Drum hardware thread?

[Ermz]

Just wondering whether it may be a good idea to have a stickied drum hardware thread, where a bunch of the more knowledgeable drum folks list off some recommended skins, cymbals, muting gels/rings, kick pads etc. and what purposes each serve?

We have compendiums for almost everything, and Oz's thread definitely does a good job instructing folks on the basics of drum recording, but it would be nice to have a more drummer-centric thread where the benefits of certain products are discussed.

I know this may not be a huge topic to most here since I would imagine they are content with their sample packs and have no desire to ever record a real drumkit. There are still those of us around that would like to learn more about actual engineering though!

 

[greyskull]

even not as a drummer(i've recorded quite enough)
, i can certainly recommend the following.

D.w Hardware is mint
Evans Hd Dry or St dry is great on snare with a bit of moongel under the mic to help tame the ring that cranking the snare up causes.
Evans Ec2's are ace on toms.
Evans EQ3 is awesome on kick.
Sabian vault 20"crahes are awesome.
For some more hardcore/slower stuff (etid), some rides can make a better crash than a crash (does that make sense?) Zildjian Avedis ride works well here.

 

[GeertSamuel]

My usual setup is this.

Pearl Masters MMX:
- 22x18 > Trigger to preamp / Audix D6
- 10x8 > SM57 / MD421
- 12x9 > SM57 / MD421
- 13x10 > MD421
- 16x14 > MD421
- 18x16 > MD421 / AKG D112

Overheads: Neumann KM184 main OH's & Rode NT5's on China's
Hihat: Beyerdynamic Opus 52 / AKG C451
Ride(s): Beyerdynamic Opus 52 / AKG C451

Available snares: Ultracast 14x5.5 & Pearl Virgil Donatti Signature snare.
Snare mics: SM57 top / SM7 bottom

Heads: ( Top / Bottom )
Kicks: Remo Powerstroke 3 with falam slam pad / Remo Ambassador kick
Toms: Remo Emperor or Pinstripe (depends on kit) / Remo Ambassador
Snare: Remo Powerstroke, Remo Ambassador, Remo Pinstripe all coated / Remo Ambassador hazy snare

Available Preamp: SM Pro Audio PR8E (with BLA mod), RME Ocatmic (adat), Black Lion Audio Auteur

My initial recording setup was pointed towards getting all the drum recording possibilities in order.

Since I kept busy with mostly doing sessions throughout last year, I always use this kit which sound the best. If I'm doing metal I usually create an awesome kick sample with the D6, then use the triggers into preamp and replace them later.

I've always experienced a lot of drummers do not know how to tune their kit, and it sounds like crap, so only getting their kit sounding good can take a whole day before you actually can record some drums.

I also have a big array of cymbals to pick out. I have this extended collection because I occassionally I have recorded more rock / fusion type of stuff, which doesn't work really well with a big ass heavy cymbal collection.

Cymbals: All Sabian ( B-endorsement )
Hi-hats: AAXcelerator Hats 14", AAX Stage hats
Crash: AAXplosion 18", AA Metal-X 17", AA Medium Crash 15", AAXplosion Fast 16", AAX O-Zone 18"
Chinese: 14" AA Metal-X (Custom), 18" AA Metal-X, 20" AA Metal-X, AAXtreme 15", AAXtreme 17", AAX 12" Mini
Splash: 12" AAX Splash

All the recommended hardware would be Pearl.

 

[DeclanWhite]

i assume you mean 'studio' drum tips.

i pretty much have none thus far. as i've been directing my drumming/learning at live settings for the last 4 or so years.

but what greyskull said is pretty true.

i prefer the sound of a more open snare though.

alot of guys use the zildjian avedis sweet ride for the last thing he said.

i use pearl 1000 stands as they are the best value in my opinion, and i use dw 9000 pedals, as they are my personal favourite.

i use evans g2 over g1 on my toms, remo powersonic on my kick and clear g2 over 300 hazy on my snare.

my drums are 10x5.5, 14x10, 20x18 keller shells (same as just about every custom company)
and my snare is a pearl 13x6.5 Reference 20ply (amazing for everything especially metal)

my cymbals... i have ALOT i currently own about 5 chinas, 3 crashes, one ride, 2 splashes, two bells.. just shit that i don't need but are nice to have.

i recommend for recording thinner shimmery cymbals (especially hats) such as sabian vault, aax, hhx evolution, zildjian a custom, k custom, meinl byzance there is alot of good cymbals out there, you just need to know what will sound good for the particular project i guess.

 

[drew_drummer]

Good idea!

Our drummer has a very nice Pearl ELX kit; it's not particularly high end, but it sounds really good. As a aspiring drummer without a kit, this thread is useful for when I think about buying myself a kit.

 

[greyskull]

'open' sounding snares have no place in my studio ;-)
Just kidding, maybe if you're playing jazz.

 

[wishtheend]

The Pearl Eliminator (2000) series hardware is awesome. Check out the snare and hihat stand specifically. Also a huge fan of Zildjian Ks and As (not A customs, just regular Avedis series). Not very loud, but such good sound. Stay away from Zs series haha

Typically use Remos for all heads (Emperor/Ambassador toms, Controlled Sound snare) but still love Aquarian Super Kick II. Also use the Aquarian double kick pad. Not a fan of rings, so use moon gel when needed.

 

[Nebulous]

For very resonant drums I would recommend Aquarians for the toms as they tame the resonance well. Just spent some time with a drummer and helped him tune his drums with my tension watch and the aquarians held up well.

Actually, that would be a big recommendation from me: Tama tension watch. Between that, your ears and a few hours tuning drums becomes a breese.
Toms seem to work well when you pick a tension for the batter skin then go about 5 tighter on the reso skin. Floor toms can still be a bitch and I'm not quite as confident with snares yet.

 

[lolzgreg]

PDP 9000 hardware is awesome and very inexpensive for the price.

All Sabian HHX cymbals rule. The Paragon 19" China is the best Chinese cymbal in existance IMHO.

Pearl Eliminator for kick- all the drummers love it and it can be seperated into two seperate pedals when you buy the double pedal without the purchase of additional hardware. Different cams for each pedal allow you to easily change the feel of the attack. The beater is four sided for different tones.

Evans EC2s on toms. The Evans Generas for the resonant side. Evans Genera ST or STdry for the snare. EMAD for the kick drum on both sides seems to do nice.

 

[Damian B]

After a lot of experimenting I've found these to be my favorite:

Kick: Aquarian Superkick II
Snare: Evans Genera Dry, or sometimes Remo Emperor X
Toms: Evans EC2 (for metal or anything that requires a fat sound with minimal overtones) or Remo Coated Emperors for more sustain (Jazz/Blues, etc)

As far as cymbals go, I've taken a liking to the Istanbul Traditional crashes. I use Zildjian New Beat hats (early 80s series) though I'm not as big a fan of the newer series.

Wuhan Chinas are awesome (and cheap)

I like big heavy rides. Paiste Rude Rides are pretty sweet, and Zildjian Ks are awesome (not as heavy though).

I use a pair of Axis Longboard pedals.


:Smokin:

 

[ahjteam]

belongs to equipment section

 

[ChrisTanakaCanwell]

Really depends on the playing style of the drummer and the amount of space that you want the drums to occupy in your mix... overmuffled heads and Z3s work if you're going for a tight sound to leave a lot of room for the other instruments, but IMO most drummers that pay attention to their tone would be pissed if they were forced to use a setup like that.

Generally you can't go wrong with Aquarian heads. To me they sound like they have less of a plastic-y attack than the remo heads that most people are using (which you may or may not like). Tone aside, the craftsmanship is far superior to remos which makes them way easier to tune and they're usually a lot more consistent from batch to batch. Although I would stay away from Performance-2s on toms and Regulators on the front kick head, unless you're going for a very muffled sound.

Muffling can be good in certain situations, but I think a lot of people use O-Rings, Moongel, duct tape, etc. as a crutch because they can't get the snare and toms in tune. Most of the time if you hear a bad sounding overtone ring it's caused by a tuning problem, which will be less noticeable after it's muffled but it's still going to sound like shit, just quieter.

Also it's usually best to stay away from thick crashes/chinas... they typically won't sound very good recorded and they don't seem to last any longer than the thin ones because of the decreased pliability of the cymbal.

Our drummer has a very nice Pearl ELX kit; it's not particularly high end, but it sounds really good. As a aspiring drummer without a kit, this thread is useful for when I think about buying myself a kit.

Exports are badass! Some of the best drum tones I've ever gotten live were from well-tuned export kits. Just try to stay away from muffling if you get one; they're very punchy sounding shells but don't have a whole lot of tone in the resonance like a higher end set would.

All Sabian HHX cymbals rule. The Paragon 19" China is the best Chinese cymbal in existance IMHO.

+1!

 

[Ermz]

Awesome. Great info guys, keep it coming!

Lasse, should this perhaps be renamed and moved over to Equipment? I didn't actually intend for *this* thread to turn into the one I proposed!