This is just a video of drummer Benny Greb laying down some awesome grooves in his studio. Notice the different combinations of snare, and bass drum tones he uses together, and the kind of feel he puts into his grooves. Enjoy!
There is no doubt that acoustic drums are extremely loud. If you want to have any kind of longevity as a musician, you absolutely need to protect your hearing. Fortunately there are many options for doing just that these days. Earplugs have evolved over time, and now come in a variety of different shapes, colors, and styles. I have listed a few of those below.
Standard Foam
Foam earplugs are probably the most tried and true of all of the models of earplugs that are available out there. They provide more than sufficient hearing protection in most musical situations. I keep a huge bag of these with me at all times, no matter what I am doing. You can get some huge boxes of these at Home Depot if your in the market for an economy pack.
Plastic with Hole
This style of plug can be great for certain things due to the level of noise that they let in. They come hollowed out in the middle, thereby only blocking a portion of the sound. This can be good for really quiet playing, or on gigs where you need to be extra conscious of dynamics.
Attached Plastic/Foam
This is just a standard set of plastic or foam plugs that is attached by a cord. It’s the same level of hearing protection, but much easier to keep track of.
Vic Firth Cans
These come either with the headphone option, or without. The headphones can be great for recording, as they block just the right amount of sound when in the studio, and are comfortable enough to wear for long sessions. These cans are fairly inexpensive, and durable, making them a solid investment for any drummer.
Custom Plugs/Monitors
If you have the money, this is the best way to protect your hearing. There are a few companies that make custom molded ear plugs, and in ear monitors. I purchased my in ears from a company called In Ear Systems. I have taken them on the road, and regularly use them for multiple artists I trigger backing tracks for, and they have always worked great for me. Their in ears come with a detachable cable feature, so you only have to buy a new cable if yours breaks, and not a whole new set of monitors. I have linked their site HERE so go check them out if you are in the market.
I recently discovered this drummer while watching R&B artist Maxwell’s performance on the Grammy’s. I first noticed the unusually dry, trashy tones he was using, and then got one glance of his setup, and had to find out who he was. As it turns out, Chris “Daddy” Dave has played and recorded with other big name artists such as Kenny Garrett, Dolly Parton, Pat Metheny, Me’shell N’Degeocello, TLC, Toni Braxton, Mos Def, Common, Maxwell, Talib Kweli, Jill Scott, Mint Condition (Janet Jackson World Tour), Yolanda Adams, Robert Hurst Trio, Donald Brown Trio, Soulful Symphony and Reginald Veal, and many others.
The only thing that compares to the uniqueness of this guys tone and playing style, is his setup. As far as I can tell the largest kit this guy uses is only 3 or 4 peices. He will use either 1 or 2 snare drums, and sometimes one tom. His drums are placed in a rather uncommon pattern around him, leaving room for all of his cymbals to be right in front of him. The only way to truly understand his playing is to see him in action so below I have placed a few videos and pictures of this innovative drummer. Follow THIS LINK to visit Chris’ myspace if you want to learn more about him. Hope you enjoy!
Chris Playing with Maxwell at the 2010 Grammy’s
Chris with the Chris Dave Trio Playing “Nefertiti” at Charlie Wrights in London
There is no better method of exploring snare tones, than by simply being forced to get certain sounds of the drums you have on hand in a studio situation. It can be frustrating at times when you know what sound you want to achieve, but just don’t know how to get there. I have personally been into really big, floppy, fat snare tones recently. For some reason my taste has gravitated toward that sound in the past few months, and I am constantly exploring different ways of getting there. I have done a couple of posts on a vintage Ludwig marching snare that I picked up a while ago in a music shop. I had no idea how it would perform in a studio environment, or how it would sound under a mic. I recently tracked it on the new Julie the Band EP (coming out in the next month sometime) and was ecstatic with the results. This drum sounded HUGE, and had tons of body with a graceful, smooth low end, and lots of attack. I unfortunately don’t have the recording of it quite yet, but I want to give you an idea of how I achieved this sound.
I obviously used a few muffling techniques to get there. Below, I have listed a few of those techniques, plus some others that I know of, and have used before.
1) Putting a Piece of Tape on the Head:
I know you have probably heard of this or tried it many times, but I do something a little differently. I always make sure that the tape strip is touching both the head, and the rim of the drum. I find that securing the tape to the rim kills much more vibration that simply laying the tape flat on the head
2) Taping a Wrapped Quarter to the Rim
I recently learned this from a sound engineer that I recorded with. For this, you will need a strip of duct tape (which by the way I use for all of my muffling, as it sticks securely to the head) and a quarter. You first take the quarter and lay it on one end of the tape. You then wrap it once or twice so it is completely encased in tape, and smooth on both sides. Tape the quarter to the rim right on the edge so its not stuck to the head, but left free to bounce. The quarter only bounces on loud beats leaving them big and open, and making your ghost notes more tight and defined.
3) Start Taping Stuff to the Head
This is when you want those truly fat, huge sounding snare tones. In my opinion cardboard is the best thing you can tape to the head to deaden the sound. I take a small piece of cardboard and fold it, and then cover it completely in tape to make sure its secure. I usually place it at the top of the head so that I don’t hit it, but many drummers put it right in the center, and cover almost the whole drum with it. People also tape other object to the head such as wallets, and tissue paper. Below I have put a pic of my version of this, and one of renowned session musician Joey Waronker using this same technique.
The 6 stroke roll is probably my favorite rudiment of all time, next to the single paradiddle. I like it not only for it’s awesome hand development/control properties, but also for it’s easy drum set application. It’s widely known that applying rudiments to the drum kit is a great method for developing creative groove and fill ideas, but some rudiments lend themselves to the kit better than others. Before I go any further, I have provided a written version of the sticking below.
I specifically like this rudiment for it’s various accent, and phrasing possibilities. You can add or take away various accents to create different ideas, and you can phrase the 6 notes as different note values over the same tempo to create changes in feel. If you gain control over these variations, you will eventually get to a point where you can mix and match them, while moving them around the kit to create endless solo and fill possibilities. I have provided a short video below demonstrating some of these concepts on a pad to give you an idea of what I am talking about. Sometime in the near future, I will do another post on this rudiment, but will demonstrate all of the ideas on a kit. Hope you enjoy!
