How to augment drum sound live? (think Def Leppard)

Posted:
Tue Apr 28, 2015 6:52 pm
by Christopher Holmes
So, "Pour Some Sugar On Me" is basically a chick magnet song, which is one reason I like having it in a set list. However, the drums really drive that song, and specifically the drum "sound" that carries it so much.
I'm wondering if there's a trick that can be done through a mixer with a piece of equipment (or maybe EQ or something) that could augment the drum sound in such a way as to create that fat Def Leppard sound? Any ideas?
Re: How to augment drum sound live? (think Def Leppard)

Posted:
Tue Apr 28, 2015 9:05 pm
by schmedidiah
Well, at least you didn't mention missing appendages (in your case!).

Re: How to augment drum sound live? (think Def Leppard)

Posted:
Wed Apr 29, 2015 3:43 pm
by Paleopete
I think that one was done after the drummer lost his arm, and he uses mostly electronic drums. IN that case the sound is set through the software in the drum set, and run straight into the PA.
With acoustic drums you can still get a good heavy sound, Phil Collins has done it for a long time. It's partially in the way the drums are tuned, and assisted by the PA. If you know how to tune drums, they can be tuned for a good fat sound to begin with, and many drummers don't really know that involves the bottom head more than the top one. If you don't tune the bottom head so it reverberates against the percussion effect of the top one, you're not getting the sound the drums can produce.
Then you adjust the EQ in the PA. To get rid of the "cardboard" sound of a bass drum, add some treble and mids, and sometimes you have to cut the bass back a little. Ditto for the toms. Every drum has to have a mic, you can't just use two for ambient sound. In many cases that means a dozen mics or more, and you might consider a separate PA just for the drums, and send a line signal to one channel of the main PA. Also add some echo, and play with mic placement. Drums are tricky to adjust, but once you get the hang of it your setup can be reproduced with a little patience. If you use a PA just for drums, use the EQ on that board, run the EQ in that channel of the main board flat, tweak a little if you need to.
Re: How to augment drum sound live? (think Def Leppard)

Posted:
Thu Apr 30, 2015 12:21 pm
by GuitarMikeB
^^^ All of that! But unless you're in a band playing large venues, you're probably not miking your drums that way.

You can put 'triggers' on each drum to drive an electronic drum sound set up on a computer, and have that go to the PA.
Something like these:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DDRSKit
Re: How to augment drum sound live? (think Def Leppard)

Posted:
Fri Sep 18, 2015 3:33 am
by steve1091065
Sounds like time to experiment we used pillows in the studio once why not live and what about the bassplayer? Like double drumers hello primus
Re: How to augment drum sound live? (think Def Leppard)

Posted:
Fri Sep 18, 2015 5:10 am
by schmedidiah
Simple. Get a Coady Willis.
http://youtu.be/ZR8KGPMwU3w