Recommend Drum Kit for Studio Use Only

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DigitalDon

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Studio guys and recording drummers - Can you recommend a good kit for studio use only. These will never leave my studio (no gigging, etc). Should I look at a rack type system or the combo package? Should I buy a complete package or each tom, snare, kick, etc separately? Genre is Rock (no metal, thrash, etc) and Country. Budget?? I'm not there yet but I'm sure DW's would be out of the question.

DD
 
i have had excellent results with my pearl export series. of course i would much rather be playing a dw, but it is not what you got, but how you use it. i use remo pinstripes and my toms sound great. i would, however, invest a bit more into an excellent snare drum or two. also, dont skimp on the cymbals. get the best you can afford. i have a 12in maple pearl masters series, and this is probably the best upgrade i have made on my kit. i also have a dw snare, pearl floating snare, tama snare, etc. i have heard, and beleive it, that the snare is the heart of the kit. my 2 cents.
 
actually, i had a well know producer in the area ask if the kit in my recordings was a dw. it was only the snare. now, do pearl export toms sound as good as dw's? probably not, but i am just saying you have a bit more slack when i comes to them. ok, i am done this time.
 
foreverain4 said:
actually, i had a well know producer in the area ask if the kit in my recordings was a dw. it was only the snare. now, do pearl export toms sound as good as dw's? probably not, but i am just saying you have a bit more slack when i comes to them. ok, i am done this time.
Click to expand...

DW is a GREAT drum manufacturer, and also very expensive. Sometimes I think that they are a bit overpriced. Amoung the top manufacturers, DW,Pearl,Yamaha,Sonor,Gretch,Ludwig,and Tama and oh so many others, they are all good,and very little difference in quality. You have to buy what you like and what sounds good to you. Do you want maple or do you want the warmer sound of mahogany? Yamaha makes an oak set which will blow the doors off of most maple sets in terms of volume and body. I have a couple of sets for different reasons.For jazz I prefer mahogany with shallower shells and a 20" kick, for rock I prefer maple with deeper shells and a 24" kick. But that's me and my playing. Your's will be different. Pearl export or Tama Rockstar are both fine enough sets and won't break your bank.
Stay far away from Bb,ZBT,ZXT,Formula 502,802 cymbals though. Spend the money on your cymbals.
If I had the money for a new kit,
it would go to a Yamaha maple kit. If I had the money for a DW kit, I'd buy a new car.
 
Another good option is to scour Ebay for used kits. You may be able to snag a decent DW or Yamaha kit there.

For what it's worth, and if you want a new kit, I feel that the Pearl Session customs are one of the best "bang for the buck" kits out there.
 
There is no right answer or wrong answer. There are way too many different kits to recommend one. Type of wood, number of plys, types of heads and most important the tuning all affect the sound of drums.

That being said maple shells and birch shells in the range of 4-6 plys tend to be the most preferred woods in studios. I personally prefer birch for recording due to the tendancy of birch to provide a slightly more focused tone (I own a birch, a maple and a mahogany set - so I havce had plenty of opportunity to compare). However, there are many, many drummers that prefer maple.

A good drummer who knows how to tune can make a mid range kit, like a Pearl Export or a Yamaha Stage customer sound very good - and while these drums are not all maple or birch, they cost significantly less.

Cymbals are much harder to capture a quality tone. While a mid range (ie $500) drum set can be tweaked to sound good - cheap cymbals always sound like cheap cymbals.

A decent kit with decent cymbals will cost about $1,000 (a "top of line" kit with good cymbals can cost 4 times that).

Do your research and good luck!!!
 
Here's what I can offer as a 20 year drummer....
First, Unless you know you're going to need them, don't buy a kit with more than 2 rack toms and a floor tom.
I would concentrate on the bass drum and snare drum mostly!
If you spen a little extra on a good quality versatile snare, it'll pay for itself! As a drummer, a good snare and bass drum is what really helps me get into a good groove. Plus, after you work with that snare for a while, you'll know its limitaions and qualities. If you buy a 5 pc. kit with a snare included, it's probably a $100 snare at best.
Next, I would get a small rack.... as I said before, if you have the snare and bass drum dialed in, a drummer more often than not will be more than willing to use his own toms and heads as he or she's used to the feel and tone. It also offers you a plethora of sounds for free!
Lastly, don't scimp on the stands! Particularily the hihat stand. Also the bass pedal! Though they might not squeek, they might vibrate like crazy and possibly affect the sounds.
Good luck!
RF
 
Thanks guys. Lots of good info here. The drummer (20 year vet) in my son's band also stressed the best snare I could afford. What is the "ideal" size for the bass drum? I really like the idea of a rack. Seems like it would be more versatile and, like RushFann33 said, would allow the drummer to use his own toms. That would buy me some time until I could get quality toms. Recommendations on cymbals?

DD
 
Good cymbals are handmade. They vary in sound a lot. Don't buy your cymbals through mail order. You must go to a major drum dealer with the sticks you play with and try the cymbals in the cymbal room. You can't tune these, so you want them to sound just right. I own a lot of cymbals, and I use different ones for different types of music. Most of my cymbals are Zildjian, but some of my favorite crash cymbals are my old Paiste formula 602's that I've had for almost 35 years. (Damnit, they stopped making those! The Signature series is close to the sound,but very expensive.) I have a few Sabian cymbals also. It depends on the music you are playing and what kind of sound you are after.
Even junk cymbals can have their use if you put two together for trash metal effects. I wanted a very bright sustaining 16" ride for a jazz piece that I was recording and I tried everything in the room and the one that was right for this session was a Sabian B8 medium crash( a cheap cymbal). I hated it as a crash, but it gave me just the sound I was looking for when played lightly as a ride with 7A nylon tipped sticks.
I use Zildjian K medium dry 15" hi-hats for jazz and 13" New Beats for rock. I keep a cheap pair of 14" ZXT's in a fixed holder for effects (You don't need expensive hats on a fixed mount, they never open.)
Use your ears and try a lot of cymbals. Don't be stingy with these. Always try out the used cymbals also, sometimes they sound better. I just bought a 60's circa Zildjian 22" very dry ride
for only $90.00. I love it. One like it new wold have cost almost $300.00.
 
On Cymbals

My suggestion as a recording drummer and studio owner is go with smaller / lighter cymbals for studio work.
I have found the heavier cymbals that are fine for live, don't transfer well in an enclosed room like a drum booth. The overtones and wash are hard to tame.

Try to stick with light crashes and medium to light rides, maybe a dry crash and a splash.
I ended up getting some 13" A Zlidjian Mastersound hi-hats that are a thinner sizzly kind of sound that works great for Jazz / Funk / Folk and pretty decent for Rock.

My 2 cents anyway.
 
I agree with tmix - smaller, thinner cymbals provide a faster decay and less complex harmonic overtones - which track better.

The same could be said for drum shells - smaller drums tend to have more controlled tone which is easier to tame in a studio (smaller drums are also easier to tune).

I would recommend a 20" kick - you can get a very tight attack for pop/funk and if needed you can open up the sound for a "bigger" rock sound.

rushfan is correct that less is more - I do a fair amount of sessions, and I rarely need more than a 4 piece kit (10" tom, 14" tom, snare & kick.) I also like rushfan's suggestion to get a rack system to allow you to swap out toms. Having drummers bring in their own toms could save you some cash until you can decide what you want (although it can save a lot of time having the whole kit setup, tuned and mic'd ready to go).

A good snare is certainly worth it's weight in gold. I would suggest a maple or birch drum in the 14x5.5 or 14x6 range. These would work in almost any style (and wood drums simply have more tone and personality). Stay away from a steel snare. While they can be very loud and cutting (great for gigs) they can be very hard to tame in the studio.

Your best bet may be to look in used gear stores and try to find a kit with a good kick (some of the older kits have great sounding kicks - even if they are 22"), then buy a good snare and cymbals and work around that.

The only down side to piecing out drums - the main companies try to market drum kits - when you try to order individal drums you pay a premium - as an example if you order a kick drum for something like a Pearl export the cost is almost as must as buying the whole kit at one of the "superstores".
 
I would highly recommend a Pacific kit. The LX and CX ceries are both great. The only difference is that the CX have a wrapped finish and the LX have a lacquer. They are made by DW but cost MUCH less than a DW. They have all maple shells, suspension tom mounts, fine thread tension rods, and on and on. But the bottom line is they sound GREAT. The snare has a great crack with plenty of depth. I just bought a CX set with the add-on 8" tom and 16". They look and sound incredible. And I would reccomend getting a 20" bass drum instead of the standard 22" for recording.
 
I have no problem with Pacific Drums except that so many of their toms are only five lugs. I find it difficult to get them tuned as well. On my 10" and 12" toms, I'd want them to be at least 6 posts per rim and on the floor toms at least 8. Some one gave me a Pacific 13" tom and the shell was fine but it was only 5 lugs per rim. It didn't tune as nicely.
Just my two cents
 
Thanks again guys. I'm getting a great education (and crash course) in drums. I would never rely on the so called "reviews" you see in all the magazines. Funny how they always recommend what they review. I'd much rather rely on the real world experience of people who actually use the equipment I'm looking at.

DD
 
DigitalDon,

If you could give us an approximate budget, we would be able to help you narrow down your choices a tad. Once again...good luck!

:)
 
I just re-read this thread.

I didn't fully understand what you were asking the first time, sorry. I thought you were asking about a kit for you to play.
Do you have a Guitar Center nearby? They usually have VERY good vintage kits and gently used kits for sale at a great price. I directed a friend towards a really great Ludwig 4 piece for under $300.00.
If it's for another drummer, don't worry about the pedal because every drummer has their own and it's what they're used to.If you want to buy one new, you'll get your best value from a Tama Iron Cobra chaindrive. Cymbals are the same thing unless you want a couple of thinner crashes and drier rides just to be safe. Most drummers also have seveal snares, but a super one that you like is a good investment. I agree that a rack set-up is best, but don't buy indvidual pieces new (as was said) too expensive. Stay with Yamaha, Ludwig,Gretch or Pearl. They are the most consistently good. other companies make great sets, but the above are best for cross-styles. Sonor (from when they were German made), DW, Tambura, Pork Pie are all great sets but WAY expensive. Pork Pie has a floating (shock) mount for their floor toms which is awesome! If you get an older set, check and replace the hardware if needed. Lugs and their mounts deteriorate with time. Rods and washers need to be replaced regularly. Keep different types of heads around so you can change them to get different sounds.
I've always had to bring all of my drums to a session. It's not so bad when it's local, but when it's out-of-town it's a real job.
 
go with a small custom outfit

I am about a month away from getting a set from Phattie Drums. They can make whatever you want, and their prices are extremely reasonable. I have heard a few of their kits before and their sound is out of this world. On par with kits that are MUCH higher in price. And the best thing is talking with them, you can get WHATEVER you want, which is a pretty cool. I mean *anything*. Granted I'm not looking for anything fancy, but if you want it, they can do it. They also ship all over the country and I thought their shipping prices were really low which is real nice when other companies seem to try to stick it to you when it comes to shipping. This company is located somewhere in Tenn. and I'm sure there are many others like it, but this one came highly recommended to me by multiple people and after talking with them and hearing a couple sets, I can see why.

If you want to check it out here is their website:
www.phattiedrums.com
 
I've owned, gigged and recorded on just about every mfr's drums out there.

Honestly, I feel it has more to do with head selection, tuning, room, mics, mic setup, sticks and most importantly playing style. So don't overlook those factors when going for great drum sounds.

It also depends on your budget and what type of music you are producing.

That having been said, I've had some recent success on a rental GMS drum kit (8ply maple, 18x22, 8x10, 9x12, 11x14, 13x16) and using my Ayotte snares for a blues/rock session. I tend to prefer maple, but some drummers swear by birch in the studio. However, if your budget is less abundant, might I suggest also look at musiciansfriend.com "Scratch n Dent" section. Recently, I have seen Peal Maple Masters Shell Packs going for around $700!!! Just get ya some hardware and a snare drum (maple) and you're in business!

Here's a tip on the heads: Try Remo Renaisance or Suede Emporer's (2ply) on the batter heads of the toms and clear Ambassadors on the resonant side. Try the Aquarian Super Kick Clear for your bass drum batter and the Remo Power Stroke 3 or 4 for your resonant. And I've been diggin the Aquarian Hi-Energy, Remo Coated Emporer and Remo Power Stroke 3 w/ dot for Snare batter and renaisance snare side heads....

Hope that gives you a little head start!
 
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