Posts belonging to Category Drums

by Jon Goad

For several years, I’ve had some Sennheiser e604′s that I’ve always used for recording the toms on drum kits. Lately though, I had been particularly unimpressed with how my tom tracks have sounded, so I decided to try out a pair of the much-loved-for-toms, CAD M179′s. I only bought two M179′s and set one mic between my two high toms (10″ & 12″) and the other between my two floor toms (14″ & 16″). I engaged the -20 db pad on the M179′s and set the pattern to hypercardioid to try and minimize bleed. (more…)

by Jon Goad

Most recordists will agree that acoustic drums are perhaps the most challenging instrument to record (and record well). One of the reasons (among several) is that a drum kit has so many moving parts that are prone to rattles, squeaks, buzzes, and other annoying sounds. It’s also quite a task to tune a drumkit, which always needs to be done prior to any recording session. (more…)

by Jon Goad

I recently bought a second drum kit to use for live gigs to save myself the trouble of constantly setting up and tearing down, and to reduce the wear and tear on my main kit. So I bought a second kit used, but the only catch was that it didn’t include a snare drum. So I set out on a quest to buy one.

I began scouring the Internet for snare drums and came across the Ddrum Shawn Drover “Heavy Hitter” model. (more…)

by Jon Goad

It’s been my experience that many drummers both young and old have a real lack of knowledge when it comes to tuning their drums. A properly-tuned drumset will not only sound good, but it will also motivate the drummer to want to practice and play more. It’s kind of like the difference between driving a old beat-up clunker and racing around in a new sportscar. (more…)

by Jon Goad

When you’re ready to do any serious recording, the question inevitably arises: should I, or should I NOT use a click track? If you’re new to the term, a “click track” is a track that is played in a musician’s headphones while they are recording to help them keep in time. Because the drums help to form the foundation or backbone of a rhythm track, the click track is most commonly used when recording the drums.
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by Jon Goad

Playing drums is a physically-demanding activity, perhaps more so than playing any other musical instrument. A drummer will often be seated behind his kit for hours at a time for practicing, rehearsing, and performing. For this reason, it’s especially important to be comfortable when you play. One key that I’ve discovered to setting up my kit to make playing more comfortable is what I’ll call the “offset bass drum position”. (more…)

by Jon Goad

Most engineers will agree that the acoustic drumkit is the most difficult instrument to record and get a professional quality sound. It probably doesn’t help matters that I’m also a drummer, so I’m a tough customer to please. My drum recordings have gotten progressively better over time (thanks mostly to some helpful mixing tips and tricks), but I’m always looking for something to help take my recorded drum sounds to that elusive “next level”. (more…)