Tracking Best Practices: Recording Percussion with Bashiri Johnson

My studio, The Lab-Brooklyn, is set up  to capture the full range of my percussion performances.  We easily flow between mono, stereo, different mics, and various positioning, striving to capture a pristine and organic sound in the computer for my percussion. We record “in the box” into Pro Tools, the Yamaha O2R is our board being used mostly just for monitoring, our speakers are Yamaha NS 10’s, headphones are Sennheiser and Roland AIRA. My engineer Roc Isaacs and I have an almost unspoken ebb and flow when recording.  Roc kinda knows my pace and process, and he’s an amazing producer and mixer in his own right.  Roc usually brings all his skills to bear when we work.

“In my studio I have many, many hundreds of percussion instruments, toys, effects, and sounds.  When I choose instruments I look for character and voice.  I like instruments that have a sound that is memorable and interesting, as well as having a voice that sucks you in.  I’m always on the hunt for new sounds, it’s an obsession.”

That’s a Microtech Gefell M990 Tube vocal mic, an Audio Technica AT822 Stereo mic, and an AKG 414.  I use my Neumann U 87 on almost everything, including percussion, but that mic is in the shop currently. I have a vast collection of AUDIX mics which I love, and use extensively also.  I like to always have a tube mic set up for vocals and instruments in mono, a stereo mic set up for instruments and perc, and an all-around mic for everything else.  That’s our “go-to” mic set up.  I have a couple of direct boxes for electric guitars and basses always at hand as well.

This drum is Moroccan Clay Bongoes, which sound like traditional Bongoes with a warm ceramic tone.
The mics we used were Audio–Technica AT822 Stereo mic and a Neumann 414, those two mics are sometimes our “go-to” mics.  We place the mics directly over the instrument, with a slight angle, at a distance of about 12-16 inches away, to give the instrument some air to speak.  I rarely close mic, unless requested to do so

This instrument is a Shekere, it has a bright crisp sound for groove and accents.  Similarly, the mics we used were an Audio–Technica AT822 Stereo mic and a Neumann 414.  The mic placement was stereo mic slightly close, about six inches from where I was playing the accent groove, and the 414 about two feet away for “air.”  The blending of the two mics gives warmth and crispness in the sound.

I use singing as a rhythmic tool for effects, chants, and background enhancements.  I’m not a pro singer, like many of my friends, but I do have a set of vocal rhythmic effects that I use when the track calls for it.
We used the Neumann 414 to capture my vocal parts for the track, since the parts I was singing had more of a rhythmic percussive sound.  I got right up on the mic, about one foot, using proximity and angle for effect.

I chose a Ghanaian Hair Drum for Larry to play because I wanted him to play a 1/2 time Nyabinghi Rhythm feel for my track.  Larry is a Master Percussionist and well versed in Jamaican Rhythms, so the drum I chose and the rhythm I asked him to play would work well for my track.

I don’t go to any of my hardware synths and drum machines on a regular basis.  However, when I do use them they speak volumes for my tracks and productions.  They all have personality and uniqueness.

I like to be surrounded by cultural imagery and art; it’s inspiring.

It was an incredible honor and pleasure to have met, recorded, and bonded with Larry McDonald all on the same day.  His visit to my studio was one of the highlights of my summer.  Larry and I are now connected brothers in rhythm.