It's the Toucans Steel Drum Band online at WWW.TOUCANS.NET
Seattle, Washington, USA • (206) 963-5332 • INFO [at] TOUCANS [dot] NET

Microphone and Recording Session Details

We recorded live to 8-track (Tascam DA-38) in a great wood-floored room at Private Radio, a studio run by Pat Grey here in Seattle. The 4-piece band set up in the corners of the room, facing each other. Baffles were placed to minimize mic bleed and cut down on a little of the room sound. Microphones were then set up around the instruments in a tangled forest, impossible to navigate through, trapping the hapless Toucans.

The Toucans set up and sound checked in a couple of hours on one evening, then came in the next morning and recorded 2 to 3 takes each of 19 songs over the next 11 hours. The engineers described the Toucans' studio composure and performance as "frighteningly smooth". That's what you get after 95 shows in four months.

Mic Setup at Private Radio

Lead Pan:
Sennheiser 441 (top) thru TLA tube comp.
& Sennheiser 414 (bottom) thru Cranesong comp.

Double Seconds:
matched pair of Audiotech Pro 37R mics through Manley tube comp.

Tenor Bass Pans:
matched pair of Blue Dragonfly mics (left) on top thru FMR comp.
& 4 Shure SM58 mics on foam beneath basses thru FMR comp.
& Sennheiser 414 behind (Butt Mic) thru FMR comp.

Drum Kit:
Kick: RE27/DBX comp
Snare: (top) Shure SM57 & (bottom) Sennheiser 441, RIASE (?) comp.
Rack Tom: Beyer M88
Floor Tom: Beyer M88
Rototoms: stereo pair Shure SM57
Overheads: stereo pair NAC Condenser
Hi-hat: Sennheiser 414 thru TLA comp.
Conga Drums: Sennheiser 414 thru NEVE pre
return to The Making of Steel Drum Buffet

Return to the Toucans Home Page

This page and all contents are ©2000 Toucans Steel Drum Band®

All Rights Reserved