P5: Dave, thanks for talking with us today.

DW: No problem. I'm very excited about the Liberator Series. I think it's a great tool for music production at all levels.

P5: Thank you. So first off, when you record your drummers do you take a dry approach or do you like to add compressors, limiters and other effects?

DW: I always try to get the best sound in the recording process. It usually means recording with compression on the kick and snare. I will often compress my room mics also.

P5: What about EQ?

DW: I only EQ At this stage if I feel the flat signals need coloring that may be hard to get in mixing.

P5: And what type of compressors and limiters did you run through for Liberator?

DW: For the Liberator sessions I used vintage DBX 160 compressors on the kick, snare and room mics.

P5: And Let’s talk about mics for a second. What type of mics did you use on the Liberator Series?

DW: On the kick I used a Shure Beta 52. The snare I put a Shure sm57's on the top and bottom. Toms I used Senheiser 421's. Hi Hat and ride cymbals I put AKG 451's and Overheads I used Neumann TLM 193's. Finally for the room Mics: AKG 414's

P5A: And how about mic placement, did you use any special tricks, or was your placement pretty standard?

DW: I Use a fairly classic mic placements. The overheads were placed about four feet left and right above the mid section of the kit. I will raise or lower these mics depending on the velocity of the drummer and his attack and cymbal volume. My drum room is quite large and drummers such as Greg Bisonette, Tommy Adridge and Carmine Appice have tracked in it.

P5A: Not only are you a great recording engineer, but you are also well versed in the art of mixing and mastering. Do you have any special tricks for getting a great drum mix?

DW: Using compression at different stages of the drum mix produces a great drum presence in the final mix. I often use a kick or snare sound like those found in your series and align it with my recorded kick and snare to create punchy drum mixes. Assign separate busses for the kick and snare, routing the recorded track and the Liberator file to each buss. Then send all the drums to a master drum buss. Use a compressor on all the kicks, snares and busses. Big Drum Sounds!

P5A: Now your LA studio Sound Asylum uses some of the best gear money can buy. What type of equipment are you guys running these days?

DW: We are a hybrid studio working extensively with both Analog and Digital formats. We record and mix on a 72 input SSL console. We also do extensive work with Pro Tools. We master with analog gear such as Manley and Avalon into Sonic solutions.

P5A: Dave, as always thank you so much. The Liberator Series sounds great and you are a big reason why. Thanks for talking with us.

DW: It was a pleasure to work with your production team and of course the great drummers in the Liberator series. Great drums sounds are the basis for a great record.