Ludwig_Paiste Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Which studio album do you think had the best drum/cymbal sound? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock Historian Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 It would be difficult to pick just one album, because overall Bonham had a great drum sound on ALL of them. Most Bonham tracks have GREAT cymbals to begin with. The first album was brilliant (drum sound). Houses of the Holy as a whole, was a very ambient/roomy sounding recording and Presence was similar. Even LZIII had some nice sounding cymbals, (Immigrant Song, SIBLY) etc. There are songs that were compressed to hell, which made the sound of the drums more contained, but even in those tunes his drums still sound big. There are a handful of tunes (from each album) that don't have a "huge" or spacious sound to them. LZ II's (Heartbreaker, Living Loving Maid, Ramble On) but they still stand out as dynamite (well recorded) drum tracks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badgeholder Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 ^^^ I agree, picking an album is tough, I prefer to pick certain songs instead. Like "In My Time of Dying", or "In the Evening". Or "In the Light". Heck, any song that starts with the word IN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidZoso Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 They all had great drum and cymbal sounds beause Jimmy Page knew how to mic the drums and let them breathe. Also he used the green Ludwig kit from 1971-Europe 1973- he used that kit to record In Through the Out Door. At least the bass drum for sure- I remember reading that somewhere. Just listen to the master isolated. Incredible. This answers why they disbanded. Fool in the Rain isolated drum track. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdbAAwQdRaA Wearing and Tearing isolated drum track. All My LOve isolated drum track. Listen to Bonzo humming while playing. haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the chase Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 Tough to choose but I went with PG. The Wanton Song IMTOD Kashmir Trampled Underfoot Sick Again In The Light all pretty massive .... and that's just some of the tracks from the 1974 sessions.. My all time favorite recorded Bonham Cymbal / Drum combo though is on Moby Dick from TSRTS ... right before the hand solo section... that crash cymbal looks like it's going to shatter into a million pcs... ITTOD has a really great drum sound too as does D'yer Maker.. I don't love the song, but the drum sound is so good I always leave it on. There is no wrong answer... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfinsam Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 No wrong answer for sure. But in the context of best drum/cymbal sound on record, for me the winner is Heartbreaker. When the Bonzo comes in after the guitar solo, the sound of the drums and cymbals is electrifying. One can hear the sound of the drum stick hitting the cymbal with such clarity, it is like being right there imo. Try a listen on vinyl, unbelievable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwig_Paiste Posted August 8, 2012 Author Share Posted August 8, 2012 Also he used the green Ludwig kit from 1971-Europe 1973- he used that kit to record In Through the Out Door. At least the bass drum for sure- I remember reading that somewhere. I don't think he used the green kit on In Through The Outdoor. Not even the bass drum. I most certainly believe it was the Ludwig Stainless Steel kit he used at Knebworth and seen in photos from the In Through The Outdoor rehearsals at Manticore Rehearsal Studios. Just listen to the master isolated. Incredible. This answers why they disbanded. What do you mean by that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sagittarius Rising Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I don't think he used the green kit on In Through The Outdoor. Not even the bass drum. I most certainly believe it was the Ludwig Stainless Steel kit he used at Knebworth and seen in photos from the In Through The Outdoor rehearsals at Manticore Rehearsal Studios. What do you mean by that? He means no one could replace Bozo's sound, thus they disbanded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidZoso Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 I don't think he used the green kit on In Through The Outdoor. Not even the bass drum. I most certainly believe it was the Ludwig Stainless Steel kit he used at Knebworth and seen in photos from the In Through The Outdoor rehearsals at Manticore Rehearsal Studios. What do you mean by that? he didn't use the stainless steel kit in the studio at all-from what I have read. I might be wrong. I do know that he used the green sparkle kit to record album III , four symbols, Houses of the Holy and Physical Graffiti. And yes I meant that Bonzo was one of a kind- no one comes close to his swing or power IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwig_Paiste Posted August 9, 2012 Author Share Posted August 9, 2012 The mounted tom sounds too deep to be the 10x14 tom-tom on the green kit to be used on In Through The Outdoor. The stainless steel kit had a 12x15 mounted tom. I am going to have to check my books as to which kit he used post Physical Grafitti. I know someone who would probably know for sure. I will try to find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidZoso Posted August 9, 2012 Share Posted August 9, 2012 The mounted tom sounds too deep to be the 10x14 tom-tom on the green kit to be used on In Through The Outdoor. The stainless steel kit had a 12x15 mounted tom. I am going to have to check my books as to which kit he used post Physical Grafitti. I know someone who would probably know for sure. I will try to find out. Great- I also remember reading thru the years that he didn't use the orange vistalite kit to record in the studio at all either. I am now trying to remember what kit he would have used to record Presence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badgeholder Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 One story said he had a silver sparkle kit used strictly for recording. Robert Plant said he only used wood drums in the studio...I also recall a story claiming he recorded at least one track on "In Through the Out Door" with the front head of his bass drum REMOVED (gasp!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock Historian Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 I also recall a story claiming he recorded at least one track on "In Through the Out Door" with the front head of his bass drum REMOVED (gasp!) To my knowledge, the whole ITTOD sessions were recorded without a front bass drum head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwig_Paiste Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 To my knowledge, the whole ITTOD sessions were recorded without a front bass drum head. Not to discount what you say in any way, but I find this hard to believe. Bonzo was known for always playing double-headed drums (including the bass drum) with absolutely no muffling. I can't see why he would have ever changed this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock Historian Posted August 10, 2012 Share Posted August 10, 2012 Not to discount what you say in any way, but I find this hard to believe. Bonzo was known for always playing double-headed drums (including the bass drum) with absolutely no muffling. I can't see why he would have ever changed this. Bonham was always trying new things...just as his style/technique improved over the years so did his approach to different sounds/ways of playing. I cannot find a link at this exact moment, but he did not use a front head on this album. I remember someone (in Zeppelin) going on record as saying that he really liked the sound of his bass drum for that reason (no front head)...If your any kind of drummer, you can almost tell the difference by just listening to it, while keeping that thought in mind. May be hard for you to believe, but it's not entirely false. Do some searching if you have time and you may find out for yourself (without my input). Im just here to tell you, it is possible that it did happen. If I get a chance, I'll post something myself on this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludwig_Paiste Posted August 10, 2012 Author Share Posted August 10, 2012 Bonham was always trying new things...just as his style/technique improved over the years so did his approach to different sounds/ways of playing. I cannot find a link at this exact moment, but he did not use a front head on this album. I remember someone (in Zeppelin) going on record as saying that he really liked the sound of his bass drum for that reason (no front head)...If your any kind of drummer, you can almost tell the difference by just listening to it, while keeping that thought in mind. May be hard for you to believe, but it's not entirely false. Do some searching if you have time and you may find out for yourself (without my input). Im just here to tell you, it is possible that it did happen. If I get a chance, I'll post something myself on this. Been playing drums for nearly 40 years. I'll keep checking too. I believe it is possible, just really unusual for Bonzo. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the chase Posted August 11, 2012 Share Posted August 11, 2012 The mounted tom sounds too deep to be the 10x14 tom-tom on the green kit to be used on In Through The Outdoor. The stainless steel kit had a 12x15 mounted tom. I am going to have to check my books as to which kit he used post Physical Grafitti. I know someone who would probably know for sure. I will try to find out. Great- I also remember reading thru the years that he didn't use the orange vistalite kit to record in the studio at all either. I am now trying to remember what kit he would have used to record Presence. That's what I'm thinking too .. John Bonham never used the Vistalite or Stainless Steel kits in the studio. He owned a Silver Sparkle kit from 1975-1980 that he never used for live playing .. I believe only in the studio. So this would cover Presence, Bonzo's Montreaux and ITTOD. The sizes according to Jeff Ocheltree in the book "John Bonham A THUNDER OF DRUMS" 26" bass drum, 15" mounted tom, 16" and 18" floor toms. I'm positive I read somewhere this was the kit he used on Presence. I've also read he didn't use a front bass drum head on In Through Out Door A couple things I found when I googled about this ... Terry Bozzio used a Green Sparkle Bass Drum when he recorded Guitar Shop with Jeff Beck At Sol Studio... So didn't Jason Bonham when he recorded Outrider with Jimmy ... at Sol Studio... The Thunder of Drums book says that Pat Bonham owns the Green sparkle kit it.. So maybe she lets Jimmy borrow it for sessions.. or maybe there are 2 Green Sparkle kits. John Bonham also gave away some of his kits.... He had a black and white swirl Vistalite kit that he gave to author Chris Welch. This thing was ugly as sin, but what a present! Roxy Music Drummer Paul Thompson now owns the beautiful Maple Kit (1969-1970) that Bonham sold to a friend of his for a "fiver". edit from wikipedia... John was known for telling the band that the Green Sparkle kit was his favourite and best sounding kit, and it was used on all recordings from IV onwards, excluding Presence where he used the Silver Sparkle kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidZoso Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 That's what I'm thinking too .. John Bonham never used the Vistalite or Stainless Steel kits in the studio. He owned a Silver Sparkle kit from 1975-1980 that he never used for live playing .. I believe only in the studio. So this would cover Presence, Bonzo's Montreaux and ITTOD. The sizes according to Jeff Ocheltree in the book "John Bonham A THUNDER OF DRUMS" 26" bass drum, 15" mounted tom, 16" and 18" floor toms. I'm positive I read somewhere this was the kit he used on Presence. I've also read he didn't use a front bass drum head on In Through Out Door A couple things I found when I googled about this ... Terry Bozzio used a Green Sparkle Bass Drum when he recorded Guitar Shop with Jeff Beck At Sol Studio... So didn't Jason Bonham when he recorded Outrider with Jimmy ... at Sol Studio... The Thunder of Drums book says that Pat Bonham owns the Green sparkle kit it.. So maybe she lets Jimmy borrow it for sessions.. or maybe there are 2 Green Sparkle kits. John Bonham also gave away some of his kits.... He had a black and white swirl Vistalite kit that he gave to author Chris Welch. This thing was ugly as sin, but what a present! Roxy Music Drummer Paul Thompson now owns the beautiful Maple Kit (1969-1970) that Bonham sold to a friend of his for a "fiver". edit from wikipedia... John was known for telling the band that the Green Sparkle kit was his favourite and best sounding kit, and it was used on all recordings from IV onwards, excluding Presence where he used the Silver Sparkle kit. Bonzo owned two of the green sparkle kits. Yes Paul Thompson does own the double bass kit from 1969. I used to talk to him in emails and he showed me photos. Very nice guy and Roxy Music is one of my fav groups. Paul also told me about his getting to fly on the Starship with Led Zeppelin during the 1975 tour-very cool stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidZoso Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Here the Maple double bass Ludwig kit that Bonzo had in 1969 and now Paul Thompson of Roxy Music owns. That is Paul playing in the pic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeppMan93 Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Its hard to say, because all of the albums have greatly tuned drums. But his green sparkle drum kit he used to record Physical Graffiti flat out gets my vote just because of the power he has on songs like Kashmir or In My Time of Dying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMachine Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 ^^^ I agree, picking an album is tough, I prefer to pick certain songs instead. Like "In My Time of Dying", or "In the Evening". Or "In the Light". Heck, any song that starts with the word IN Great find! LZ I has outstanding sound which I think induced Page to give very much attention to the drum sound from then on. We must add the fact that the sound changes from studio to studio so the sound on Presence is slightly different from LZ III. I personally like the drums from the Headley Grange recordings cause the drums "breathe" a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMachine Posted September 8, 2012 Share Posted September 8, 2012 They all had great drum and cymbal sounds beause Jimmy Page knew how to mic the drums and let them breathe. Also he used the green Ludwig kit from 1971-Europe 1973- he used that kit to record In Through the Out Door. At least the bass drum for sure- I remember reading that somewhere. Just listen to the master isolated. Incredible. This answers why they disbanded. Fool in the Rain isolated drum track. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdbAAwQdRaA Wearing and Tearing isolated drum track. All My LOve isolated drum track. Listen to Bonzo humming while playing. haha Great find! LZ I has outstanding sound which I think induced Page to give very much attention to the drum sound from then on. We must add the fact that the sound changes from studio to studio so the sound on Presence is slightly different from LZ III. I personally like the drums from the Headley Grange recordings cause the drums "breathe" a lot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue Dounim Posted May 10, 2013 Share Posted May 10, 2013 His best sound was the studio version of SIBLY. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bub72ck Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Physical Graffiti for me. Very full and robust. The cymbals on IMTOD are fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bondog72 Posted July 25, 2015 Share Posted July 25, 2015 One story said he had a silver sparkle kit used strictly for recording. Robert Plant said he only used wood drums in the studio...I also recall a story claiming he recorded at least one track on "In Through the Out Door" with the front head of his bass drum REMOVED (gasp!) I know this thread is ancient, but the interesting thing about the head removed on Bonzos kit during recording has been discussed and debated for years. Jimmy brought it up very recently in an interview discussing the recording of "In Through the Out Door" at Polar studios. To quote Jimmy " The album sounds a little bit contained. It was a state-of-the-art studio, but there was no ambience. We had to take the front bass skin off John Bonham’s drums. Then we had to use a machine to create a fake ambience." You guys make have read the interview or it might be posted here already. I remember there was this debated photo that looked like Bonham's Green sparkle set with the front head removed and the Stainless set in the same room all mic'ed up on a Polar studios photo. http://www.saladrecords.com/images/PolarStudios.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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