Go behind the scenes on Sylvia Massey & Taylor Hawkins’ mammoth drum recording session with Antelope Audio

What’s the secret to a great drum recorded sound? Well, it certainly helps if you pair one of the most creative audio engineer/producers of the last few decades with the drummer of one of the biggest bands in rock, and place them in one of the best recording rooms on the planet with a top-notch audio interface.

That’s exactly what Antelope Audio has done to help promote its Galaxy 64 Synergy Core interface. The studiophile brand recently teamed up with Sylvia Massey (Tom Petty, RHCP, Tool, Prince and more) and Foo Fighters drummer, Taylor Hawkins for a session at the legendary EastWest Studios in Hollywood.

In order to demonstrate the stability, processing power and I/O track-count of the Galaxy 64 Synergy Core, Sylvia placed a dual microphone setup around Taylor’s kit: one set of ‘tried-and-tested’ drum-micing staples, and another set of more unusual “museum microphones” from Sylvia Massey’s famous collection. In total, the total setup comprises over 40 microphones placed around the kit.      

Antelope Audio produced two versions of the video: a shorter edit, plus a deeper-dive clocking-in at almost 30 minutes (below).

The results can be heard on Taylor Hawkins’ track, “One And The Same”, and Hawkins can be heard saying “That’s one of the raddest f****ng drum sounds I’ve ever had!” in the ‘making of’ video above. 

Stuart Williams
Drums

I'm a freelance member of the MusicRadar team, specialising in drum news, interviews and reviews. I formerly edited Rhythm and Total Guitar here in the UK and have been playing drums for more than 25 years (my arms are very tired). When I'm not working on the site, I can be found on my electronic kit at home, or gigging and depping in function bands and the odd original project.