MATT MERCADO: Hi. Matt Mercado. We’re here at Sonic Palace, and we’re going to walk you through how we record your dire record. Whoops. Hold that for a second. Stop that one second.

We’re going to show how we recorded this record. This is Matt Mercado and the Amazing Devils, my first solo record. It’s out on Darkstar Records, April 22nd, and we’re going to walk you through the whole process.

Okay, [PH] Gred. Overheads please.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING PREPARING DRUM LEVELS FOR RECORDING]

Again, with the overheads definitely cut under, a hundred under, there’s nothing there I want. If it’s like an old like kind of Beatles sounding thing, you might want that because they usually use only three mics and they used the overheads more for the whole room sound and the whole drum sound, not just a cymbal sound, but more [INDISCERNIBLE] stuff you can cut kind of hundred and under. So, same thing where I’m looking at this peak light.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING PREPARING DRUM LEVELS FOR RECORDING]

It’s right about there I got maybe like I said [INDISCERNIBLE]. Let’s see if we can get the --

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING PREPARING DRUM LEVELS FOR RECORDING]

Sometimes for cymbals I’d like to kind get rid of some of the annoying frequencies which are between usually 1 and 2 k, sometimes a little bit higher but depends on the cymbals.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING PREPARING DRUM LEVELS FOR RECORDING]

We’ll tone that down a little bit so it sounds a little smoother to me and that’s about it. I don’t EQ the cymbals too much. Let’s do the same thing on the other side now.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING PREPARING DRUM LEVELS FOR RECORDING]

Okay. So once again, we’re low cutting 100 and below. We’re going to listen first and what I’m doing I’m turning up to here what the frequency that’s really annoying and then I’m pulling it back.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING PREPARING DRUM LEVELS FOR RECORDING]

I found it like it’s all right. Let’s put it in the middle. We’re going to touch it with a little compression too because definitely the overheads can get really dynamic especially when they’re doing stuff where they’re hitting the kick at the same time as the cymbals.

So, I’m using -- These are effects. What do we got here? A 9651, so I like them on the overheads after a real good result. On these, we’re going to use a fast attack, and I have a medium fast release, the ratio of about 5:1, and I’m not going to clobber again because again you can always do it back in the mix. We can user more, but I just like to kind of contain things.

[PH] Brian, can you hit those with the kick drum please where, you know, do a roll and hit the crash and cymbals for me please?

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING PREPARING DRUM LEVELS FOR RECORDING]

That to me I sound like I’m smashing it too much. I got to kick down some of the compression because I can always see that later, so I’m going to open up the compression threshold. This is too much.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING PREPARING DRUM LEVELS FOR RECORDING]

Okay. I just wanna lighten the touch on the compression.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING PREPARING DRUM LEVELS FOR RECORDING]

That’s about better.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING PREPARING DRUM LEVELS FOR RECORDING]

Okay Brian. Sounds great. Give me the first tom, tom number one please.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING PREPARING DRUM LEVELS FOR RECORDING]

All right. We’re going to go back to this Allen & Heath mix wizard, a real nice -- I like it for drums so I’m using it, toms in particular. So, we’re going to go same thing, go into the peaks. If there’s some peak light, turn it down. [COUGHS] Excuse me. Okay, the toms there’s a lot of times like you can hear that. That’s frequencies that I don’t want. I do a lot more of subtractive EQing than I do adding so I’ll take out stuff more than I’ll add for sure.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING PREPARING DRUM LEVELS FOR RECORDING]

So this one, you’re hearing some right about -- It’s about that I don’t like that boominess so I’ll pull that back a little bit. You can add a little click for tom or stick it around -- right about going for around three, a little bit more higher right there. And then at times you can add some top end. This is set for 12 so that’s good for toms.

I like that. Tom two please.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING PREPARING DRUM LEVELS FOR RECORDING]

Same thing on the second tom except for maybe it’s a little bit of that bigger, so maybe the frequency that we’re going to cut is a little bit lower than on that first tom, so let’s have listen here, crank it up, listen to what sounds the worst, and if it’s pretty boinky and I don’t like it, take it out. I can add a little bit of the low end in there. Same thing with the click. Let’s find a nice stick where we’re getting the stick sound. That’s good right there. That’s right around the same, around four, and then you add a little top in. That’s pretty good. Now floor tom, sir.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING MIX AND PREPARING DRUMS FOR RECORDING]

Same thing on the floor tom except for the frequencies that will probably a little bit lower. So, let’s see what I don’t like, right around there. It sounds like a trash can to me. Turn that dial a little bit, and add some stick sound right around 4 that’s good and a little top in. I’m going to have him. Brian, could you roll the toms for me please.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING MIX AND PREPARING DRUMS FOR RECORDING]

Just trying to focus on the floor tom now. Go back to the floor tom. I’m not happy with that tom right now, so let’s try to dial in and -- Give me the floor tom again please.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING MIX AND PREPARING DRUMS FOR RECORDING]

The cymbal. I know why the tom was worse than sounding good. I had the low cut. I don’t want that on the floor tom. Give me the floor tom again once again please.

[MATT MERCADO CHECKING MIX AND PREPARING DRUMS FOR RECORDING]

All right. There you go. That sounds better to me. All right, I definitely don’t want to cut low on a floor tom, not under 100 for sure because you want to hit somewhere between 60 and 80, want to boost that so high end for sure though.