Having spent the better part of the last 18 years as a touring drummer for artists such as Missing Persons, Dorothy, Beth Ditto and others, Jake Hayden has shifted his focus in light of the pandemic to creating a home studio capable of delivering top quality for producers working on a variety of projects, utilizing BAE Audio components for his new input stage.
During a break from touring last December, Hayden wanted to set up a small recording rig at home in order to do more studio-related work when he wasn’t on tour, which wasn’t very often. With the onset of the pandemic however, international touring was suddenly no longer an option and he decided to go “all in” on the project.
“I have been insanely busy touring for many years,” he says. “In fact, I think I’ve averaged nine months of touring per year for the last three years. When I’ve been touring, there hasn’t been any time to do studio stuff at home.” Recording at home soon became an instant passion: “I had no experience engineering but once I started, I realized that I needed to go ‘all-in’ because I wanted my recordings to accurately represent the quality of my performances.”
Hayden’s recording setup in Los Angeles incorporates BAE 500 series outboard units including eight 1073 MPLs, a 1073D (which includes the EQ section) and four 312A preamplifiers running through an Antelope Audio Orion converter. His first project was a record with Santa Barbara, CA-based producer Tom Flowers, who has worked with artists including Steve Perry and The Ataris. Recorded remotely during the pandemic, Hayden captured his 1980s Yamaha custom cherry birch drum set with a bevy of microphones that included a beyerdynamic M88 (kick in), a 47-fet style condenser (kick out), a Shure SM57, an Altec 175 on the snare, Sennheiser 421s on the toms, Mojave MA 300s for overheads and a pair of Coles 4038 for the room, among other mics.
“In this case, the client wanted to use all 1073s, since they just sound fat,” he he states. “In addition to the BAE Audio 1073s, which will typically use on toms, kick and snare, I will use the BAE Audio 312As for my overhead and room mics. The way the 1073s and 312s talk to each other is pretty happening. Plus, the 312 can make ribbon mics such as the Coles much more present since they can sound pretty dark on their own.” Hayden’s most recent additions are a pair of BAE Audio 1073 EQLs that he employs on both kick and snare.
