Is it too much to ask for a hard hitting and fast drummer?...

Hssss

Junior Member
Is it too much to ask in an ad for a drummer who is both fast and hard hitting?.... Seems like that would need too much stamina....
 
Re: How effective is this bands ad for a drummer? Does it ask for too much?......

If you have regular gigs I would mention it. If you want someone good you're gonna have to play out some for sure.
 
Why do they have to be hard hitting? The concern should be more about playing and keeping tempo. If you want volume turn up the channels on the pa for drums. The faster a drummer plays the shorter the "swing" and stick movement has to be to keep the tempo going steady.
 
Why do they have to be hard hitting? The concern should be more about playing and keeping tempo. If you want volume turn up the channels on the pa for drums. The faster a drummer plays the shorter the "swing" and stick movement has to be to keep the tempo going steady.

+1

It's a red flag whenever someone has the audacity to tell me how to play my drums. I don't tell guitar players how to play their instrument and I've been that playing much longer than I've been a drummer.

I'm not a hard hitter by any measure, the better I get at my instrument the more I'm becoming a jazz cat. I can beat the hell out of my drums though, I'm fully capable of playing really loud. I'm so much more than that though.

To answer your quandary, your scope is limited. You're limited drummers to a CD player with a couple of knobs. I can honestly say that if you condensed this to a Craigslist ad I wouldn't even bother clicking on it.
 
It would be a sad day if this were the only criteria for a drummer.

Dennis
 
I've seen some drummers hit really hard. The irony is it really doesn't sound any different to the audience - just (depending on your preference) puts on more of a show.
 
I play hard...VERY hard. And fast. All our songs are fast paced.

I do, personally, think it's a failure in technique and am always trying to reign it in.
 
A fast drummer I can understand (if that's what your music calls for).
As for the hard-hitting part I'm not sure what purpose that would serve (triggers could be an option if you're concerned with volume, otherwise turn up the kit mics)?
Unless of course you mean hard -hitting from a performance perspective (as in "Wow, look at that drummer going off"!).
 
It's not correct to say that how hard you hit the drums doesn't make any difference...it makes an enormous difference. However this might be the sort of thing where you'd be better off auditioning people as how people perceive their own playing is not necessarily how it actually comes across to a listener. Some might think they play affirmatively and strongly but actually sound a bit limp, while others might think they have great technique while playing the drums as if hammering nails into wood and breaking everything. Neither one is really a good thing.
 
nothing wrong with asking for what you want.

plenty guys hit hard and sound great
 
I don't think it's too much to ask - this is all about excitement and buzz. That's how I played (or tried to) back in the day. John Bonham. Ian Paice. Cozy Powell. Aynsley Dunbar. At the time anything else would have seemed tame.

These days I can last about 15 seconds in that mode before I fade away ....
 
I think that musicians (drummers in this instance) in certain genres/styles classify their talents and skills in specific ways related to how they want the style to come across. There are definitely drummers out there who will take pride in there speed and power, so I don't think it's asking too much at all.
 
The short answer is no. It's not too much to ask.

In fact, it may be too little to ask.

It's not correct to say that how hard you hit the drums doesn't make any difference...it makes an enormous difference.

Being a "hard hitter", how hard you hit the drums, looking like you're hitting hard and hitting hard to get a particular drum sound are often relevant factors.

For some music, playing the drums lightly but turning up the volume on the kit through the PA doesn't sound right. It may be only loud but still sound "tippy-tappy"

Sometimes the music requires it, sometimes the show requires it.

I can play very loudly and look like I'm half asleep. After looking at several videos of our band playing many months ago, I concluded that the way I looked while playing some of our heavier rock songs was quite boring and not entertaining. I started adding a little extra motion and some exaggerated movements to my playing without really changing up my sound and volume. Nothing extreme but it definitely made an impact on having the audience be more into it and I could see the crowd start moving right away, much more than before. The energy was sort of contagious.

The moniker "hard hitter" has always seemed a bit ridiculous to me. IMO, the range between hitting softly and very hard is not that big. Not in the physical sense that is.

Look at Jose Pasillas from Incubus. He's about 5'0" tall and probably 110 lbs soaking wet. He certainly sounds like a hard hitter to me. I'm 6'4" and 245 lbs. I could use rebar for drumsticks if I had to. Almost anyone can hit a drum or a cymbal and max out the sound it produces.

There are so many things that go into it that it would probably be better to redefine what you're looking for and expand on the "hard and fast" requirement to get the kind of drumming you're looking for.
 
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They do exist.

I suppose it does depend on how fast, as there is a certain degree of sacrifice of power when getting up to speed.

But Dave Lombardo, Roy Mayorga, Seven Antonopoolos, Deen Castronovo, Dave Ghrol, among others are all hard hitters who are capable of playing at high speeds.
 
Instead of asking for a hard hitter and a fast player, I would list the bands/songs/type of music you are covering, so you attract someone who lines up with what you are looking for. If you are original, I would mention what style you play in. I'm just afraid that you will attract the wrong type of drummers with a "hard and fast" ad. There's a lot of guys who pride themselves on playing hard and fast, as if that's all that matters.

Like you could get a guy that plays hard and fast, but has underdeveloped concepts of good meter, dynamic playing, and being a team player. You might attract show offs.

Hey, CL is free. No reason why you can't give it a try. If it attracts the wrong type of drummer, reword it and include more specifics as to what you are seeking.

A hard and fast drummer that has no concept of what the other players require, or a drummer whose meter is all over the place...I'm guessing that's not what you want.

Auditioning players is always an adventure. Good drummers with a good attitude and are easy to work with, who are reliable and have a good sound are a valuable commodity.
 
Who cares if they hit hard? I can hit hard, if I want...who can't? A monkey with a stick could hit a drum hard. It's pointless. If all you want is a guy who can hit hard and fast, you'll get a TON of responses. Hell, anyone can bang away like a moron. Not sure it'll go over well with the rest of the band. This is ridiculous. It's like me saying I want a guitarist who can play loud.
 
Fast and hard hitting tend to be inversely proportional. To play fast you need to conserve energy by playing lower & lighter. When playing really fast you need to pick your moments where you're not competing with a wall of sound.
 
I don't fall into the metal/punk/thrash etc. category on any of my gigs. I do play hard but I don't ever have to pull out super large sticks and go for it at +200bpm. So take this post with that in mind.

I don't think there's a 'Yes' or 'No' answer here.

However may I give a few perspectives?

The first one may leave a bad taste in some people's mouths but here goes.

To the question "Is it too much to ask for a hard hitting and fast drummer?..." I would propose back: "Is it too much to ask for a substantial paycheck for that player?"

I know there are those that will cry 'mercenary' or 'you don't get it' but I truly believe there are an ample numbers of drummers who fit these two qualifications (and more) who would jump into a band with proper financial incentive. Considering that I keep hearing about metal and punk bands coming off of tour in the red, there are far less musical situations (live, sessions, etc) that could pony up for the kind of top drawer player who has developed these skills over years.

This may seem silly in number but if you offered Derek Roddy (a DW member) $1000 for a rehearsal and $3000 for a week tour you wold have no problem finding a hard hitting, fast drummer. The problem with the question posed by the OP is that factor is never a consideration. You can back off these numbers to where they line up with whatever the working, financially healthy, pro bands that use drummers like this pay.

The second proposal, and many who have answered ads for drummers can sympathize, Is it too much to ask for compositions that are very well written, only needing the right players to play them? Many bands think they have great songs but they really don't. That's not just hard and fast bands, that's all over the rock/pop/funk/jazz etc., spectrum. They may even have OK songs - but not great. So then you have to add something to the original question like 'hard/fast that can help us develop our songs' Really? I thought you just needed a hard and fast player? If a player has to sit in a practice room for hours upon countless hours, is it too much to ask that a songwriter spend the same amount of time honing his craft? Too often this is not the case at all.

Then there is the hang. Do you want an incredibly fast hard hitting drummer who you are soon to get in a fist fight with over what he says and does in normal social interactions? Some bands have tolerated this. For a season but not forever. The answer is probably not. Again, most pros who have credits and reputations understand that the social aspect will come into factor at some point and they need to be someone who can develop into almost family for a band, live gig assignment or session to work.

These are some perspectives that I feel aren't considered. Pros will come if you have all of your ducks in a row. If you don't then you should ask yourself what you or your situation is lacking as much as what the overwhelming number of (non-paid) drummers are lacking.

Jim
 
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