"Recording a Great Drum Sound Recording Drums Recording a great drum sound should not be difficult. Start with a great sounding room and tune your drums well so that they sound good in the room. Then all the engineer need do is put up a few decent mics and record. I remember a session I recorded with the fabulous engineer Gary Mankin. Someone came through the control room and asked him how he got such a great drum sound. He said it was VERY DIFFICULT, he had to put up a few mics and run them into the board – that’s it – no eq, no gimmics, no tricks. Just a well tuned drum set, in a good sounding room, played well and we had a great drums sound. I have been fortunate to recording in some very nice recording studios, I have also been involved in some very low budget recording projects. You don’t need a high priced studio to get a great drum sound, it helps a lot, but it is possible to get a great drums sound in a low budget situation too. You need a great sounding room! With the por...

"A paradiddle is a rudiment that combines single and double strokes in such a way that alows drummers to make more interesting patterns, free up a hand so that it can move somewhere else on the drums and of course makes for a lovley variety of beats particularly in the funk genre. here are the major paradiddles and their most common names then: paradiddle RLRR LRLL double paradiddle RLRLRR LRLRLL triple paradiddle RLRL RLRR LRLR LRLL paradiddlediddle RLRRLL or LRLLRR paradiddlediddlediddle RLRR LLRR LRLL RRLL inverted paradiddle RRLR LLRL permutated paradiddle RLLR LRRL double inverted paradiddle RLRRLR LRLLRL double permutated paradiddle RLRLLR LRLRRL triple inverted paradiddle RLRLRRLR LRLRLLRL triple permutated paradiddle RLRLRLLR LRLRLRRL"

Cures For Common Drum Problems SNARE DRUMS Symptom: The Snare Drum has too much ring. Cures: 1. Tune the heads lower. 2. Use a heavier head (i.e. Coated CS with Dot on Bottom or Coated Emperor). 3. Use a full or partial muffling ring. 4. Use an alternate Snare Drum. 5. Have the edges checked and/or recut to a flatter angle. Symptom: The Snare Drum doesn’t have enough ring. Cures: 1. Tune the head higher. 2. Use a thinner head (i.e. Coated Ambassador or Diplomat). 3. Use an alternate Snare Drum. 4. Have the edges checked and/or recut to a sharper angle. Symptom: The Snares buzz when the Tom-toms are hit. Cures: 1. Check that the snares are straight. Replace as needed. 2. Check that the snares are flat and centered on the drum. 3. Loosen the bottom head. 4. Retune the offending toms. 5. Use an alternate Snare Drum. TOM-TOMS Symptom: One or more of the Tom-toms are difficult to tune, don’t blend or have an unwanted 'growl.' Cures: 1. Check the top hea...

Troy's Drum Tips for Young Drummers: Drum Tips - More on Tuning The Snare Drum : "Drum Tips - More on Tuning The Snare Drum In the truely 'artistic' sense, there is no right or wrong way to tune a snare drum. However, there are some consistent elements of tuning that will make it easier to get the sounds you want out of your snare drum instead of being stuck with a drum sound that you don't like. For those of you who are frustrated with the current sound you're getting from your snare drum the following steps should help maintain equal tension between the lugs and ultimately get the sound your looking for from your snare drum. Start with New Heads It is best to start with new heads - can't get a good sound with those old, worn out, beat up, crusty heads. Spend a few bucks and get yourself new heads. Especially think about replacing the heads before any big show or recording session. Your audience, bandmates, and engineers will thank you! Personally, I prefe...

Troy's Drum Tips for Young Drummers: Drum Tips - Bass Drum Tuning : "Drum Tips - Bass Drum Tuning Heads Good heads are essential part of good tone. If you have a dent from the beater wearing into the batter head of your kick drum you are overdue for a head change. The resonant (front) head needs replacing much less often - but once in a while it's not a bad idea to replace it too. Drum heads are actually much stronger when they are very tight. Bass drum heads are generally at a much lower tension than any of the other drums. Low tension makes the bass drum head more prone to damage and it does suffer when you kick it over and over in the exact same spot with every stroke! Mic Hole A hole in the front bass drum head gives access for microphone placement and changes to any internal mufffling. It also changes the sound of the drum. The air stream generated by striking the batter head will bounce back and forth better with as much of the front head remaining as possible. A sma...