Best Drum Kit for Recording?

R

recordingsounds

New member
All,

I'm relatively new to the recording scene (about 3 years now). Until
recently I've been recording with a drum machine until, that is, I did
a recording with a real drummer and full drum set - Woah! What a
difference that makes to have a real drummer and real drums miced!

Now there's no turning back - Every (serious) song I record now has
to use a real drummer/drums. Unfortunately the drummer I was using
is no longer available. He had his own drum set and studio where we
could record - so I'm looking for a drum kit for my home studio and
will recruit another drummer soon.

Can anyone recommend a good drum kit (new or used) for recording?
I write/record mostly roots rock, blues, folk stuff. e.g., Van Morrison
Amos Lee, Norah Jones to Rolling Stones type stuff. Any recommendations?
Thanks!
 
For the type of music you listed, I would suggest getting a thin-shelled Maple kit.

However, the "best sounding kit" is still going to depend on the player, how the drums are tuned and the room in which they are being recorded!!!
 
Yeah dont underestimate the room! One of the reasons your drums might have sounded so good is because your friend was (most likely) recording them in an open, acoustically treated space.

My kit is in my garage which is surprisingly pretty dead sounding from all the junk piled in there. But a not so shocking realization is that my drum tracks always come out sounding thin and cold (maybe its just the weather in the garage :D)

When I moved them out of the garage into the open room in my house with tall ceilings, etc, they sounded 10 times louder and more powerful and I was only using 2 overheads and a kick mic :eek: So I guess im never recording in the garage again


Oops Sorry for the small rant. good luck though! The best thing to do is find specific songs you like and maybe post a clip or two here, then people can be of more help
 
Do you have a budget? What is the most you want to spend? A good point has already been made. If you can't tune them or find someone to tune them for you then it may not matter what drums you get. The player is a nother big part of the equation as well. :)
 
recordingsounds said:
All,

I'm relatively new to the recording scene (about 3 years now). Until
recently I've been recording with a drum machine until, that is, I did
a recording with a real drummer and full drum set - Woah! What a
difference that makes to have a real drummer and real drums miced!

Now there's no turning back - Every (serious) song I record now has
to use a real drummer/drums. Unfortunately the drummer I was using
is no longer available. He had his own drum set and studio where we
could record - so I'm looking for a drum kit for my home studio and
will recruit another drummer soon.

Can anyone recommend a good drum kit (new or used) for recording?
I write/record mostly roots rock, blues, folk stuff. e.g., Van Morrison
Amos Lee, Norah Jones to Rolling Stones type stuff. Any recommendations?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Get yourself a pile of music store catalogs with drum sets and spend some time reading the descriptions very carefully. Also go to some manufacturer's web sites and read about their designs. You'll start to realize that some drum sets are designed for live/stage use and some are designed for studio use. They use different types of wood and vary the shell thickness and length to arrive at different results.

Generally, for stage use, drums should project very loudly but not ring too much. In the studio we don't need loud, instead we need full rich tone with "some" ring. Surprisingly, the ringing sounds okay in a lot of recordings. Furthermore, if that natural ring is missing, the drums will sound too dead. If you try to replace it using reverb, it is damn difficult to keep it sounding natural.

Different drumhead types and thicknesses also change the sound of the drums dramatically. When you buy drums new, they usually come with cheapo heads for economy. A lot of drummers promptly replace them with the heads of their choice.

There is a lot more to know about drums but those are some of the most basic things to consider.

Hope this helps.
RawDepth
 
While I am partial to birch for recording - I agree the type of music you reference would possibly lend itself to maple. For recording, less is normally better (smaller sized drum shells, smaller, thinner cymbals, etc).

As already indicated - choice of heads, tuning skills the right mic's and dozens of factors play into a great drum tone. However, the player and the room are more important than any other factors.

A good player can make average drums sound good - but a bad room can compromise the recorded sound of even the best drums.
 
This is an academic question.... Buy the best drums you can afford.

The limiting factor is your budget here, not the availability of excellent drums.
 
Good luck on your quest, I seriously mean it.
There is a pretty good amount of investment to look forward to as well asthe needed mics and interfaces.

In the mean time you may consider using some of the many folks out there that enjoy collaborating over the internet, trading off their drum tracks for your services, or just album credit

(check out recordingprojects.com and collaborationcentral.com)

I know I do it all the time myself. It gives me some variety and keeps my chops up.

Heck.. If you connect with someone good , you may not want to buy your own kit. With all the kits I own and keep set up, I always have to break mine down to let the incoming drummers use their own kit, even though mine often sounds tons better. It is what they are used to playing.
 
Room is the main thing and mics. I bought a set of drums for my studio and researched all the brands and the way they sounded and build quality. As far as sound you can find a set by each manufacturer that will give you sound you personally like. My decision came down to quality of the kit and hardware. I went went Sonor 3005 series. They dont make this series anymore (model numbers change, now the 3007). The hardware is unbelievable. So much nicer than any other the other name brands in the price range. The drums are shock mounted and the mounting system has to be seen to be appreciated. Here are some pics of the mountings

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I would say go for something quality... as for maple vs birch thats something for you to decide, but really listen to the shells and make sure they all tune up to a solid note and get to know the kit before you buy. I have a lot of drums but before purchasing them, I'd line up a few of the same sized shell and tune them all up. There was always one that sounded best.
 
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