View Full Version : the SOUND we make
aydee
07-23-2007, 12:10 PM
Heres a philosophic question... What percentages would you put up against each of the following contributing to the overall sound of your drums:
1) The kind of drum you play: ( yamaha, DWs,pearl, maple, birch, deep ,shallow etc..)
2) The kind of room you're in: ( small, large, wood floors, carpeted etc...)
3 The kind of heads you choose: ( coated, clear, 2ply,1ply, etc.. )
4) The kind of tuning you manage: ( high,low, long & short sustains etc... )
you see, i pondered this question while i was sweating for weeks over my tuning, trying different heads on my new Yamahas absolute maple nouveaus, wondering why i had shelled out the big bucks for this kit. At the same time I happened to move my beat up 20 yr. old gigging Tama imperialstars from a small carpeted studio to a larger one with wooden floors. The Tama suddenly sounded unbelievable! while 'm still working on my tuning and head experiments on the Yamahas
Dont get me wrong, I think the Yammies are very special, and i'm thrilled i bought them, but these huge differences in sound because of " things other than the drums" makes you think, doesnt it?
fijjibo
07-23-2007, 12:51 PM
It does yes.
There is a fantastic thread by latzanimal at the moment which talks about wheter brand matters as much as tuning.
Id be willing to say that as long as your drums are decent, the heads, tuning and room play a very large role.
On a high end kit id say the sound is 30 percent kit, 70 percent everything else.
great thread btw
cdrums21
07-23-2007, 01:05 PM
Heres a philosophic question... What percentages would you put up against each of the following contributing to the overall sound of your drums:
1) The kind of drum you play: ( yamaha, DWs,pearl, maple, birch, deep ,shallow etc..)
2) The kind of room you're in: ( small, large, wood floors, carpeted etc...)
3 The kind of heads you choose: ( coated, clear, 2ply,1ply, etc.. )
4) The kind of tuning you manage: ( high,low, long & short sustains etc... )
you see, i pondered this question while i was sweating for weeks over my tuning, trying different heads on my new Yamahas absolute maple nouveaus, wondering why i had shelled out the big bucks for this kit. At the same time I happened to move my beat up 20 yr. old gigging Tama imperialstars from a small carpeted studio to a larger one with wooden floors. The Tama suddenly sounded unbelievable! while 'm still working on my tuning and head experiments on the Yamahas
Dont get me wrong, I think the Yammies are very special, and i'm thrilled i bought them, but these huge differences in sound because of " things other than the drums" makes you think, doesnt it?
It would be interesting to hear the comparison if you had your Tamas and Yammies in the same room with the same heads tuned the same way. That would at least give you an idea of how much the kit has to do with sound.
bobie2000
07-23-2007, 01:14 PM
as much as it sucks, i have always had to keep my drums in the garage, my first sonic drive kit with new heads in a big double tin shed sounded crap...but when i took it to reheasals it sounded great for a sonic drive.
and now at a different hoiuse its a very old wooden shed and i get a very good sound out of my tama superstar but i havent had a chance to take it anywhere else yet so i dont know how it sounds in a proper rehearsal space.
aydee
07-23-2007, 01:14 PM
It would be interesting to hear the comparison if you had your Tamas and Yammies in the same room with the same heads tuned the same way. That would at least give you an idea of how much the kit has to do with sound.
great idea. the rooms not big enough for both kits : ), am thinking maybe take my 12" tom over and hear the difference ( got pinstripes on the tama, tho). maybe i will n post the results of the 'lab experiment'.
aydee
07-23-2007, 01:24 PM
as much as it sucks, i have always had to keep my drums in the garage, my first sonic drive kit with new heads in a big double tin shed sounded crap...but when i took it to reheasals it sounded great for a sonic drive.
and now at a different hoiuse its a very old wooden shed and i get a very good sound out of my tama superstar but i havent had a chance to take it anywhere else yet so i dont know how it sounds in a proper rehearsal space.
there in lies the mystery of the universe....: ) crappy kit great sound or great kit crappy sound? I think many will hesitate and the choice wont be that obvious.
cdrums21
07-23-2007, 01:27 PM
great idea. the rooms not big enough for both kits : ), am thinking maybe take my 12" tom over and hear the difference ( got pinstripes on the tama, tho). maybe i will n post the results of the 'lab experiment'.
Cool, By the way, do fijjibo's comments on the percentage breakdown of what factors contribute to the drums overall sound sound familiar? :o)
aydee
07-23-2007, 01:36 PM
Cool, By the way, do fijjibo's comments on the percentage breakdown of what factors contribute to the drums overall sound sound familiar? :o)
certainly do! I did come to a similar conclusion........
aydee
07-23-2007, 01:37 PM
It does yes.
There is a fantastic thread by latzanimal at the moment which talks about wheter brand matters as much as tuning.
Id be willing to say that as long as your drums are decent, the heads, tuning and room play a very large role.
On a high end kit id say the sound is 30 percent kit, 70 percent everything else.
great thread btw
well said! btw cant find the thread you mentioned..
fijjibo
07-23-2007, 01:38 PM
Cool, By the way, do fijjibo's comments on the percentage breakdown of what factors contribute to the drums overall sound sound familiar? :o)
certainly do! I did come to a similar conclusion........
Pardon?
Am I missing something?
cdrums21
07-23-2007, 01:53 PM
Pardon?
Am I missing something?
Ha ha, this thread was spawned from another thread,"maple custom absolutes" where Aydee asked me the question he's asking in this thread. I gave my opinion as to the percentages of what factors contribute to a drum's sound and it was pretty much the same as what you said. That's what we were referring to.
Tetley
07-23-2007, 04:56 PM
i play at this one studio in london where its mostly exports and pinstripes.
Yesterday, in the same room we always play in i had a yammie stage custom with coated emperors instead. Massive difference. Absolutely huge gulf in terms of tone and enjoyment i had in listening to just a tom on its own. But the bass drum skins on the yammie were stock compared to the powerstroke on the export and the export wiped the floor with it...
i think all the above factors play a huge part in the sound. dunno about percentages though.
aydee
07-23-2007, 05:19 PM
i play at this one studio in london where its mostly exports and pinstripes.
Yesterday, in the same room we always play in i had a yammie stage custom with coated emperors instead. Massive difference. Absolutely huge gulf in terms of tone and enjoyment i had in listening to just a tom on its own. But the bass drum skins on the yammie were stock compared to the powerstroke on the export and the export wiped the floor with it...
i think all the above factors play a huge part in the sound. dunno about percentages though.
so check out this funky equation :$3000 worth of drum technology equals $300 worth of heads plus good tuning, which makes good tuning worth..say.....$ 2,700! ; 0 )
fijjibo
07-24-2007, 10:26 AM
well said! btw cant find the thread you mentioned..
There (http://drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29058) you are.
Its a good thread.
Ha ha, this thread was spawned from another thread,"maple custom absolutes" where Aydee asked me the question he's asking in this thread. I gave my opinion as to the percentages of what factors contribute to a drum's sound and it was pretty much the same as what you said. That's what we were referring to.
Lol, at least you have proven that I dont talk crazy gibberish all the time....
aydee
07-24-2007, 03:22 PM
[QUOTE=fijjibo;339397]There (http://drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29058) you are.
Its a good thread.
thanks, fijjibo. BTW, checked out your 'jojo mayer foot' on the tube. pretty cool stuff.....
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