Drums with Nick Cassey
Recently, I had the pleasure of getting Nick Cassey down for a late night drum session for a record by Michelle McCosker. The musical vibe we were after was warm, laid back, country and reflective pop with an openness to a contemporary tone.
The session input list was, as below, using the pre amps in the Neve Custom 75 in Retro Mode:
- Kick In – Audix D6 – JLM FC500A Fet Compressor
- Kick Out – Electro Voice RE20 – Distressor
- Snare Up – SM57 – Distressor
- Snare Down – SM57
- Hat – AKG 451
- Rack Tom – Sennheiser MD421
- Floor Tom – Sennheiser MD421
- Overhead L – AKG414 B-ULS – AMS Neve 33609 Limiter / Compressor
- Overhead R – AKG414 B-ULS – AMS Neve 33609 Limiter / Compressor
- Crotch mic – Sennheiser 441 – JLM FC500A Fet Compressor
- Blumlein room Mid – Nuemann U87 – JLM LA 500A Opto Compressor
- Blumlein room Sides – Nuemann U87 – JLM LA 500A Opto Compressor
Wins from the session included:
Nick Cassey’s performance and his array of home made brushes made from various natural grasses from his adventures through the Australian landscape.
The D6 and RE20 combination of mics and processing on the kick. We had a scooped sub and tap from the D6, which was complemented and filled in nicely with the warmth from the RE20 on outside kick duties.
Further, I really enjoyed the warmth and tone of the pre amps in this console in general.
Other wins include the darkness and warmth of the old AKG414 B-ULS compared to the newer ones. That tone worked well on the overall drum sound.
Lastly, both the JLM 500 series compressors were enjoyable to work with, and I look forwards to understanding their tone better across future sessions.
A big thank you for Nick’s time and drum work on this record.
Below are a few pictures from the session.
