drumming secrets

In a previous blog "The arrival of a new KIT" you could read about unpacking my new drum kit; the Beech Infinite of SONOR. It took a while, but I managed to find some time to sit down with my new instrument and experiment with the configuration. On top of that I tried various drum heads and different tuning. I would love to invite you and have a peek inside my 'experimental kitchen'.

Between the recording sessions with the Stef Burns Group in Italy, producing new songs for Jenna Attison and teaching, it was hard to find some spare time and make a schedule for spending quality time with my new set. However, thanks to the "Alex Buurman Studio" and the help of Rob Rietveld, we actually managed to use 3 days in their studio to check the drumkit and experiment with it.

In a previous blog "Alex Buurman Productions, day one" I did mention the quality of the acoustics of the live room at this studio. For this reason I thought it would be great to take my drum kit there! We decided to record it at the same time, making use of an ambient miking setup: kick (PG52), 2 overheads (SE2200A) and a mono ambient mike (NEUMANN). In this way we're able to judge what the characters of the drum kit will be!

While Rob is setting up the mikes, I am playing around with a configuration that would inspire me; if you watch the pictures, you can see that I've put the 14" tom next to my hihat, and the 10" tom as a last tom next to my 16" floortom.

After finding the right set up for today I start playing on the set. My first impression: "What have I done?? Where's that Delite sound I got used to in the past 10 years..." Well, I sold it. So no turning back! I needed to start something new; I needed to get inspired again. Starting from scratch helps a lot....however, you have to be brave enough to leave old habbits behind you!

Fortunately for me my product manager Roel de Bock (of P&B Music), came to the studio to drop off various Aquarian drum heads and diecast hoops for my snare drum; with these items I am hoping to improve the set to my taste. I also changed the sound of my snare using Pure Sound strainers. And let me tell you what a difference that makes!! Specially the 40 strainers version! I got a lot more crisp and detailed sound playing my Beech snare now! The diecast hoops make it possible to tune more accurate. Also, when you hit rimshots, or when you play side sticking it does sounds 10 x richer and fuller!

After a few times of playing around the kit I start to understand it better: I really need to say goodbye to things that I got used to. It's a never ending but always challenging process to go through. I have learned that when you think you have reached the sound that you like so much, it can also become a trap, a small prison! If you wanna improve things it's better to keep moving and develope!

I needed to get out and also I felt the urge to go back to my roots: Rock 'n Roll. So let's start with keeping the front skin closed (I am not going to cut a hole in it, not yet!) and take my time to tune it well.

The 12" tom is fantastic because it has that old fashioned size that I played when I was a little kid! 12"x 8. The sound is short and full. Just like a 12" should sound like to my opinion. The resonance heads I simply use the Hi-Frequency Clear; I tune the bottom heads a tone or ,1,5 higer than the batter head.

14" floortom has a great full sound but longer sustain; probably the size that makes it sound like that .

The 16" Floortom I need to spend more time with it; maybe use a different head double ply would do good I guess: a Response 2.

Having the kick with a closed front skin is something always wanted; now is the time to experiment with it a lot. I might get a mike inside the shell, just for practical ways in live situations. However at this moment I am still hunting that heavenly sound. Now I use a Aquarian Super Kick and that sounds VERY controlled!

In the end Rob, Alex and Roel were very pleased with the snare sound; "just how a producer would love to have the snare to sound in a recording session" was what Alex said! Roel and Rob were enjoying themselves during the soundcheck; I made them sit down behind my kit; something I hardly ever do, having anyone else playing my instrument. But for now it felt like an okay thing to do; it also gave me the oportunity to check the sound of my kit from a listeners point of view.

After a few recording takes, I am starting to get into this sound step by step! I must admit, it´s quite a process to get to a sound that I wanna work with. In overall I can sincerely say that I do like this drumkit a lot! Beech is a dry yet powerful shell and it inspires me to play it in a more old fashioned way. I love the sound of the toms 12" en 14" a lot and even the 10"!

Next thing is to use the drums for real life sessions and tours; I am sure it will take some time to really dig into it, but it's all part of my process of learning isn't it?

I will work hard to do some recording with this kit, and put it on line, so you too can enjoy my voyage in finding a new sound. So stay in touch and come back for more, ok?