Capturing THAT drum sound of an era

[bclarkio]

Wow, classic 70's sound on that Klaatu, Now that's PHAT!

And you're right about Infinity when I'm listening to the drum sound, but when I'm listening to the song I don't mind it; I can hear the vocals and guitar fine. When Steve Perry's singing, I could give a damn about drum sound. What a talent!

My very first date was taking my best friend's sister to see Dave Mason. This was in the fall of '74, Journey was the opening act. They hadn't released their album yet, so I didn't know who they were or who Aynsley Dunbar was.

I guess the sound engineer wasn't doing a very good job, because his drums sounded kind of muddy. He played a lot of notes, and his solo was blistering, but somehow I wasn't impressed. It was easy to like the music, though:



In contrast, Dave Mason's drummer (I think it was Rick Jaeger), sounded great, despite his lack of pyrotechnics.

It was an early lesson for me that the better[?]/faster drummer doesn't always come out on top.

[jean krupa]

What would VINNIE do ?

For that matter, what would any high profile drummer do?

Other than play the parts as they feel they should be played
with some preparation or not, they would not change
their drum heads, use tape, change sticks, hunt down
drums from the era.....maybe they might use a different
snare drum(s).

The lesson I take away from them is the Playing Counts,
not the drums.

Did Vinnie go out and buy a Police - like set when he joined Sting ?
Did Simon buy a Porcaro sounding set when he joined Toto ?
Did Bissonette buy some large drums when he toured w/ Spinal Tap ?
Did Weckl mimic Bozzio's set when he toured/recorded w/ Brecker Bros ?
Did Dennis Chambers take all the ring out of his drums when he toured with
Steely Dan ?
Did Sean Rickman bring an 18" BD and a Ricky Wellman set when he toured last year with Herbie, Wayne, Marcus Miller and Sean Jones ?
Did Gadd change anything (other than his grip) when he toured with Clapton?
Did Peter change out all his drums when he toured with Steely Dan ?
Did Keith mimic Vinnie's drum sound and configuration when he got on Sting's band ?

[willyz]

Did Keith mimic Vinnie's drum sound and configuration when he got on Sting's band ?

While I'm sure high profile guys consider little details in tuning, cymbal, and snare choice for their gigs, the only real exception to all this may be Keith Carlock- you just can't away with that style kick drum tuning on every gig.

I can only speak from my experience- the only times I've ever specifically altered my sound or gear choices (besides common sense, size of venue, overall style of music, etc) was for playing musical theater, which can be very specific and if you're playing Meet Me In St Louis, you're going to want a different sound/rig than if you were playing Jesus Christ Superstar.

That being said, the only other instance I can think of is if the MD or band leader asks me for something specifc.

[Pocketplayer]

...and here's a good lesson on the failure of banking one's position on the WWVD argument.

I feel ya Jean K...BUT...this is a 70's songset gig...ala it is supposed to go back in time...dig?
I WANT to capture that sound for this gig...part of the appeal to me...I want those few people/
guys to go..."Oh yeah man, I remember that sound!" Adds to the detail and fits my personality.

If Boz or Mike McDoanld said I got the gig...very cool...would not necessarily go out and get a pitch
device to nail Jeff's toms...just capture his groove. This ain't Boz or Mike...it's some dudes named
Larry, Moe, and Curly who play covers.

1st RULE: You do not try to be like Vinnie in DRUM CLUB.
2nd RULE: You DO NOT try to be like Vinnie in DRUM CLUB.

[DSOP]

One time I saw Jeff playing at the Baked Potato, and he was playing Gretsch drums with the bottom heads removed! Sounded great!

[jean krupa]

One time I saw Jeff playing at the Baked Potato, and he was playing Gretsch drums with the bottom heads removed! Sounded great!

That's part of my focus. It doesn't so much matter the equipment (two or single headed toms, pitch, size [does size matter?] etc, because the
essence of the playing will be predicated by the actual drummer...always.

Vinnie willl always sound like Vinnie
because his musical identity is so strong.

Even thouogh you are not a high profile player (you are in MY book),
YOUR drumming will be what they remember MORE than
the drum sound. I'm just sayin' .......

[Clint Hopkins]

Joe, you might get something good from this video. Good luck. Let us know how it goes.

[Pocketplayer]

Thanks Clint...one of my favorite TV shows is American Restoration...it is all about
going back to the vintage period and restoring what once was. I am doing the same
with this gig.

Boy, the sound obtained in that vid is probably as opposite as I like...even if an
original artist had that sound, I would opt to alter the tuning...hopefully no
Eagles tunes on the set! lol I guess I am not as flexible as I thought...there are
limitations to my preference...and I have all the personal flexibility as I like.

I also am not going to tune per song...too much effort. Just after a comfortable
sound, probably like the Ansley stuff on JS.

That said, I really love certain sounds coming from that era, mainly the
ones posted already. I grew up playing a lot of these songs note for note like the
original artist, trying to absorb their feel from tune to tune. I'm probably more
anal about this than some, but that's part of the fun for me, the attention to all
the original details on what was once vinyl. Only today I know about overdubbing
and adding other sonic elements. That P Gabriel SO video series lays out the
extreme editing on a tune like In Your Eyes...remember the day you thought Manu
played that in one take?

[Clint Hopkins]

Looking back, I could see you might not want to go that low.

I found this quote in Modern Drummer from a 1981 interview with Steve Smith that might help better than that video:

He has two snare drums which he alternately plays, a regular Sonor metal 6 1/2" deep snare a Slingerland Spitfire. On his snare, he uses a Fiberskyn 2 head.
"That's the best snare drum sound I've ever heard because it gives the drum a muffled sound. I don't like the snare sound to be real ringy and I don't like the sound if you
put a muffler or tape on it either, because then it's too thuddy. This new head gives it the crack and more of a funky sound."