Jon Ragel is the main brain behind Portland's Boy Eats Drum Machine. Ragel is hard at work on the new BEDM album, capturing drum sounds in a variety of rooms from his home studio to big auditoriums to give the album just the kind of percussion texture Ragel wants. (He says if the sound isn't boring, he'll give it a whirl.) Gearwire's Joe Wallace asked Ragel about how he recorded drums for the new album Two Ghosts, challenges he faced recording in a variety of rooms, and his gear setup in the home studio.

Joe Wallace: What kind of studio setup are you using in the home studio?

Jon Ragel: Right now I have a Mac G4 tower, a MOTU 828 for a D/A converter, and I'm using Digital Performer 5.

For mics, I have a nice cache thanks to my friends who have lent me gear for this project. The mics are probably the biggest difference, I have a Neumann M147 tube condenser, an AKG 414 condenser, a pair of Neumann 187s for overheads, and I really like my Studio Projects C1, I still use that on a lot of stuff, and an SM57.

How do you like the Neumann tube mics?

Well, the M147 is great for room sound, I like it on my voice for certain things. One thing it does well, it balances out my Sytex fast-sounding modern pre-amp. It gives a retro feel. I didn't use the tube on anything super fast, I did use it as a room condenser on the drum kit in the auditorium and I think its outstanding.

For people who are wanting to experiment with different rooms for their acoustic settings, what is the challenge in trying to get the sounds right going from one room to another, from the home studio to the auditorium?

I think you can't get precious or stubborn about it. If it's not sounding right, it's just not sounding right. You have to play it differently or do it somewhere else, or move the micrphones.

The problem I run into is I'll think of a great idea, and go to do it, and waste a half hour or an hour coming to terms with the fact that it's just not working. Then I need to use a different mic or a different mic position. I don't know if that will ever change! The most important step in recording is probably the step where you realize that it's just not as good as it could be, then change it up. Do it over, don't get too stubborn about it.

Let's talk recording consistency; what happens when you get back to the studio from a recording in the auditorium and something isn't quite right, but you find it hard to get back to the original recording space. How do you cope?

That's really difficult, just don't leave that auditorium unless you are sure you have enough coverage on the drums. I use different mic placements on the drums for different parts. I'll move the overhead really close to the floor tom, for example. With drums you can also add a shaker or a tambourine and that can really increase the intensity of a song. I'm lucky because the project I am working on, it's my own material and it doesn't have to be flawless, as long as it's interesting.

If it's vocals, you might have to re-do it if it sounds strange. God knows you can never get the preamp or a compressor to be at the exact same setting as last time...

Gearwire will have more from Jon Ragel in a full-length audio interview coming soon.