DRUMS
MORE DRUM SOUND TRICKS | Carl Albrecht
Drums are like all other instruments when it comes to finding that “ just right sound .” Guitar players buy more guitars and pedals . Keyboard players get new gear or add software . And so it is with us drummers . We ’ re always exploring the world of sound . Getting some new drums , cymbals , electronics , or percussion gear is very inspiring .
My first thought on this subject is always start from a basic drum kit that works for almost everything . A great four or five piece kit with a great ride cymbal , and two crashes . If you ’ ve got that together than everything else is just icing on the cake . Within the context of this basic setup I can change heads , adjust the tuning and the muffling and play in almost any style of music . Of course , what always happens is that you end up at least with two or three more snares … and … OK , OK , I ’ m getting ahead of myself . The basic kit is enough ! For NOW …
Let ’ s start with the kick drum . I ’ ll have three different mallets ready . A standard round hard felt beater is a must . Then you should also have a plastic beater . I prefer the DW plastic beater , but anything similar will do . ( This is what I use most of the time .) And then for those big puffy sounds get a huge cloth felt beater . * Insert idea here -- I know you could trigger sounds and adjust your tone with electronics , but I believe it ’ s good to know how to get the sounds you want from your kit with tuning , muffling , and other adjustments .
I normally use a 22 ” maple kick ( Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute ). Changing beaters as I mentioned above and adjust the muffling inside has pretty much worked for me in every setting . I still like double ply heads on the beater side and a standard resonant head on the front with a 6 ” hole cut at about 9 o ’ clock . I like the kick tuned super low without sounding “ flappy .” If I take the padding out I will tighten up the tuning a bit . But you can always experiment with that . Also , it ’ s almost always standard procedure to use an internal mike ( of your choice ) and some sub-kick device ( Yamaha Subkick ) outside the front head . Other tricks for the kick would be trying to add a resonator extension on the front or even another bass drum . I ’ ve even had a 36 ” concert bass drum set up in front of my kick before to get that huge resonant tone .
Adjusting tom-tom tones is also quite a creative adventure . Start with knowing how your toms sound wide open with no muffling and tuned in different ranges . Be sure to know how low you can tune without sounding ‘ papery ’. Unless you want that sound of course . Then go for an extremely tight tuning . This could be considered jazzy or old school . Even as you experiment with tunings try different muffling techniques . You could go extreme and put towels across the whole drum for that super dead sound . Also try using different types of O-rings . Plastic , paper , or cardboard can be interesting options . There are even manufacturers making drum muffling and effect heads to add to any of your drums . Be bold and buy some gadgets to add to your existing setup just to see what sound options you can come up with . Even before you get into miking , triggering , or other electronic approaches to changing your sound … work on the physical nature of your drums .
Last , but not least , let ’ s work on tweaking your snare sound . Of course , this is where most players begin . Again , like the other drums , be sure to get the fundamental tuning and muffling approach to your snare down perfectly . ( I ’ ve already done other articles on the foundations of tuning .) You should always be ready to go with your prime set up . BUT … once you ’ re confident with that then the sky is the limit . Let there be no boundaries to your heart to discover new sounds . I would always try tuning so low that the snare just sounds “ gooshy ” ( is that a word ?). Then go to the extreme of tuning it as high as possible . I first do this without any additions . No muffling , no gadgets , nothing ! Just wide open . THEN … you can go for whatever ideas you can think of . Try playing the snare with a towel over it . Go ahead … try it . Then use an O-ring … then an O-ring with jingles . ( Yes they make those ). I ’ ve even use a
tambourine with a head on it , taped it to the snare , then played it with brushes , or mallets , or chopsticks , or broom brushes … or whatever is laying around . Really , you want to be radical with the ideas . Will they all work ?? … well that depends on what you ’ re trying to discover .
My final thought on these drum sound experiments is to approach it like there ’ s nothing that is wrong with any of it . It ’ s just a matter of what the music is needing for a particular moment . And therein lies the key … What does the music need ??
Have fun . Keep growing .
Carl Albrecht Professional drummer for 30 + years , playing with Paul Baloche , Don Moen , Ron Kenoly , Abe Laboriel , LeAnn Rimes and others . He ’ s also a clinician , author & pastor . Contact Carl for coaching , online lessons , producing , or sessions . I ’ m still growing too ... www . CarlAlbrecht . com LMAlbrecht @ aol . com