Recording Percussion Instruments for "Broken House" by Joe Cashetta

The percussion group plays a key role in the new version of Joe Cashetta’s Broken House, adding strong rhythm and excitement. The instruments used—taiko, bass drum, crash cymbal, and timpani—each add different sounds that make the piece feel more powerful and intense. These percussion parts work together to create energy and strength, enhancing the music's overall boldness and highlighting its emotional impact.

Here's how my preproduction ritual went this time around:

Microphones used:

• 2 AKG C414s

• 2 Rode NT1-As

• 2 Sennheiser MD421s

Preamp used:

• Audient ASP8024

I decided to use the Rode NT1-As as my room microphones for all instruments, and I set them into omnidirectional, so that they would capture the ambient sound from the whole room. I threw them on a couple crane stands so that I was able to raise them high over each instrument.

For each drum, the miking technique I used was based off how I normally mic up toms in a normal drum set. I angled each microphone closer to the rim of the drum to get the most resonant sound out of the instrument.

For timpani, I used the AKG C414s over the two drums. I set each microphone into Cardioid to isolate the direct sound of the drum itself. Doing so also minimizes the bleed of the room tone - which really works in my favor. Now, because I have the sounds more isolated, I have more control as to what kind of sound I want during the mixing process.

Initially, Joe wanted either the bass drum or the taiko drums. However, after getting into the space and hearing all of the options, we decided to record both bass and taiko and make a more final decision later on which is going to trump the other. Personally, I like the sound of the both of them together, so it might end up being that way with the two equally blended into the sound. For each of these instruments (bass drum and the taiko drums), I decided to mic them with a Sennheiser MD421. This microphone is a cardioid in itself, so this was an easy decision. Using the same miking technique as the others, this grabbed the cinematic boomy sound we were seeking. The extra taiko was a last minute decision to emphasize the sound!

Unfortunately, I did not get a photo of the bass drum set up :(

For the crash cymbal, I used a single MD421 to capture the couple crashes that are in the "in your face" section of the song. For this miking technique, I decided to raise the stand so that the microphone was horizontal at about chest level for the player of the cymbals. This way, the tone from the cymbals went immediately to the microphone - even if it was about 2 feet away.

The player of all of these instruments was Isaac Lutz, and he did a phenomenal job. He gave wonderful suggestions for tonality (since I am not a percussion player), as well as notes for the timpani parts.

This session allowed me to grow significantly due to the fact that I have only ever recorded drum set, so this was a new opportunity to record other percussion instruments! I am very excited to get to mixing!

Thanks for reading!

Madelyn Jarrell

Recording date: February 1, 2025