Do mellow kits mic up better?

PorkPieGuy

Platinum Member
Do mellow kits mic up better than more "lively" drum sets?
 
Depends on the situation and your goal. Are you talking about a live concert or recording studio? Different kits, different mics, and different miking techniques achieve different results, and what sound you’re after is what matters. Do you want a sound that will cut through a band for a festival crowd? Go with a lively kit with un coated heads and close-miking with dynamic mics. Are you looking for an ambient and warm sound for a recording? A “mellow” kit, tuned to the recording space with some well-placed large diaphragm condensers will get you there.
 
I've got a Club Date like yourself, it always recorded great with warmth. And tuned low with those round edges, it never flapped out but holds lows though I tend to keep fairly medium. I never dampen either....generally avoid any moon gel at all cost for toms. But in louder settings live un-mic'd....hmm, it struggles against guitarists that want their 'tone' when cranked, a livelier kit has always cut through better.
 
Depends on the situation and your goal. Are you talking about a live concert or recording studio? Different kits, different mics, and different miking techniques achieve different results, and what sound you’re after is what matters. Do you want a sound that will cut through a band for a festival crowd? Go with a lively kit with un coated heads and close-miking with dynamic mics. Are you looking for an ambient and warm sound for a recording? A “mellow” kit, tuned to the recording space with some well-placed large diaphragm condensers will get you there.

I'm talking about playing live, country music in particular. 🤠
 
Given that you’re playing mostly country, I don’t think the Tom sound matters much. For that matter, I don’t think it matters much, period. And I say that as someone who was obsessed with Tom sound for years. Lol
 
I wonder. I have a 12/14/20, thin-shelled Ludwig kit from the mid 60's with rounded bearing edges. I think the wood is maple over poplar. Through a P.A., it often sounds bigger and throatier than larger drums with harder wood, thicker shells and more "crack" to their sound. I always figured the smaller sizes are what make it easier to mic' up, but maybe the mellower sound is the secret sauce.
 
I don't know about ' better ' , but easier , yes . More for effect than pitch specificity . Experienced barroom sound techs have a prety good understanding of heads that'll work too , usually clear pinstripes , occasionally hydraulics .

Though I believe technology should serve the musician and not the other way around, sometimes it's un avoidable .
 
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I don't know about ' better ' , but easier , yes . More for effect than pitch specificity . Experienced barroom sound techs have a prety good understanding of heads that'll work too , usually clear pinstripes , occasionally hydraulics .

Though I believe technology should serve the musician and not the other way around, sometimes it's un avoidable .

I love using all kinds of heads, but my favorite is Remo Ambassador coated on both toms and snare. My 3-ply kit doesn't have as much sustain as my modern Ludwig CM's. It's like the note gets in and out quickly, and microphones love them. My CM's sound great under mics as well, but I have to treat them with Snareweights in order to get rid of some of the ring. I'm gonna try using Remo Diplomat Clears on the tom heads this time. I like the initial snap of a clear head and bottom end that double-ply heads give. Being a double-ply head, I'm hoping they will be a little easier to harness (and tune). I played a set of Renowns a few weeks ago with these heads that sounded fantastic. I'm also replacing the factory heads from the bottoms of the Ludwig CM's for the first time as well. It should sound like a brand new kit!
 
I'm not a big fan of drums cutting through the mix. Especially in your situation Martin, I'm thinking mellow rather than cutting. Not too mellow, 3 little bears mellow. Just right mellow, but not sounding too muffled.
 
I know sometimes it’s hard to get a real soundcheck on multi act shows, but that’s the only way you’ll see if mellowing them out a bit works.
 
I love using all kinds of heads, but my favorite is Remo Ambassador coated on both toms and snare. My 3-ply kit doesn't have as much sustain as my modern Ludwig CM's. It's like the note gets in and out quickly, and microphones love them. My CM's sound great under mics as well, but I have to treat them with Snareweights in order to get rid of some of the ring. I'm gonna try using Remo Diplomat Clears on the tom heads this time. I like the initial snap of a clear head and bottom end that double-ply heads give. Being a double-ply head, I'm hoping they will be a little easier to harness (and tune). I played a set of Renowns a few weeks ago with these heads that sounded fantastic. I'm also replacing the factory heads from the bottoms of the Ludwig CM's for the first time as well. It should sound like a brand new kit!
@PorkPieGuy, I am pretty sure Remo Diplomats are a rather thin single ply head. Maybe it's the double ply Emperor clears you are thinking about trying?
 
The recording custom is quite a mellow kit so you might be onto something.
 
Do mellow kits mic up better than more "lively" drum sets?
No. I the hands of a good audio engineer any properly tuned kit will sound great.

My 3-ply kit doesn't have as much sustain as my modern Ludwig CM's. It's like the note gets in and out quickly, and microphones love them. My CM's sound great under mics as well, but I have to treat them with Snareweights in order to get rid of some of the ring.
I’ve worked with FOH guys who’ve told me I needed to shorten the sustain on my drums. No big deal, but it would be nice to have the perfect decay without any dampeners.
 
I’ve worked with FOH guys who’ve told me I needed to shorten the sustain on my drums. No big deal, but it would be nice to have the perfect decay without any dampeners.
Relating to sustain duration, it depends on the situation, but there’s no substitute for well prepared drums.

It’s the drummer’s responsibility to provide an instrument that is fit for purpose, & you’ll be surprised how infrequent an experience that is for any FOH engineer outside of a significantly professional context. Accordingly, in the absence of correct preparation, most engineers shoot for ease of control, & regrettably, that becomes their default path to a quick mix applied to all.

I find it helps to briefly chat through expectations with the engineer before sound check. in my case, that’s usually “the toms ring out a fair bit, & we’re comfortable with that”. This usually avoids excessive use of compression & gating. I also ask for absolutely minimum gating on the bass drum. In popular music forms, most engineers are not used to accommodating a wide dynamic range on bass drum, & gate harshly as a default. I’ve lost count of how many times my bass drum has fallen out of the mix as a result of that.
 
@PorkPieGuy, I am pretty sure Remo Diplomats are a rather thin single ply head. Maybe it's the double ply Emperor clears you are thinking about trying?

My 3-ply kit I'm using G1 coated heads, and on my modern CM's, I'm gonna try out Emperor clears on the batters. I'm also replacing all of the resos. I'm hoping that replacing the resos will help with tuning.
 
My 3-ply kit I'm using G1 coated heads, and on my modern CM's, I'm gonna try out Emperor clears on the batters. I'm also replacing all of the resos. I'm hoping that replacing the resos will help with tuning.
Sounds good! I am about to get all new heads on my new-to-me Tama kit. It has Tama branded Evans G2s on top and G1s on bottom but I have no idea how old they are and they aren't doing it for me. I will swing by 2112 soon and grab a pack of clear Emperors for the batters and clear Ambassadors for the resos. Then it's a matter of experimentation and trying to avoid getting sucked into the one billion drum tuning videos on YouTube.
 
Sounds good! I am about to get all new heads on my new-to-me Tama kit. It has Tama branded Evans G2s on top and G1s on bottom but I have no idea how old they are and they aren't doing it for me. I will swing by 2112 soon and grab a pack of clear Emperors for the batters and clear Ambassadors for the resos. Then it's a matter of experimentation and trying to avoid getting sucked into the one billion drum tuning videos on YouTube.

Man, I so need to go to 2112. When I pass anywhere near Raleigh, it's always on a Sunday on my way back from a weekend gig or something.
 
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