SGT_Drummer
Senior Member
Below is an excerpt from a Modern Drummer interview with Ronnie Vannucci Jr from the Killers about his choice of hats on the "Day & Age" album.
Hot Drums & 22" Hi-Hats?
MD: Are we hearing your new Craviotto set on Day And Age?
Ronnie: Yes, it’s all Craviotto. I was hung up on vintage gear for a long time, and I had a ton of stuff in my garage. I used it all on Sam’s Town. At the end of the day I settled on Ludwig drums and various snare drums—Supra-Phonics, a 6 1/2x14 Leedy Black Elite, Radio Kings, and a Craviotto I had. But Day And Age is all Craviotto.
MD: Tell me about your fixation with huge hi-hats. You’re playing 18" hats on the new album!
Ronnie: I don’t like a glassy, thin hi-hat sound. I like a deep chick. Plus I like hi-hats with a little bit of body too.
MD: So 14" hi-hats sound too glassy?
Ronnie: Yeah, depending on the brand. For me 14" hats can sound too mousy. On Sam’s Town I used these great 1950s Zildjian 15" hi-hats. They sounded terrific by themselves, but by the time you miked them and put them on the track, the only way you heard them was if you turned up the highs. That’s another reason I didn’t want to record with a hi-hat mic. I wanted to be able to play balanced enough so I didn’t have to use a lot of moving faders and EQ.
On Sam’s Town I used my mouth to overdub the “chick, chick, chick, chick, swoosh” over the hi-hats on some songs. You can hear it on the title track and on “For Reasons Unknown.” Live, I wanted to get a different hi-hat sound, so on the first gig for Sam’s Town I had an old 18" A Zildjian ride from the ’40s and a K Constantinople crash that I put together for a pair of hi-hats. That was the winning combination. And there was one track where I used two 22" K Constantinople rides, one high and one low, for the hi-hats.
Which leads to my question... 22" HI-HATS!!!!?!?!?!?!?!? does anyone know of anyone else who uses 22" hats? i'd never even fathomed hats that huge.
i wish he would have mentioned which track he used those on so i could pick them out.
Hot Drums & 22" Hi-Hats?
MD: Are we hearing your new Craviotto set on Day And Age?
Ronnie: Yes, it’s all Craviotto. I was hung up on vintage gear for a long time, and I had a ton of stuff in my garage. I used it all on Sam’s Town. At the end of the day I settled on Ludwig drums and various snare drums—Supra-Phonics, a 6 1/2x14 Leedy Black Elite, Radio Kings, and a Craviotto I had. But Day And Age is all Craviotto.
MD: Tell me about your fixation with huge hi-hats. You’re playing 18" hats on the new album!
Ronnie: I don’t like a glassy, thin hi-hat sound. I like a deep chick. Plus I like hi-hats with a little bit of body too.
MD: So 14" hi-hats sound too glassy?
Ronnie: Yeah, depending on the brand. For me 14" hats can sound too mousy. On Sam’s Town I used these great 1950s Zildjian 15" hi-hats. They sounded terrific by themselves, but by the time you miked them and put them on the track, the only way you heard them was if you turned up the highs. That’s another reason I didn’t want to record with a hi-hat mic. I wanted to be able to play balanced enough so I didn’t have to use a lot of moving faders and EQ.
On Sam’s Town I used my mouth to overdub the “chick, chick, chick, chick, swoosh” over the hi-hats on some songs. You can hear it on the title track and on “For Reasons Unknown.” Live, I wanted to get a different hi-hat sound, so on the first gig for Sam’s Town I had an old 18" A Zildjian ride from the ’40s and a K Constantinople crash that I put together for a pair of hi-hats. That was the winning combination. And there was one track where I used two 22" K Constantinople rides, one high and one low, for the hi-hats.
Which leads to my question... 22" HI-HATS!!!!?!?!?!?!?!? does anyone know of anyone else who uses 22" hats? i'd never even fathomed hats that huge.
i wish he would have mentioned which track he used those on so i could pick them out.