Post by: Ian Stroupe on May 29, 2005, 06:10:34 PM
and a cool guitar amp but that's another story. The drum kit was a Fibes custom set and micing them up made my subs thump like never before and the sound was just awe inspiring. So do any of you have a favorite set of drums or heads that just sound as good as you couldhope for. I know this is probably a waste of your time and I know tunings and things make a huge different but yikes I am in percussion heaven with that set. IanPost by: Andy Peters on May 29, 2005, 08:27:48 PM
No question: Baltimore Drums.
-a
Post by: David Gunnardo on May 29, 2005, 09:45:05 PM
). I had a rather trashed FIBES-set when i was younger.. i think it was fibes and sonor in a weird mix... I remember that it sounded awful.
Are not so in to drums so this is probably te first time since then i have heard of fibes.
Post by: Dan Brown on May 29, 2005, 09:48:18 PM
work with a drummer with a DW
work with a drummer with a Premier
I think that a good drum set is more a combination of the good drummer / good tuning / good drumset.
my cents
Post by: Tim Padrick on May 30, 2005, 02:47:32 AM
The Evans Genera Dry snare head changed two of my clients' snares from ringy nuisances to nice, solid snares
Post by: diluted23 on May 30, 2005, 06:18:12 AM
Post by: Tom Reid on May 30, 2005, 08:04:10 AM
I like Fibes, and Sonor for some studio stuff, for clean thumpy toms ...think old Police tunes, ELP.
I like vintage Ludwig for Rock and Roll ...Zepplin
Tama is a great kit in the right hands, Toto?
Yamaha made some nice kits, Steely Dan?
Post by: Lee Patzius on May 30, 2005, 10:48:13 AM
) Absolutely beautiful sounding. But I do have one drum out of the bunch (it's the smallest 10" shell) that the shell naturally resonates slightly out of key with the rest, but is easily fixable with head tuning.
Never thought I'd put Mapex over my Ludwigs (A blue sparkle vintage set which I miss dearly, wound up stolen from me in Phoenix AZ) Tama (which I play every so often at my friend's house) or my 2 Pearl sets, one vintage white vinyl "leather" coated set which I'm looking at right now. My daughter plays those.
My Roland electronics are for low volume practice in a trailer park 'till 2:00AM Mondays and Thursdays (lead guitarist's place). But that's a whole 'nother catagory.
My friend has a Premier Signia set that sounds great too. The shells are slightly smaller than the head, leaving a larger gap between the head hoop and shell, acting much like a guitar bridge of sorts. Sounds incredible.
I've been very impressed with Sonor, but can't comment without first hand experience.
Post by: Craig Leerman on May 30, 2005, 05:57:03 PM
| Quote: |
So do any of you have a favorite set of drums or heads that just sound as good as you could hope for. |
The most important part of the drum sound is choosing the right head for the application, and proper tuning for the sound you want. Most good drum sets use a comparable quality shell, and most custom drum set makers all use the same shells (Keller) so the real difference in the kits is the heads, tuning, depth of shells, and where/how the hardware mounts to the drums. Better kits will usually use more esoteric hardware and hardware attachment points that allow the shell to vibrate more freely. Other than that, the difference between most lower priced kits and their high end brethren is usually in wood species, quality of finishes, and better hardware.
There is no "ONE PERFECT" sound for all styles and types of music.
| Quote: |
No question: Baltimore Drums. |
Keith Larsen from Balto Drum does build a nice kit. Keith is not only a great drummer himself, but a real cool guy. He worked for years as a drum salesman in a music store before branching out on his own, first as a small drum store, then as a drum builder. Dennis Chambers plays his stuff (even though he endorses Pearl!), as do lots of other great drummers. I have a Balto snare drum thats pretty nice.
| Quote: |
Just like you can't use a Fender Haguar to play ballads, no one drum kit is going to get the job done. Kit's are genre specific. |
Drum kits, nor guitars or any instruments for that matter are genre specific. While some general trends are seen in certain musical styles (like jazz drummers seem to prefer smaller tom sizes) they are not absolutes.
| Quote: |
I like Fibes, and Sonor for some studio stuff, for clean thumpy toms ...think old Police tunes, ELP. |
Stewart Copeland played Tama drums almost exclusively during his Police days. While he endorses Remo drums now, Carl Palmer played Ludwigs with ELP.
| Quote: |
I like vintage Ludwig for Rock and Roll ...Zepplin |
For years, Ludwig was basically the only quality drum maker around so EVERYBODY played them.
| Quote: |
Tama is a great kit in the right hands, Toto? |
While current drummer Simon Phillips uses Tama, Deceased TOTO drummer and founding member Jeff Porcaro used Ludwigs early on and then endorsed Pearl. Jeff was one of the best drummers in the world!
| Quote: |
Yamaha made some nice kits, Steely Dan? |
There are at least 12 drummers that I know of that have played on record or live with Steely Dan. While I guess some have used Yamaha, Steve gadd who is closely linked to the "Dan" sound used a mishmash of brands in his studio kits. His kits had Pearl Fiberglass drums, Gretch drums, Ludwig drums, and usually featured a Ludwig Supraphonic snare. While he later went on to endorse Yamaha (and still does) what you hear on most of his 1970s-1980s recordings is a mix of brands.
And why cant you play a ballad on a Jaguar? Does that mean I can only play country music on a telecaster? I better go tell the boss (Springsteen) to switch!
| Quote: |
Most of the DW kits I work with sound just as bad when close mic'd as those shallow shell, no bottom head travel kits. One of the two best sounding kit's I've worked with is a Pacific the guy bought used for a couple hundred bucks. |
Pacific is the low end brand of DW. So not to "tarnish" their high end name, they build their cheaper priced kits under the name Pacific.
Just goes to show that its not the cost of the kit, its the heads and how you tune it.
Post by: Dan Brown on May 30, 2005, 06:04:56 PM
You forgot one thing, "bearing edges"
I do agree however that the tuning of a drum is what makes it genre specific. Even though drums do have different sounds depending on size which also is somewhat genre specific.
Post by: Dave Barnett on May 30, 2005, 08:38:08 PM
I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that I still see more Ludwig snares than any other brand. I see guys with a Tama kit and Ludwig snare, Yamaha kit and Ludwig snare, Pearl kit and Ludwig snare, even DW kit and Ludwig snare, on a daily basis.
BTW, I HATE DW drums. They got no soul.
Post by: Dave Unger on May 30, 2005, 10:26:59 PM
I think drum sound is (in this order) tuning, good heads, good mics, good mic placement, eqing, dynamics. I've heard DWs that sound like ass and ancient no names that sound great.
There is nothing quite like a well tuned vintage Gretch kit with a drummer who knows how to hit! It's like the black face Twin or SVT of drums.
Post by: Tom Reid on May 31, 2005, 05:44:32 AM
I no way do I know what these dudes are doing in a studio.
Hell, even Fleetwood Mac beat on a chair during one part of
recording and called it drums. I forget who retails the chair.
Thanks for the info Craig.
Post by: John Michaels on May 31, 2005, 12:36:22 PM
Now, for my (personally owned) favorites - my first kit was Stewart (then sold by Sears), which I traded right when I got them sounding good for double bass Slingerland in Satin Blue Flame, which I traded for Tama Imperialstar, which I sold because folding them to fit in my 79 RX-7 proved too difficult. Then getting a Remo Headset, which although very collapsible, took just as long to set up as a regular set, and only sounded good from behind the kit - which I sold to someone who was willing to pay asking price (amazing), and then getting Pearl MX in smaller (i.e. more packable) sizes - 10", 12", 14" toms and a 20" kick. And an identically sized Yamaha (don't rememeber the series) kit in piano grey finish - eventually selling it to a friend (at a really good price) when I couldn't justify (wife?) having two kits.
All that said, good bearing edges, and some type of isolation mounts make a huge difference. I don't know if I ever stayed with a particular flavor of heads more than a year. Tried lots of things - coated ambassadors, pinstripes, deadringers, those ugly yellow kevlar heads, Evans Generra, Aquarian, Moon Gel. Kit's in cases right now - and there are probably 3 or 4 new kinds of heads to try.
Post by: Dave Dermont on May 31, 2005, 12:43:45 PM
| Dave Barnett wrote on Mon, 30 May 2005 19:38 |
While the guy who is tuning and hitting the drums is the most important element, *snip* BTW, I HATE DW drums. They got no soul. |
I have heard different drummers play the same drums on the same stage with the same mics on the same night, and the differences can be astonishing.
I believe it's the drummers that have the soul, not the drums.
Q: What's the best way to improve the sound of a drum kit?
A: Change the nut on the throne!
Post by: Dave Barnett on May 31, 2005, 09:29:12 PM
| AnotherDave wrote on Tue, 31 May 2005 11:43 |
I have heard different drummers play the same drums on the same stage with the same mics on the same night, and the differences can be astonishing. |
This I have experienced many times. And it wasn't always the owner of the kit who made it come alive.
Maybe I just don't like the kinds of drummers who are most likely to buy DW kits...
Post by: Geri O'Neil on June 01, 2005, 05:44:48 PM
| diluted23 wrote on Mon, 30 May 2005 05:18 |
my fav set is what i play, tama starclassic, maple and performer |
A kit exactly like this is on the last 4 video shoots of the Mississippi Mass Choir as well as the last Dorothy Norwood video.
But the next ones will have my very own newly aquired (from my little brother, a very fine jazz drummer in San Diego) 9-year-old Yamaha Maple Custom kit in the nice green wood-grain finish...
It's also on the last "SingSation" video shoot, shot here in MS and produced in Chicago.
Geri O
Post by: A Man on June 01, 2005, 10:30:27 PM
I like C&C Drums.
Post by: Grayson Rech on June 06, 2005, 09:03:10 AM
Hoob
Sorry . . . the post begged to be ripped on
Okay I'm done now.
Post by: Brian Bolly on June 07, 2005, 02:06:40 PM
Keith Larsen, owner, was working at a pretty well-known east coast music shop called Gordon Miller Music - not quite as popular/large as Chuck's, but you get the idea. (He actually sold me my first set of Zildjians back in the day.)
Baltimore drum started around that time, Keith left GMM to make it a full-time venture and it became Maryland Drum more recently. As a drummer, my largest complaint (when I priced a kit out a few years back) was the wait time. However, they are some of the sweetest sounding drums I've heard, ever, and make the wait entirely worth it.
I love my Yamaha Tour Custom kits (birch/mahogany shells), but when I'm ready for the maple kit it'll be a M.D. without a doubt.
He also offers a line of steam-bent single piece snare drum shells made out of some pretty exotic woods. Very cool.
http://www.marylanddrum.com/
Post by: Hal Mahan on June 16, 2005, 07:13:43 PM
Bottom line, it`s the guy driving the kit, no matter what brand/style/heads/mics/sticks/pedals/whatever,,,,
Hal Mahan