John Bonham

Just an observation; on all these 'reissue' Bonham kits the 14x10 tom is only on a snare stand, but when I've watched Moby Dick [repeatedly!!] JB seems to have the tom on a clamp AND with a snare stand!! Does that mean that the reissues AREN"T 'the kit that Bonzo played??
Just a thought.
Rest In Peace John, thought about you Sunday.
 
Jon Cable said:
Just an observation; on all these 'reissue' Bonham kits the 14x10 tom is only on a snare stand, but when I've watched Moby Dick [repeatedly!!] JB seems to have the tom on a clamp AND with a snare stand!! Does that mean that the reissues AREN"T 'the kit that Bonzo played??
Just a thought.
Rest In Peace John, thought about you Sunday.

Originally he did not use the Rogers tom arm, it was an aftermarket sort of thing. Check the dvd, in the extras on disc 1, something like Danish radio. The tom is only mounted on a snare stand, but it keeps creeping fwd. He pulls it back a couple of times. He must have had the arm fitted to prevent this. Also, the ride tom on the re-issue kits is 14 x 12, which is the size Bonzo used with the natural maple set. The green sparkles and vistas had 14 x 10 toms. And of course he mounted a floor tom on his steel set!
 
Most of what is said about Bonham focuses on his power, triplet fills and right foot, and rightfully so, they are the most recognizable parts of his playing, but some of my favorite Bonham tracks are the ones where he either leaves something out or changes something just to throw you off a little bit. Here are a few:

Out On The Tiles: At 1:45 of the song he turns the established groove inside out so that the bass drum triplets are played later in the groove. I also love the string of triplets he throws in at the end when the song is fading out, I always crank it to hear them better.

When The Levee Breaks: Right before the end guitar solo, at 5:02 Bonham leaves a single snare note out that he normally plays in other parts of the song. It's kind of like a cue that the song is almost over. Love it.

The Song Remains The Same: At 2:50, he takes the groove he's been playing and hits the snare one beat late, creating the perfect amount of tension for the guitar that follows. I also think his open hi-hat slosh sound in this tune is the best I've ever heard, well maybe right behind Rock and Roll.

No Quarter/Hey Hey What Can I Do: I just really like his crash cymbal placement in these songs, like the crashes he puts at 5:23 in NQ and 1:24 in HHWCID. So simple, but really enhances the songs.

Kashmir: The two bass drum triplets he throws in at 2:51.

Trampled Under Foot: If you listen closely to the 6 funky open hi-hat barks he starts at 5:04, the first 3 he deliberately leaves the hi-hat open longer than the last 3, and then he goes to that ride for just one measure.

The Wanton Song: At 3:33, instead of playing a straight 16th note snare fill that most people would have, he leaves one beat out, so that for a split second the band is completely silent. Just awesome.

Fool In The Rain: At 5:12 he adds a single ride bell beat to the groove which is easy to miss, but I've always enjoyed.

Anybody else agree that some of his best stuff is subtlety in the groove like above?
 
Re: Good Times Bad Times

drumminjohn said:
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOA!!!! i know this is an old discovery for most folks, but ive seen everyone talkin about good times bad times, but ive never really listened to the drums and i just did and oh my (insert religious figure here) that is the greatest thing i have ever heard... i turned the treble all the way down adn the bass all the way up and i almost had a heart attack, right around 2 minutes till about 2:20 will make any drummer faint.. bonham truely is the best.

yeah good solid bass drum work :) love it when drummers do that exact thing.
 
nearly everybody wants to be a drummer



and



nearly every drummer wants to be bonzo




so why should bob be any different




1975-01-17_Minn_21_Soundcheck.jpg



for more rare and wonderful photographs from the best led zep site on the web go here:

http://www.led-zeppelin.org/index.php

j
 
that's great stuff Jason! :)

Hey guys.......can you help me out real quick......

Aside from "When The Levee Breaks" .........what grooves are UNMISTAKINGLY Bonham....WITHOUT the aid of other instruments? (drums alone) Anyone who can help me, please send me a private message, thanks.......
 
NUTHA JASON said:
why a PM. let's share.

'good times bad times' is very unique.
'foursticks' too
'rock 'n roll' not as much (had been done before) but everyone recognises that one.
'dyer maker'is a unique bonham reggae.
'poor tom' is viscious bonzo.

drumming alone any one of these grooves is very identifiably bonzo

j

Thanks Jason.....sure why not! :)
 
Sweet picture of Plant behind Bonham's kit. As far as trademark Bonham tracks other than the ones above, there are a bunch where he uses a similar bass drum figure where he plays on the 'and' to make it swing which I instantly identify with Bonzo such as

Houses of the Holy
Misty Mountain Hop
The Rover
Sick Again
Walters Walk

all classic Bonham feel.

I also think The Wanton Song, Out on the Tiles and Travelling Riverside Blues you could tell it's Bonham just from the drums
 
For all of those who have been "conversing" about JB's kits...here is a great article from www.ludwigdrummer.com .........

It shows that JBs kit was not "just like" Carmine Appice, but that Carmine got JB the Ludwig endorsement........enjoy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bonzo's Drum Kits
Written by Nick Hunt


Kits

Bonham always used Ludwig drums and 99% of the time Paiste Cymbals. Here is a complete list of the drums he used though the years starting from his first to last kit. I've collected this information over the years by reading every article on Bonham I could find and studying photos for hours at a time.

When Zeppelin first came to America John had the following Ludwig kit:

14"x24" Bass drum with Rail Mount
9"x13" Tom
16"x16" Floor Tom
16"x18" Floor tom
Ludwig & Ludwig 20's/30's COB tube lug snare
Finish was Black Diamond Pearl
This might have been the set he used on Led Zeppelin 1.


Bonham's first Endorsement kit he got from Ludwig was in 1969. Carmine Appice got him a Ludwig Endorsement by personally ringing the Ludwig factory. The sizes were as follows:

14"x26" Bass Drum x2 with Cymbal Mount
12"x15" Tom
16"x16" Floor Tom
16"x18" Floor Tom- he added this later on
6.5"x14" Chrome Supra-Phonic Snare Drum
Finish was Natural Maple Thermo-gloss


When John first got this kit he used both bass drum's in rehearsal and for a couple of shows, he soon got rid of it because his fellow band members said he was drowning them out! The tom was at first placed on a Ludwig Atlas snare stand but later he added a ‘Roger's Swivo-matic’ tom mount while still keeping the snare stand there. He also used a pair of conga drums. Also he used what looked like 2 small concert toms next to his hi-hat but he only used these for a short time.

Bonham's second kit came from Ludwig in about May 1970 just before the start of the Iceland tour and he used this kit until 1973 US tour. This is the kit John toured Australia with in 1972 and is my personal favorite. The sizes were as follows:

14"x26" Bass Drum with Rail Mount & Cymbal Mount
10"x14" Tom
16"x16" Floor Tom
16"x18" Floor Tom
6.5"x14" Chrome Supra-Phonic Snare Drum
29" Ludwig Machine Timpani Drum
30" Ludwig Universal Timpani Drum
Green Sparkle Finish


Around this time he started to use Gretsch 42 Strand Power wires on his snare drums
This kit was John's favorite recording kit and all of Zep's albums from III onwards where recorded using this kit. I have the same kit as this minus the gong and Timpani drums and mine is finished in Natural Maple.


Bonham's third Kit from Ludwig was his most famous kit, "Ludwig Amber
Vista-lite's which he got in about March-April 1973 for the start of
the 1973 US Tour. The sizes were as follows:

14"x26" Bass Drum with Rail Mount & Cymbal Mount
10"x14" Tom
16"x16" Floor Tom
16"x18" Floor Tom
6.5"x14"Chrome Supra-Phonic Snare Drum with "Gretsch" 42 strand power
snare wires
29" Ludwig Machine Timpani Drum
30" Ludwig Universal Timpani Drum
John last used this kit at Earl's Court Arena London May 23 1975
I've heard people say that he used 15"-18"-20" toms but that's not
true, all the photo's I've seen clearly show the 14"-16"-18" set up.


Bonham's forth Kit was a Ludwig Stainless Steel kit that he got
before the start of the 1977 US Tour sizes were as follows:

14"x26" Bass Drum with double tom mount
12"x15" Tom
16"x16" Floor Tom
16"x18" Floor Tom
6.5"x14" Chrome Supra-Phonic Snare Drum with Gretsch 42 strand power
snare wires
29" Ludwig Machine Timpani Drum
30" Ludwig Universal Timpani Drum

This kit was used until Led Zeppelin's last ever performance, Monday
July 7 1980 Berlin Germany. An interesting feature about this kit was that it had Mach Lugs (long lugs) on the 12"x15" tom. Also I heard he used 18"& 20" floor toms but the floor toms were the same depth so they must have been 16" & 18".


Hardware

On Bonham's Black Diamond Pearl Kit and his Natural Maple kit he used
Rogers Swivo-matic cymbal stands, a Rogers Swivo-matic hi-hat stand and
Ludwig Atlas snare stands.

Bonham's Green Sparkle and Amber Vista-lite kits used Ludwig's first
generation Atlas hardware the ones with the flat steel legs and a Rogers
Swivo-matic Hi-hat stand.

His Stainless Steel kit used Ludwig’s second-generation Atlas hardware the
ones with the tube legs and a Rogers Swivo-matic Hi-hat stand.

John used a Ludwig Speed King Pedal on all his kits. He also used a Ludwig Ching Ring for his solo on Moby Dick.

I read that John used Ludwig 2A sticks but I don't know if this is true or not.

Also, on tour, a spare pre-tuned Bass drum and snare drum were kept close at hand just in case they broke!


Drumheads

Bonham used a variety of drumheads through out the years including Remo Black Dots, Remo Coated Ambassadors and Ludwig Weather Master heads.


Cymbals

Here's his cymbal list in the order he got them:

15" Sound-Edge Hi-hats 2 Pair
18" Giant Beat
20" Giant Beat
24" Giant Beat
15" Sound-Edge Hi-hats
18" Giant Beat
20" Giant Beat
24" Giant Beat
18" Giant Beat x2
20" Giant Beat
16" 2oo2 Medium
18" Giant Beat
20" Giant Beat
24" Giant Beat
20" 602 Medium Ride
38" Gong
15" 2oo2 Sound-Edge Hi-hats
15" 602 Sound-edge Hi-hats
16" 2oo2 Medium
18" 2oo2 Medium
18" 2oo2 Medium Ride
20" 602 Medium Ride
24" 2oo2 Ride
15" 2oo2 Sound-edge Hi-hats
18" 2oo2 Crash
18" 2oo2 Medium
20" 2oo2 Ride
24" 2oo2 Ride
1 Cymbal Bag


Where are they now?

Well, his Black Diamond Pearl Kit I have no idea where its gone.

Paul Thompson of Roxy Music has his Natural Maple Kit complete with 2 Bass
Drums.

The Green Sparkle Kit Now sits in the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame in
Cleveland.

The spare Bass drum is at Jimmy Page's Sol Studio.

Terry Bozzio used the 14"x26" green sparkle Bass drum on a Jeff Beck Album. Jason Bonham also used this bass drum on Jimmy Page's Outrider album. Apparently John gave Jimmy this bass drum.

Amber Vista-lite I've heard all sorts of stories but nothing concrete.

His Stainless steel kit was auctioned on the net this year minus one floor tom and a snare drum.


Long live Bonham!
 
NUTHA JASON said:
why a PM. let's share.

'good times bad times' is very unique.
'foursticks' too
'rock 'n roll' not as much (had been done before) but everyone recognises that one.
'dyer maker'is a unique bonham reggae.
'poor tom' is viscious bonzo.

drumming alone any one of these grooves is very identifiably bonzo

j

How about 'The Crunge'?
 
the green sparkle kit isnt at the rock and roll hall of fame in cleveland. i was just there, the only led zeppelin artifacts they have are JPJ's bass he used at knebworth 1979 and one of his ketboards..... and i think someone's outfit
 
I LOVE JB! When I first heard his playing I didn't like it at all. I thought he was a club footed banger. It took me awhile to understand his style of playing. But hey, I'm slow - I thought Hendrix was just noise 'til his 2nd album came out! Bonham was so forceful and simple - every stroke counted. Very assesrtive!I think his playing had a devilish sense of humor to it that came with his power and confidence.

Anyway. can anyone explain the drum intro to Rock and Roll? How do you count it or what is the feel to it? Is it a tape edit? I play just the intro over and over (iPod) and there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. I love it! I've listened to it ever since Zoso came out and have played it countless times. I've never known a drummer to nail it perfectly so it must be a real bear. Can any of you?

ps> if I didn't love bass so much I'd be a drummer! You guys RULE! peaces
 
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it goes from 7/8 to 4/4 to 2/4..... he cranks it for the 2/4 leading the rest of the band in, i suppose thats their cue. its odd and im sure he didnt intentionally make it that way, seeing as he quit reading music at an early age. from what ive been told he kinda ripped that intro from a james brown song or something.... im not exactly sure if it was james brown, but i am sure its funk based
 
Jon Cable said:
Just an observation; on all these 'reissue' Bonham kits the 14x10 tom is only on a snare stand, but when I've watched Moby Dick [repeatedly!!] JB seems to have the tom on a clamp AND with a snare stand!! Does that mean that the reissues AREN"T 'the kit that Bonzo played??
Just a thought.
Rest In Peace John, thought about you Sunday.

From what I have read farther down on this page the answer would be no. The kits are not the same. as John played.
 
it goes from 7/8 to 4/4 to 2/4..... he cranks it for the 2/4 leading the rest of the band in, i suppose thats their cue. its odd and im sure he didnt intentionally make it that way, seeing as he quit reading music at an early age. from what ive been told he kinda ripped that intro from a james brown song or something.... im not exactly sure if it was james brown, but i am sure its funk based

It's a borrowed lick from Little Richard's 'Keep a Knockin'"
 
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