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  1. #1

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    Dissecting the Phil Collins Drum Sound

    >>>>Of all the iconic drum sounds in rock history, the Phil Collins drum sound — particularly his 1980s-era sound — is among the most talked about. Many have aspired to re-create this sound using a gated reverb preset in their favorite plug-in or hardware unit. Unfortunately, this approach typically nets a wimpy, cheesy result — the epitome of the dreaded (and very dated) “bad ’80s gated snare” sound. So, how do you achieve the real-deal Phil Collins drum sound? Those unmistakable percussive textures that are brimming with muscle and presence? We’ll break it down for you.<<<<<

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  3. #2

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    Who cares - listen to the master:


  4. #3

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    "Of all the iconic drum sounds in rock history, the Phil Collins drum sound — particularly his 1980s-era sound — is among the most talked about. Many have aspired to re-create this sound using a gated reverb preset in their favorite plug-in or hardware unit."

    Is it? They have? Do they not want to create their own sounds, with drums?

    I preferred him with a band that wore ties.









  5. #4

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    Phil was definitely brilliant with Brand X, as well of course with Genesis. If he had not gone pop but had stuck with Brand X, he would have been regarded as one of the great fusion drummers of the era.

    Collins had worked with Eno, who processed pretty much every thing that he recorded. I don’t know how he processed the drum sound specifically—he was working with the VCS-3 a lot in the 70’s and ran things through that, also used a lot of tape effects as well as the usual studio trickery.

    This was recorded ‘76-77:



    Of course Eno had worked with Peter Gabriel and Collins in ‘74 when Genesis recorded The Lamb Lies Down.

    Padham and Lillywhite had also done some interesting studio processing of drum sounds when they recorded XTC in ‘79:



    What a great song that is.

    Anyway, not to detract from the story, but as they say success rewards the prepared mind.

  6. #5

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    The horrid 80's gated snare sound helped ruin music in the mid to late 80's - a period I feel strongly that represents Pop music's nadir. By 1987, every record sounded the same, seriously! A decade earlier you could tell a Devo record from a Rolling Stones record (compare Devo's "Satisfaction" to, well, anything from the Stones up til then). Fast forward to the mid to late 80's, where both band's releases featured very similar production!. This was not "progress" in my book.

    Hugh Padgham has a lot to answer for!

  7. #6

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    Well, it's not as if Phil sounded like everyone else. Everyone else seemed to want to sound like him. Big difference.

  8. #7

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    On lesser guitar forums, members are constantly yearning to imitate the tones of particular guitarists who were famous in the eighties, as if that were the purpose of playing. Of course, they will never achieve their desire, because the past is a foreign country, technically as much as culturally. Nor will the members recover their lost youth, which is a related issue.

  9. #8

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    Hey Litterick.... you mean to say no one on this august forum isn’t spending time and money trying to sound like jazz players from the 50’s?
    witness the ES350/P90 obsessions!

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Litterick
    On lesser guitar forums, members are constantly yearning to imitate the tones of particular guitarists who were famous in the eighties, as if that were the purpose of playing. Of course, they will never achieve their desire, because the past is a foreign country, technically as much as culturally. Nor will the members recover their lost youth, which is a related issue.

    People still pay ES175s through Polytone amps----that's going back way past the '80s. There's nothing wrong with getting a sound you like.

  11. #10

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    Irony dies on the Internet.

  12. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by MarkRhodes
    Dissecting the Phil Collins Drum Sound

    >>>>Of all the iconic drum sounds in rock history, the Phil Collins drum sound — particularly his 1980s-era sound — is among the most talked about. Many have aspired to re-create this sound using a gated reverb preset in their favorite plug-in or hardware unit. Unfortunately, this approach typically nets a wimpy, cheesy result — the epitome of the dreaded (and very dated) “bad ’80s gated snare” sound. So, how do you achieve the real-deal Phil Collins drum sound? Those unmistakable percussive textures that are brimming with muscle and presence? We’ll break it down for you.<<<<<
    I read an interview with PC in which he talked about his audition for Genesis. He was slated to audition last. He came early, listened to all the other aspiring applicants, and "learned what not to do". Apparently, sometimes less really is more.

  13. #12

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    I have heard that drum sound on other records from the 70’s—Todd Rundgren comes to mind.

    Also don’t forget John Bonham’s drums on When the Levee Breaks—famously recorded in the stairwell at Headley Grange, where a few years later Peter Gabriel would record PG 3 featuring the Intruder cut referenced above.

    Maybe The Intruder was old John’s ghost?

  14. #13

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    The REAL secret is this.