Allan Speers Posted November 20, 2003 Share Posted November 20, 2003 I'm going to also post this on one of the the "engineers" forums, but I might as well get some opinions from actual drummers. Wev'e talked about hats and rides, but not SPECIFICALLY pertaining to recording. -And I've yet to see a thread concerning shells. Obviously, what works well for live performance does not always work well for recording. There's even a very interesting point on P-Sound's website that very resonant drums may in fact record badly. I don't know if I agree, but it's an interesting and valid point for discussion. SO.... What particular kits have worked well for you, in the studio? There's of course the ubiquitous Yamaha recording custom series. that's birch, and I have always LOVEd the old Gretsch birch drums. Hmmm, I see a patttern there. -but maple seems to be the most common type available. type of wood? Shell size? Heads? muffling? Do you have seperate gear for recording? Hats: I'm of the opinion that loud is better than soft, as this requires less of the spot mic (always a trade-off, due to snare and toms bleed) Yet, I see many drummer praising certain hats for being SOFT! What do you think? I can NEVER get enough hat in the O-H. Crashes: Traditional wisdom says to use thin crashes, so they don't ring too long. However, thin crashes lack a certain amount of balls. Is there a type of crash with mucho guavos yet still a short sustain? is long sustain worth the trade-off for hard rock? Lay some opinions on me..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Speers Posted November 21, 2003 Author Share Posted November 21, 2003 bump. Everyone must be on vacation this week! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Speers Posted November 29, 2003 Author Share Posted November 29, 2003 You know, if I don't see some opinions here soon, I might have to start posting drummer jokes...... so, a drummer and a lesbian cattle rancher walk into a bar in NYC......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip OKeefe Posted November 30, 2003 Share Posted November 30, 2003 I'm not a drummer, so take this FWIW: I have always liked DW's. I've yet to have a DW kit that came through my studio that absolutely sucked. I've also had good luck with Yamaha kits... but my favorite drum tracks that I've recorded in quite some time were courtesy of a brand new Gretch kit that a great local session guy that I use from time to time (Larry Mitchell) just got a few months back. WHOAH! I normally prefer medium thin cymbals - too thin dies off a bit TOO quickly and lacks a certain amount of "balls", as you're already noticed. But too thick and they can start sounding like trashcan lids - except with too much sustain. Balance is the key to good cymbals IMO. But probably THE single most important elements to good studio drum tones don't even come down to the actual drums and cymbals. It's the DRUMMER and the setup of the kit. A well tuned kit makes a WORLD of difference. So if you don't know what you're doing, hire a great tech to do a setup and tuning for you before any session where good sound matters to you. Obviously the room and the mics / preamps / compressors and all the other engineer tech stuff is very important too, but those are beyond the scope of your original question, so I'll skip the geek stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C_F_H_13 Posted November 30, 2003 Share Posted November 30, 2003 This is my take on this topic. 1. To my ears, birch drums record better than maple. What I mean by this is I get the tones I want out of birch faster and easier. 2. Smaller size drums usually sound more focused and tighter, lending to a better overall sound. 3. A agree that medium thin cymbals the way to go. I also find that somewhat "darker" cymbals work better too. I have a pair of medium 18" Brilliant A zildjians that have this harshness to their ring. My other pair of Identical size and type cymbals without the brilliant finish work much better. 4. Always remember: good drummer, good room, good kit= much less work. 5. All of this is opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prof.Sound Posted November 30, 2003 Share Posted November 30, 2003 Originally posted by C_F_H_13: This is my take on this topic. 1. To my ears, birch drums record better than maple. What I mean by this is I get the tones I want out of birch faster and easier. 2. Smaller size drums usually sound more focused and tighter, lending to a better overall sound. 3. A agree that medium thin cymbals the way to go. I also find that somewhat "darker" cymbals work better too. I have a pair of medium 18" Brilliant A zildjians that have this harshness to their ring. My other pair of Identical size and type cymbals without the brilliant finish work much better. 4. Always remember: good drummer, good room, good kit= much less work. 5. All of this is opinion.Yes. Author and new site of the As of August 2004 - New Home of the Drum Tuning Bible v3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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