Parasomnia Timeline Thread

[TAC]

Just thought I'd take a moment to say that I did a little bit of math, and if Wiki is to be believed, BCSL wrapped up recording in March of 2009.

Which means that Mike may have been officially out of DT for 13 years, but it's been only a month short of 15 years since they were in the studio together.

But didn't they write/record Raw Dog in the studio later?

Excellent point. I sometimes forget about Raw Dog. Not sure when the studio time for that was. Maybe our resident DT encyclopedia Setlist Scotty has that info?

Black Clouds Era.

Raw Dog is a great instrumental IMO.

[Stadler]

Pics:

That kit couldn't fit in my garage, and I have a two and a half car garage.

Not going to lie, though, that got the heart rate up. 

[Sycsa]

Cool stuff regarding the drum kit. Someone made a similar remark a page or two ago but MP is going to be a counterweight to JP, and that is a good thing in my book.

Even in that one post you can see the power dynamics have changed. Mangini was asked to reduce the size of his kit going into View. Portnoy's first session back, he comes in with the biggest kit imaginable. I am all for it.

+1
MP energy: https://youtu.be/pWgyy_rlmag?si=CPpiul0WMhS4F1K-&t=77

[hefdaddy42]

Just thought I'd take a moment to say that I did a little bit of math, and if Wiki is to be believed, BCSL wrapped up recording in March of 2009.

Which means that Mike may have been officially out of DT for 13 years, but it's been only a month short of 15 years since they were in the studio together.

But didn't they write/record Raw Dog in the studio later?

Excellent point. I sometimes forget about Raw Dog. Not sure when the studio time for that was. Maybe our resident DT encyclopedia Setlist Scotty has that info?

I know that Raw Dog was the last DT recording MP was on.  So it was definitely after BC&SL.  Hopefully Scotty knows how long after.

[Zydar]

On Wikipedia it says:

"After the Progressive Nation Tour, Dream Theater re-entered the studio to write and record a brand new instrumental track for inclusion on the God of War III soundtrack EP God of War: Blood & Metal".

I don't know when that tour ended though.

[Schurftkut]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwnenfLkdqs

In this video JR talks about missing having MP there when writing, because MP's tastes are broader than JP usually likes, so he got to do the zappa bit in beyond this life etc. Hopefully there's more piano from JR and not more circus music though..

[TAC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwnenfLkdqs

In this video JR talks about missing having MP there when writing, because MP's tastes are broader than JP usually likes, so he got to do the zappa bit in beyond this life etc. Hopefully there's more piano from JR and not more circus music though..

That's funny because no one was more vocal about how refreshing (not the right word) it was when writing without Mike. He never specifically named Mike, but mentioned about not having to use "the pig".

[Schurftkut]

i can understand it really being refreshing to have a VERY vocal member not around during writing. Freedom from many comments and direction perhaps influenced him talking like that back then?

[devieira73]

On Wikipedia it says:

"After the Progressive Nation Tour, Dream Theater re-entered the studio to write and record a brand new instrumental track for inclusion on the God of War III soundtrack EP God of War: Blood & Metal".

I don't know when that tour ended though.

From memory, I believe they recorded it in January 2010.

[Chino]

When recording in a studio with a kit like the one Mike posted, do they mic up every single drum, or are they grouped?

[lucasembarbosa]

When recording in a studio with a kit like the one Mike posted, do they mic up every single drum, or are they grouped?

Everything is miked individually, including some cymbals for a better separation in the mix (chinas/splashes/stax,hihats, etc.) There's also the overhead mics that capture the overall kit (in the picture it seems to be 3 or 4 OH mics + at least 1 room mic farther, could be a crossed pair as well!).

[nobloodyname]

I can't begin to fathom how long that must take. I guess they'd have done most, if not all, of the setup before the band arrived?

[gzarruk]

When recording in a studio with a kit like the one Mike posted, do they mic up every single drum, or are they grouped?

Everything is miked individually, including some cymbals for a better separation in the mix (chinas/splashes/stax,hihats, etc.) There's also the overhead mics that capture the overall kit (in the picture it seems to be 3 or 4 OH mics + at least 1 room mic farther, could be a crossed pair as well!).

Yes, while live you might have to cut corners here and there for practical purposes, in the studio you can/should get as much detail as possible with mics and whatnot.

[pg1067]

Pics:

I have two questions about this.  The kick drum on the far left has what looks like a 10-12" tom mounted on the front skin.  Is that what that is, and what's the purpose?  The other two kick drums have large black cylinders on stands in front of them (not the mike holes).  What are those?

[Dream Team]

Pics:

36 (6^2) Degrees of Inner Turbulence confirmed lol

Unleash the hounds baby!!

[Lonk]

Pics:

I have two questions about this.  The kick drum on the far left has what looks like a 10-12" tom mounted on the front skin.  Is that what that is, and what's the purpose?  The other two kick drums have large black cylinders on stands in front of them (not the mike holes).  What are those?

I believe those are all mics. The tom looking thing is a subkick. The other black things are Solomon mics.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1560664-REG/avantone_pro_kick_sub_kick_drum_microphone.html

[gzarruk]

Pics:

I have two questions about this.  The kick drum on the far left has what looks like a 10-12" tom mounted on the front skin.  Is that what that is, and what's the purpose?  The other two kick drums have large black cylinders on stands in front of them (not the mike holes).  What are those?

The short, not so educated response on my part is that it's a Subkick. What does it do exactly? I'll let some of the more educated people here answer that (or a big Google search), but a Subkick basically helps record the low frequencies of a bass drum. What you see on the left is Yamaha's version, something like this:

[Stadler]

Sweetwater, what a great company.  Their employees are the bomb!  (Making a joke about the watermark, but not about the employees.  Aaron is the best!)

[ne9149]

they are basically woofer or sub drivers of a speaker. they are wired in reverse so they can act as a microphone.(in theory they should record the same frequency that they produce)
so yamaha's are basically the NS10 woofers wired in reverse.

and sorry for my horrible English.

[ZirconBlue]

First off, I appreciate the post. Yeah, I do get all that and know I am being a bit myopic. In the abstract it just seems weird a group of guys working together to write and record an album are doing a significant part (or parts) of it separately.

Two things:
A) Lyrics are the last thing written, so you could end up with a bunch of people sitting around waiting for that to occur, and
2) While the band is generally all together for the writing, I think they typically record their individual instrument tracks separately.  Like, when MP is recording his drums, the whole band isn't necessarily in the studio for that.  So, it's not too different from the vocals.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Sweetwater, what a great company.  Their employees are the bomb!  (Making a joke about the watermark, but not about the employees.  Aaron is the best!)

Sweetwater is the only place I'll order gear from besides my local music store. The best customer service in the business.

[TheCountOfNYC]

Sorry for the double post, but I just saw on James' Instagram that he is indeed in the studio with the band for this record.

[Stadler]

they are basically woofer or sub drivers of a speaker. they are wired in reverse so they can act as a microphone.(in theory they should record the same frequency that they produce)
so yamaha's are basically the NS10 woofers wired in reverse.

and sorry for my horrible English.

What?  Your English is levels above several of the native speakers on this forum.  Who shall remain nameless. 

[hefdaddy42]

they are basically woofer or sub drivers of a speaker. they are wired in reverse so they can act as a microphone.(in theory they should record the same frequency that they produce)
so yamaha's are basically the NS10 woofers wired in reverse.

and sorry for my horrible English.

What?  Your English is levels above several of the native speakers on this forum.  Who shall remain nameless. 

King, Stadler is talking shit about you again lol

[lucasembarbosa]

James just posted a pic on IG in studio, with MP's kit, JM (and presumably Jimmy T) on the background. \m/

[Stadler]

they are basically woofer or sub drivers of a speaker. they are wired in reverse so they can act as a microphone.(in theory they should record the same frequency that they produce)
so yamaha's are basically the NS10 woofers wired in reverse.

and sorry for my horrible English.

What?  Your English is levels above several of the native speakers on this forum.  Who shall remain nameless. 

King, Stadler is talking shit about you again lol

Was it that obvious?!?

[nobloodyname]

Not remotely surprised James is in the studio. Good on him.

[TheHoveringSojourn808]

i get all my sweetened water from Sweetwater

[Samsara]

Very happy to see JLB in the studio. I am not surprised at all. While lyrics and vocals are generally the last thing to be written/recorded, respectively, having the singer there to pipe in about melodic spots and make sure the arrangements fit for a vocal, is a big key. And the way DT writes/records, it'll be helpful for JLB to have that input, and even just scat over a section, this way later he can go back and work on lyrics and vocals.

So happy DT's classic lineup is back together.

[Stadler]

i get all my sweetened water from Sweetwater

[bosk1]

Not remotely surprised James is in the studio. Good on him.

Same.  But I also won't be surprised one way or the other if he is or is not later recording his vocals in the studio.  Porcolator did a good job explaining why it's actually pretty common for the vocalist to record vocals separately. 

With him being present for the writing, he'll also have more time to soak in the songs as they are being composed, so it would not surprise me to see him do some lyrics.

[Indiscipline]

Speaking of lyrics, I wonder if there will be some kind of lyrical reference to the reunion itself and the way it feels. A reverse Beneath the Surface of sorts.

[jammindude]

Even if he's not recording with them (and please, someone correct me if I'm wrong) I would imagine that being there for the writing process would help in coming up with and hammering out vocal melodies on the fly and making adjustments organically as the song is coming together, as opposed to coming up with something, emailing it, hearing back an idea or suggestion that may or may not work...etc..etc.

If the basic vocal melodics are already nailed down during the writing, I would imagine it would make the vocal recording session much easier when it happens later.

[Wim Kruithof]

A reverse Beneath the Surface of sorts.

'Above deep depths', can't wait for the lyrics.

[Samsara]

Same.  But I also won't be surprised one way or the other if he is or is not later recording his vocals in the studio.  Porcolator did a good job explaining why it's actually pretty common for the vocalist to record vocals separately. 

With him being present for the writing, he'll also have more time to soak in the songs as they are being composed, so it would not surprise me to see him do some lyrics.

Yup, I think JLB will write when he's inspired and work on that both in studio, and when he leaves. Didn't he record vocals up at home the last several records? My memory is fuzzy on that. Wouldn't be surprised if he did that again.