Jump to content
 

What do I have to do to get a decent fucking kit!?


High Value Man

Recommended Posts

Excuse my rant.

So I've been a drummer for a long time. But I never had a decent kit due to lack of means or not willing to research it. So I decided to get a nice kit. Turns out, its harder to get a FUCKING GOOD KIT than it is to learn how to play the drums.

My price range was about $1000. So nothing amazing, but not a piece of shit either. I bought the DDRUM Dios for $1000 because I liked the seetup and the reviews were great. Also saw someone online playing it and it sounded good.

So I get the kit and it hit me that I need like a bunch more shit. FUCK! Cymbals, cymbal stands, sticks, bass drum kick, seat....batty heads, rezo heads and whatever else. So than I had to do all this fucking reesearch to find out what I should get. So I sprang for Zildjain A Customs, $600, got a hardware pack for $200, sticks, a cheap seat. Remo coated heads.

So now $2 fucking grand in credit card debt later I got all this shit. I put it all together and what a bitch. Adjust this, adjust that, true to figure out how to tune a drum is like rocket science.. 4 fucking hours Im doing this.

The end result, it sounds like a piece of shit!!!!! Ok, I admit the cymbals are amazing, but for $600 they should give me a blowjob everytime I play them. But it doesn;t matter how good the cymbals are if the rest of the kit sounds like shit. So whats wrong? Who the fuck knows?!?! Everything efffects everything. There is a finger print on something and the sound isn't right. A cow farts in the woods and the drums are screwed up. The possiblities seem endless. The kick pedal is junk, the seat lowers itself while I am playing till Im doing rimshots on the snare. More money I have to dump into this.

I mean, a guitar is so easy, you buy it, maybe change the strings, tune, and done.

This is bullshit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

...and you wonder why I think you're a dick Jon, it's shit little replies like this....you do them constantly.

I'm not too clued up about drumming but for what you paid I would have thought your kit would sound at least decent....you got any friends or a local shop that can help? maybe you just can't tune them and that's why they are sounding pretty off?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

...and you wonder why I think you're a dick Jon, it's shit little replies like this....you do them constantly.

I'm not too clued up about drumming but for what you paid I would have thought your kit would sound at least decent....you got any friends or a local shop that can help? maybe you just can't tune them and that's why they are sounding pretty off?

Thanks Dan.

Yeah, chances are I AM doing something wrong. It could be the tuning. But I don't know. I tried a few different tuning methods I found online and the drums sound very hollow. I am not expecting it to be some amazing kit, but right now it sounds bad.

Yeah, maybe the solution is to bring my kit somewhere and have a professional show me. I know this kit can sound good, I've heard it on youtube.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It really is all about the tuning, the "right" heads (for the sound that you're after) and (a little) dampening.

What has helped me alot is the DrumDial (or the Tama TensionWatch), so I can easily check if the tension is consistent all around the head (you can do it by ear also, but it's harder)

and once you have found the settings that work for you, write it down and from then on, head-changing will be easy & quick.

But first you have to experiment in order to find the right tension for the heads that you use.

Moon Gels for dampening and also make sure that you seat the heads well, or they won't hold the tuning for long.

If you use only 1 rack (12") and floor tom (16") (like I usually do), I find that having them tuned a fifth apart sounds good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It really is all about the tuning, the "right" heads (for the sound that you're after) and (a little) dampening.

What has helped me alot is the DrumDial (or the Tama TensionWatch), so I can easily check if the tension is consistent all around the head (you can do it by ear also, but it's harder)

and once you have found the settings that work for you, write it down and from then on, head-changing will be easy & quick.

But first you have to experiment in order to find the right tension for the heads that you use.

Moon Gels for dampening and also make sure that you seat the heads well, or they won't hold the tuning for long.

If you use only 1 rack (12") and floor tom (16") (like I usually do), I find that having them tuned a fifth apart sounds good.

Thanks for the advice. I will certainly try some of these tips. I was thinking of getting a drumdial actually and see if that works.

Here is my kit. Apparently they were using stock heads. How do they get it to sound so good?!?!?! Mine sounds nothing like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygz7kKwsDd4#ws

Link to comment
Share on other sites

hmm probably the tuning yeah. If you get it to sound right, please post a vid. Or better yet, maybe you can post one now (so we can hear how it sounds)

It really is all about the tuning, the "right" heads (for the sound that you're after) and (a little) dampening.

What has helped me alot is the DrumDial (or the Tama TensionWatch), so I can easily check if the tension is consistent all around the head (you can do it by ear also, but it's harder)

and once you have found the settings that work for you, write it down and from then on, head-changing will be easy & quick.

But first you have to experiment in order to find the right tension for the heads that you use.

Moon Gels for dampening and also make sure that you seat the heads well, or they won't hold the tuning for long.

If you use only 1 rack (12") and floor tom (16") (like I usually do), I find that having them tuned a fifth apart sounds good.

Thanks for the advice. I will certainly try some of these tips. I was thinking of getting a drumdial actually and see if that works.

Here is my kit. Apparently they were using stock heads. How do they get it to sound so good?!?!?! Mine sounds nothing like this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ygz7kKwsDd4#ws

they say they were using stock heads?? Maybe they're just bulshitting, or maybe they're just finely tuned (also could be the mic)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sure, I will try to post of video of it now and if I can get it in better shape.

The snare and bass sound alright. But that stuff is easy IMO. You just tighten the snare pretty hard to get a good crack. The bass is loud and somewhat muffled. So it will do.

Its the Toms that sound horrendous. They just have the hollow ringing sound.

they say they were using stock heads?? Maybe they're just bulshitting, or maybe they're just finely tuned (also could be the mic)

Yeah, I find it hard to believe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Drums are a complicated instrument to wrap your head entirely around, the bigger the kit, the more challenging that rap becomes.

First of all, that kit in the video is mic'd and eq'd. It's going to change the sound, that's just the basic fact of it. When I play shows, what I hear and what the audience hear in drum tone is usually two different things. But regardless of whether you have a $60 drum kit or a $6000 kit, the constant that holds true is that you can make any drum set sound good, you just have to know what you're doing.

Realistically Oli, in my opinion what you'll need (assuming you want a rock-ier sound) is a set of 2 ply batter heads (Coated = more warmth in the tone, clear = more attack; Emperor if you like Remo, G2 if you like Evans) and go with a set of 1 ply resonant heads (most people use clear, but coated isn't an absurd gesture to make. I'm pretty sure Travis is using coated resos right now, just standard smooth white ambassadors; Ambassador if you like Remo, G1 if you like Evans - The new Evans G1 plus is slightly thicker and may cut out some of those harsh over tones a little easier).

Along with this you'll need a good ear, and a resource to help you tune. Google the 'Drum Tuning Bible'. It's pretty much the standard reference, but there are other techniques that are a little different as well. Bob Gatzen from Evans also does fabulous tutorials on YouTube as well. You'll probably require slight dampening - again, all these methods are discussed in depth in the DTB.

The acoustics of the room has a lot to do with the sound as well. Ideally, you'd want a room with a really high ceiling with lots of floor space. Alas, we aren't always fortunate enough to have those ideal conditions and are often confined to a small rec room or something. TUNE YOUR DRUMS TO YOUR ROOM. Just because they sound great in your living room, doesn't necessarily mean that will hold true to your bed room.

Do your research, www.pearldrummersforum.com is what helped me get off the ground, and I still constantly use it today. It's an absolute fountain of knowledge.

Sure, you can cover your heads in duck tape like a 12 year old who doesn't want to put effort in learning how to tune, or you can be an adult and bring out the full potential of the drum. Every drum has sweet spots, the trick is to find it.

I recorded this in my basement using just an iphone. I play a Pearl Visions kit. It's an intermediate kit with a birch/basswood combo. I play Coated G2s over Clear G1s on the toms (with smaller pieces of moongel placed on the very edge of the head where it meets the rim to help eliminate unwanted over tones), a Coated G2 over Evans Hazy Side Snare 300 on my Steel Sensitone Snare drum(with a thin Evans e-ring, serves similar purpose to the moongel), a Evans Emad 2 - with the small ring over the stock Pearl reso on my bass drum (with a small blanket rolled up, resting against the batter head):

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Brae, thanks for the detailed reply. I appreciate it!

Funny enough the heads I got to replace the stock ones were Evans G2 Coated for Batter and Evans G1 Clean for Rezo. I searched high and low on youtube before I made the decision. They sounded the best.

But even with those heads, still sounds like shit. So its obviously the tuning that is messed up. I will work on that some more.

I love my Zildjian A Customs, but they are so loud and drown out the entire kit. I might try to put some muffling on them. But I know what you are saying, I want to do the tuning right. I dont want to do what I've done in the past which is just wing it with sheets over the drums and whatever else. I am tired of that. It is time to learn how to tune drums correctly.

BTW, the video you have is great. Sounds good. I like the sound you get out of the floor Tom ( couldn't really hear the rack tom being played). My fllor Tom sounds absolutely horrible.

Anyway, thanks again for the help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Coated G2 over Clear G1 is a great combination for rack toms,

but if you have trouble taming the floor tom you could try Coated G2 over Coated G1 or even G2 (clear or coated)

in order to reduce the sustain of the resonant side.

Half a mongel on the 10" rack tom, a moongel on the 12" rack tom and one or two moongels on the 16" floor tom should help also.

Also try a moongel on the snare, or a e-ring, especially if you're playing rimshots.

For the bass drum you can use a pillow slightly touching both sides of the bass drum heads, and a Remo Falam Slam pad where the beater hits,

in order to get more attack and save the head from tearing, especially if you burry the beater.

There alot of tuning techniques but what I like for the toms is medium tension and to have the resonant a little tighter than the batter.

My drum set is also (kinda like Brae.'s) an intermediate mahogany/basswood set (Tama Rockstar)

and I have followed exactly what I just wrote to get it to sound good enough (I think).

You can check it, at this recent youtube video, if you want, although it is miked.

http://youtu.be/CDqeZ4kahsY?hd=1

Without the EQ it sounds (especially the toms) a little dull (too warm) beacuse both mahogany and basswood (obviously)

have alot of lows but not enough highs and the coated heads are also warm. Maple shells (like yours) are more balanced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just one additional thing, don't forget new heads need time to set and 'break-in'. I like to tune my toms a little higher than I normally would when first putting new ones on. Apply some pressure on the middle of the head (you'll most likely hear some cracking sounds, that's the glue on the hoop of the head-it's normal). Let it sit -preferably overnight, de-tune it and tune it back up again.

Like new guitar strings, you're likely to have it go out of tune frequently until the head is seated properly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks everyone. I bought the drum dial and thinkgs sound a lot better. But not quite where I want them to be. So I will keep messing with it some more. I think I need to detune both heads and retune slowly. That might be even better. Plus I will use the moon gels once I get them.

I can't believe how much work and money this is. No wonder I was so reluctant to get a new set all these years.

Splasher, I think your covers a lot, that Amy Winehouse one is really good!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Word, drums are hands down the biggest pain in the ass instrument that someone can play.

srsly.

but yeah, brae hit it on the head.

personally i wouldn't have gotten the a customs just because i'm sure you're tastes will change in the near future.

i remember i bought  22" and 20" dream cymbals just cause i wanted to have big cymbals and all that jazz.

they were way too dark for me so i ended up with a zildjian sweet ride on my left and a sabian groove ride on my right.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 years later...

Remember to put blankets inside the bass drum for a better sound and possibly some gels on the toms to get rid of the ring out.
I have gotten compliments on the way my drum sounds and all I do for tuning

is exactly what this guy is saying.

>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISdMNKb-hjc

In my opinion it seems to be more about tension evenness than anything else on getting a good sound

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...