birch vs maple for recording

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nick The Man
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Nick The Man

Nick The Man

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well so far my chocies have been the pacific CX series which is maple or the pacific FS series which is birch .... i am buying these drums for recording .... which set should i buy
 
I have heard a lot of people say that birch are better for recording, but I am not sure.
 
Most engineers will say a drum is a drum is a drum as far as mics are concerned. They usualy can EQ it to get it where they want.

I find this is ONLY true with maple! Birch sounds naturally EQ'd because the mids are scooped a little. Mahogany has about 20% more low end than maple. I don't know about you, but I find it easier to take frequencies OUT because it's very hard to put back in what isn't really there.

Birch will make your job easier for recording. Maple will give you versatility.
 
so i guess im gonna go with the maple.....but damn the birch is 200 bucks cheaper
 
not to rain on your paraide, but the pacific CX is not the beswt of recording drum sets. I had one, and hated it! The shells were out of round, lugs sucked! For the $550 i spent on the 5 drums new, i would have rather got a used kit off ebay or somn. A nice onld Ludwig or Slingerland or even a rockstar will do you better!
 
dittos on the used drumset for recording. The best drumset that I have for recording is a gretsch that is mohagony. It's got cast hoops and no hardware intruding into the shells. It is hung on RIMS. Sounds much better than just about everything I have ever recorded. Personally I wouldn't get a birch kit unless I was recording some cold rush type stuff or something like that. I would go either mohogany or maple. Ludwig and Yamaha make good recording maple kits. For the money I really like the sound of premiers.
 
I like birch kits with nice new heads. I think birch is warmer and more vintage sounding while the mapel is clear and precise and probably the choice of more people with todays recording styles.
 
I could be wrong, but I think those shells are basswood with a layer or two of maple or birch. It is not the same as all maple or all birch drums. Those drums are just as bad (or good) as any other cheap, entry level drums. Which ones are better for recording- they will both kind of suck.
 
thank you for all the feedback! i have learned from this post and that is ... i need to buy a vintage Ludwig off of ebay. the only problem is that they all seem to be in crappy condition (BTW do they sound good without being recorded too?) cause ill probably do some live stuff
 
DuoToneBand said:
not to rain on your paraide, but the pacific CX is not the beswt of recording drum sets. I had one, and hated it! The shells were out of round, lugs sucked! For the $550 i spent on the 5 drums new, i would have rather got a used kit off ebay or somn. A nice onld Ludwig or Slingerland or even a rockstar will do you better!
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Hmmm....my Pacific MX kit is really quite decent! I wish the toms were a little deeper, but it's actually been one of the easiest kits i've ever worked with to record (beat out only by a friend's frankenstein kit built over 20 years).

Farview said:
I could be wrong, but I think those shells are basswood with a layer or two of maple or birch. It is not the same as all maple or all birch drums. Those drums are just as bad (or good) as any other cheap, entry level drums. Which ones are better for recording- they will both kind of suck.
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All of the PDP maple kits are all maple, not maple over basswood or anything else.
 
sile2001 said:
Hmmm....my Pacific MX kit is really quite decent! I wish the toms were a little deeper, but it's actually been one of the easiest kits i've ever worked with to record (beat out only by a friend's frankenstein kit built over 20 years).


All of the PDP maple kits are all maple, not maple over basswood or anything else.
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I stand corrected.
 
So what is the best way to make sure the drums you buy off of ebay are decent? I am thinking about gettting a drum set, but what if they are out of round and all of that?
 
I picked up a pacific kit, and had great luck with it as well. One of the better sounding kits I have messed with.
 
firby said:
The best drumset that I have for recording is a gretsch that is mohagony. It's got cast hoops and no hardware intruding into the shells. It is hung on RIMS. Sounds much better than just about everything I have ever recorded. Personally I wouldn't get a birch kit unless I was recording some cold rush type stuff or something like that. I would go either mohogany or maple.
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Amen. I love the sound of the gretch mohangany sets. Sounds so deep and natural. They're just fat, old drums that rock.
 
Nick The Man said:
im so confused i dont know what to do
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I think you need to quantify the sound you're looking for. Anything will work live, but in the studio you need to ask what your personal preference is. Maybe this will help.

1. I want a strong, pronounced tone with an even timbre. I like a crisp strike with a medium bright tone.

Maple

2. I want my drums to have a nice attack with reduced mids and a fairly deep tone. I want them to sound pre-EQ'd. A round studio sound.

Birch

3. I want drums with alot of bottom end. I want them to sound extremely fat and warm.

Mahogany, basswood and other cheaper (bad word) woods.

Keep in mind the tone changes severely with the selection of heads. Pinstripes on a maple kit can be made to sound like mahogany with ambassadors. Shell depth changes the sound as well.
 
thank you very much phil that does help..... the sound im really looking for is stevie ray vaughan's drummer( chris layton ) and i know he uses remo pinstripes on a Tama starclassics but i dont have that kinda money
 
Ah! Starclassics!! Those are maple shells that are based on the old Gretch sound of thinner shells! The main difference is more plys and crossing the grain for better strength. Thinner shells produce more low end also. I think you'd be very safe with birch.

You might do well to look for a used Gretch kit.

Nevermind the old joke: "These new Gretch drums are greatly improved. Now we have TWO plies!"
 
Play different kits until you find one YOU like. Then, YOU will be happy with the sound. Your opinion is the only one that matters here, Nick.

I do not recommend you buy drums sight unseen. Play 'em first. There's nothing wrong with used tubs, but you don't want somebody else's problem either.

-Casey
 
I picked up a Premier Artist Birch off ebay for $500.00 (it was a damn good deal) They're fuckin' the greatest sounding drums you'll find short of custom shop dw and shit like that. But yeah, they work fuckin' excellent for recording.
 
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