Need drumset for recording

parablue74

New member
Hi there,
Need some advice on drums... I am building my studio for recording. Currently i have everything else except for drums. Guitars, bass, etc + recording facilities , including drum mics, all that i already have. Being not a drummer myself, i am planning to get a drumset for my studio to reach full band capability. However, space is a constraint since there are too many gears in one small room. I need a drumset with reasonably good quality to hit industry standard, i am not touching any beginner drums...
I am considering either Yamaha hip gig or Arbiter flats. Though i like the hipgig sound, i don't like the fact that it only has 1 rack tom. I believe if i am going to entertain customers, i would need at least a 5 piece drumset (BD,SD, 2 rack toms, 1 flr tom, HH, 1 crash, 1 ride). I also would have to cater to what most drummers want, and i feel the small hip gig may not cater up well as i heard most drummers want at least 20" bass drums.
Do give me some advice, i would love to hear what most drummers would want out of a reasonably good enough recording??? My price budget is anything not more that $1500 (Don't need to include cymbals, i prefer to get that seperately...). I don't mind getting 2nd hand stuff....
How does the Arbiter flats measure up towards recording?? Can drum mic clips be able to hook on them properly??
 
The Tama Stagestar is pretty good after you change all the drum skins. Had a friend did recording on it and it sounded really amazing. It's not really a beginner's drumset, it's just a semi-pro set with smaller drum size.
 
Oh, forgot to add on, the Tama Stagestar snare really cannot make it, i suggest you get another snare.

Hope ive helped.
:lol:
 
i think one of the things people are fed up with from some studios is that the kit is lousy. so maybe you shouldn't go for something too chaplang, or just basic. do it up a little, maybe just over bare minimum.

im not really helping.
 
Read a lot of good reviews about the Tama Stagestar. However, my plan is to get a drumset with good kick drum and toms. All else seem replaceable to me, i am definately going to get a professional sounding snare and good cymbals. How would you judge the tom and kick sounds of the stagestar?
Also, my friend has popped in his Pearl Rhythm Traveller in my place for few months now, and i have to admit, it sux big time. The toms sound horrible, the kick drum sounds alrite but no match for Manu katche, and the snare is also no match for Manu katche. That's what i like about the Manu katche, good snare and kick sounds, but well, it's only 4 piece.
Why do so many people compare the Pearl Rhythm traveller with the Tama Stagestar if the Tama is semi-pro??? I consider the Pearl RT to be a beginner set sound wise, even Yamaha Rydeen Jr is better.
I ever thought of getting the Yamaha Stage Custom 20", how would you compare that with the Tama Stagestar?? I know it's a lot more pricey than Stagestar...

Darn, wish i could afford a Yamaha Maple custom, really love that sound!!!!
 
tama superstar custom would fit ur bdget perfectly, 1.4k at sweelee if im not wrong... the best tama set sweelee carries at the moment
 
For a 18" Kick, it sounded pretty damn good. Of course, if you have the space, you can consider other kits like Tama Superstar or even Peace, heard great reviews bout Peace drums. PDP also.

I suggest that you get:
Tama StageStar
Sabian Hand Hammered Performance Set
Sabian AAX Effects Pack
Another new snare, maybe a brass snare?
Remo Coated Ambassador for all the toms
Remo Emperor X Coated for snare
And of course, proper miking. one drum mic per drum, one for HH, 2 overhead condensers

Should be good enough.

as for Pearl RT, i've used it before and despite it being so compact, i dun like the feel and sounds of it.
 
woo.. finalli got my internet connection back running.

just my 2cents here.

is your studio going to be a purely recording studio? or a jamming studio? or both!?
In the case of a solo recording studio: if u r low in budget, just get any lousy drumset. spend abit more on cymbals. u don't need wat maple or birch wood for drums. try to get the soundman to do eq for it. since u hav drum mics, i believe the results will be gd enough!

however, if u realli wan the real drum sound for budget, i higly recommend the pearl export series. durable and recieved many many years of gd comments.
 
kenny.jpg


Even Kenny Aronoff Uses StageStar!

TAMA: In what capacity do you use the Stagestar set?

Aronoff: Right now I'm using it for both purposes -- practicing and in the studio a little bit.

TAMA: How would you compare the sound of the Stagestar to your Starclassic?

Aronoff: Oh, there's no comparison. The Starclassic is a first-rate, top-rate, phenomenal, fantastic drum set. This is a smaller kit and it doesn't get the same big sound, but you'd be amazed with what you can do with a little kit like that. Tuning and mic-ing the drums just right, you can definitely record a basic track with that kit. With the right song you can use it to record a master quality record.

TAMA: Do you feel the Stagestar would be a good kit for a club drummer on the go?

Aronoff: As long as he wasn't playing really hard on the drums, like no Led Zeppelin tunes. It'd be great for a club where they want the dynamics a little lower and where microphones are doing a lot of the work. As far as convenience though, it's great. Fantastic. Overall, I like the fact that it's just another element of the TAMA drum set line. It's small and convenient. I can practice on it so I don't need pads, and I can use it for special recording situations. I would even get another bass drum and have a little double bass drum kit.

Taken from www.tama.com
 
Thanks for all your keen replies!!!
Yep, my studio is centered as a business, it's not for solo recording. It is to record bands or any acts who wants to release their own cd. Mostly i have been centering on all other instruments except drums, simply becos drums are really high cost gear, but i guess it's time for the studio to entertain full bands.
I definately would have to think on what drummer's would want if they intend to record in a studio, so no entry level drums would entertain customers.
After reading the reviews, i'm planning on either a Pearl Export, Tama Superstar or Tama Rockstar. I have time to decide as a friend is popping over his Tama Stagestar in my place for a couple of months, i am waiting to hear how it sounds...
Currently i have 9 professional mics to record individual drums, 12 inputs to my pc via 2 audio interfaces. You can check out my website at http://parablue.tripod.com

Is it true birch wood is for professional drum recording??
 
Wow, ok, SuperStar and RockStar is almost the same. But if you want to get brand new, RockStar is out of production already. Swee Lee might still carry some stocks for it.

For drum recording, it really comes down to the what kinda sound you like. It's personal preference actually. Maple, Birch, Oak. Different wood has different kind of sound.

For Birch kit, Superstar is one of them.
For Maple kit, without going out of your budget, can try Pacific MX series. or Peace DNA.
 
I bumped into a drumset in my research that seems to be within budget, birch wood and 20" BD and also highly reviewed, it is the Gretsch CA-S605 Catalina Birch Drumset. Have you tried that before???
Where in Singapore stock Gretsch?
 
AS soft said

Dont be swayed by the big names as such, Ezi music has good drums for money. Good hardware. Tama hardware is not that nice.
 
hey man, get something with suspension mounts. check wat kind of heads the drums come with, if it's a reason set with bad skins ur going to need to spend abt another 100 getting gd skins which u prob dun want. if they offer remo or evans its gonna be decent sounding. check if the bass pedal squeaks or is likely to squeak cause its a freaking pain in the butt when that happens in the studio. basically check if anything wld be prone to rattling cause i remember i had a nut loose in my floor tom and it took 2hrs to figure wat was going on.
arbiter flats are quite awesome but i dunno abt recording with it, i guess u use it for an alternative sound.
the pearl export series isn't too bad it recorded pretty gd. stage customs are quite nice got some gd sounds off that one with the factory heads. but the egineer has quite awesome as well.
 
crucial point missing

Above all that.... the player has to be good. Have u ever notice a good player can make any drum sound good? thats why they are endorsed. Give a bad player a 10k maple custom with all the fireworks, what will u get?
 
umm.. I think the mounted toms size shouldn't be an issue...
but the floor tom can be more problematic if its too small, the sound wont be as deep and tuning can't be as low.

so your range can get quite limited, if you wana cater for a variety of recordings. I'll recommend a nice 18" floortom, the difference you hear is more obvious than from just a difference of wood.

Snare you prob need at least 2.. one wood one and one steel one lor. since you want versatilty.

kick wise I think can EQ one lah. In fact is one of the more "processed" drum tracks in a group already I think. So don't waste your engergy getting fussed up with the kick.
 
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