Modern Drumming.

[Laughter]

Believe it or not someone I know claims that Ringo Starr is the best drummer ever. I find it laughable but whose drumming do we really hear more in modern drumming. My inclination is to say Bonham without a doubt. Yet I do not know Ringo's nuances. What do more deeper Beatles fans think?

[Laughter]

bah! I am insulted by the move. I know the truth, but come on!

[desirezep]

How can you ask a question: anyway the answer is below LOL

JOHN HENRY BONHAM>

[SteveAJones]

Ringo doesn't suck, but he's just a drummer and not a percussionist. I quite like Charlie

Watts but his style, again, is nothing like John Bonham's. It's apples and oranges.

[Laughter]

Ringo doesn't suck, but he's just a drummer and not a percussionist. I quite like Charlie

Watts but his style, again, is nothing like John Bonham's. It's apples and oranges.

The question is about who modern drummers reflect more though.

[RobertPlantyoass]

Ringo Star couldn't drum the Moby intro Bonzo is the definitive modern drummer

[Jarlaxle 56]

Whose drumming do we hear in modern drumming? Well, yes Bonham is heard in a lot of drummers who came to prominence in the 90s. However, Ringo Starr was nothing special, at all, I HIGHLY doubt he influenced anyone. A lot of Jazz drummers were very influential, Billy Cobham for one. I want to say Bill Bruford is another really influential one. Some modern drummers have begun to combine influences, the heavy hitting style of Bonham combined with the insanely fast and accurate style of Cobham.

[BlackDog71]

I say it goes to John Bonham. Ringo was a great drummer, and was in one of the greatest bands in music history. John Bonham, however, was so different, so talented, so HARD, i find it hard to even compare the two in the talent department. Influence wise, i think most of the drummers of modern music today would tell you Bonzo is an influence. I say Bonham.

[Bonham]

I think the answer to your questions is plainly obvious and that you're only asking it to get a thrill out of us confirming that it is John...

[IGG]

I'm a Beatles fan, but not from the drumming standpoint.

As far as modern drummers go, I think the agressiveness of John Bonhams style has permeated most rock drummers working today.  It's also possible to hear Neil Peart's influence as well. 

[tom kid]

Definitely Bonham. You can hear his influence in countless drummers, just listen to Danny Carey from Tool, very Bonham esque drumming imo.

[zero]

bonham raised the quality expectation bar up. and of course the answer is he's

the most influential. he's been held in the highest regards for as long as i remember.

you mention drums and his name is always mentioned as the greatest and most loved

whether you're talking to a rock fan at your apartment complex or to another

musician. you play "she love's you" for your friends on drums they go

"you're getting decent" you play the immigrant song and you're a local legend

while ringo is certainly no technical genius he also not just some generic drummer either.

he gave the beatles a distinctive sound. i think it's an issue of accessibility.

the question should be "who drummers had rather be like". some drummers are

forced to be ringos by default. they all still reflect bonham though. even if they play

in a simple style the quality expectation is higher.

it's like with guitar. when i was a kid i heard people like hendrix and eddie van halen

and never really attempted to emulate them. i heard them and went "whoa that's

awesome, there's no way i could ever do that". i learned from tony iommi instead

when i heard songs like iron man i went "whoa that's great. i think i can learn something

from him". i'm not saying he's ringo or anything. just making a point.

[Bonham]

you play the immigrant song and you're a local legend

Woohoo!! I'm a local legend!

[Honeydripper]

I'd personally argue that Ringo is one of the most underrated drummers in popular music. He definitely influenced SHITLOADS of drummers that came well before Bonham's underlings. Sure Bonham was a powerhouse drummer, but Ringo probably caused more ludwig kits to be sold than Bonham ever did. Don't get me wrong, I too think Bonham is the better of the two, but to say Ringo did'nt leave a mark on rock drumming is absurd. Just listen to things like Tomorrow Never Knows, or Everybody's Got Something to Hide(except for me and my monkey).

Ringo did'nt suck, that's for sure.....he was.....like Bonham and JPJ in their time, overshadowed by the men that fronted the band.

[Bonham]

I'd personally argue that Ringo is one of the most underrated drummers in popular music. He definitely influenced SHITLOADS of drummers that came well before Bonham's underlings. Sure Bonham was a powerhouse drummer, but Ringo probably caused more ludwig kits to be sold than Bonham ever did. Don't get me wrong, I too think Bonham is the better of the two, but to say Ringo did'nt leave a mark on rock drumming is absurd. Just listen to things like Tomorrow Never Knows, or Everybody's Got Something to Hide(except for me and my monkey).

Ringo did'nt suck, that's for sure.....he was.....like Bonham and JPJ in their time, overshadowed by the men that fronted the band.

If it weren't for Bonzo, we'd all be drumming like Ringo.

[Horrorshow_Plant]

Hey, drumming like Ringo wouldn't be such a bad thing!

And I think Queen's Roger Taylor is quite underrated as well. You don't have to be hard to leave an impact.

[zero]

i heard that paul was dissatisfied with ringo's timing on a few songs and played a lot of the drum tracks in the studio himself. don't know if it's true or not. or how many songs he's featured on.

[Horrorshow_Plant]

The only two Beatles songs I know Ringo doesn't drum on are "Back in the U.S.S.R." and the single version of "Love Me Do."

[Jarlaxle 56]

No click tracks in the 60's eh? Jimmy Chamberlin, the drummer for Smashing Pumpkins records everything without a click track. That's probably a throwback to some older drummers who didn't use a metronome, except he can actually keep perfect time without it (that's not to say older drummers who didn't use it couldn't, just that they needed more takes)

And really, Ringo plays the exact same thing in dozens and dozens of songs, his sound is flat and boring, in other words, a really sucky drummer.

[Laughter]

I think the answer to your questions is plainly obvious and that you're only asking it to get a thrill out of us confirming that it is John...

I only got serious to this ordeal when Portnoy claimed Ringo to be an influence.

[IGG]

If it weren't for Bonzo, we'd all be drumming like Ringo.

No....but the idea is funny.  

FWIW, Sargent Pepper Reprise was what made drumming sound possible for me. Ginger Baker is what I was trying to emulate once I hit the skins for real. As soon as I was comfortable at the kit, it was the freneticism of keith Moon  I tried to channel, when I really got going, it was Neil Peart I had to be able to regurgitate in perfection. (I was in a very competitive drumming scene from the time I was 10).

As High school wore on...John Henry Bonham taught me to play with a band.

[Honeydripper]

And really, Ringo plays the exact same thing in dozens and dozens of songs, his sound is flat and boring, in other words, a really sucky drummer.

You're either high, or not a drummer, or both.

Listen to what other drummers in popular bands of his era were doing and how their kits sounded....THAT'S how you measure Ringo....not Ringo against drum sounds/playing from many yrs later. His sound was to his era what Bonham's was to his era. Both Sir G.Martin, and Glyn Johns/Eddie Kramer ,repectfully, deserve alot of credit for their "sound".

[PJD]

You're either high, or not a drummer, or both.

Listen to what other drummers in popular bands of his era were doing and how their kits sounded....THAT'S how you measure Ringo....not Ringo against drum sounds/playing from many yrs later. His sound was to his era what Bonham's was to his era. Both Sir G.Martin, and Glyn Johns/Eddie Kramer ,repectfully, deserve alot of credit for their "sound".

I have to take exception to the idea that Glynn Johns or Eddie Kramer were a big part of the Zeppelin drum sound. I'll give you they were great engineer's and legends in the field but there were different engineer's on a lot of the records.

On the fourth record it was Bonham was the one that decided to set up in the hallway, it wasn't an engineering decision. That was Glynn's brother Andy on those sessions where you really hear the ambient rooms. Not that the drum sound on Zeppelin 1 & 2 isn't great; it's phenomenal but when you listen to a lot of Eddie Kramer's other stuff the drums sound very flat and one dimensional compared to Zeppelin. Bonham really tuned his drums which a lot of guys don't do.

Keith Harwood and Ron Nevison did great stuff that I think goes way passed what Glynn Johns and Eddie Kramer did for the Bonham drum sound. I read a great interview with Ron Nevison where he basically talks about how Jimmy Page hated him and he was basically fired from the record but then they used all the stuff they said they hated on the record, like the flange on the drums. I'll try and find it to link, it was a cool read.

[Honeydripper]

I have to take exception to the idea that Glynn Johns or Eddie Kramer were a big part of the Zeppelin drum sound. I'll give you they were great engineer's and legends in the field but there were different engineer's on a lot of the records.

On the fourth record it was Bonham was the one that decided to set up in the hallway, it wasn't an engineering decision. That was Glynn's brother Andy on those sessions where you really hear the ambient rooms. Not that the drum sound on Zeppelin 1 & 2 isn't great; it's phenomenal but when you listen to a lot of Eddie Kramer's other stuff the drums sound very flat and one dimensional compared to Zeppelin. Bonham really tuned his drums which a lot of guys don't do.

Keith Harwood and Ron Nevison did great stuff that I think goes way passed what Glynn Johns and Eddie Kramer did for the Bonham drum sound. I read a great interview with Ron Nevison where he basically talks about how Jimmy Page hated him and he was basically fired from the record but then they used all the stuff they said they hated on the record, like the flange on the drums. I'll try and find it to link, it was a cool read.

I believe they definitely knew how to record Bonham's drums. It's apparent from the start. As opposed to other Kramer work, where the drums were'nt finely tuned instrumets with their own shelltone, but rather equal downsteps in a row from mounted toms to floor tom. All of which did'nt ring true like an in tune drum. You really can't breath life into a dead drum, you can only kill a living one with compression and limiters (thanks Shirley! )

btw, I was only talking about the first two records....as far as what was captured on tape......Bonham does make hikself VERY easy to record...as long as you record with minimal area micing. Just like a good jazz drummer, they balance themselves. All you need to do is zero out the levels.

[PJD]

I believe they definitely knew how to record Bonham's drums. It's apparent from the start. As opposed to other Kramer work, where the drums were'nt finely tuned instrumets with their own shelltone, but rather equal downsteps in a row from mounted toms to floor tom. All of which did'nt ring true like an in tune drum. You really can't breath life into a dead drum, you can only kill a living one with compression and limiters (thanks Shirley! )

btw, I was only talking about the first two records....as far as what was captured on tape......Bonham does make hikself VERY easy to record...as long as you record with minimal area micing. Just like a good jazz drummer, they balance themselves. All you need to do is zero out the levels.

I'm with you all the way on them knowing how to record him, and in context it's the start of a logical progression. I also despise Kevin Shirley, but not for compression, for pro-tools edits and i would disagree that compression and limiters kill live drums, in fact I would argue quite the opposite. The Zeppelin sound is all compressors/limiters! Where would "When The Levee Breaks" be without heaping loads of 1176 with the all in button!