Recording Studio- Your drums or Their's??

I guess my question is when you all go into the studio do you HAVE to have your kit or can you use the studios?

Thank You

J

Every time I've walked into a studio I'm about to play in, the drums are not set up, so there goes any time I would have saved.

I've also never been fortunate enough to see an awesome drum set, all perfectly maintained with perfect heads in a studio. I'm sure there are a lot of places that take their drums seriously, but I wouldn't count on it from the get-go.
It might even take you longer to set up because you're unfamiliar with the drums and there might be setup issues you didn't know about.

No, I wouldn't HAVE to use my own drums, but I would probably bring them because I have less faith in other people than myself when it comes to drums, even if it's the "specialist" recording engineer who "knows" how to get a great sound on the house kit.
 
Use their drums.
1. Less hassle. You won't have to worry about tearing down, loading out, loading in, setting up, tearing down, loading out, loading in and setting back up!

2. The engineer is familiar with the drums and can get a good sound out of them if he's used them numerous times he knows how to mic them to get the sound that he/you want.

3. In a perfect world, you'll get there and the drums will already be set up with mics ready to go, you won't spend two-three hours checking everything which will give you and your band 2 - 3 more hours of time to get your music down without feeling rushed.

The last time my band recorded I used the studio's drums. I talked with the engineer and bought new heads for the kit and dropped them off a week before we recorded, when I got there he had put the new heads on and had the drums tuned and all the mics were set up. It was the best recording experience I've ever had! Every time before that I've gotten to the studio 2 hours before the rest of the band and spent two hours checking everything, by the time the rest of the band shows up I'm already irritated!
 
It depends on the session I'm doing.

Of course if given the option I almost always bring my own kit. I have a late 80's Recording Custom in immaculate shape that I only bring out for studio work.

I've done some sessions that are quick throw-and-go projects, or even just coming in to track 1 song. In cases like that, if the studio has a kit that can be set up and miced before I arrive, I'll sometimes use it.
Cymbals and snares are almost always all my own, but I will dig through the studios collection and see if something strikes my fancy for a particular sound.

On occasion I'll get asked to come and track a handful of songs on an album where the band intends to use multiple musicians. So out of 10 songs, I may only record 2-4 of the songs. Typically when that happens they will have 1 kit set up that everyone will use when recording to keep the sound more consistent. I will however till use my own snare, pedals, and choose my own cymbal setups to give it a personal touch.
 
4 tracks in 10 hours - Use their kit but to be on the safe side give them a call and have a chat. The engineer will thank you for it. The less variables you have to deal with the more you get done in a day.

Enjoy the sesh!
 
Hey all,

Just a quick update. I ended up using the studios drums and hardware minus my pedal, throne, snare stand, hihat stand, one cymbal stand, my snare and cymbals.

It came out great!!! was wasy easier using their drums for a 10hour 4 track session. The engineer and I had talked a couple of times prior to the session and I trusted he could get the sound of my drums from the video I sent him with their drums and he did!! I was happy about that.

The one thing, was they had their kick head a little tighter than I have mine and so after a little adjustment on the head, my pedal and a bit on my playing I wasn't having any troubles with it.

I just wanted to thank everyone for your insights, advice, and support. It's great having this site for all things drum and music and that we can support and lift each other up instead of making it a competition since we already have enough competition with the guitarist and vocalist hahahaha!!! Bass players are usually on our side. haha

but seriously

Thank You,

Jimmy
 
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