Ok got this in the right spot thanks to Tommy P!!! Now let's hear about your kit!

Geez, I haven't seen the inside of a recording studio since the late 90's!

The kit I used was a black cortex B/O badge Ludwig 13", 14" (floor), 16", 22" w/60's Acrolite. Ron Zabrocki who was an A&R guy for Arista Records, as well as the producer for the stuff I was involved in, used to say that he -LOVED- the sound of those drums. It was a no muss, no fuss situation to mic them and get a great sound right out of the box without a ton of tweaking. REMO Ambassadors all around, nothing special. Just a great set of drums tuned just right. Start with that and the rest is just diddling.

John

Does my friends basement count as a recording studio? We do record with a $100.00 hand held recorder, lol!

Sorry, just wanted to "fit in"

I used to use a DW 10/12/14/16/22 kit for studio work. One studio I got calls from wanted me to bring that kit in every time. They fell for the DW marketing hype. Nowadays, I'll use my Ludwig 12/14/20, and bring along a 16" floor tom and 22" bass drum for the chance of needing a different sound. I also have a couple of 28" bass drums I'll bring along if I feel they're going to be needed. I prefer to record from home and phone it in, so I don't have to cart around a bunch of gear, and I know how my room sounds, etc...

The one time I recorded (2011), I used my blackrome Slingerlands. No muffling at all on the toms (although I'm sure he tweaked with outboard gear) and a half-square of Moongel on the 6.5 snare. He took the front head off the bass drum and built a tunnel for it, although he commented that he would have left it alone if he was running concert sound.

I also brought a 5.5 Ludwig Supraphonic and a 5.5 Yamaha Oak Custom, but he got good sounds so quickly we didn't even unzip their bags.

If I was tracking today, I'd probably use the walnuts.

I still use my 1971 Ludwig silver sparkle, 3 ply maple kit.....24, 18, 14. When tuned properly, they sound amazing.The Band

> When tuned properly, they sound amazing.

Right there is rules one through ten for recording drums! Mic placement counts a lot, but if you start out with great sounding drums... that's the basic sound that will be recorded. Some guys waste days trying to reproduce a drum sound they heard on a recording on a live set of drums. It's insane.

Great drums, tuned right for the music being played, mic em up and go. In the old days they basically mic'ed the room while capturing a live performance. There is not one digital recording today that sounds anywhere near as good coming through speakers as any of the old stuff where cats were recorded live. All those live/in the moment sounds mixing and clashing, that's what made for great sounding recordings. As a player, I have no patience for electronic device nerds diddling with dials and effects for hours on end trying to duplicate a sound that only exists inside their own heads. Just get the music down, diddle later. That's what post production is for!

Quality drums tuned well... you're off and running! I wish Jon (Bermuda) or BunE would chime in. Between those two cats alone you have more recording experience, time in the studio, than all the rest of us lumped together.

John

Yes, I've always admired the talent it takes the Weird Al band to come up with the various guitar/drum sounds that replicate the originals. Kudos to Bermuda and co.

Good recording = good sounding instrument + good room + good mics + good placement + good signal path + good recording medium. Anything short of that creates difficulty in getting a "good" sound recorded. You can substitute the word "desired" for good as well. Some not-so-great recording sessions have yielded great recordings anyways.

In the old days( 60`s for me) we we`re recorded"live off the floor".One guys makes a mistake and "take # two".But with the ambience of the room miked up perfectly, quality mikes,placement,and a great enginer you just couldn`t go wrong. And the live energy of the band working together, was really felt in the music.With todays recording technology it almost seems too perfect 'if there is such a thing' and anything is possible,but again...thats today and i love it all.

As to my "Go to drums for recording" i really like my 1979 b/o Ludwigs with an assortment of snares,there warm sounding and can kill when necessary-good all round versatile kit.Always have your kit tuned before you go into the studio and fresh heads if possible, then tweak to the studio room.Basic stuff i know...but can save you $ and make your session go much more smoothly.

Wayne