[travisbrown]

I'd chalk a lot of it up to the player and style of playing. I'm just a youngster, but I don't think engineers back then paid so much attention to hats that they did much more than throw a mic on through the console. Maybe throw a baffle between the snare and hat like Swedien did/does.

I don't hear as much finesse on the hats these days as I do when I listen to drummers recorded thirty years ago.

I remember watching the Classic Albums for SD Aja and Marotta saying that his playing on Peg was the first time he'd ever really heard his hat in the mix. He was doing all this finesse work never thinking it would be noticed.