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:: STICKS ::
It has taken me many years to find a stick that I love. I used a Vic Firth model for several years before Zildjian started making sticks. Originally, I switched to the Zildjian 6A. I used this stick for about a year. About 8 years ago I began to use this signature model similar to the "jazz" weight and length with a slightly rounded tip. I really wanted a stick I could use for everything. This stick has a special black "ban" at the sweet spot of the crosstick. I makes playing the crosstick sound consistent and strong. In combination with the Groove-Wedge it is a great "produced" sound. It's hard to miss it now! I hated switching sticks for different gigs. It is a very exact science gaining control over the sticks to the level needed to play effectively. For me, switching sticks models makes it very hard to keep control. However, I do know several players that do it very well. I use a wood tip model; I think it is more musical sounding on the cymbals.
This stick is only available from this web-site and from Zildjian by special order. Please contact John Sorenson at Zildjian for more details.
:: CYMBALS ::
I have used Zildjian cymbals my enitre career. I have been a Zildjian artist since 1992. Keep in mind, being primarily a session player, I use a lot of different cymbals. I have a case full of rides, a case of crashes and a case of hi-hats that go to every session. So that this page is not a full book, we will discuss what I call my "Set-up". This is my general set-up that is used live and the start of every session before any substitutions would be made.
Hi-Hats - My primary hi-hats are 14". The K Custom Special Dry Light hi-hats work for a large percentage of what I do. They are very musical and controlled, while having a "Old School" sound. If I want a real "Hi-Fi" set of hats I have a custom set that I put together at the factory. The top cymbal is a 13" A Custom hi-hat top; the bottom cymbal is a 13" Z hi-hat top. This set is very dry,tight and crisp. They have a great foot chick sound and record well.
16" Custom Re-Mix EFX crash - This is a great, very thin cymbal that has a "trashy" crash sound. It works well with lighter strikes and is very nice with mallet swells. It is a cymbal that Paul Francis and I experimented with at the Zildjian factory.
6" A Custom splash (upside down on 16" Re-Mix) - I have always used some sort of splash cymbals on my kit. I used up to three at one point in my career! I have always loved the colors they create. They are quick and able to be used in several places in various types of music. They also have great humor if used in the right spots!
17" A Custom crash - This is a very versatile crash cymbal. It is thin and makes a great light volume ride cymbal. It has a very broad crash with nice sustain. Also, this cymbal has one of the best bells I have ever played.
Prototype ride cymbal - This is one of my two main ride cymbals. It is very dry and almost impossible to build up. This cymbal records very well. I can't tell you more right now because it is still in development. It is a revolutionary design that we are still designing. Stay tuned! The 20" Constantinople medium thin ride is my second primary ride. This cymbal has a beautiful, musical riding sound and a nice controlled crash. This is cymbal is one of the most muscial instrumnets I have ever played. It works great for almost every style of music.
18" Constantinople crash - This is a great crash cymbal. It has just the right amount of decay and projection. What I really like about the two crashes that I use is that they sit well in the family of cymbals. They don't jump out of the drum set "mix". It really helps with the room and overhead mic mixes. This crash also has a very musical light riding sound.
18" Constinople Crash w/six rivots. This cymbal has much more spread because of the six rivots and works great for creating "washes" of sound. It is awsome for ballads and has a real "mood" as well.
:: HEADS ::
I use Remo heads and exclusively sand have been a Remo artist since 1994. I have tried several different head combinations on my kits. I could never find a combination of heads that got out of the drums what I wanted, except for the Remo Ambassadors. A lot of other heads character the drum sound too much. I find that the Ambassadors have the great balance of durability and purity of drum tone.
Tom Heads
For all of the toms, I use the Coated Ambassadors on top and clear Ambassadors on the bottom. They have a nice round attack and let the drum reach its optimal sustain level. I don't mind the Clear Emperor on the 16" drums; it has a nice controlled bottom end. I find that using the Emperors on the smaller toms dries the drum up too much. One thing is for sure, I never have any muffling on the toms! This is "My" sound. Often we need to adjust the ring levels on a sessions to work with the style of song. But, I never muffle drums live.
Kick Heads
I been using the Renaissance Powerstroke 3 on the kick. I used more muffling in the past in my kick drums. In the past year, I have been using a lot less. The Powerstroke 3 heads have helped achieve this. I basically use a small rolled-up towel attached to the bottom corner of the batter head. I want a nice punchy sound with a lot of low end. Remo and Dave Weckl actually teamed up to make a production muffle that does the same thing and works greeat! One of my biggest complaints about kick sounds are when they don't have any tone. I like to find the balance of the kick having the sound of a drum while still being able to get that funky drive. The combination of the May miking system and the Subkick has made it possible to find the exact sound of the kick I was looking for. I use a full front head on all of the kick drums. I now have a custom logo head that Remo designed for me( you can see the custom head in the Photo Gallery section). This head has no large hole but it has 12, 1/8" diameter holes around the outer circumference of the head. This allows the air to release from the drum without losing the bottom end. If you don't release the air, you will get that "flutter" on the batter head when you play. This has allowed me to use the 24" drum and still get the drive of the smaller kick size but still maintain the low-end fundemental and tone of the 24" drum . Because it is not very muffled, the drum is allowed to "breath" and still get some tone from the full front head.
Snare Heads
I sometimes use various styles of snare heads depending on the drum. My primary head is the Suede Ambassador. I use it on most of my snare drums. It has a great brush sound and allows the drum to create a nice tonal center. My default head is the Coated Ambassador. I can always get a happening snare sound from that head. I do not like muffling the snares with any rings or tape. I like the drums to maintain their sonic character. If you muffle snares too much they all sound alike.
:: MICROPHONES ::
I have been using May microphones for about eight years now. They have been a great addition to my tool palette. I feel it is very important for you to have control over your drum sound. An in-depth understanding of how to record your kit or project it properly at a live gig is crucial. Many times I have been on gigs which have been seriously damaged by the sound crew. Usually it is a problem with their level of understanding about how to properly capture music. When I have the variables narrowed down (i.e. bad mics, improper mic placement, etc.) we are less likely to have one of these performance disasters. Randy May, the designer of this miking system, has spent a lot of time perfecting the art of capturing the drums' best fundamental sound. For all my external and internal microphones, I use Shure Brothers mics.
Kick mic (Shure/May Beta 52 internal)
The internal kick mic is indispensable. The Shure Beta 52 is one of the few kick mics I have tried that will not have diaphragm distortion when place up to the batter head. This mic has great low end punch and gets a very true kick drum sound without any odd frequency boosts. I use the mic inside of the kick placed about 8-10" back from the batter head just off-set from the beater impact point. Remember the full front head is intact. It has all of the right frequencies that are missing from the Sub kick. It combination, the 52 and the Sub kick make a strong, musical and controlled tonal punch. It has been great using this combo! (Also, see the SKRM100 Sub kick section of the signature products page for more info and tips!).
Snare mics (Shure SM57 & May XL57)
I have always used the Shure SM57 on the snare drum. It is without a doubt the best snare mic in the world. It has the right frequency pickup character that really works for your snare sound. The May internal snare mic is a great trick. I use the Shure XL57 inside the snare, upside down facing the snares. When used in conjunction with the external mic, you can use the internal mic to dial in as much of the snare element as you want. This really lets you create any snare sounds you could imagine. It also helps with phasing from the top mic and leakage from the kick.
Toms (Shure SM98)
I started using the Shure SM98 after Dave Weckl let me check them out in his studio. I had used other companies clip-on tom mics in the past but I was never really happy with clip-ons until I heard the SM98. They just capture more of the fundamental qualities of the drum than I have heard before. Even though most pro studios still use the Sennheiser 421, I feel that the 421's are a bit woofy and definitely inconvenient as far as their size. The clip-on SM98 are easy to set-up and have really come through for me as far as sound quality. Another trick is using the Sub kick under the floor toms. This is incredible if you can talk the engineer into having another floor tom input channel! You only need to use one unit between the two toms. On live gigs, you are able to feel the floor toms bottom end in the venue like you do the kick drum!
Hi-Hats and Overheads (Shure SM81)
The Shure SM81 is one of the industry standard condenser mics for live work. They have a great range for cymbals and create a nice image for the entire kit. They are very true sounding microphones that make it easy to get a great "sparkle" from the kit.
Room Mic (Shure KSM44)
Using good quality room mic allows you to really get that "drum kit" vibe on the track. After you hear the kit completely closed miked, it sounds a bit odd to not have the room mic in the mix. It helps capture the presence of the kit as a whole. Also using different mic placement positions, you can make your drums bigger or smaller sounding in the room. The KSM44's are a very natural sounding mic. It is a large diaphragm condenser and kits the ambiance in the room very well.
Room Mic (Shure VP88)
In my studio at home I use the Shure VP88 for my room mic. This is another mic that Dave Weckl hipped me to. This mic creates a wonderful stereo image from in front of the kit.
