Freethinker Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 We all know that Page was a genius when it came to recording, producing and mastering. But who (apart from playing ofcourse) was the main man behind the recorded drum sound? Page or Bonham. Did Bonham pick his microphones? or did Page? Did Bonham decide how his microphones should be set? or did Page? Did Bonham produce his own sound as how it was gonna be on the record? or did Pagey ? Maybe some of you have a little more info on how this worked.. thx ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StringBender Posted March 10, 2008 Share Posted March 10, 2008 We all know that Page was a genius when it came to recording, producing and mastering. But who (apart from playing ofcourse) was the main man behind the recorded drum sound? Page or Bonham. Did Bonham pick his microphones? or did Page? Did Bonham decide how his microphones should be set? or did Page? Did Bonham produce his own sound as how it was gonna be on the record? or did Pagey ? Maybe some of you have a little more info on how this worked.. thx ! My best guess would be in the early, early days it would have probably been all Jimmy as far as the recording setup - in other words compare Bonham's limited studio experience at the time to the countless hours Jimmy had spent in the studio. Bonzo wasn't in a position to tell Page how to record! But as years went by and Bonzo grew more studio-wise as any musician would, I'm sure he knew more about how to get the sound he wanted. That's my two cents.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badgeholder Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I agree. As for he mics, etc. all Jimmy. But THAT SOUND he's capturing so nicely is pure Bonzo. The drum sizes, the heads, the tuning, which cymbals to use...All Bonz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pb Derigable Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Page is always credited with coming up with the Bonham sound. And it's true because Jimmy wanted the band to sound a certin way. I would assume Bonzo would have more say later, but Jimmy was involed with Bonzo Montruex idea. From what i read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evster2012 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 While Page was a pioneer in ambient micing, he did rely on engineers like Glyn Johns, Eddie Kramer and Ron Nevison to realize his vision. However, it should be mentioned that it was Bonham who knew how to tune his drums. Just listen to the live recordings with simple stage micing. I imagine if Mickey Most miced Bonzo, it would still sound like Bonzo. But to answer the question, yes, it was Page who got that great album sound. Just listen to Jimmy and Bonzo with Screaming Lord Sutch from 1970. The drums could have come right off of Led Zeppelin II! It's sooo Bonham, it's sick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huw Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I think Bonham was more concerned with the drums & their tuning than with the mics. The "Thunder of Drums" book about him has a couple of anecdotes that seem to go along with this. As long as the mics weren't in his way he was happy. One of the engineers (forget which) recalled JB saying "You're going to get me a great sound today, aren't you?" with a (humourous) veiled threat at the end. The closest I've ever heard anyone else get to Bonham's bass drum sound on record is Michael Lee on P&P's Unledded album - it has that "breath" to it. That seems to confirm that Page was the one who knew how to get the sound recorded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supraphonic Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 We all know that Page was a genius when it came to recording, producing and mastering. But who (apart from playing ofcourse) was the main man behind the recorded drum sound? Page or Bonham. Did Bonham pick his microphones? or did Page? Did Bonham decide how his microphones should be set? or did Page? Did Bonham produce his own sound as how it was gonna be on the record? or did Pagey ? Maybe some of you have a little more info on how this worked.. thx ! if you listen to the 'drum only' tracks from the ITTOD polar studio album you can hear jimi applying effects during the live takes,so Bonzo was playing with effects added ,untill they got the required take,the interesting part was the effects were not applyed to a track afterwards,so jimi influenced the playing on the track in this way, (an insight into genius). according to John Ocheltree bonzo's drum tech for 79 the michrophone types & placements had always been the same ,set out to jimi's studio plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kirchzep27 Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 I agree with the above mentioned comments. For jimmy page, it must have been like how can we record these drums as best we can......... Page's concepts and visions of sound must have been sky rocketed with bonham after the first record. But again with -led zep, it was always the rounded out band that made it really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gainsbarre Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 It's interesting though how varied the drum sound is on led Zep albums. For example, the drum sound (as in the recorded and mixed sound) on Since I've Been Loving You is completely different to Out On The Tiles. And then the drum sound of Led Zep IV is completely different to that from Led Zep III. I mean just compare the drum sounds from led Zep III to Houses Of The Holy...in two completely different worlds there. But the recording of Robert's vocal rarely changed. He was always a given a bit of tape echo and stuck right in the middle of the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supraphonic Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 It's interesting though how varied the drum sound is on led Zep albums. For example, the drum sound (as in the recorded and mixed sound) on Since I've Been Loving You is completely different to Out On The Tiles. And then the drum sound of Led Zep IV is completely different to that from Led Zep III. I mean just compare the drum sounds from led Zep III to Houses Of The Holy...in two completely different worlds there. But the recording of Robert's vocal rarely changed. He was always a given a bit of tape echo and stuck right in the middle of the mix. now you are hearing what type of sound jimi wanted as the end result for each track. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freethinker Posted March 12, 2008 Author Share Posted March 12, 2008 Thx guys! I really appreciate your efforts to give a bit more insight into this... I always wondered what Jimmy "saw" in his head sound-wise, I guess his genius goes way beyond what we all know about him. He is definitely underrated as a producer, as he was really a sonic architect. Let the good times Roll ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Seeker Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 Jimmy certainly had a lot to do with it. He believed (rightly so) that the drums are an acoustic instrument, therefore they need room to breathe. He was said to place mics near the drums, as well as away from them, just like he did with his guitar amps. Apparently, Page could sometimes be heard muttering to himself, "Distance is depth" whilst in the studio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireOpal Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 I vote for Pagey as the architect of that massive drum sound. For example, I had heard the Paul McCartney/Wings song "Rockestra Theme" a number of times and didn't realize it was Bonham playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supraphonic Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 I vote for Pagey as the architect of that massive drum sound. For example, I had heard the Paul McCartney/Wings song "Rockestra Theme" a number of times and didn't realize it was Bonham playing. if you listen to P J Proby's album "Three Week Hero" recorded in 1968 ,the session players J Page, J P Jones, J Bonham, lets you hear what they sound like without mr Pages production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nirvana Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 if you listen to the 'drum only' tracks from the ITTOD polar studio album you can hear jimi applying effects during the live takes,so Bonzo was playing with effects added ,untill they got the required take,the interesting part was the effects were not applyed to a track afterwards,so jimi influenced the playing on the track in this way, (an insight into genius). according to John Ocheltree bonzo's drum tech for 79 the michrophone types & placements had always been the same ,set out to jimi's studio plan. I was just listening to those Polar Studio drum tracks today, they are AMAZING! Just snippets of Bonhams drum sound in the studio, but wow! Jimmy would def be at the controls, but the genius was always John's playing. Controlled thunder...imagine the studio tech's when John started wailing away! They must have been floored - after all, ABBA was the "house" band for that studio for years...and then Bonham steps in to play......yikes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonzoghost Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Personally, I think that "classic" Bonham sound is down to the acoustics of Headley Grange. Sure, Bonhams technique, Page's production skills, mics etc all play their part....but.... Presence and ITTOD - the drums sound great, but I don't think that's "classic" Bonham. The "classic" Bonham sound to my ears, the sound that us drummers strive for, is all Headley Grange. Levee.. Stairway Rock & Roll In The Light Kashmir... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purdieshuffle Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I have to be the voice of dissention here...I've always wondered myself how they got that sound. but why hasn't jimmy been able to even come close to recreating it??? I've never heard drums sound like bonzo's...on tape or live...which leads me to believe it was Bonzo all the way, jimmy was good enough and smart enough to capture it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nirvana Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 I have to be the voice of dissention here...I've always wondered myself how they got that sound. but why hasn't jimmy been able to even come close to recreating it??? I've never heard drums sound like bonzo's...on tape or live...which leads me to believe it was Bonzo all the way, jimmy was good enough and smart enough to capture it... I would have to agree with you....it's all Bonzo with the drum "sound". Jimmy however knew the correct techniques required to capture John's amazing sound. Jimmy had Michael Lee, who was extrodinary also, but Jimmy never really captured his drum sound for whatever reason. I've seen Michael in concert - he was incredible! Big sound, fast, and creative. But he lacked the finesse that Bonzo had. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamoKodela Posted March 14, 2008 Share Posted March 14, 2008 its' amazing how full and powerfull the drum sound was on physical graffiti!!! And how subtle it was on the ballda like Stairway or Your time is gonna come!! The whole thing had a lot to do with distance micng, especially the bass drum and also with micing the whole room at a distance and so getting the sound of the whole room!! It also had a lot to do with the way Bonham played and tuned his drums and also how he adapted his playing for various songs!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tadpole in a Jar Posted March 15, 2008 Share Posted March 15, 2008 According to Hammer of the Gods Jimmy had been thinking about making an acoustic band, but when he heard John Bonham he knew he had to go with that sound. So that tells me that John Bonham created the John Bonham sound, although Page sure captured it well. There's a video on YouTube of one of Bonham's former drum techs going over the kit that was used to record and talking about the specs and hitting each part so you can hear the sound. Even when touched by a plebian those drums have a killer sound. John Bonham knew how to pick the right ingredients for the drum sound of all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aphydro Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 to sound like bonham you have to BE bonham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hermit67 Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 definetly page! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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