The drumset used to record Invisible Signs was the Pearl Reference Pure kit that Mike received in 2011.
The sound of the drums on Invisible Signs is a cross between Mike’s personal studio sound (hear that on the Untethered Angel video) and Jimmy T’s engineering and mixing. The two worlds meshed after a long period of years that they shared engineering ideas and both worked on. Since restrictions prevented them from being in the same studio together, they worked remotely using engineering and production schemes unique to Mike that were never used on any other album he has ever recorded simply because he was not a part of those processes until he put himself in the producer’s chair with more control of his own sound.
Below in the video, you can hear a more raw sound from Mike’s studio. This Blue Masterworks kit is the same kit used on Dream Theater’s Self Titled album. If you compare the two, you’ll hear that they don’t resemble each other.
The final sound on Invisible Signs ended up being a meshing of Mike’s raw studio sound and Jimmy T.’s “rock album” engineering.
