For the 2019 tour behind Billie Eilish's breakout album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, there were only three people on stage: Eilish, her brother (and now Grammy award–winning Producer of the Year) Finneas O’Connell, and Andrew Marshall.
Marshall's mix of acoustic chops and electronic know-how made him the perfect drummer to bring that album to life on stage. (For an in-depth interview about his process, check out this 2019 article from Modern Drummer.)
When he's not playing some of the biggest stages in the world with the reigning queen of home recording, Marshall is often in his own home-recording lair, Pineapple Village Studio.
Below, get an inside look and hear straight from him about his drums and recording gear.
For more info on Marshall and his work, check out his website. Have you assembled a great practice space, project studio, or music workshop? Be sure to drop us a line at [email protected].
One of my first purchases when I moved to LA was the Output desk, which is a great desk at an affordable price for studio furniture. It’s got a keyboard tray built in, a shelf for monitors, and nine rack spaces. I’ve been trying to resist the urge to fill them all, although I’m sure I will eventually! I just recently acquired a Roland Juno-6—not much needs to be said about this classic synth but if you know, you know.
I have a small but curated snare collection. I’ve had more over the years but have pared it down to what I really use on a regular basis live and in the studio. I have a mix of vintage and modern snares: My ‘70s Ludwig Supraphonic and Acrolite get used constantly, as does my Gretsch USA Custom Aluminum 6.5"x14" (pictured set up at the kit). That drum can really do anything and is my go-to workhorse snare for lots of applications.
I also recently acquired a little 12"x7" Gretsch Brooklyn Steel Snare that I love for some funkier sounds. Also pictured are some Big Fat Snare Drum accessories, which are very useful for experimenting with snare sounds on the fly and adding some extra jingle sauce to cymbals and drums.
Currently I have my ‘60s Rogers kit set up, 22/13/16, which sounds huge and gets used on a lot of sessions. I have a variety of Istanbul Agop cymbals and I love them all.
They’re dark and warm and perfect for studio applications—and live for that matter—they’re just awesome! I also use sound absorption sheets from Audimute for room treatment. Since the room is small and has parallel walls I wanted to control the drum sound as much as I could.
This Arturia DrumBrute Impact drum machine is a really cool piece—I like turning knobs whenever I can, even though most of my work is done in the box, and it’s fun to program drums with it.
Also shown here are some of the more utilitarian items in the studio. The ART P16 XLR Patchbay gives me easy access to the mic inputs and allows me to quickly remove and add lines to keep the studio neat. There’s also a 20-foot optical Thunderbolt cable at the ready next to the monitor so I can control Pro Tools from my laptop next to the drums.
I use the 8p’s Unison preamps quite a bit, so it’s really useful to be able to dial in preamp settings without having to walk back to the desk. It’s the little things that make for a smooth and easy session.
Like in many home studios, space is at a premium so the living room doubles as drum storage. Here are the other kits that shuffle regularly in and out of the studio—I have another ‘60s Rogers in smaller sizes (20/12/14) and a newer Gretsch Catalina Club 18/12/14 that for a less expensive kit sounds amazing.
My DWs were my first nice drum kit that I received as a gift from my parents, and they’ve provided lots of inspiration over the years. I’ve taken them out on the road numerous times. I recently acquired this ’66 Ludwig 20/13/16 as well. With these kits I have a nice collection of sounds that can cover a ton of musical ground.
Here’s the mic collection. I use the classic Coles 4038s for drum overheads, Shure SM57 and Sennheiser e604s on the snare and toms, and a Shure Beta 91A and Solomon LoFreq for the kick.
The LoFreq is similar to a Yamaha SubKick—really useful for capturing low end for a big kick drum sound. I also have an AKG P170 for times when I need a hi-hat mic. The AKG D112 and C414s also get swapped in depending on the application for overheads and kick respectively.