Drummers share your wisdom please

[blackkrosses]

I, personally, don't like taping, gelling, muffling the drums in any way. That "ring" can be tuned out, if it's an annoying overtone/harmonic, but a lot of the "ring" that sound guys/engineers/guitarists want to get rid of is really the true voice of the drum. They're not built to sound like cardboard boxes.

If you're close mic'ing everything and you don't like the ring, try some other mic'ing techniques. The ring is what lets the drum be heard above/among the other instruments. You're playing acoustic instruments that have to compete with whatever electronics the other guys in the band show up with. Don't muffle them!

+1

I also do not muffle my drums (excluding my kick, though there is a slight overtone).

snares especially need some kind of overtone in a dense mix. That's why you rarely see dampeners on snares anymore. One thing I dislike about 70's production is the super dry snare.

The Albini snare sounds PERFECT to me. IE Neurosis' Times of Grace.

[Discö Rice]

I keep a small hand towel loosely wadded up against the batter head of my kick drum, mostly because it changes the feel, but it doesn't really affect the sound of a 32" long drum. I also use 1/8 of a moon gel  or less on my snare, just to  take away a little sustain, because otherwise it rings like a fucking bell. St. Anger style. Still has enough overtone to cut and sound gigantic, though. My rack tom gets no muffling, but my floor tom has an Aquarian Superkick II on it which has a little bit of built in muffling, because 16" is a shallow depth for a 22" tom, which makes it naturally ringy, and I kinda want it to sound like a kick drum anyway.

[gatorsnot]

22" tom?   You gotta photo of that motherfucker?  I've got a 20" I use but damn...your schwartz is bigger than mine.

[Discö Rice]

[blackkrosses]

YES

[chille01]

I never noticed that the drummer I play with does the "bury the beater" thing until we recorded and I went to mix the drums.  Some beats sounded more choked then others, so I watched his foot the next time we played.  Yep, he does bury it on certain hits.  He also has huge problems with his kick drum walking away on him when he plays, and I think its caused by the same thing.

[chlorpromazine]

I, personally, don't like taping, gelling, muffling the drums in any way. That "ring" can be tuned out, if it's an annoying overtone/harmonic, but a lot of the "ring" that sound guys/engineers/guitarists want to get rid of is really the true voice of the drum. They're not built to sound like cardboard boxes.

If you're close mic'ing everything and you don't like the ring, try some other mic'ing techniques. The ring is what lets the drum be heard above/among the other instruments. You're playing acoustic instruments that have to compete with whatever electronics the other guys in the band show up with. Don't muffle them!

agreed

Lots of folks try to tune to a drum sound that they hear on an album where everything is isolated, mic'd, and dampened. That shit won't work in your jam room or any other live situation with amps cranked up. Tune for the fundamental note and attack you want, and your drums will sound great up against amplification. When you dampen your drums, you're removing a part of your sound from the mix.

[cat shepard]

Guy that I was gonna buy the drums from texted and said "my ex wife went and sold them drums out from under me aint that some shit man?" I didn't even text back. $250.00 set of drums that got away. Im gonna get some drums I am focused.

[At_Giza]

In my experience that means he found someone who would pay more, or immediately (like day of sale posting).

[Discö Rice]

DAMN!!!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TAMA-Artstar-5-pc-Monster-Tom-Shell-Kit-Cordia-inside-ply-black-wrap-Scarce-/160676179449?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item25690bedf9

[Discö Rice]

Also a hell of a deal.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tama-Rock-Star-Drum-Set-w-Hardware-Zildjian-Cymbals-/230696740362?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item35b698e60a

[JohnLSD]

Good luck on your hunt...Heres a couple of tips that work well for me.

As said earlier, buy new heads (top and bottom) for all your drums including the snare..also on most cheaper second hand kits the snare wires are usually shot. Invest in a good wire and it will make a world of difference.
Tell the Drum guy at your local music shop what sound your after and he/she will help you choose the right heads. Most shops Will also install the heads for you. Watch what they do.
I tune bottom heads on toms at a much higher pitch than the top. The top head is tuned to the lowest possible pitch without wrinkles. I found that you get the attack from the top head and the bottom head gives you your tone.
If the bottom head is too loose you get bow like noise that most people try to fix with tape. If the bottom head is too tight it will choke the drum sound...work on finding a happy medium. Alot of people tune both heads to even tension but I find that the higher bottom head method is much more effective.

If you want crack from your snare drum, crank the bottom head right up. Its something alot of players do not know about and they think there is something wrong with the drum or the heads, but its mostly bad tuning. With the bottom head cranked you can almost tune your top head anyway you like.
If you want a fat, wet sound, Tune the top head right down and muffle the head to your liking. If you want the high cracking sound simply tune the top head up and take the muffling off.

If you want to control the overtones use moongel or similar..gaffa tape kills the tone too much because it doesnt vibrate with the head.

There a hundreds of different hints and tips to give you but its mostly in trying heaps of different tunings, seeing things done first hand and asking questions that you will get your drums sounding killer.

Enjoy.

[cat shepard]

Still on the hunt. Thanks for all the information. I will post pics when I get my drums. Being that the $250.00 set got away, I am thinking I will have to save a little more before making a purchase taking some extra time, but I remain focused on getting these drums, I love to play music and am anti-social, and an asshole to boot. So I am gonna get some drums and just record my own shit and maybe meet some like minded people through the demos or maybe not. If not I will just record till death.