Catherine Marks creatively repurposes the vocal mic to capture drum room ambience. By leaving the vocal mic open during drum recording sessions, she harnesses its characteristics to add depth and character to the drum sound.
The vocal mic's signal is processed with the same reverb and delay effects intended for vocals, using an Echosex delay pedal and a Holy Grail reverb pedal. This approach creates a spacious quality that she blends with the rest of the drum mix for added dimension.
Additionally, Marks employs gating to tighten the sound, allowing for a controlled yet expansive drum ambience.