As great as he was as the starship-powered engine of the Rolling Stones, Charlie Watts didn’t have a distinctly obvious drum sound on the order of John Bonham’s bombastic room rumble, or Tony Thompson’s gleefully grandiose ‘80s Power Station tracks. And yet, when most drummers, producers, and engineers mention Watts’ studio output, they discuss vibe, swing, and his ability to cut to the essential elements of a song’s groove. Getting a Watts vibe on your own recordings, therefore, may be less about strict microphone placement and savvy signal processing — although those things are certainly factors — and more about adopting somewhat of a ‘60s and ‘70s approach to documenting drum performances. In the era of the DAW, some home-recording musicians deploy the technology to the toppermost of its pristine sound quality with high-resolution samples, extremely isolated tracks, gating (or erasing) errant audio, and other well-scrubbed sonics. Unfortunately, more than […]

October 2021 Issue