EARTHSHADE – “Thorn In Thine Side” | Drum Playthrough @ Nova Sounds Studio

Recorded at Nova Sounds Studio and performed by Matt Fontana, this is the official live playthrough of EARTHSHADE’s track “Thorn In Thine Side.”

For those interested in the production process, we’ve included a complete breakdown of:

• Drum mics & preamps used

• Drum tuning settings

• Other behind-the-scenes details from the recording

Drum Mics and preamps

The chart below shows the initial plan for the recording. However, as with any session, not everything goes smoothly. While studio recording offers more flexibility for troubleshooting than live shows, problems still need to be addressed quickly.

The Shure Beta 91A, intended as the top-end mic for the kick, developed a pumping “heartbeat” noise when phantom power was enabled. To rule out the possibility of a faulty preamp (which would have been a more costly issue), I tested the mic on another preamp. The noise persisted, confirming the microphone was at fault.

We resolved the issue by removing the Beta 91A from the setup and instead relied on the Shure Beta 52 (tight mids) and the United FET47 (round low end) for the kick.

Mic Position	Microphone	Preamp
Kick In 1	Beta 52	SSL PD Quad (1)
Kick In 2	Beta 91A	SSL PD Quad (2)
Kick Front	UT FET47	WA73-EQ
Snare Top	Beta 57A	SSL PD Quad (3)
Snare Bottom	SM57	SSL PD Quad (4)
Tom 1	e604	Octopre (3)
Tom 2	e604	Octopre (4)
Tom Floor 1	MD421	Octopre (5)
HH	SM7B	Octopre (6)
Ride	Rode NT5	Octopre (7)
China	Rode NT5	Octopre (8)
OH Left	AKG C414XLII	ISA TWO (1)
OH Right	AKG C414XLII	ISA TWO (2)
Room Left	United Twin87	ISA TWO (3)
Room Right	United Twin87	ISA TWO (4)

Drum Tuning

Being obsessed with achieving the most accurate and meticulously crafted drum tones, I always put a huge focus on drum tuning before a single hit is recorded. The key to a great drum recording is ensuring the drums are in perfect harmony with one another — and, most importantly, with the song.

For tuning the kick, snare, and toms (both batter and resonant heads), I use a Tune-Bot to dial in specific intervals between each drum. This approach is inspired by one of my biggest influences, Nolly Getgood, and his CreativeLive session on Periphery’s “Omega” released about 8 years ago. It’s a method that has never failed me, and I now apply it to every drum recording session.

💡 Want your drums to sound as good as they possibly can? I also offer drum tone consultations for drummers and producers looking to take their recordings to the next level.

For this session, we used Matt’s DW kit, which includes a 13" second tom — a fairly uncommon size. The toms were fitted with Evans Black Hydraulic heads, which feature two plies with a layer of oil in between. This design reduces resonance while preserving natural tone, eliminating the need for Moon Gels to control sustain. The kick was equipped with an Evans EQ2, and the snare with an Evans EC Reverse Dot head.

You’ll notice the tuning chart below contains a “Global Frequency” column. This represents the pitch produced when striking the drum without holding the batter or resonant head. When tuning, however, it’s crucial to mute or dampen the opposite head. This is because the two heads resonate together, which can cause the Tune-Bot to give inaccurate readings — leading to false results and unnecessary frustration.The purpose of the Global Frequency is to quickly check between takes if any tuning has shifted. This allows me to keep the drums set up and miked while still monitoring their tuning accuracy.

Drum Piece	Global Frequency/Note	Resonant Head Freq	Batter Head Freq	Intervals R/B Heads
Kick	NA	72hz	55hz	5 Semitones
Snare DW	NA	400hz	To taste	NA
Tom 1 (12")	112hz	207hz	174hz	3 Semitones
Tom 2 (13”)	84hz	155hz	130hz	3 Semitones
Tom Floor (16”)	65hz	116hz	98hz	3 Semitones

Though the settings above worked well for this recording, every drum and every song is different. It’s ultimately important to trust your ears and make sure what you hear makes sense. The same settings may not apply to another recording.

So how do I decide which settings work best? The size of the drums plays a huge role. For larger kicks (22" or 24"), I typically aim for A1 (≈55 Hz), while for smaller kicks (like 20"), I prefer slightly higher pitches, around B1 (≈62 Hz).

To guide this process, I use a frequency chart to convert frequencies (Hz) into musical notes. This way, I can translate a scientific measurement into a musical one, which makes it easier to apply the science of tuning in a musically meaningful way.

Still have questions after going through all this? Drop us an email for a free Q&A session — let’s talk about how we can take your setup to the next level: contact@nova-sounds.com