Cheap buys for a better tomorrow Pt.2

Ahh Moongel.
This sticky-icky gel can be your very, very best friend when confronted with a less than perfectly tuned drumkit.
One well-placed chunk of this stuff can banish those nasty rings and overtones that are making the snare sound like a rutting rhinoceros instead of the tremendous thunderclap you're aiming for.
I won't approach a drum kit without some in my back pocket if I can help it. Time is always in short supply on tracking days, so taking care of nasty rings quickly helps keep the session flowing, keeps musicians happy and makes for better takes.
Buy some!

Cheap buys for a better tomorrow Pt.1

I just noticed that Thomann have started stocking Extreme Isolation Headphones.
These wonderful little fellas (and they're only €66) are fantastic for both tracking and monitoring at a live/location recording.
On plenty of occasions I've used them when other headphones just weren't getting the foldback to the player's ears right - usually when tracking live in one room, or even just when the player is standing in the same room as the drums.
The isolation means that you can use much less level, reducing fatigue over a day of tracking - not to mention helping get a more audible mix to the player.