whiteknightx
Silver Member
I was having a related conversation with a couple musician buddies on Saturday.
My friend who is a bass player wanted to go to a music store to check out a squier 5 string bass to use for jams and goofing around gigs. He's got 8 or 9 5 string basses already, some very high end. To me, I can't tell the difference from one to another when he's playing them, especially live, with the whole band going, and told him so. He told me that us drummers are just as nuts with all our different cymbals, they all sound the same to him.
We do spend a crazy amount of time picking cymbals, sticks, heads and drum kits, and we all love our own, but he does have a point. If there was a big difference, we should be able to listen to any drummer play his kit blind, and tell what he's using. When I listen to other drummers play, I listen to his talent, not his kit. I couldn't tell you what kind of gear anyone uses, unless I sit at the kit myself.
I wonder how much of it is a case of the "Emperors new Clothes" I appreciate the higher end drums are finished like fine furniture and cost more, and some are just beautiful to look at and I love them. But playing with a band with two guitars, bass, keys and vocals all pumping out, I think 90% of those little tone things we spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on all go right out the window. As long as the drums tune up good, and have decent cymbals that don't sound like tin pie plates, it's all good live.
My friend who is a bass player wanted to go to a music store to check out a squier 5 string bass to use for jams and goofing around gigs. He's got 8 or 9 5 string basses already, some very high end. To me, I can't tell the difference from one to another when he's playing them, especially live, with the whole band going, and told him so. He told me that us drummers are just as nuts with all our different cymbals, they all sound the same to him.
We do spend a crazy amount of time picking cymbals, sticks, heads and drum kits, and we all love our own, but he does have a point. If there was a big difference, we should be able to listen to any drummer play his kit blind, and tell what he's using. When I listen to other drummers play, I listen to his talent, not his kit. I couldn't tell you what kind of gear anyone uses, unless I sit at the kit myself.
I wonder how much of it is a case of the "Emperors new Clothes" I appreciate the higher end drums are finished like fine furniture and cost more, and some are just beautiful to look at and I love them. But playing with a band with two guitars, bass, keys and vocals all pumping out, I think 90% of those little tone things we spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on all go right out the window. As long as the drums tune up good, and have decent cymbals that don't sound like tin pie plates, it's all good live.