Who Has A Studio Drum Kit?

[RedWallStudio]

I have been considering getting a drum kit to keep in the studio. My reasons are, in no particular order:

1) It will be a kit I know, a kit I can keep tuned up and mic'd, and a kit that I can tweak the sound of over progressive recordings.

2) Really tired of drummers bringing in crappy sound kits.

3) Really tired of crappy drummers that don't know how to tune their kits.

4) Load in.. and Load out.

5) I keep getting requests from bands for a house kit.

So, Im curious to know who else out there has a house kit and if it has been a good thing. And since I was a guitar player first, I have no clue what kind of kit would be good to get (typical 5 piece set up, I usually record rock bands).. so I'll take any recommendations out there (can probably spend about 2k). My buddy owns a studio and has a DW kit that is really nice.. .but he also paid nearly 4k for it when all was said and done.

I'm also not sure if this post belongs in High End, but I figure that mostly higher end studios would have their own kits... so theres my logic. Thanks!

[Solunaris]

I don't think it's a bad idea by any means. Just don't get stuck in a rut where all your records sound the same, I.E. same miking technique, same drums, same sounding shit on every record you make. But then again that's just a pet peeve of mine. But if you want kit recommendations, I'd say check out a new Ludwig kit at G.C. if you can get the hookup there. There's a 5 peice shellpack they just started carrying (10,12, 14, 16 Toms 22 kick, no snare) that goes for like $2200 or so, but if you can get it at cost then it's like $1500. It's a great kit for the price. DW's are overprice but they are great drums. In my studio we have a DW and a Sonor Delite which are both amazing. I want that ludwig now though!

[zkaudio]

my fav kits to record on (based on recent experience) are pork pie sets... I feel like dw's are the gibson of drums... they are damn fine drums, but there is an inherent goodwill cost for the name. I have seen some really cool boutique drum companies springing up, but haven't heard any of them. I posted a similar thread to yours awhile back on the forums here and lots of people were recommending a yamaha recording custom set. They can be had for a pretty good deal... then you can invest in a nice set of QUIET hats/cymbals and balance out the kit nicely :D

[RKrizman]

I've always had a studio kit and think it's a great idea. That said, a lot of drummers like to use their own gear. But it's still great to have around and will certainly get used. If nothing else, you can evolve a drum miking methodology over time and just plug in the new kit if someone brings one.

I've noticed that a lot of good session drummers are notorious drum collectors and annoy their wives with all the extra stuff they have floating around the house. So I would find a good drummer and have him put together a used kit for you. Old Gretsch drums are my personal favorite. Have him put "rims" on the toms so they ring out better. Maybe get a basic Black Beauty type snare. He'll bring it over and tune it up, get rid of the rattles, etc. He'll be happy to do this because by making it easy for you to record drums he's more likely to get some work. Maybe he'll just lend you a kit, who knows. I've done it both ways at my place.

have fun,

-R

[RedWallStudio]

Thanks for the fast responses and good advices so far. As I was typing my line about having a kit constantly set up and mic'd.. yeah I started thinking that all my drum recordings can sound very similar if I get lazy... which is known to happen.

So yeah, I would definitely need to keep things varied by changing mics and mic positions.. and probably snares fairly often.

I'll check into the Ludwig and Yamaha kits at GC. I played in a band with a buddy that owned a vintage Slingerland and Ludwig kit and both of them sounded great, especially for the type of music I record for myself (Replacements meets Wilco meets Tom Petty meets the Drive By Truckers).

In the meantime if keep the drum kit ideas coming... thanks!

[bigbone]

For modern sound DW , bass drum 22 toms 10'' 12'' 14 '' 16''
and for vintage......ludwig bass drum 24 toms 13'' floor toms 16''
and get a wood 6 '' snare, a 5 '' brass or metal snare...and you will
cover lot's of ground.......

[edvdr76]

I have a Tama Starclassic Maple at my studio.I paid about 2 grand with the hardware and some pretty sweet sounding Zildijan A Customs. If youre recording rock then get a maple kit. They sound loud as hell man! To me it's the drummer that gives you the sound because I've had some drummers come in and make the drums sound awsome, then again I've had crappy drummers come in and it sounds like s**t!!

[Bassmec]

Originally Posted by edvdr76

I have a Tama Starclassic Maple at my studio.I paid about 2 grand with the hardware and some pretty sweet sounding Zildijan A Customs. If youre recording rock then get a maple kit. They sound loud as hell man! To me it's the drummer that gives you the sound because I've had some drummers come in and make the drums sound awsome, then again I've had crappy drummers come in and it sounds like s**t!!

Is right up there with best ever I think. But I know drummers!? who can still make it sound shit.
Regards.•:*¨¨*:•. ¸¸.•´¯`•.Mark Fairfax-Harwood, Engineer Springvale Studios

[AdamJay]

i'd say 70% of the sound is snare and cymbals.
and for this reason i have 3 diff snares, 3 diff sets of hats, 3 diff crashes and 3 diff rides.

As far as shells go (bass and toms), if you are wanting to impress drummers that come in, go with a Vintage (60's) Ludwig, Camco, Rogers or Gretch Kit.

I've got a 90's Ludwig Rocker Kit (22/12/13/16) that, with Evans G2 heads and an Evans EQ2/Aquarian Regulator on Bass, does the job very well for pretty much every genre except jazz. And for jazz and blues i just picked up a '68 Ludwig Standard Maple (20/12/14), that once again with properly selected heads (Remo Ambassador and Powerstroke 3's), holds its own with modern $2,000 shell packs.

I spent just under $1400 and got 2 kits, 3 complete sets of cymbals (used Zildjian A, Sabian, etc.), 3 snares, hardware and heads. With that, i can cover alot of ground.

So, my advice is focus on snares and cymbals, and whatever is left in your budget after that, buy the best used vintage set of shells you can. Tune them properly, and use good heads. I don't see any reason in buying a brand new set of shells when the main purpose is to have other people bang on them.

good luck!

[Oroz]

Originally Posted by RedWallStudio

2) Really tired of drummers bringing in crappy sound kits.

3) Really tired of crappy drummers that don't know how to tune their kits..

I hear ya! We have a 5 piece Yamaha Stage Custom kit at our studio and it has been of great help.

The last band that came to record had crappy toms and kick so we used our kit. We kept their snare and combined our cymbals.

I think, overall, it's a great idea to have a kit at your studio.

In the mix we used samples on kick also, so we ended up with a different kick, snare and cymbals sound than our "studio kit sound" if you know what I mean.

[warhead]

You may get bored mixing the same kit over and over again though.

If you get a kit, get even tom sizes (10,12,14,16) and a 22" kick with several distinctly different snares.

War

[kittonian]

We've got a 1966 Slingerland kit in mint condition with vintage Zildjian turkish cymbals. However, we do not just "allow people to use it". If an artist wishes to use that kit we charge a fee as well as have an understanding that should anything get damaged while being used the artist is solely responsible. I know that may seem a bit harsh but it's a very serious kit and it's worth quite a bit. You might want to get a really amazing kit like the one we've got (if you can find one) as well as an everyday kit. That way you can always have something on hand for the little guys but still have the impressive kit for the bigger artists who've got the extra cash.

[AdamJay]

I've been hearing good things about the newer "Rock" configuration of the Gretsch Catalina Club. Like how it smokes the other configs.

$850 for the shell pack
26x16" Kick
14",16",18" toms
14x6.5" snare

Comes with the suspension tom mount for the smaller tom, all heads with Evans G1's , 10 lug snare.
not sure how it would record, might need a huge room for that kit, but i saw a band with one a couple weekends ago and i was very impressed. Monsterous sound. They only mic'd the snare and a mono overhead.
I talked to the drummer after the show and he said he took back his Gretsch Renown in exchange for the 'Club Rock'.

might not be too versatile, but if you do alot of rock, check it out!

[84K]

We ordered an Ayotte kit from Calistro Music........ A-fukin-MAZING DRUMS

[vernier]

My kit sits mic'd up, ready to go ..70's Slingerland, 60's Zildjians etc. Thing is, I can't lay off the darn thing ...way fun instrument to play. As for recording other kits, I've had good results with the cheaper Tama and Yamaha's.

[warhead]

Adam, an 18" floor might be fundamentally a little bit low in tone to be very useful in the studio compared to a 16"!

War

[drmmrboy]

Originally Posted by RKrizman

I've noticed that a lot of good session drummers are notorious drum collectors and annoy their wives with all the extra stuff they have floating around the house. So I would find a good drummer and have him put together a used kit for you. Old Gretsch drums are my personal favorite. Have him put "rims" on the toms so they ring out better. Maybe get a basic Black Beauty type snare. He'll bring it over and tune it up, get rid of the rattles, etc. He'll be happy to do this because by making it easy for you to record drums he's more likely to get some work. Maybe he'll just lend you a kit, who knows. I've done it both ways at my place.

I've seen a bunch of people do this, and it's how I wound up with my current house kit.. 70's Ludwigs. thumbsup

A drummer sold them to the last tenants, so he'd have a decent kit there, because he was in the room a lot. They moved out, we moved in, and I got the kit for $400.. 22" kick, 12" rack, 14, and 16 floors. Supra snare too..

Some drummers like to use their own snare & cymbals. Sometimes they'll mix and match. Depends on the guy too. I had a guy in a few weeks ago who played the stock house kit, made it sound great, and I'm thinking, "why doesn't it sound like that when I play em..??"

[AdamJay]

Originally Posted by warhead

Adam, an 18" floor might be fundamentally a little bit low in tone to be very useful in the studio compared to a 16"!

War

yea, probably... but that thing was a beast!!!

[Matej]

I have a Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute kit (10, 12, 13, 16, 22) with Manu Katche snare in my studio. It's awesome to have a kit, really moves the sessions along faster and it's cool to record a familiar kit, no surprises. You learn a lot about drums too. Couldn't recommend it more!

[Mark Cattano]

I'm a guitarist too, and when I started building my studio three years ago, I asked my buddy Jonathan Mover (drummer for Joe Satriani/Alice Cooper/Aretha Franklin) about getting a kit for my studio. I was in Sam Ash one day and was about to drop a couple of grand on a new Pearl kit. I called Jonathan and asked him what he thought (he is endorsed by Pearl/Sabian). He told me "Don't buy a new kit, I'll find you a used one." The next day he had found me a used Yamaha Beech Custom kit on craigslist. I bought the kit the next day and never looked back. They are awesome sounding drums. Of course, I also spent the next two months searching all over the northeast for the right cymbals, and dropped a bunch of dough on really good, new hardware (Yamaha and DW). There's no substitute for a really good sounding, well-tuned drum kit- except a pro drummer!

Mark Cattano
Magneto Studios
www.heedmusic.com
www.myspace.com/markcattano

[StudioKing]

We have a 1969 Ludwig hollywood kit. 2 x 20" bass drums, 400 snare, 4 hanging toms, a 16" floor tom, and a monster 20x20 floor tom.

I love recording this kit, and have had great results doing so, but recently the problem i have had is that for some heavier rock music i think you need a more modern kit, bigger bass drums ect.

I dont really want to pay for a new DW for example for other people to play, i find that stuff just gets messed up when drummers play on my kit, and i long ago stopped offering for people to use the ludwig.

I think that if a band are serious enough to be recording then they sould have their own kit as it should be an integral part of the sound that they want recorded.

Just my opinion

[themaidsroom]

white ludwig jazz kit w/ 18" kick
miced up
w/ aea r-88
josephson e-22s
soundelux u195
subkick
all the time



- jack

[llarena]

All Pearl Kits and Snares at my studio. Really Great Drums (not only because they make me a great discount he, he).

I love DW´s snares and Kicks too not the toms. Yamaha´s Drums are great, I really don´t like Tama´s Sound (only personal taste).

If you want my opinion, You can buy a Great Kick and pair of great snares and then a multiple tom configuration.

Take care with the fact that you must CHANGE your DRUM HEADS before every session so you must talk about this with the band about the COSTS. I usually book two pre-production sessions for drums 1 to choose the drum kit and the other to choose the drum head config. and tunning. I found them extremely necessary to get a good sound.


best regards

[Riccardo]

Originally Posted by 84K

We ordered an Ayotte kit from Calistro Music........ A-fukin-MAZING DRUMS

Never had the pleasure to hear them. I have read several reports and sometimes diverging opinions. Can you tell us a bit more 84K?

[Finstad]

I got a Yamaha Birch Custum, 7 toms - 8" to 18", 3 Kicks - 18", 20" and 22" and 9 differnt snares. The kit sounds great, but I will not use it unless the drummer`s own kit sounds bad. Then, I bring it to the studio. It`s `cause I`ll not get equal drum "flavor" on many albums.
For me, it is important to get good sound before the mic (who will not...), so I got lots of amps and cabinets too.

Finstad

[yumdrum]

3) Really tired of crappy drummers that don't know how to tune their kits.

You hit the proverbial head of the nail. 90% of the kits sound comes from head selection and tuning. Tuning is the key! (sorry for the bad pun)
I currently have seven kits ranging form a couple of vintage ludwigs, slingerlands, and premiers, to a brand new yamaha recording custom kit.
I have also recorded DWs to pearl.
There are so many sounds you can get from one drum depending on the room, mic, head, TUNUING, etc...but I find myself always going back to the old standard"yamaha RC".
It's not the most recorded drum for nothing. It can sound great on anything from light jazz to heavy rock. IMHO if you are choosing only one studio kit, it is as versatile as they come.
hope this helps.

[Jules]

Originally Posted by RKrizman

I've noticed that a lot of good session drummers are notorious drum collectors and annoy their wives with all the extra stuff they have floating around the house. So I would find a good drummer and have him put together a used kit for you. Old Gretsch drums are my personal favorite. Have him put "rims" on the toms so they ring out better. Maybe get a basic Black Beauty type snare. He'll bring it over and tune it up, get rid of the rattles, etc. He'll be happy to do this because by making it easy for you to record drums he's more likely to get some work. Maybe he'll just lend you a kit.......

Yup!

We have a loaner 60's Ludwig - thanks Toolskid

[RoundBadge]

Originally Posted by arrogantbastard

But if you want kit recommendations, I'd say check out a new Ludwig kit at G.C. if you can get the hookup there. There's a 5 peice shellpack they just started carrying (10,12, 14, 16 Toms 22 kick, no snare) that goes for like $2200 or so, but if you can get it at cost then it's like $1500. It's a great kit for the price.

They're great for the money..but the quality of the shell finish'[the stained ones] can vary greatly.. i saw a ludwig maple kit in hollywood GC the other day that the 16 floor tom was finished really badly ...
.. the salesman of course, did not give a flying ratshit's ass when I pointed it out[what do you expect ..it's GC]
..but redo the edges right away and they will sound great!
I just redid the edges on some new Luddie maples for a friend and they f*cking rock

[AdamJay]

Originally Posted by RoundBadge

I just redid the edges on some new Luddie maples for a friend and they f*cking rock

curious to how the new edges are.
how are the edges on the Maples, stock ?

did you go for a rounded 'vintage' style edge? or a specific angle/degree ? leave a ply or two flat?

[RoundBadge]

Originally Posted by AdamJay

curious to how the new edges are.
how are the edges on the Maples, stock ?

did you go for a rounded 'vintage' style edge? or a specific angle/degree ? leave a ply or two flat?

the stock edges aren't great
for this kit:
On an eight ply,45 degree inside with slight 45 outside countercut leaving 1 ply rounded edge and 2 plys outer with slight roundover..kinda like a Porkpie vibe..
so many variations are possible from attack/sustain to mellow warm/round..
I've been making stuff lately with the new vintage series Mohagany/poplar and Maple /Poplar keller's.
..very nice