As I get more and more session experience, I learn more about how to get good tones in the studio, especially snare tones. The overall tone you get out of a drum is determined many factors, such as how you tune the batter and resonant heads, what type of wood, and the quality of wood the drum is made of, the quality of the head, how you hit the drum, and about a thousand others. It takes time to develop a studio tuning technique that consistently gets you good tones, and makes micing and finding tones easier for the engineer. It also takes time to learn certain tricks you can use to deaden an annoying, or obnoxious tone that you cannot seem to get rid of with tuning alone. These tricks come especially in handy when dealing with snare drums, because their are a lot more variables to deal with, mainly the snares themselves. There is one product that I rely on very heavily to help me with this, and that I never go to a session without. The product is called Moongel, and its a priceless little tool that you can pick up for about $5. The product is pictured below, and is nothing more than a small blue gel pad that you can stick on your drums to drastically reduce ring, and sustain.
Moongel
It looks tiny, but has a greater effect than you would probably imagine. I often use these pads on the bottom of my snare drums, in order to keep the overall tone of the drum but reduce the unnecessary rattle that the snares sometimes produce. You can also use them on the batter or resonant heads of you toms to kill some of the overtone. If you don’t have any moongel handy, and you are in a situation where you need to kill tone, there are some other tricks you can use to get the job done. Duct tape is a great deadening tool, and lots of drummers will tape various things like tissue, or cardboard to their drums to achieve the same thing. Try experimenting with different types of tape, and adhesive products that will stick to your drums, and deaden ring. Have fun finding your own studio tones!
Every now and then I will post a product review of something that I get the opportunity to use in my playing. I recently advised one of my private students on buying a new drum kit, and he could not be happier with his decision. After exploring a few options, and considering my advice, he went with a Pearl Forum series kit. Let me start off by saying that for the money, I believe that this is one of the best, if not the best beginner kit you can buy. I should also mention that my first drum kit was a Pearl Forum, and it worked great for me until I reached the point of upgrading. Below are a few pictures so you can get an idea of what this kit looks like.
Pearl Forum Series Drum Kit
Between the time I owned one of these kits and now, Pearl has made some fantastic improvements. The first thing I noticed after setting up and tuning this kit was the tone. The tone of these drums far exceeded my expectation, having known they were purchased for less than $600. The shells are 6 ply Poplar, but replicate the tonal quality of a decent Birch or Mahogany drum. Pearl has also improved their tom mounting design, as these drums are equipped with with Pearls integrated suspension system mounts. This system eliminated the need to drill holes in the shells of your drums, which greatly improves tone and sustain. They also now hook to the rim of the drum, (unlike the Pearl Optimount System,) which makes tuning your drums less of a hassle.
Pearl Integrated Suspension System Tom Mount
Appearance is also important when purchasing a kit, and now Pearl offers black hardware on a few colors in this series (as pictured above) providing the beginning drummer the opportunity to own a sleek, expensive looking set. Their new low-mass lugs also help to increase resonance. All of these changes make this kit sound much better than one would expect. I would fully recommend this kit for anyone looking to buy their first drum set. Happy shopping!
Review of a Vintage Ludwig Marching Snare After Re-Furbishing
So I did a post a couple of weeks ago about a vintage Ludwig marching snare that I picked up at a music shop for $100. I recently re-furbished it and the finished product is fantastic! I have taken some pictures and below is the newly re-furbished drum. By the way, it’s a 15″ by 12″ marching snare in orange sparkle.
Batter Side/Snare Side
Now see what the finished product sounds like
Now for the changes I made. I thought I was going to have to replace both the top and bottom hoops, but to my excitement, it only looked like they were bent because the heads were torn and warped. I therefore only had to replace the heads, and get some new snares put on. The throwoff is still in great shape, and all of the tension rods (although rusty) and fine as well. For the top head I used a Remo Coated Ambassador. I want to be able to tune this snare a few different ways, and the coated ambassador is a versatile enough head to give me that option. On the bottom, I put a clear Ambassador, and a generic set of snares. The end result is awesome, and sounds beautiful on recording. For the particular recording I used it on, I tuned it really low, and put one moon gel on the top, and one on the bottom. The end result was a really fat, dirty tone that supported the vibe of the tune perfectly as the music was country/acoustic/singer songwriter stuff. I would like to thank the guys at Professional Drum Shop in Hollywood for always being so accommodating. For anyone who lives in the LA area, the guys at pro drums are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Below is a link to the post I did on this drum before re-furbishing. Enjoy!
It’s meaningless to have nice equipment if you don’t take care of it. The only real way to make sure your drums and hardware don’t get damaged is to get quality cases, especially if you gig and/or tour frequently. You might think that you have to spend a fortune on quality cases that will sufficiently protect your instruments, but this is not entirely true. The term, “you get what you pay for” definitely applies here, but a few companies make very high quality gear for the price. Obviously the ideal situation is to get hard cases for all your instruments, but if you don’t have the means to do that, there are still options. I recently went on the road for a month, and brutalized my gear, but avoided damage altogether by using Roadrunner drum cases. I have always used Roadrunner products, and never had a reason to switch. I use their soft drum bags, and their stick bag with the shoulder strap.
Roadrunner Soft Cases
To protect my cymbals, I found that SKB makes a great hard case that comes with individual pads to put between each cymbal to separate them. Their Hardware cases are also great, and all of their hard-cases come with wheels for easy transportation.
SKB Hard Cymbal Case
SKB Hardware Case
Lastly, Pelican makes some great cases for any electronics that you may be using. I use a small pelican case for my in ear monitors, but their cases are great for electronic drums/pads, or just cables and wires.
Pelican In Ear Monitor Case
All of these companies have great cases, but the ones I have listed and pictured are, I believe, the best that each of them have to offer. The bottom is that you have to protect your gear, and there are ways to save money while effectively doing so. Good Luck!
Review of a Vintage Ludwig Marching Snare Before Re-Furbishing
So I was recently in a local music shop, and picked up a vintage (I believe it’s from the 60′s) Ludwig marching snare in Orange Sparkle. the tone of it is amazing, and I am going to deem this post the “before,” and later I’ll do an “after” post when I’m done refurbishing it. I’m obviously planning on using it on a drum set and not as a marching snare. I want to use it mainly for studio situations, to obtain that highly sought after dirty, fat, beautiful snare drum tone that so many guys try to get these days. It’s becoming increasingly popular, even on the biggest pop records, and drummers obtain it in many different ways. To fatten and flatten the sound of your snare you can do anything from putting duct tape on the batter and/or resonant heads, to going crazy and covering the batter head with cardboard, and other muffling materials. Below is a picture of the drum in it’s current condition. I have not altered it in any way since I bought it, and I payed exactly $100 for it.
Ludwig Marching Snare
So the dimensions of this drum are obviously not typical to a snare that is commonly used in a drum set situation. A typical snare drum is 14″ in diameter, and anywhere from 3 to 7 or more inches deep. This drum has a 15″ diameter, and is 12″ deep. It is, however, a marching snare though, meaning its typically tuned very high to create that machine gun effect. I have never re-furbished a snare like this before, but I’m excited to play around with the different tones I can get out of it!
I’m gonna start the process by replacing the batter hoop, as it’s bent and warped in multiple places. I am also going to replace both the batter and resonant heads, and the snares as well. All of the lugs and screws are in seemingly good condition, a the throwoff works fine. Below I have recorded a sample of what the drum sounds like in it’s un-altered state.
It actually doesn’t sound that bad for having no changes made to it, but I’m excited to explore the possibilities with this new drum! Check back in a week or so, and see how it sounds. Thanks for reading!
There was a time early on in my playing when I would not dare go out of my comfort zone in terms of sticks and beaters. I had my Vic Firth (I have since switched to Vater) 5B’s, and my DW felt/hard rubber two way beater (plastic side only of course), and that was it. I was always baffled by other drummers’ stick bags, and honestly never even knew what the different kinds of sticks were, or what they were for. In music school I gained a basic understanding of what the different kinds of sticks could be used for, but this was just the tip of the iceberg for me. Only through experience and experimentation can one gain a deep understanding of the infinite number of textures and tones you can get out of a drum or cymbal simply by varying the type of stick or beater you use. Today my stick bag includes an essential selection of wooden sticks, brushes, mallets, and some other tools that help me to reproduce otherwise difficult tones in a live scenario.
As I have said before I work with a lot of singer songwriters, and they tend to have more texturally based, and even hand percussion based drum parts rather than strictly drum set parts on their records. This forces me to come up with very unconventional grooves to apply to the set, and allows me to get creative in my composition. For different dynamic levels of playing, I always keep at least two sizes of sticks in my bag. I personally use Vater for their durability, weight, and superior quality, but common stick sizes don’t vary much from company to company. For heavier playing I use standard 5B wood tips. I find that a wood tip gives me a greater sense of control, and a much warmer tone than a nylon tip. For lighter playing I use either the Josh Freese H220′s, or the 5A Los Angeles’. These sticks both have a narrower diameter, and allow me to play lighter with the same energy.
As far as texture is concerned, I often use brushes to reproduce soft hi hat tones, or even shaker tones. I find that leading on the snare (vs the hi-hat, ride, floor tom, etc…) with a brush is a great way to support soft vocal/solo guitar parts, and keep the energy. I prefer Vaters Wire Tap brushes, but also use Vic Firth brushes as they tend to have increased stiffness and strength. I also use the Vic Firths for heavier brush playing as they have a hard plastic handle, and the Vaters have a soft rubber handle.
Vater Wire Tap Brushes/Vic Firth Brushes
Another tool I often use to create delicate cymbal swells, and earthy snare tones are mallets. Mallets can be played exactly like wooden sticks, but just provide a much more tone based sound with less attack. I use Regal tip mallets of various softness for this.
Regal Tip Mallets
Another hugely important stick I use very regularly is the blast stick. There are almost as many varieties of blast sticks as there are regular wooden sticks, but I have a few pairs that I use religiously. The pair I use the most is made by Regal Tip and give a soft, full sound with just the right amount of attack so the listener is not overwhelmed by tone and ring. The secret lies in the plastic rods (vs wood rods used in most other blast sticks.) They are simply called wood handle blast sticks.
Regal Tip Wood Handle Blast Stick
The various sticks listed above are, I believe, essential to every drummers arsenal. With this collection, you will have an almost infinite number of combinations you can put together to create a countless array of textures and tones. Don’t restrict yourself to one pair of sticks, but feel free to mismatch them, and maybe even try throwing a shaker in one hand and see where that takes you. The key is experimentation so have fun!
Sorry guys I have been working a lot lately, and subsequently haven’t been able to post as much as I would like to. I’m off to work a little more at the moment so below I have just posted some Dave Weckl videos for you to watch and enjoy. I will do a more detailed post on Dave Weckl soon, but for the moment enjoy some of my favorite videos of his.
Demonstration of Loose Phrasing Around a Click Track
The Hi-Hats are perhaps the most versatile instruments on the drum kit. you can play them at virtually any dynamic level from extremely tight, to loud and sloshy. You can imply subtle rhythms, and add accents to spice up any groove. You can single handedly change the style of any groove by simply altering the hi-hat pattern. While this is all amazing, it is fairly obvious and well known. Recently, I have been playing around with something that I believe has only barely been explored and discussed, different hi-hat tones. Getting a different hat tone obviously requires one to get a new set of hats, but this might be more attainable than you think. I decided to start looking for different options, and ended up with a set of 17″ hats that I am more than happy with. These are actually not hi-hats at all, but two 17″ crashes that I have made into a set of dark, trashy sounding hats.
I wish I would have made this move long ago, and have since realized that every drummer should have a few sets of hats in their arsenal. I have found that for both live, and studio situations, many different hi-hat options is a must. As far as the uses for my new 17″ hats goes, I have found tons of appropriate musical situations for them. I suggest a darker set of hats for folk, country, singer songwriter, and pop situations, but don’t confine yourself to any style with these. Along with larger hats, you can also get a set of smaller hats which can be great for hip-hop, pop, and some rock situations. Below I have recorded my new set of 17″ “crash hats” (as I like to call them.) They consist of a 17″ Istanbul Agop dark crash on the bottom (which I did a review on in a previous post,) and a cracked Zildjian A custom Projection crash on top. The crack in the top cymbal brings a lot of character and depth to these hats.
17″ Hi-Hats
The following listening sample is a recording of my standard Zildjian 14″ k hats. This should give a nice basis for comparison for the sample above.
14″ Hi-Hats
As you can hear, there is a significant difference between the 14″ and 17″ hats. Not only can having these different options available be great in the studio or on a gig, but it can be great in practice. Sometimes when I step into the practice studio, I will put the 17′s up just for fun, and they inspire drastically different ideas and grooves that I would not normally play. I used these hats in a drum solo that I put up in a previous post, so go check that out for a good idea of what they sound like on a kit. I hope this review gives you some good ideas, and inspires you to explore your own hi-hat options!
No drummer, or musician for that matter, can argue the fact that Buddy Rich is one of the greatest drummers of all time. He was extremely innovative, and similar to the advances made by John Bonham in foot technique, Buddy Rich shed some much needed light on hand technique and finger control. One of his most notable accomplishments (for which he will be forever known) is called the “push pull.” It is a form of finger control that basically allows one to get twice the strokes with half the motion in one hand. it is a very finite, refined hand motion that, if mastered, allows one to comfortably move the stick with unbelievable speed and control, and very little effort or energy. Below is a video of another great drummer, Jojo Mayer, demonstrating this technique.
Jojo Mayer has made fantastic advances for modern hand technique as well. He has mastered the push pull, and has done amazing things for finger control as well. His DVD, “Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer” is definitely worth buying and working through.
Buddy Rich played mostly swing and big band and is most famous for his work with Count Basie, Frank Senatra, Tommy Dorsey, his own “Buddy Rich Big Band,” and way too many others to list. He also did major session work, and is featured on recordings for such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong. He was a master soloist, and maintained an almost flawless balance between chops, power, speed, and showmanship. A few of his videos are displayed below demonstrating some of his famous technique and style, so enjoy watching one of the masters of our craft!
Solo From Westside Story with the BR Big Band
One of Buddy’s Famous Drum Battles with the Great Gene Krupa
Artist Feature: Renowned Studio Musician Matt Chamberlain
I have a few drummers that I often look to for inspiration, and one of those guys is Matt Chamberlain. He is one of a few guys that do obscene amounts of session/studio work, and get called for major artist recordings on a regular basis. Some of the other notable drummers in this fairly small group are of course Josh Freese, Abe laboriel Jr., Kenny Aronoff, and Joey Waronker. Matt Chamberlain was one of my biggest inspirations in terms of using more dark, complex cymbal and snare tones. His sound is typically very earthy, and I believe that he pioneered some of the greatest drum sounds and ideas in modern, mainstream music. His resume is huge and you can learn more about him at www.mattchamberlain.com. He endorses Craviotto drums, and Istanbul Agop cymbals, both of which are typically associated with dry, earthy tones. As I have said before, I love finding videos of my favorite session drummers in the studio. The video below is of Matt Chamberlain laying down the drum tracks for an artist named George Stanford in the song “Big Drop.”
Matt Chamberlain Laying Down Drum Tracks
The following listening example is from The Wallflowers’ 1996 record “Bringing Down the Horse” for which Matt won a grammy for his work. Notice in this song entitled “One Headlight,” Matt never plays a traditional fill or even one crash cymbal.
Matt Chamberlain is arguably one of the greatest, and most musical drummers of our time. If you want to know more about him, go ahead and visit his website (linked above.) I’m sure I will be posting more of his videos in the future so check back for more!
Moongel
Pearl Integrated Suspension System Tom Mount
SKB Hardware Case
Pelican In Ear Monitor Case
Regal Tip Mallets
