Amplified Surface - stereo contact mics

Blog post: five ways of using contact mics: grahamdunning....
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Trying out some objects for upcoming live performances. I've been using the drum skin with a contact mic for a whole, today just upgraded to stereo. Testing out some scraping noises and other sounds with:
- drum felt
- feather
- dentistry tools
- turntable counterweight
- tuning forks
- snare drum rattles chopped in half
- marbles
- piece of broken crockery
- 10p coin
- small electric fan

[@n_o_]

randomly arrived here and 10 seconds in, turned my head to a snare thats been gathering dust in the corner of bleep cave for a year or more. i now have intentions, it has apprehensions.

[@grahamdunning]

Excellent! Please report back - would love to hear what you get up to

[@ReligionAndMaterialismDebunked]

One of the easiest ones to make! Thanks! Shalom.

[@pakovbasyuk]

wow, that’s so much more entertaining than panning in postproduction

[@EEEEEE1337]

some parts are really relaxing - thanks for the video 07:20 is wonderful

[@grahamdunning]

thanks, glad you enjoyed

[@marcusdekker]

Thanks for the video. I feel inspired.

[@asafoetidajones8181]

This is dope. Your work is appreciated.

[@maximd2435]

Amazing work

[@kung-borean30]

Is this asmr?

[@grahamdunning]

If you like!

[@dissonantprotean5495]

it's high brow asmr

[@bearshield7138]

very cool

[@imagingsound_]

Great demo.

[@5amJones69]

This is wonderful thank you

[@kevinpreid]

A lot of the scraping sounded very similar, and so I wonder if you would get more distinct sounds (from a single surface) by using a surface that is smoother, without as much existing scuffing/dirt.

[@grahamdunning]

yeah that's the main problem - it's often the sound of the surface rather than the objects upon it. A totally smooth surface wouldn't really work at all, i don't think - you need some friction in order to get any scrape. Perhaps some intermediary material might help though - something I should try

[@eternity3386]

That's how we make sample

[@camdenhawkins7503]

hell yeah

[@Cantrip1957]

Lovely. I’ve been scraping a lot recently too. Are you using. A preamplifier for your contact mic?

[@grahamdunning]

Thanks! No preamp, just into a DJ mixer so I can control the EQ there.

[@squareeyes1117]

get multiple feathers and the first one and it'll sound like rain on a tin roof

[@OnToffee]

Beauty. Where did you put the contact mic in relation to the drum?

[@grahamdunning]

Thanks - they're attached where the black circles are

[@HumanMotives]

Love it!

[@nodrogdivad]

look up Crank Sturgeon. Audio engineer and noise artist from Maine who makes costumes and props using contact mics, etc...

[@grahamdunning]

yeah he's great!

[@kosmikmusa]

Very nice. What kind of piezos you are using? Is there any eq applied?

[@DROAndrew]

you need more resonance surface, big one, thin plywood or big can, or both same time.

[@grahamdunning]

That could be nice. Here I prefer a more close, deadened sounds

[@valentinomagafas]

what kind of microphones are you using ? great job btw

[@grahamdunning]

Thanks - just a pair of contact mics. Cheap piezo transducer disks into a DJ mixer.

[@4umata]

I was hoping to hear the bone...

[@exequielross]

i was waiting for that one too... :|

[@josepmcomajoncoses5118]

Wow! Where did you get those metallic harps from?

[@grahamdunning]

those are the snare wires off the bottom of a snare drum, cut in half

[@senglorama]

That phasing effect I hear is like candy to my ears. Can you tell us where the contact mics are exactly? I am guessing you taped them where the 2 black circles are on the drum skin, on the underside?

[@grahamdunning]

Correct, yes, under the black circles. Just attached to the back of the skin. The channels are panned left/right.

[@senglorama]

@@grahamdunning cool, thank you. I have 2 contact mics and a zoom handy recorder, I will try to do the same as you (though I don't have a drum skin!). Thanks for the inspiration.

[@grahamdunning]

@@senglorama No worries! Hope it gives satisfactory results :)

[@ideologikal]

9:05 drone

[@henrikgrassman8060]

Had 2 pull out mi EarPhones 4 this 1 . . .

[@grahamdunning]

job done!

[@selvakumarrajendran9872]

I could see it’s a Remo drumhead , can you tell me the exact size of it please ? Thinking to give this setup a go

[@grahamdunning]

Hello, it's a 12" snare skin - but I think any size would work really. Let me know how you get on!

[@andrejrockshox]

8:46 my fav sound. i hate it!

[@hustlinc3540]

what kind of contact mics are you using?

[@grahamdunning]

Just standard 1" piezo disks

[@efebezmez6903]

Is this two contact mics on the marked positions panned hard left and right, or is the surface below (a tray if I'm seeing correctly) working in some other way ?

[@grahamdunning]

no, you're correct. the tray is just to hold the surface in place.

[@MaxwellHero]

Would you make some music out of this?

[@grahamdunning]

I would use this as an instrument - use these sounds in a live performance.

[@Edik_Babushka]

wtf???