Robert: Next you need someone who knows how to TUNE THE GOOD SOUNDING DRUM KIT. Yes, drums can be tuned! This is a shameless plug for a book coming out. It was written by Tony Adams, and I was the technical consultant on it. The book takes a very musical approach, (which is the approach I endorse, by the way) to tuning drums.

Robert (continued): It involves picking musical notes of the scale for the kit depending on the key signature of the song, and also picking a musical interval between the top and bottom heads of a drum. I have used this technique for many years and it has never failed me. Check out the book if you get a chance – sorry, but the title escapes me.

Robert (continued): As far as mic’ing goes, it depends totally on the genre. I would not mic a jazz kit the same way I would mic a rock kit, etc. On the MB20 (Matchbox 20) tour I am doing a couple of different mic’ing schemes on two different kits. On the main kit, it is a combination of close mic’ing and distant mic’ing to get the sounds (with lots of juicy compression). On the secondary kit we were going for a very "ambient" loose sound, so I have employed three tube U87s to do the entire kit sound. No close mic’ing. It is quite a contrast.

Tom B: Is it OK for the sound guy to tell the drummer to tune his kit, or offer help if he knows how?

Robert: Absolutely.

Chris Kathman: The kick tuning for the Tom Petty band's drummer is really magical.

Robert: Why, thank you, Chris. I will pass that on to Mr. Ferrone. I must tell you though, in the live world, part of the secret, once you get this killer drum sound going at "the console", is to finish it out by properly tuning the PA system. I have witnessed many great drum sounds get eaten alive by poor alignment between speaker systems, and between speakers and the stage. You still have to pay very close attention to our friend Mr. Phase, even though the drum kit is not a "speaker". Bottom line, without a properly tuned kit, mic choice is just going to be a better or worse representation of a bad sounding drum. Lastly, remember this, little drums make big sounds. You heard it here first folks.

jack arnott: In another chat you talked about sending Tom Petty's vocal to a compressor and returning the compressed signal to another channel. I don't understand what the advantage of this is.

Robert: Simple, my dear Watson. The second channel is severely "squished", 20:1 medium-fast/fast. Put that underneath a vocal with light compression on it and you have raised the average level of the vocal pretty dramatically. There are also some sonic advantages to it. But, I have only been able to effectively do this with one compressor, the Urei 1176.

Frank: Have you always been a FOH guy or have you ventured in monitor world a bit?

Robert: I did some monitor mixing early on in my career and it was somewhat rewarding.

jack arnott: When you tour, do you get to pick the sound company/equipment list, or is it the band management, or a combination?

Robert: It depends on the stage at which I join the production, i.e., previous to the tour starting, or mid tour. I certainly have input on all of it, regardless.

Jamie in Toronto: As a FOH mixer, what do you see as the most common mistake that bands make? And, how do you correct it?

Robert: Oh man - the list is long and prestigious. Probably the biggest and most catastrophic one is not taking their "sounds" seriously enough. Meaning, they just pick an amp and guitar that looks great or the "big" drum kit, etc., thinking "well, it's live, it won't matter that much anyway, right?"

Robert (continued): A close second is not taking seriously how much effect performance, and in turn, tempo plays into the way a show sounds. On the night that the band is really really great, I can be a really good mixer. Know what I mean? Conversely, on the nights the band really stinks it up, you can look pretty bad. So, I try to clue them into all that stuff. Gracefully, of course.

yam4000vca: To you, what makes up a good live mix? And can you detail some differences from a good recording mix?

Robert: That's an interesting name you got there, dude.

yam4000vca: Have had it for a long time.

Robert: Obviously not before the 4K hit the riders(?). I think any great mix, be it live or pre-recorded, is in the attention to detail. Anyone can be taught to be "level manager" and build a static mix. The art form comes from the attention to detail and "showing" the audience everything that is happening on that stage. Much easier said than done, by the way.

Chris Kathman: As you said, the clean players and arrangements really help.

yam4000vca: What kind of advice can you give to an engineer on major tours, but in the support slot at this time?

Robert: Advice concerning what?

yam4000vca: Politics "dos and do nots".

Robert: Be on time. Don't go over your allotted time. Have your band gear together technically. Don't try to "outdo" the headliner, it's not a mixing competition. Don't be AFRAID to ask for help. Those are just a few off the top of my head. How's that?

yam4000vca: Good and common sense.