[RockNashville]

I'm a drummer producer/engineer and let me just get on a soap box for a sec and say the problem is usually the drummer. Not just knowing how to tune a drum, but being in the game enough to keep the drum in tune for the whole session. Then hitting the drum in the same place all the time is really going to matter. Also let's not forget that it's really the drummer's responsibility to "mix" the kit first. If he beats the hell out of the hi hat with his dominant right hand and wusses out on the snare drum, you're going to have a problem.

Sometimes I get samples from that drummer that day on that session to use, it's usually easier to paste one of those in than some random sample. Plus it's a big deal to find a sample that really works with the sound of the rest of the kit. Usually ALL the drums are in ALL the drum mics no matter how hard you try to isolate stuff.

Here's what sucks. Sometimes to keep a client, you've got to let them try out their lousy ass drummer. I f'king hate that. I feel like if I tell the client up front that there's no way in hell we're using their sucky drummer, then I'll lose the gig. So I waste three days cutting bad drums, two days editing them, then a half hour or so re - recording it with myself or another drummer. Oh, how much time is wasted in trying to keep the client happy. The older I get, the less I try to play that game, but it's still a problem.

So whether you're a drummer or not, it's okay for you as an engineer or producer to tell the drummer to hit the drum in the same place all the time, and to balance out the kit. And it's also okay for you to tune drums and turn knobs on guitar amps.