Learn how Production Expert team member Kevin Becka chose to mic up a vintage drum kit with a combination of great vintage mics together with some modern mics. Listen to the great sound he was able to capture in Blackbird's Iconic Studio A ISO 3.

The Kit: Vintage 1960s Gretsch Round-Badge 3-ply 13" / 16" / 20" with a 1920s Ludwig 4 x 14 Brass Snare

The Mics: Kick In (Sennheiser e602), Kick Out (Neumann U47 FET), SN Top (AKG C414 EB), SN Btm (AKG 451 E), Hat (Soyuz SU -0-11), Tom Hi (Soyuz SU -0-23), Tom Lo (Soyuz SU -0-19), OH Hat (Soyuz SU -0-13), OH Ride (Soyuz SU -0-13), Room Mono (Lewitt LCT 940 - Omni), Chamber (Lewitt LCT 640 TS - Front and Back)

The Studio: Blackbird's Iconic Studio A ISO 3, a favorite of many producers looking for a tight drum sound

The Drummer: Paul "Pauly" Simmons (Gene Simmons, Mick Mars, Tom Keifer, Reverend Horton Heat)

The Engineers: Students and instructors from The Blackbird Academy in Nashville, TN

Random Notes: The kit was set up in the circular ISO 3 that spills out into Blackbird Studio's large Studio A tracking room. The room was captured using Lewitt's new LCT 940 tube/solid-state microphone set to Omni with the tube/ss rotary in the middle position. The live chamber in A was recorded using the Lewitt 640 TS in DUAL mode with the movable ceiling extended to 4 meters. The 640 allows the engineer to change the polar pattern of the mic after the recording using Lewitt's Polarizer plug-in. The overheads were measured and adjusted so they were equidistant from the center of the snare's top head.

You can hear the kit, room, and mics in action in the high-res audio file below. Enjoy!