Dave Bowers wrote:

> The sound recording part should be of high quality.  The sound should
> be balanced and, for example, in an orchestrion include the tones of
> violin and flute pipes not overwhelmed by drums, etc.

The overuse of percussion, especially the snare drum, has been one
of my greatest complaints about organ arrangements.  For reasons that
I cannot contemplate, it seems that most organ owners and rebuilders
prefer a very loud and fast snare drum roll.  Often both the drum head
and the snare itself are very tight, giving a harsh, penetrating sound.
When recorded, the snare drum overwhelms any subtleties of the pipework.
I can't believe this is the sound that the original makers wanted.

I'll also hold the arrangers guilty for overuse of the snare drum.  To
illustrate, listen to the recording of "Carioca" on Matthew Caulfield's
site ( http://www.wurlitzer-rolls.com/6672-1.mp3 ).  When the snare drum
is silent, the organ shines; when the snare is (over)used, it overpowers
everything.  For that matter, many European organ arrangements seem to
be generally sparing in the use of percussion.

You can also hear a similar effect (the sharp sound) in the bluegrass
banjo -- the modern aesthetic seems to be a very bright sound, with
thin strings and a tight head.  Go back 50 or more years and the sound
was much more muted, but seemed to blend better.  Go back further to
the gut string/skin head sound of the 'classic banjo' era and it's even
more muted.

So, what's an owner to do?  First, slacken the drum head a bit.
The thin "all weather" [plastic] drum head didn't exist in the 1920s.
While I don't suggest using a skin head, consider a thicker-than-normal
head without as much tension as the thin head would use.  Second,
consider using a nylon string or cable snare instead a metal spring
snare.

What's a recording engineer to do?  *Listen* to the recording!  :-)
Even before that, listen to the instrument.  Find a spot where a good
balance is found.  If there isn't one, talk to the organ's owner about
what needs to be muted to make a balanced sound.  I've found that with
good microphone technique, you can almost always get a good sound with
two mics if you work at it.  This work might involve some felt on the
back of the drum...  (From what I can tell, most organ owners are not
skilled recording engineers.)

By the way, there an interesting write-up on snare drums at
http://www.pattersonsnares.com/interest2.html 

z!
Carl Zwanzig

 [ The web site tells of contemporary drums made for contemporary
 [ drummers (since that's where the money is ;-).  The drums and banjos
 [ of 100 years ago had more damping than today, due to losses in the
 [ thick skin heads and limber shells, and the sound that resulted
 [ became one of the big characteristics of the music of the times.
 [ We shouldn't force the sound of modern drums upon a vintage organ
 [ or orchestrion.  -- Robbie