In this article inspired by Townsend Labs’ videos demonstrating what can be achieved using multiple Sphere microphones when tracking drums, Julian tries out the free demo sessions of the recording made in the videos and explains how easy it is to get the sessions and free plugin and try out the models for yourself.

Tracking is my favourite part of the recording process and one of the things I enjoy most about any bad recording is experimenting with the different options presented by microphone choice, particularly when tracking drums. Do I want a modern, in your face kick drum sound or a softer, pillowy tone? is my snare going to be dark and fat or bright and agile? All of these choices are created by a combination of player, instrument, mic placement and mic choice - in that order.

Although the mic choice will never make a drum or a drummer sound fundamentally different, mic choice is a better way to shape sounds that any amount of processing. The problem is that unless you happen to be the drummer you’re unlikely to have as much time to experiment as you might like, so choices have to be made and at times like that, we tend to fall back on the tried and tested options. The mics that always work but what if there was an even better choice than that?

This is where the flexibility of the Sphere L22 comes into its own. Unfortunately, I’m cursed with only a single Sphere at my disposal but to show the kind of options you can explore, in these videos from Townsend Labs we can see the potential the library of mic models opens up. And of course, these are models so you can try ribbons in your kick drum without the expensive consequences that would have if you tried it with the original microphones!

Kick Drum. I liked the Coles 4038 on this. Even though I’ve got a pair of Coles, I’d never try it in real life…

Snare - Lots of options here. Although they aren’t in the video the NOS 67 was lovely but bizarrely I quite liked the 416!

I keep coming back to the Brass 414. If only my mic cupboard had these options!

To see what is possible using these free demo sessions watch the short demonstration below in which I compare the unprocessed recordings with processed versions running the Coles 4038 and the AKG C414 Brass models.

These videos can only give a hint at what is possible. If you want to explore the possibilities yourself use the button below to go to the downloads section of the Townsend Labs website and download the free Sphere plugin and the Drum Sessions.

Available Versions of the Demo Sessions:

• Pro Tools

• Logic

• Cubase

• Studio One

• Ableton

• Luna

• Wav Files

if you want to see how much work you can be in for doing this kind of comparison the old fashioned way check out James Ivey’s heroic efforts auditioning 30 different microphones on snare!