But what if MM is actually talented enough to hit the snare at almost the same velocity and same position in the drum for short spurts or rolls to maintain a consistent sound? I remember that he made a big deal about it in some interviews. For example:
“My challenge was keeping the velocities extremely high – if I hit one hit light in the middle of a run, it got lost. And to me it wasn’t light, because I could hear it perfectly fine. But with the recording software we use today, if it’s just a couple of dBs shy, it’s no good.”
I think the snare could definitely improve, but not about the hits sounding even because it can be done. Music school actually emphasizes evenness of hits as part of the discipline.
Evenness is fine. I would emphasize that too in playing any sort of beat. But when doing a fill or roll of sorts I think some moderation is necessary. Otherwise it sounds like a drum machine, and it just comes off stale. By what I have heard from Mangini on the albums so far, he is the worlds greatest drum machine, but doesn't have the "emotion" that is there on previous DT records.
This indeed. When they emphasize evenness in drumming classes, they are trying to combat beginners' habit of sometimes hitting the drum really hard, and the next barely audible.
However, when you overdo evenness, with a combination of technique and compression, you end up with the drum computer sound on DT12.
I'd also make the comment of, *what if* this was due to MM's crazy skill of being so even? While that might get you another trophy of "world's most consistent drummer" right next to the "world's fastest drummer", it simply isn't desirable in a musical sense.
Which is a matter of taste. It's like not wanting slow mo reviews in baseball to retain the "human" element, whatever that means.
Sort of. In the case of baseball, there's a definite "right call" and "wrong call." In music, there's not so much of a "right thing" vs. "wrong thing." There are two major things to consider when it comes to "wrong" playing (uneven drums, missed notes, etc.). First off, the tradition of music doesn't have too many examples of people who get everything perfect every time. Even musicians as world-class as the ones in DT miss things all the time, to say nothing of the standard rock bands or what not. So along comes someone who does sound "perfect," and it's a bit jarring. That's why most people don't like the I&W triggers, either. They may be perfectly even, but they don't reflect what it actually sounds like to hear music. Taken to a further extreme, this is one of the (many) reasons that autotune sucks.
Second, and on a related note, there is a certain catharsis that gets induced by playing that is in that tight "imperfect but still good range." The most obvious example of this in modern DT is James' live singing. There are plenty of spots where he's just off and it doesn't sound good, but there are also a ton where he manages to pull off a tough section, and you can
feel the effort he's putting in in a way that you simply don't when you listen to I&W. Drumming can work the same way--as long as the section is ultimately sound, sometimes having tiny imperfections in there gives it more character and propulsion.
Of course, if a given listener can find a way to get a mental handle on the more mechanical playing and get the same emotional stimulation from it, they're entitled to it. If anything, I personally tend toward that, given my preference for more of the '80s style snare. My second favorite album is Crimson Glory's
Transcendence, which uses a drum machine, after all. But the preference for "imperfect" playing definitely isn't as hard to understand (or anywhere near as wrongheaded) as the instant replay haters.
I still don't think Mangini's studio sound issues have much to do with him being "too perfect," though.