All-Round Setup

[Owens]

I've been looking to replace my Pearl Forum and I'm wondering if I should just go straight to pro-quality or buy an intermediate kit. It seems kind of silly to me to spend all the money in between a pro kit and a beginner kit, cause eventually I'll want to trade that in and get a pro kit.

One of my main concerns is being able to use the same exact kit for live gigs and recording. Is it possible to get something like a Tama Bubinga to sound really good when recorded, or is that kind of kit just good for live gigs? As far as crash cymbals go, are Paiste Rude's and 2002's thick crashes good for recording?

What should I look for in drums, cymbals, and mics if I want to use them for live gigs and recording?

[Northern Redneck]

A good sounding kit will sound good live or recorded.
Dont knock mid-level kits. Many pro's use "intermediate" kits.

[Owens]

I wasn't trying to bash the intermediate kits, I was refereing to a kit that is truly between a beginner and professional in sound quality and construction quality. I would probably want to upgrade again if I bought a "true" intermediate kit.

[Owens]

Sorry for the double, but I've heard thin cymbals are best for recording because of quicker decay and thin drum shells are best for recording because of their resonance. So is that false and thick crashes and thick drum shells are fine for recording? I'm guessing it's just personal preference though, right?

[yohin]

A good sounding kit will sound good live or recorded.
Dont knock mid-level kits. Many pro's use "intermediate" kits.

+1

[Owens]

So anything that sounds good will work?

When it comes to mics, I'm clueless. If I wanted to keep them all the same brand, what brands work the best regardless of cost?

[RHD03]

So anything that sounds good will work?

When it comes to mics, I'm clueless. If I wanted to keep them all the same brand, what brands work the best regardless of cost?

Audix works wonders...Sure makes great mics too. Quality will greatly depend on the price you are comfortable with as they both have different series of drum mics.

When you go into a studio most likely there will be pro mics available through the sound engineer...so the mics will really just be for home recording and live situations, even then, some places supply mics and sound when you play out.

And as far as pro kits go, I'll use both my kits as an example.

Pearl SMX - Intermediate? Yes. Still sounds incredible??? Absolutley!! Maple shells, great hardware. I use this kit in the studio and for live situations.

DWs - Pro? Yes. Sound amazing, better than my Pearls? Yes. COST THREE TIMES AS MUCH??? Yes...but it is a high end kit. The sound difference to my ears is night and day, and they are both maple kits.

After having said that, I will take my Pearls out for gigging anyday, and they were used to record my last demo. So, it's really up to you.

[nucjd]

Sorry for the double, but I've heard thin cymbals are best for recording because of quicker decay and thin drum shells are best for recording because of their resonance. So is that false and thick crashes and thick drum shells are fine for recording? I'm guessing it's just personal preference though, right?

Depends on the room it is recorded in.

[nucjd]

Audix works wonders...Sure makes great mics too. Quality will greatly depend on the price you are comfortable with as they both have different series of drum mics.

When you go into a studio most likely there will be pro mics available through the sound engineer...so the mics will really just be for home recording and live situations, even then, some places supply mics and sound when you play out.

And as far as pro kits go, I'll use both my kits as an example.

Pearl SMX - Intermediate? Yes. Still sounds incredible??? Absolutley!! Maple shells, great hardware. I use this kit in the studio and for live situations.

DWs - Pro? Yes. Sound amazing, better than my Pearls? Yes. COST THREE TIMES AS MUCH??? Yes...but it is a high end kit. The sound difference to my ears is night and day, and they are both maple kits.

After having said that, I will take my Pearls out for gigging anyday, and they were used to record my last demo. So, it's really up to you.

Agree with you. My DW collectors sit in my studio and do not move and I gig with my Tama Superstars. At a club everyone is drinking and having a good time and in all honesty are not really scrutinizing the sound of your kit.

[RHD03]

Agree with you. My DW collectors sit in my studio and do not move and I gig with my Tama Superstars. At a club everyone is drinking and having a good time and in all honesty are not really scrutinizing the sound of your kit.

Exactly!

[Owens]

Depends on the room it is recorded in.

What type of room is good for the thick shells/cymbals?

Agree with you. My DW collectors sit in my studio and do not move and I gig with my Tama Superstars. At a club everyone is drinking and having a good time and in all honesty are not really scrutinizing the sound of your kit.

To my ears, the Superstars sound way better than you would expect if you looked at the wood content. Do you have the Hyper-Drive?

[nucjd]

Well, you can place the best made, best tuned kit with the best recording equipment in a small room with drywall on the walls and ceiling and get staright garbage when you record and play for that matter. Have you ever noticed how good drums sound at say Guitar center? I can tell you they will not sound the same when you get them home unless the room they sit in has a ceiling 20ft tall in a room that is 60 by 60 with no right angles and acoustic tile on the ceiling. My recording room has been acoustically treated and I use an Iso floor. That has made the best difference in sound over my mics, and drums. That being said the shell type and cymbal thickness is pure preference. If there is too much shimmer with a cymbal it is easily fixed by positioning it differently in relation to the overheads. My toms would really only be the part of the kit that shell thickness could be a factor. My DW sings and has definite notes when tuned right therefore I prefer that when recording as any overtones beyond the fundamental note just makes the mix muddy and my Tama's just don't have that innate quality. I have multiple snare made out of multiple materials with different sounds and my go to is a brass snare so shell thickness does not really come into play. Finally the bass drum is at such a low frequency that you really don't notice the tonal qualities. My subkick handles the force behind my bass and my D6 handles the attack and punch.

Yeah, my toms are hyperdrive. they are fine for small venues with quick decay, but my biggest problem with it is in tuning. It just does not tune as easy as my DW. Anothe problem when i have recorded with them is when they get final mixed the sound out of the mixing speakers have been massively adjusted and eq'd to get the right sound. When I my DW play back through the monitor speakers it sounds just like my kit if you are standing in my room.

[Russ]

instead of buying a new set, try getting replacement shells and parts over time as you can afford them. as for mics, theres really no right answer. id say worry more about the mixer than the mics cause that is what will change the settings of the mics your using

[jazzkat]

your board is very important in your sound.
my mapex pro m records very well. i noticed with different boards it can sound completely different.