Drum Sound

[Joel Woody]

hey....im not really new to the drum scene. Although im kinda confused on how to get my drums to sound the way i want them. I have been wanting a Godsmack kind of sound.....like what Shannon and Sully use. I dont know if i need to get new heads or to tighten/dampen the heads......and if i was to do anything....what?......what heads should i get if i want that sound?

[harryconway]

Shannon's gear here http://www.godsmack.com/bio/bio.asp?id=5290 for a start. Yamaha Birch Custom Absolute drums and Remo heads. Trying to chase down pro drum sounds is very hard, if not impossible for "regular guys". Unless you happen to have an EQ'd drum room, a few hundred thousand dollars worth of sound reinforcement/recording gear, a good buddy who happens to be a top dollar recording engineer and maybe you know a producer. What you might want to do is try to make your kit sound as good as you can. It's your kit and your sound, not someone elses.

[That Guy]

Harryconway said it perfectly. Larkin has people making sure his drums sound the way they do, using EQ's, mixers, drum techs etc.

First off.. what type of a kit do you have?

[Joel Woody]

Thanks for the replies.....they are useful......although im not trying sound exactly like Godsmacks drums..........i just dont want that resonance effect.......Its the same with Foo Fighters.......i like the sound of their drums.........i heard that the REMO- Pinstripe heads would kinda give me what im looking for......but i dont want to buy them and then be disappointed.......any help?

[That Guy]

Again my friend... do you have a kit? Cuz your first post sort of leaned toward the fact that you do. But, you just mentioned of buying one.

[Joel Woody]

yea i have one....a nice one, i think...hahaha......but im talking about heads........i dont know if i want to buy REMO heads and then be disappointed.......i have heads on my kit right now but its just not my sound anymore.......ya kno?

[That Guy]

I know your talking about heads. But, the members will want to know the type of kit you have and the wood its made out of. That is the first step to giving you the proper direction.

[Joel Woody]

well.....i bought it off of my old drum teacher...........i think the wood is birch.....im not for sure though.........

[That Guy]

Aquarian or Evans G2 Clear. Thats my suggestion. I lean more towards the Evans though.

[Joel Woody]

thanks.......and that will give the sound that im looking for?......close to it?.......

[That Guy]

Considering the sound that you are looking for, I think it will come close. They are nice, thick heads, but you need some good reso's too. I suggest the same. Larkin is playing some deep toms (forgive me for not knowing the sizes) and I don't know what notes his toms are tuned to. You are going to have to understand that you more than likely are not going to get the sound from your drums that you would hear from Larkin on TV or live shows. If your kit is Birch Wood, you will probably find yourself having a nice deep thump with low overtone comming from your toms if tuned low. You need to find out what notes Larkin tunes his toms to if you really wanna mimic his sound. But, remember... without the proper equipment... mic's, EQ, mixers, pro-tuning.. you are more than likely going to have to spend a long time doing your best to tweak your kit until you get what you are looking for.

Let us know how it goes.

[Wavelength]

One thing to remember is that you're not going to get a close miked sound out of your kit when you're sitting behind it. Drums that have a long sustain can actually sound surprisingly tight at a distance, and similarly a punchy tuning will come out as a puny "bup" a few feet away. If you're going to play in a band or live without microphones, you should strive for a longer sustain -- especially in your kick drum.

[Turbo6]

First rule, give up ever trying to get your kit sounding like a professional's! It wont happen in your house, garage or basement. A studio scene is built with acoustics all around you with muffling and panels on all the walls. And a microphone picks up sounds that your ears cant even hear. Here's a perfect example... I tuned my drum kit for my low ceiling in the basement and wasnt happy with the way it sounded. I went to a band rehersal and in someone elses basement that had a taller unfinished cieling and the drums sounded AWESOME. Now I know any place Im going to play with a stage will sound better due to acoustics of the room and ceiling height.

The reason the type of drums you have is so important is shell design is about 50% of what influences the sound. The other half is heads. I recommend a G2 batter head on the toms and a G1 resonant head with a higher pitch than the top heads. That will reduce the overtones and ring. And if they still arent punchy enough for you get some moon gel for the toms or a set of remo muffle rings.