Unapologetic by Tao Bon Fu

I am completely Unapologetic if my cymbals are too loud. Paiste Signatures sound awesome and, I'm not competing with any vocals. This whole Tao Bon Fu project has become a lesson on how to record drums. I have used Shure SM-81s for overheads which I borrowed from Alex the Dark Squirrel. I love the SM-81s however, on the next album I will be using B.L.U.E. Dragonfly overheads.

Kick: AKG D-112 inside, off to one side, pointing at the beaters at an angle. AKG P420 outside in (cardioid, -20db). That will stay likely the same.

Snare: SM57 top (of course). Bottom is Oktava MK012 with a -10db pad.

Toms: mostly EV N/D486 with a Shure Beta 56 on the 18" floor tom and a EV N/D408B underneath. I am going to change the 15' to a Beat 57A and add a 16' tom with another Beat 57A that belongs to Alex. The EVs sound good on the smaller toms but, I am having issues with them on the larger toms.

Room mics: I used an AKG P420 in figure 8 in front of the drums about 5 feet, at about the level of the toms with the capsules faced left/right. Sometimes I used a Audix F-15 lined up the figure 8 but, this is not a good use of the F-15. I Tried a B.L.U.E. Spark there but had phasing issues. Neither worked. Not sure How I'm going to use the other P420 going forward but, I does make a decent room mic.

Room mics (con't): I had the only B.L.U.E. Dragonfly I had at the time over my left shoulder, pointing kind of at the hi hat and snare. I sounded great but, I don't know if it sounded great just because the Dragonfly is so awesome. I will try an Oktava mk-319 there in the next setup.

Recorded with a Presonus Audiobox 1818VSl with a Presonus Digimax D8. Sonar X2 Essentials/Windows 10/ Intel i5/16 gigs of ram and a bunch of HDDs and SSDs.

Drums:
Toms: Pearl Masters Custom 4 ply from late 90s early 2000s (rectangle badge)
8,10,12,15,18. Evans G2 coated
Kick: Pearl Masters Custom extra 8 ply(?) 22x18. Evans EQ3 and a EMAD reso. Remo Kevlar patch for the beaters. DW5000 double pedal with the plastic side of the beaters.
Snare: Pearl Free Floating 5.5 inch. On previous tracks I have used the brass Free Floater but, I got my copper one dialed in and is the only one on this album. Evans SD Dry.

Cymbals: Paiste Signature
Ride: most of the time 20" Dry Dark but, the 22" Power Ride is in there a bit.
Hi Hat: 13" Dark Crisp top with a Zildjian Z Dyno beat bottom.
Crash: 15" and 18" Fast, 19" Power or a 16" full, I don't think the 18" heavy China made the album but the 2002 14" china did. 8" and 10" splashes.