Setup Tips (Hard Hitter)

[Fusion2]

i have an o'l buddy coming by to make samples next week, ok, he beats the hell out of the drums but is ultra fast that/his way...

i've talked to a # of techs about the kick drum setup, some say use a blanket, one uses a cinderblock inside with the head off, of course with different mic postions/placement...

i recorded him years ago and the cymbles were to high picthed, this is in the mixing/mixer adjustments i believe, any help for the demon from hell drummer? thanks for any input or links...

peace...

[Rimshot]

With a real heavy hitter you are always going to have a problem. No amount of EQ will make the drums sound good. I can play very loud and it may sound like I'm hitting hard, but I'm actually not. There is a ceiling of sound that can only be pushed through by technique. Hard hitting will give distortion not volume. There is only so much pressure you can apply to a drumhead before the strange reverberations occur and you get distortion. You can only strike a cymbal so hard before it will start to bend and distort the sound. A drummer with good technique knows how to pay the bounce off of the head and a quick recovery will give you a stronger more resonant sound. That's just plain physics. A drummer that tries to "play through" the head, usually gets a dead sound with plenty of attack but no resonance. Cymbals will sound high pitched and "tinny".

If you can't get the drummer to stroke the drums more, then your only recourse is to go with much heavier or oil filled heads. They will at least give you a "fighting chance" to get "drum sound". Wickedly heavy cymbals too. This gets expensive. Why not just talk tom the drummer and suggest that you are going to try something a bit different and you're going for a mellower sound. Then when he hears it, he may realize that it just sounds better. Don't dump a lot on him with criticism, treat him with "kid gloves" and just maybe it will all work out.

[Fusion2]

agreed, this fello hits the toms so hard you can hear the other toms ring from it, let me ask this, his drum rolls are intensely fast from roto to floor tom, that in itself is not a prob as he must maintain even presure to matain a fast/even beat, it's the snare and random tom hits that cook the VU's when he's really into the songs beat or just about to enter a fast tempo...

just tell him to kool it i guess, don't wanna cramp his style as he becomes a standard/general like drum mach yup, he needs an attude adjustment but he's very good....

sigh, thanks, great advice, anyone else? please...