I agree about the drums, cymbals maybe, maybe not.
With drums, there is a certain range in the toms that make me happy. I always tune to achieve this sound. Snare definitely. A snare is a very personal item. There are so many different characteristics a snare can bring to the table. And honestly I think that was noticed pretty early on. The snare definitely offers the most options for personalization. Wood or metal, depth, diameter, snare wire width and material, shell thickness and construction, number and style of lugs, even down to the color. Don't forget about head selection. The possibilities are endless. The kick drum, I don't know. Yes we want a good sounding kick, but I feel that maybe the music dictates that. You don't want an attack only metal kick for a soft rock sound, and conversely you don't want a wide open boomy kick for metal. Unless you like mud, then I say go for it.
Cymbals I'm on the fence. You can't tune a cymbal. You can select the one that suits your needs and play it a miriad of ways, but I've never heard two drummers play the same cymbal and it sound completely different. It still has its own personality. As an example, and I don't care who plays it, a Sabian Pro ride will never wash. It only pings. It does it extremely well, but that's all it does. You could throw it off a building and when it hit the ground it would go PING!
With drums, there is a certain range in the toms that make me happy. I always tune to achieve this sound. Snare definitely. A snare is a very personal item. There are so many different characteristics a snare can bring to the table. And honestly I think that was noticed pretty early on. The snare definitely offers the most options for personalization. Wood or metal, depth, diameter, snare wire width and material, shell thickness and construction, number and style of lugs, even down to the color. Don't forget about head selection. The possibilities are endless. The kick drum, I don't know. Yes we want a good sounding kick, but I feel that maybe the music dictates that. You don't want an attack only metal kick for a soft rock sound, and conversely you don't want a wide open boomy kick for metal. Unless you like mud, then I say go for it.
Cymbals I'm on the fence. You can't tune a cymbal. You can select the one that suits your needs and play it a miriad of ways, but I've never heard two drummers play the same cymbal and it sound completely different. It still has its own personality. As an example, and I don't care who plays it, a Sabian Pro ride will never wash. It only pings. It does it extremely well, but that's all it does. You could throw it off a building and when it hit the ground it would go PING!