to snare drum patterns are 7/16s - and on top of that the hi hat is playing quarter notes so it feels like 7/4.

Hi euphoric_anomaly

I was pouring over 'Sentimental' the other day and remembered that you had stated that Steven was doing an "8th note illusion" with the keyboards. With that in mind, would the 8th note illusion mean that you have to accent the AND in between beats? (ex: one AND two AND three ....). I try to count a steady 4/4 and it doesn't line up with anything.

No it's a dotted 8th note illusion.

It could be your groove for the verses that are throwing me off, it sounds to me like your starting a lot of the bars on the hi-hat, rather than a typical bass or snare shot.
Also, I find it difficult to "hear" the drum beat because of the filter effect on the drumtrack. Do you ever get annoyed with having to record your drums through a filter that (in my opinion) ruins the sound?


I can't remember if the pattern has a bass drum at the start of it. Anyway it was meant to be a messed up (low fi) sounding loop - so we just picked a few bars that we liked and looped it. It wasn't recorded with a filter - that was added later.

Cheers
Gavin
 
Hi Gavin,

I see that you have coated heads on your toms, i play heavy rock style at home, but also tour with a jazz band, so i need a set of tom heads that meet both requirements. Do you reckon coated heads are the way to go?

cheers

matt
 
Hi Gavin!

First, thank you for the picture. I've already put it up behind my drum, and I'm also using it as a wallpaper on my laptop. :)

Second: In your Visions Dvd, there is a section about subdivisions. You demonstrated it with a work-out applied for the hands. If I remember correctly, you stated: This is the fundamental building block of everything that you'll ever play. I'm thinking about applying that concept for the feet as well for better timing and pedal control. Would you recommend it?
 
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Greetings Gavin!

Of all the songs you've performed on, what song really sticks out to you the most? Could you explain why too?

Cheers!
 
Thanks for your previous reply to me Gavin.

Two more questions for you if I may.

I appreciate this might be hard diplomatically to answer, but knowing your love of tones, I assume you have tried UFIP cymbals? What did you think?

These days, do you always wear IEM or headphones when play or do you still play without sometimes?
 
Greetings-

I have been a great admirer of your work in the past couple of years, I'm sure we can expect the same high quality work in the future. I'm not trying to sound like a gearhead, but I noticed in one of the pictures on your facebook page from your European tour this year what appeared to be an A-Custom Rezo Crash and K-Custom Hybrid Crash as your two "main" crashes in front of your kit. The sizes I can't tell from the picture, but how do you like them? I played a couple of each series and found them to be too insensitive when played softly, which is why you may have used them live. I saw PT when you came through Cleveland with Coheed and Cambria and it didn't appear to be the same ones in the picture. Thanks!

Regards,

John
 
Hi Gavin,

Everytime I see you guys (Porcupine Tree) live I was asking myself how you manage to get the right entry to let your music be accurate with the live projections.... Do you hear a count or a click when you started a song to get into the right postion?

Cheers
 
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Hoy there Gavin,

You might remember the last time you played in Dublin, you might remember it was Temple bar-Music center March 2003..(or was it 2004?? can't remember the year...getting bloody older)...you might even remember this eejit air drumming along to you at the front row....but wheither you remember these things or not...I'll never forget that nite .....and meeting you and the Tree after..magical memory.....unforgettable...unrepeatable

I'm looking forward to seeing you again on Monday nite Oct 11th...year of our Lord 2010..in the Tripod. Its been a while but..........

Great to see you and the boys back in Ireland again....
God bless...and knock us out!!!
 
hey gavin

the opening about 8 seconds of 'slippen away' - i want to learn this bit, is there a particular technique this is called so i could ask my teacher how to play it? any books or dvd's that focus on this?

cheers

Matt
 
hey gavin

the opening about 8 seconds of 'slippen away' - i want to learn this bit, is there a particular technique this is called so i could ask my teacher how to play it? any books or dvd's that focus on this?

cheers

Matt

And HERE's a very clear transcription you can show him for better reference.


Fox.
 
Gavin,

I used a program called "Fruity Loops" to put together the following one-bar audio samples.
It's a 5/4 beat @ 108bpm. There's a slider you can use with the program to "add swing".

My question is, what did that do to the placement/phrasing of the notes? It seems to sound like it changes the beat altogether, even though the notes are in the exact same spots.

Could anyone explain this audio phenomenon to me?

Thanks in advance

Eric
 

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Gavin,

I used a program called "Fruity Loops" to put together the following one-bar audio samples.
It's a 5/4 beat @ 108bpm. There's a slider you can use with the program to "add swing".

My question is, what did that do to the placement/phrasing of the notes? It seems to sound like it changes the beat altogether, even though the notes are in the exact same spots.

Could anyone explain this audio phenomenon to me?

Thanks in advance

Eric

I hear it pretty much the same (but swinged, of course XD). The "swing" slider simply sets the notes to their triplet-based counterparts. It's the way jazz or "syncopation" charts are usually read.
As a notated example, the first is normal, and the second is how you play EXACTLY THE SAME first notation, but swang (meaning, you don't actually write it like that, that's just how you play it). But anyway, it's more of a feel thing, and the tripelt-based notation is just a guideline to give you an idea of how the feel should be.


Hope that helps, Fox.
 
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I hear it pretty much the same (but swinged, of course XD). The "swing" slider simply sets the notes to their triplet-based counterparts. It's the way jazz or "syncopation" charts are usually read.
As a notated example, the first is normal, and the second is how you play EXACTLY THE SAME first notation, but swanged (meaning, you don't actually write it like that, that's just how you play it). But anyway, it's more of a feel thing, and the tripelt-based notation is just a guideline to give you an idea of how the feel should be.


Hope that helps, Fox.

that's an excellent explanation, clear , direct, and easy to understand. thanks so much fox
 
Hey Gavin,

I was looking at the back of my "Nil Recurring" CD and it says you tapped guitar on the first track. Which part is this?
 
Hoy Gav,

Magical Dublin gig last nite- magical hankerchief trick- a musician and magician.
Try rabbits out of the bass drum next.

Damo

ps. pay no heed to the ignorant ass who wrote that sorry excuse of a preview in 'The Metro'-ne hasn't a clue. That paper is a rag, thats why it's free.
It's even shunned by the homeless of Dublin as bed sheets.
Great turn out-much better than last time. PT rocked and so did u!
Loved the grooves, loved the tempo-and tanx a big mill for playing 'The Sky Move Sideways'. It moved this old pt fan eejit to tears.
Slan leat and best wishes for London.
 
Bochum Show

Dear Gavin,

I asked a friend of mine - who is a 21 year old very talented drummer - if your sound in the Bochum Show was as good as in all the videos. He said, it was even better. So thank you for being an inspiration and kind of "idol" to me and him.

Regards

Andy Lux
 
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