Unpopular Drumming Opinion Thread

Starship Krupa said:
I wasn't even aware of this, but I pretty much only pay attention to vintage drums and lower-end stuff so I can help with recommendations on first drum kits. The new Pearl Exports, Gretsch Catalinas, etc.

My peeve is that bass drums have gotten too deep. I don't want one that's more than 14". My favorite kit is an old Slingerland with a 20x14 bass, and it sounds great.
Click to expand...

I knew I liked you. I was looking over a GC catalogue last night and just annoyed that I couldn't find a kit in a configuration the I liked. I don't care for this 12, 16 tom setup. That small tom doesn't sound good with the larger floor tom. Deep kick drums just creep me out. 14 crew!!
 
Just my humble opinion:

Double-bass blast beats are retarded.
Screaming incoherently and growling is not singing.
Listening to Jazz is the most face-grinding, mind-numbing activity I can think of; even while pretending I enjoy it, so I can impress others with how cultured musically I am.
My sub $1000 ddrum maple shells sound way better than 90 percent of any other kit I've played that costs twice that much...
My crappy, garbage can lid, mass-produced, stamped 16" Zildjian ZXT crash sounds better than any Avedis or K 16" crash.
 
Im really gonna dig my own grave here:

1) 4 piece kits bring me down.

2) I like fades and stains. Sparkle and oyster finishes, to me, are "old man" finishes. (I can say this, since Im an old man myself)

3) Any bass drum more then 14" deep is a novelty drum.
 
Watching Kenny Aronoff does 2 things to me

1) I cringe because he looks like he is about to take his eye out with his stick tips

2) I cringe because he looks like he is about to fall off his throne and miss hitting a drum or cymbal

His playing LOOKS really messy and flailing but he holds it together better than anyone
 
Niel Peart might be mechanical sounding, but at least he has some chops (which I find lack a certain amount of feeling - I know he has some feeling because of the amount of effort he puts into his time signatures etc, but it's certainly lacking emotion in my really unprofessional opinion.

However, the drummer from Muse just sounds like a hammer on a production line in a factory. It's solid but that's as best as I can describe it.

And China cymbals - I've never liked them - to me they always sound out of place on a drum kit, I've seen some drummers use them for novelty but for little else.

I still maintain that Chad Smith just does the same drum beat with the same downbeat cymbal breaks on every song in the Chillies.

Also, when going to a rehearsal room, does anybody else HATE the fact that nearly every single drummer these days want to do away with the right rack tom and replace it with the ride? I know Bonham drummed that way, but I hate to see an extra drum sitting on the side and having to arrange the kit, having to move the ride so that the extra tom is racked properly. EVERYBODY does it, what's the obsession?

I'm gonna get killed for saying this.
 
The SunDog said:
Is the idea to say something that will just infuriate others? Ok here goes!

Danny Carey is just all right.

Girls playing drums is like girls throwing. A lot of movement that misses the mark.

The drummer for Hootie and the Blowfish is awesome!!

Let the vicious retorts commence.
Click to expand...

Yes, the Hootie and the Blowfish drummer is good. +1

But wow, don't be sexist or anything. There's a whole lot of girls who could probably drum better than you.
 
Have to agree about Chad Smith. He plays with zero dynamics, just bashing every single note and playing similar grooves in every single song with lots of bashing on hats and crashes. I liked him as a younger drummer, but as I investigated more funk I realized that Chad didn't have the subtlety and dynamics of the funk greats like Zig and Clyde Stubblefield for example.

I find myself less and less into modern music because it just feels like a desperate sell, upping the sex appeal to softcore porn in pop where pasties and a g-string is modesty and songs are just annoying little earworms. The soul and passion is gone, just some assembly line like everything else in a lot of ways. As music becomes more electronic, and the industry is just struggling to survive, (i.e Playing it safe, being conservative) I just feel out of touch as a 31 year old. I love exploring the 60's and 70's, both in artists I listen to already, but also just listening to as much amazing blues, jazz, fusion, and rock that came out during those eras. I'd much rather explore the past then deal with a great deal of popular music out there right now.

Joseph "Zig" Modeliste is the funkiest, strangest drummer to ever groove the hell out of the drums. He sounds so unusual, with his own style of beats and fills that's hard to imitate because of his influences and overall style. But it grooves and swings so hard, tight yet loose, off but on. It sounds human, amazing, and I think he might be one of a handful of some of the best to ever play the instrument. I'd say he's the funkiest drummer to ever play IMO.

I think my mutt Gretsch-Pork Pie-Pearl kit with Sabian hats, ride, crash sounds amazing and don't feel the need to buy a more expensive kit at all or add new components. With ambassadors on the snare, superkick II on the bass, and emperors on the toms I get amazing tone even in shows with no mics or one mic recordings thanks to learning to tune and balancing the levels of the cymbal and drums.

Double bass is overused and I'd like to hear more subtleties and colours with hi-hat swoops and micro-dynamics/accents on the hats.

Meg White, Charlie Watts, and Ringo played exactly what was needed, nothing more, nothing less for their situations and aren't worthy of the hate they receive.
 
These three opinions are probably the definition of unpopular!

I actually really like a lot of top 40 music (I'm largely a metal music fan) some of the song writing in pop music is unarguably great.

I hate close mindedness towards any genre of music. Every genre has its value and whether you personally like it, or can listen to it as an individual, does not detract from its worth.

I find it difficult to go back and listen to many of the "classics", largely I think this is because I just don't like the drum sounds on a lot of older records. I'd much rather unearth a new band that still play to one man and his dog in a local pub (Or more acurately these days, all have youtube channels teaching people their riffs).
 
Dodeska said:
When I see lists like "top 50 drummers" I genuinely have no clue who about 45 of them are, & have never knowingly heard them play anything. In fact, I don't know who most drummers are unless they are in a band I like, & even then I've got to really like them to be bothered to find out their name. I'm just not that much of a drumming nerd!
Maybe not an unpopular statement, more an honest one.
Click to expand...

That's exactly how I feel. I have never heard of Dave Weckl or Neil Peart before this.
 
_Leviathan_ said:
Have to agree about Chad Smith. He plays with zero dynamics, just bashing every single note and playing similar grooves in every single song with lots of bashing on hats and crashes. I liked him as a younger drummer, but as I investigated more funk I realized that Chad didn't have the subtlety and dynamics of the funk greats like Zig and Clyde Stubblefield for example.
Click to expand...

Chad Smith is one of my hero's and I just don't get this criticism. I can see how you might watch some footage of him slamming away in a stadium and think he just hard hitter but he's playing all these lovely ghost notes and he's solid as a rock with oodles of feel. He definitely always has a funky accent to whatever he plays but if you think he always plays the same beat it's probably because we don't hear him doing much besides playing chilli peppers.

To me he's got everything Bonham, Zig and Clyde have/had. <--- unpopular opinion?
 
Not a big fan of Charlie's use of his China cymbal. Also his stuttering hi hat playing makes me nervous. Other than that I basically like the guy.
 
Plastic tipped drumsticks - I don't really like the sound of them. They mark your cymbals differently and also require more effort and world resources to manufacture.
Wood-tipped are 'au naturel'....just an extension of the stick.
 
Neil Peart is not even close to being the "best" drummer.

And I say that as a Rush fan who's seen them live twice.
 
Dre25 said:
Chad Smith is one of my hero's and I just don't get this criticism. I can see how you might watch some footage of him slamming away in a stadium and think he just hard hitter but he's playing all these lovely ghost notes and he's solid as a rock with oodles of feel. He definitely always has a funky accent to whatever he plays but if you think he always plays the same beat it's probably because we don't hear him doing much besides playing chilli peppers.

To me he's got everything Bonham, Zig and Clyde have/had. <--- unpopular opinion?
Click to expand...

You are entitled to your opinion, but to my ears he plays with zero dynamics on the recordings as well, and plays too rock influenced to be genuinely funky. Even in interviews he talked about trying to play at genuine funk gigs and the musicians on the bandstand telling him not to bash his damn hats so much and actually play with more swoops and dynamics. I guess I'm a funk snob, but the Chili's are heavy handed pop-funk at best for me now.
 
Last edited:
_Leviathan_ said:
You are entitled to your opinion, but to my ears he plays with zero dynamics on the recordings as well, and plays too rock influenced to be genuinely funky. Even in interviews he talked about trying to play at genuine funk gigs and the musicians on the bandstand telling him not to bash his damn hats so much and actually play with more swoops and dynamics. I guess I'm a funk snob, but the Chili's are heavy handed pop-funk at best for me now.
Click to expand...

I agree with this; Smith is a rock drummer who plays things with some funk flavor.

That being said, his early work with RHCP sounds great to my ears.
 
opentune said:
Plastic tipped drumsticks - I don't really like the sound of them. They mark your cymbals differently and also require more effort and world resources to manufacture.
Wood-tipped are 'au naturel'....just an extension of the stick.
Click to expand...

I like my nylon tips. They're more durable and they don't mark your cymbals. I like to roll with them because I think they sound better (crisp and cleaner.)
 
AllenS said:
I agree with this; Smith is a rock drummer who plays things with some funk flavor.

That being said, his early work with RHCP sounds great to my ears.
Click to expand...
I really believe his drumming and sound hasn't changed much in the 20-odd years he has been with the Chili Peppers.

I prefer the Jack Irons days of RHCP.
 
I've nothing against rock drumming. I love it when people put variations on it though, maybe some different imaginative intros and quirky fills.

I've been listening to the Chilies for a long time now and it was my introduction to drumming in many ways.

I mean even Ringo (no matter how simple it sounded) put some interesting melodic introductions to songs and tried doing different stuff with fills.

With Chad (and this is my opinion) he more or less does the SAME kind of fills, cymbal breaks and beats with every song. I've lost count of the number of times he does this off beat rock thing with grace stroke strums on the snare on the vast majority of the songs then when it gets to the break on the song he does this cymbal/bass downbeat thing. It's on nearly EVERY song. I don't care if he does a simple beat, I just want to hear him do something different with the songs now and then.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top