The drum/percussion sound of Los Angeles-based multicultural band Ozomatli, which has also forayed into children’s media with the book and accompanying track “Moose on the Loose” and album Ozomatli Presents Ozokids as well as the original score for the Happy Feet Two video game, is captured by front of house engineer Reiley Brinser employing AUDIX microphones that include a D6 on kick, D4 on toms, i5 on snare, MicroD on snare bottom, MicroHP on congas and bongos, D2 on timbales, SCX25A as drum overheads, and M1280B on assorted handheld percussion.
With a core of seven musicians plus horns, Latin percussion, and traditional rock band instrumentation (guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards), Ozomatli can make for a mixing challenge, particularly if the engineer is restricted to microphones provided by a venue, festival, or rental company. “Now that we carry our own AUDIX mics, I can really think about why I’m using a particular mic on a particular source, how I’m placing that mic, why might I change something up, things like that,” notes Brinser, who also serves as the band’s tour manager.
As to his matching of mics to sources, Reiley points to the i5: “I have them on both the kit snare and the percussionist’s snare I like the top end of the i5; it doesn’t break up or get crinkly sounding. I also think it’s way more durable. I haven’t found anything like the i5 when it comes to getting the snare but not getting toms or anything else I don’t want. Also, a little secret of our snare sound is that I use the MicroD on the bottoms of the snares. It really captures the snare wires themselves.
“I like to get the full picture of the kit as opposed to just spot-miking individual drums,” he continues, “and the SCX25A are great in that application.”
Moving to the percussion station, Brinser places miniature MicroHP microphones on congas and bongos using AUDIX’s Dvice series of mic clamps. “Sound-wise, the MicroHPs are night and day from anything I’ve ever used before,” he explains. “They pick up everything I want in those channels and nothing I don’t. The D2 is on timbales, right in between the shells. One of my secret weapons is a little pencil mic called the M1280B. I use a pair of those to capture all the percussion toys: bells, cowbells, shakers, guiro. They just pick up everything perfectly.”
