Where have all the acoustic drums gone ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter grimtraveller
  • Start date Start date
Supercreep said:
For the e-drum curious: Electronic cymbals do not behave at all like acoustic cymbals. They work, but not in an expressive way.

You won't break any sticks on an electric kit, so there's that.
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There is the biggest part of the actual 'feel' of electronic or programmed drums. Nothing compares to an actual player on a kit, in a room.

When one programs drums, there isn't that human factor that exists in the real world.

And even programing drums created by a drummer, it just does not feel right. Never does...Never likely will.

That is why drummers are still and will always be viable and necessary even if AI takes over like it seems to be doing...

Too much of music these days just seems sterile IMO.
 
I spent the past couple of days watching the Get Back series on Disney+. One thing that struck me was that Ringo always had a towel draped over his snare and floor tom. And for the rooftop concert, there's a blanket inside the kick, and no head. I remember years ago when our drummer would put a hankerchief on his snare.

I always liked the deadened sound of Ringo's drums.
 
TalismanRich said:
I spent the past couple of days watching the Get Back series on Disney+. One thing that struck me was that Ringo always had a towel draped over his snare and floor tom. And for the rooftop concert, there's a blanket inside the kick, and no head. I remember years ago when our drummer would put a hankerchief on his snare.

I always liked the deadened sound of Ringo's drums.
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Also a wallet on the snare
 
hey Grim - I got a new acoustic kit. Ludwig Neusonic maple 4 piece. Zildjian K sweet and custom crashes, K sweet ride, 15" K Sweet HH, Meinl Byzance 18" crash, 8" K dark splash. DW 3000 series hardware, HH stand, and double kick pedal.
 
I have a 'retired' cell phone along with the gummy 'hands' I use to damp snare. I also got another kit. It's a 'Ludwig' from china and is mahogany. So now I have three kits.
 
Supercreep said:
hey Grim - I got a new acoustic kit. Ludwig Neusonic maple 4 piece. Zildjian K sweet and custom crashes, K sweet ride, 15" K Sweet HH, Meinl Byzance 18" crash, 8" K dark splash. DW 3000 series hardware, HH stand, and double kick pedal.
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Yayy !!
On the home recording front, yours were the first drums I really listened to with both ears. I remember back in 2010, even though I loved the 'Cloud' album, I intensely disliked the snare sound. It felt compressed to the skies and it was a sound that I just about tolerated. But as I listened to the album more and more, I grew to really love that snare sound ! It's just got this unique "thwack" to it. After your electric kit excursions, I'm glad you're back to an acoustic kit. You're a very musical drummer when you're on them.
Gtoboy said:
I have a 'retired' cell phone along with the gummy 'hands' I use to damp snare. I also got another kit. It's a 'Ludwig' from china and is mahogany. So now I have three kits.
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Music to my ears ! (y)
 
I had a drum machine (Roland TR-505) before I knew what a four-track was. I moved to an HR-16, SR-16, software, etc.

Many people make the mistake of not buying the right kit for their room. My room isn't giant. The ceilings are nine feet, and I have a stained concrete floor. If I had put a standard kit in, it would have been overkill.

Instead, I found an old Rogers kit with a 20" kick, which works much better in my room. Tuning, mic placement, and how the drums are hit make a huge difference.

I also have an old Gretsch kit with a wooden snare and calfskin heads. That kit I use for the older sound and it's not something that is played loud. It records great in here as well.

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When I moved houses 4 years ago, I didn't think I'd be able to use an acoustic kit, since I was moving from the country, to in-town, with neighbors..

I spent a lot of money on an e-kit, and used that for the first 3 years. This year, I thought I'd give an acoustic kit
a shot again, as that is what I am use to, and I already had all the mics from the previous setup / studio.

It's an old house, and the walls are pretty thick, so the sound isn't that crazy outdoors. Had I known that,
I wouldn't of went down the e-kit road at all. Oh well.

It is a full kit, in a smaller room then yours Noah. It is a bit of nightmare to record, but I think I'm getting
close to useable sounds after a lot of trial and error.

The problem I have with the e-kits, as great as they have evolved, is I spend way to much time trying different samples / kits. Endless
tweaking etc. The cymbals still have a ways to go, and I find the toms still machine gun. Setup time on an acoustic kit is way faster as well, provided you don't have to tear it down. No adjusting velocity curves, fighting miss triggering etc. Also the lack of myself 'committing' to a sound, which is why I'm back recording amps again, and mostly ditched any emulation at all. If I have an endless choice of emulated amps and drums, and the ability to tweak after the fact, I'll never get anything done. At least for me that's what happens.

drums308.webp


What is that in the background behind the couch Noah? Looks like a gigantic 500 series rack, only bigger modules

EL.
 
Eric Malone said:
When I moved houses 4 years ago, I didn't think I'd be able to use an acoustic kit, since I was moving from the country, to in-town, with neighbors..

I spent a lot of money on an e-kit, and used that for the first 3 years. This year, I thought I'd give an acoustic kit
a shot again, as that is what I am use to, and I already had all the mics from the previous setup / studio.

It's an old house, and the walls are pretty thick, so the sound isn't that crazy outdoors. Had I known that,
I wouldn't of went down the e-kit road at all. Oh well.

It is a full kit, in a smaller room then yours Noah. It is a bit of nightmare to record, but I think I'm getting
close to useable sounds after a lot of trial and error.

The problem I have with the e-kits, as great as they have evolved, is I spend way to much time trying different samples / kits. Endless
tweaking etc. The cymbals still have a ways to go, and I find the toms still machine gun. Setup time on an acoustic kit is way faster as well, provided you don't have to tear it down. No adjusting velocity curves, fighting miss triggering etc. Also the lack of myself 'committing' to a sound, which is why I'm back recording amps again, and mostly ditched any emulation at all. If I have an endless choice of emulated amps and drums, and the ability to tweak after the fact, I'll never get anything done. At least for me that's what happens.

View attachment 143047

What is that in the background behind the couch Noah? Looks like a gigantic 500 series rack, only bigger modules

EL.
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Nice.
 
Eric Malone said:
What is that in the background behind the couch Noah? Looks like a gigantic 500 series rack, only bigger modules

EL.
Click to expand...
That's actually the back of my old console before I bought The Box.

I agree about the e-kits. The only electronic kit I've used that I liked enough to consider was the Efnote and those are quite a bit of money for someone who doesn't play drums as their main instrument.

I would take an acoustic kit in a regular room over the electronic almost every time. I don't even like layering samples on my regular kit - but it depends what sounds you're going for, I guess.

Nice kit!
 
Track Rat said:
I won't use anything BUT acoustic drums. I have a deep dislike for canned drums
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Same here.
I I have a small "room within a room built out of pallets. It's 6x8' with a sliding glass door glass panels sandwiched and turned sideways for a double glass window. I foot ceiling.
I get great results on acoustic drums with it.
I use 2 Electra voice EV 410 hand held condensers for over heads a cheapo kick drum mic, and an old sm 57 on the sane / high hat.
Most home recordings would say it would be impossible to get a decent recording in my pole barn untreated square room with realistic brand stereo speakers as monitors.
My 8x6 drumroll is treated though....
It's sheeteock wallpaper covered with cheap carpet a neighbor was throwing away.
Here is an example of my results:



Drum performance isn't stellar....I'm a guitar player. That being said I'm getting good results on recording acoustic drums IMO.
 
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