How To Record Drums Like The Beatles In 1963

This is a video describing how Norman Smith (engineer at Abbey Road who recorded The Beatles until 1966) mic'd Ringo's drum kit in the earlier days of The Beatles. The technique consists of an STC 4038 (Coles 4038) and an STC 4033A.
Mics used:
Coles 4038
Altec 639B Birdcage
Preamps-
Chandler Limited REDD47 Abbey Road Tube Preamps
Everything played, sung and recorded by Clay Blair.
Drums played by Brendan Peleo-Lazar
Video recording and editing by Scott Dittrich
Plugins-
www.softube.co... - Softube Brilliance Pack
www.waves.com/... Waves J37

[@rchydrozz751]

Ringo was a left handed drummer with a right handed kit. That alone made him special, and creative in his movements.

[@SydneyDrums]

Every drummer played right handed back then. Learning drums included marching & that means everyone in formation with a deep drum hanging off the left hip all playing right hand technique

[@sacklbp]

@Wakanda stfu

[@johnmcgahern3946]

Often wondered why he didn't just swap his hi hat, rack tom and floor tom positions and play naturally?

[@johnmcgahern3946]

@Wakanda Commonly referred to at the time as the "luckiest bastard in Liverpool"

[@DforDado]

Travis Barker is also left handed

[@Arlo360-Official]

You guys are my favorite resource for Beatles recordings thus far. No gimmicks, no massive amounts of jump cuts, no corny voices and intros. Just solid info.

[@jaydenwhitlen1489]

Hey it's Brendan from Ably House

[@LazerBrendan]

that’s right! cheers!

[@patrii9100]

Do "Tomorrow Never Knows" it's a great example! Awesome video!!

[@Babslab2]

Extremely underrated ringo drumming

[@hewgrebe4771]

Love to see that one. Please people. 👍

[@petersukeena4904]

@this is our house Shuuuuuut up man lol tomorrow never knows, rain, strawberry field forever, etc these are all songs that Ringo contributes greatly to. Clean out your ears

[@klaatu_347]

@this is our house no, peace and love

[@maggie12md18]

My favorite drumming from any Beatles song has to be from “I want to hold your hand” Ringo did such a good job on it and it’s very catchy!

[@oldiesgeek454]

I love Ringos drum roll on the Day Tripper intro. 😉

[@asgdrums]

This drummer killing the Ringo feel!! Great job.

[@LazerBrendan]

thanks!

[@rafaelzengo5534]

Swinging like a still broomstick (hey I love it its just a joke)

[@yunarukami14]

@@LazerBrendan You have a nice hair

[@Lucas.-11]

This video is pure gold. Please post more drums records from beatles! Its amazing. Thank you

[@mirrortime]

100% agree with you!

[@StandbyCymbalist]

Great work!! I play vintage keystone badge Ludwigs - 8x12, 16x16, 14x20, 5x14 and man they can really cover a lot of bases. The 16x16 allows you to do 'ride' the floor tom in a way that a 14x14 can't, and it still sounds killer tuned up or down.

[@joepalooka2145]

Great video. I'm not a drummer, I'm a guitarist and bass player, but I'm fascinated by great drummers and the kits they used and sounds they got. It's really interesting how the best drummers always have their own unique and recognizable sound. Ringo sounds like nobody else, and so do Charlie Watts, John Bonham, Keith Moon and a whole long list of other great names. The way that drums are miked and recorded is a really interesting subject.

[@ferabra8939]

The holy grail IMO is Revolver. That's the real transition sonically between their early period and studio years. They were discovering the techniques that they would use in 67, but hadn't yet become a formula, so they were experimenting. For instance, the 1966 drum sound is unique. They didn't use as many mics as in 67, but added a snare mic, and began using the fairchild.

[@BoulevardRecording]

there might be some very special Revolver stuff coming soon !

[@jerryditrolio8064]

Interesting Breakdown Of The Recording Technic,On How The Beatles Recorded Thier Music.

[@AARONDAVIDGLEASON]

I want to know everything about "The Word." Cheers.

[@sigitwellsa]

Ringo using John’s costume is so cool while playing his drum

[@alexdiachok6597]

Awesome Video! Please do more videos. Drums, Bass, Vocals, Guitars, Pianos!!! People love this stuff and are eager to learn from the best. Thank you for sharing this wealth of information.

[@robertvonfeldt7882]

For Come Together/Hey Jude they threw a sheet over the kit, snare included and Ringo played on top of the sheet to get that muted vibe

[@curtisA39712]

The premier drums he used were called Premier Mahogony Duroplastic finish. The sizes were imperial, which was before the metric system came along. Great video, really interesting!

[@BoulevardRecording]

Yes! Apologies for the mixup... We may have one coming up for a Please Please Me video

[@TheNorsewarrior]

Yes, he had a 14 x 4 Premier royal ace snare with that first kit.

[@w.jamesmeagher7895]

I know I’m late to this party but I just want you to know how much I love these videos.

[@anthony22bob]

These guys are incredibly knowledgeable!

[@danielallan5315]

Don't forget the squeaky bass drum pedal.. Can't forget that,once you hear it you can't unhear it.

[@bramleydragon]

There's a few examples of that on Beatles songs. But there are two other blatant examples of it. Led Zep's Since I've Been Loving You which actually gives the song a wonderful raw feel. And The Searchers version of Needles And Pins, best if you have the stereo version played through headphones. Once you hear it, it'll annoy the hell out of you every time you hear it from then on.

[@mchaggis622]

bramleyddraig yep! I’ve zeroed in on those as well. 👍

[@prettyshinyspaghetti8332]

I've never heard of the squeaky bass drum pedal

[@user-zb4ss5ze5s]

He also plays Ringo in a couple of Beatles bands... GREAT

[@chrisst8922]

This is so good. Of course you could chuck in a red herring like they used a 987654321/A and 99% of us wouldn't know but we all nod sagely like we've a hope of following you.

[@billbobaggins801]

I always thought the hi-hats on I wanna Hold Your Hand,,,well that whole Beatles album was neat. Played just a little open but I always felt it was 15 inch hats as well. Well done on the education.....thanks

[@MixedByDotRob]

Love your Beatles video series! Very cool! For the Ringo drums it's also important to use a slightly squeaky Ludwig Speedking ;-)

[@JoseArturLimaLira-rg9oj]

This is spot on!

[@CodyHazelleMusic]

yo man these videos kick ass. thanks so much for this awesomeness.

[@bobbystewart-drumsforlife1844]

Very cool! Look forward to more !

[@bouncytrapbeats]

Can't wait for the Abbey Road drums

[@BoulevardRecording]

If you check out the class I did for Pro Mix Academy we did the drums on that part ! We did how part of Abbey Road was recorded. promixacademy.com/course/re-recording-the-beatles-abbey-road/

[@mikemclenison8200]

Great job Clay!

[@hewgrebe4771]

Great drummer. A lefty man on a right handed kit was what Ringo was. Thanks.

[@LazerBrendan]

thank you!

[@bowds7]

The colour of Ringo’s first drum kit is a patterned celluloid finish called M Mahogany according to the old premier catalogs

[@jamesdoctor8079]

Please do “tell me what you see” from help!, totally underrated and overlooked Beatles tune! Thanks for the video, strong work

[@BoulevardRecording]

One of my faves, and Brendan has a Pianet :)

[@bonkeydollocks1879]

Yep classic

[@rafaelzengo5534]

Only the metaphysical beatlemaniac weirdos take notice of this one, like myself

[@LaurelCanyon1969]

@@rafaelzengo5534 you might enjoy this :-) open.spotify.com/playlist/4ggkgjzfZkETAHFYQ3xk3f?si=9Rx11zNZScWQ3SQiRfnhOA

[@mirrortime]

Please do Abbey Road drums. Isn't that when Ringo added a Tom? I only watch YOUR channel. The most interesting I've ever seen. You guys are absolutely amazing. THANK YOU!!!!

[@BoulevardRecording]

White Album Drums coming soon! Very similar

[@BoulevardRecording]

But if you cannot wait we did a pretty great course on it with Warren Huart years back promixacademy.com/course/re-recording-the-beatles-abbey-road/

[@G60syncro]

How about the white album?? That cracking snare on Everybody's Got Something To Hide is just out of this world!!

[@jscan]

I have the same Premier kit but in grey oyster. The toms need pre-international heads - you're correct with the mounted tom - it's about 11 7/8", but the floor tom is also a little smaller than a 16 - probably 15 7/8 - very frustrating, but you can still order them through a reputable Remo dealer; "Pre-Int' heads. The bass can use a 20" standard head, but it fits real tight!

[@bsrobinson]

I really love this! MORE!!

[@PlayOnLetsPlay]

Great video, love the drum content! Keep it up!

[@salopmusiccentre8176]

Great video the snare drum he used was a premier royal ace in mahogany duro plastic not root beer sparkle.

[@dave-nevins]

great. thx. Can you do a side-by-side comparison of 888 811 and 815. would love to hear the difference. I have the Abbey Road vinyl VST and it sounds good.

[@BoulevardRecording]

Thats a great idea ! Theyre very subtle to me in fact the difference is mostly when they're pushed more you hear the difference

[@dave-nevins]

@@BoulevardRecording -- hey thx. I ended up buying the Waves J37 emulator plugin and I hear more fullness on the low end on the 815 setting vs 888 and 811 which are more are similar. I also tried your idea of pushing it, and yeah what i hear it more smoothness with the 888 and 811, and more crunch on the 815. Not sure if these results would hold true for the hardware as well. Even though I love the 60s production over the 70s, when I use the J37 I always use 815, which was more around for the 70s. I know it's just one setting in the production chain, but that's just what I'm hearing. cheers

[@Mr.Wonder1ng]

God the tuning and everything is dead on. I love that punchy sound

[@waterwoodguitars6871]

This was fantastic! More please and thank you!

[@gordonmcgregor6431]

Just found this video, the STCs and the Coles are 300 ohms as standard, the 50 ohm version was a special order I have STC Nos105 and 411 and they are both 300 ohm

[@BoulevardRecording]

Good to know ! Abbey Road must’ve used 50ohms to match the impedance of their desks

[@gordonmcgregor6431]

@@BoulevardRecording you can tell which impedence they are by the little badge on the rear of the mic just above the suspension mount. If it is flush with the body it's 300 ohms if it's recessed it's 50 ohms, usually there's a number there but it can wear off

[@sonicobsessions947]

Forgot to mention that everything should be panned to left by 70%

[@TheJayson8899]

Lol yeah, with -15 decibels.

[@leogolive]

Damn this guy is really excited isn’t he?

[@joachimdalgard5288]

Can you please upload more of these drumvideos soon? So good. Thank you

[@BoulevardRecording]

Hey there ! Once we are back in business after the lockdown we are doing Beatles mid 60's !! And then we will do Sgt Peppers as well.

[@CajonMaster]

Nice one! Love those vintage sounds. I started my own channel few months ago and came across yours. Just subbed

[@bnjmae]

Very insightful video Thanks

[@billnicholas1381]

Ticket to Ride. Probably the best drum and vocals of any song

[@DavidAndrewsPEC]

I'd love to see you do a 'what-if' video on the theme of "what if Studer had made a whole suite of J37 machines, from a J37-4 to a J37-16?", exploring the implications of having a J37-4 for PPM and WTB, the J37-8 for AHDN, BFS, H!, RS and Revolver, and finally getting a J37-16 to do SPLHCB on! And everything being recorded in Abbey Road / EMI Studios No. 3. Because that Waves plug-in suite will let you do that! :D

[@brucestirling8215]

Wow that was great thanks

[@thanks5009]

Awesome 😎

[@rickenbacker315]

Great stuff! Thanks..

[@Arlo360-Official]

You'll see the REDD 37 (or was it a 51?) throughout the Get Back series. It was 8 in but only 4 out. Interesting concept. I think they tied two of them together although Glyn Johns was only seen sitting behind one. The other was off to the side.

[@christopherkenel4986]

These gentlemen know their stuff.

[@SydneyDrums]

The Premier kit was mahogany duroplastic. It’s similar to an oyster tigers eye & cut diagonally, it does get called root beat but it’s not a sparkle finish. I own one

[@michaelholland1189]

Dude, you are easily as mad for Beatles recording and playing as I am :-) loved every video

[@JeffersonMartinSynfluent]

Ringo sat the highest on the kit of anybody I remember from that era.

[@chewgumer]

Yes, that dreadful 3 legged Premier stool. It must have the most uncomfortable drum stool ever made. So unstable

[@roybeckerman9253]

To all of Ringo’s knockers, which other drummer has had so many other drummers trying to copy his style and were influenced by him, even buying Ludwig drums, sending sales through the roof. Just the smarties who love to criticise...how good are they 🙄

[@hdrjunkie]

John Bonham comes to mind...

[@roybeckerman9253]

@@hdrjunkie By the time Bonzo came along, Ringo’s Ludwig influence was well and truly in place. Others just continued it.

[@fredman727]

I just don't care, every drummer has it's thing. That's pretty cool

[@hershiekopper]

yeah coles, you take that 10db at 10khz. you naughty little minx!

[@keyscook]

Thanks for this series. One request - Please solo the instruments/mics, etc. as on the Bass video, I only heard you playing in the mix. Cheers from Seattle!

[@BoulevardRecording]

Will do !

[@microphonology2830]

I Use a AKG D12 on Kicker... and i found a lot of Photos with Ringo an the D12

[@BoulevardRecording]

Microphonology yes later about mid 1964 they switch to the D20 on kick and bass amp and AKG D19 on overhead. That video will come next ! Looks similar to the D12 but has a roll off circuit

[@BoulevardRecording]

Microphonology yes later about mid 1964 they switch to the D20 on kick and bass amp and AKG D19 on overhead. That video will come next ! Looks similar to the D12 but has a roll off circuit

[@dadduorp]

I love you sound engineer geeks. Thanks!

[@McSynth]

Rock solid drumming.

[@m.o.n.d.e.g.r.e.e.n]

hoping for 67 beatles drums someday :) thanks for the channel

[@TiqueO6]

IMHO The STC overhead was over-EQ'd, with ribbon mics the richness of the sound, Ringo's High Hats for instance would be much thicker sounding as well as the other cymbals, (along with the way that velocity-mics pick up the 'shape' of the sound as well), is kind of what it’s all about and too much highs can cause you to mix to the highs therefore lowering the gain and masking out a lot of the richness of the sound.

[@BoulevardRecording]

Too many highs only kill the richness of the sound If there is a lot of phase shift. Those RS127 boxes were shelf’s so phase shift was very minimal. Richness was still there. They also cut a lot of lows in those days because of Vinyl

[@lastnightmikel]

Brilliant video!

[@MartinBellamyMBDrums]

Great video!🤘🤘

[@vingaxoc6543]

Step one: pan all drums to one ear

[@blacksheepsquadron6189]

Great vid super informative

[@EYEBALLband]

This was great, thank you.

[@aurorakooba]

The drum wrap is officially called Mahogany Duroplastic not “root beer sparkle.” It isnt a sparkle finish. The shells were pre-international, meaning that they were actually metric, not undercut. Eventually drum companies standardized the head sizes. Remo still makes these metric heads with a part number, including “PR” for Premier/pre-international. He also had his beloved Swivomatic mount put into these drums.

[@BoulevardRecording]

Thanks for the info ! Root beer swirl was the color it was sometimes referred to. And yes the swivomatic came later, he installed it onto his 2nd Black Oyster kit. His first still had the rail consolette Mount. You can see McCartney using it on his first solo album.

[@aurorakooba]

The first Ringo kit got a swivomatic as well- www.ringosbeatlekits.com/ludwig-sets-1-and-2.html

[@BoulevardRecording]

Yes the 2nd downbeat kit has the swivomatic. First one did not. Here’s a shot of it at McCartney’s house when Ringo let him use it to make his first album images.app.goo.gl/KEfro7PsMQ9k8fGEA

[@LazerBrendan]

yes true, I just meant "undercut" compared to the standard US measurements we are used to today. And yes, I meant rootbeer swirl or mahagony duroplast. For some reason, I had my first ever drum kit- a rootbeer sparkle ludwig club date, stuck in my head.

[@aurorakooba]

@@LazerBrendan Love this video and all that you are doing.

[@Thatmaninrio]

For the mid-period, can you do "Im down", for its crisp sound, & "You wont see me", (limiter sound ?) Thank you, great stuff 👍

[@hdrjunkie]

This is total BS!!! They didn’t have “ICE” gum back then! Lol

[@BoulevardRecording]

We prefer to chew gum over a pack of smokes 😂

[@TempoDrift1480]

You don't know that.

[@hdrjunkie]

@@TempoDrift1480 yeah I do. I don’t even think Dentine was a company back then. Lol

[@hdrjunkie]

@@BoulevardRecording so do I ...

[@juanmarte3298]

SINCE THE MASTER TAPE OF SHE LOVES YOU/I'LL GET YOU WERE RECORDED OVER OR LOST ,CAN YOU RECREATED THOSE TWO TRACK IN THE ORIGINAL FORM THE TWIN TRACK TAPE OR EARLY STEREO PATTERN ?

[@BobSchoepenjr]

I love it when you know what ur tiktokkin’ about

[@philschroeder]

Nice work!

[@jimmypaxson3980]

You had me at Clay Blair.

[@BoulevardRecording]

Hahahahaha

[@BoulevardRecording]

Love You Jimmy !!! Miss ya !

[@MintyRiverboat-px5jd]

Presently the compositions highlighted are. Notable for rec

[@Stevesk0011]

I would love to hear your take on I Am The Walrus.

[@BoulevardRecording]

Oooh I like that idea.... And Brendan (the drummer in this video) has a Hohner pianet ! Strings would be the trick to do during COVID ! May be a while but I’ll put that one down

[@wadya69]

That's awesome

[@theawesomeantonio4471]

Isn't That Norman From KZbin's Ably House ?, I'm A Fan Of His And Ably House Members.

[@LazerBrendan]

brendan but yes

[@AblyHouse]

Haha maybe you are thinking of Normans Rare Guitars. Thanks! We are a fan of Clay and Boulevard Recording Studios

[@nichtimmer9134]

Fals! You need a neumann u47, an redd37 or telefunken tube mixer, an telefunken m10 or T9 or studer c 37 or j37 to round up! And it need 50s/60s drum and cymbals from that time to! And a big good recording room! Thats the way you must record it! ;)

[@BoulevardRecording]

Well if you watched, I did use REDD channels made by Chandler and the U48 (not 47) was the mic of choice and was setup as a vocal mic. They never used those mics on the drums

[@nichtimmer9134]

@@BoulevardRecording i know, it was wride by me to say what made the 50s/60s records in sound! ...and for sure it was the neumann u47 for vocals and Instruments as well! ...today it is moste used for vocals (becouse its very expensive like tlf mixer pre amps) ...but back at the day thay was used as allround micros! Its a "großmembranmikrophon röhre" ...i want not say some bad thing, only wgat the real sound made in that time periode! Greetings

[@J-DUB-F1]

Good stuff man!...…. one other critical factor of the drum sound is, not playing hard ;-) Sounds pretty legit to me ;-)

[@sonomama82]

I’d love a beast of burden Rolling Stones episode.

[@BoulevardRecording]

Stones vids to come if we can get some more info on the recording process !

[@Kombi-1]

Great! I also like the video quality - May I ask which camera / lenses you used at around 4:06?

[@JOKEstar31]

Oh look, Sir lenon playing drums

[@DaveKingMusic]

Tell Me Why has some great drum parts.

[@tosinoparinde9563]

Rellay good Drum Sounds

[@soundproof8688]

Drummer is wearing authentic 'fab' 60's trousers. Theyre even in black and white

[@tevo4555]

plz do dig a pony as they made in rooftop that show had unique clarity/saturation id love to see someone try to reproduce

[@z512345]

Great!!

[@allenedrick]

Its cool

[@TempoDrift1480]

Why would a studio have strict regulations on how much low end goes out?

[@BoulevardRecording]

At Abbey Road in the early 60’s and yes even in 1966 had rules on low end. They had lots of rules. But mostly because of vinyl since that was the medium. Cutting lathes were very primitive and were all cut manually so unwanted low end can easily push a groove out if it’s too much for the lathe, then they would have to scrap that whole side and start cutting again . Americans at the time (Motown) had looser protocols hence why McCartney wanted that “Motown” bass sound

[@christrudell7966]

Was that a pack of ICE gum on the snare?

[@BoulevardRecording]

Oh yes, from 1963 !

[@christrudell7966]

@@BoulevardRecording wow! The year I was born! Cool!! Thanks and take care 🇨🇦

[@GH51505150]

Why did record companies put restrictions on the low end? Was it because speakers couldn't handle it back then?

When you realized that Brendan is from the Ably House and they did a I Want to Hold Your Hand cover in Boulevard Studios: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iKTLq55uq9uhras

[@LazerBrendan]

hell yes

@@LazerBrendanit's you!!! You and your bandmates played legendary in that IWTHYH cover! 🤩🤩🤩🤩

[@spurts]

You put the waves tape plugin on the return and dial up the sends or do you put one on every channel?

[@BoulevardRecording]

Every channel ! The more the better, thats the idea of the plugin to get tape sound individually on everything. Thats whats recommended to get the "sound" from that plug

[@frizell10]

please make one for drums from 1967-70

[@gibsondrummer]

Its actually a rootbeer brown colored oyster pearl type finish

[@GuitarlosCarlos]

I DEFINITELY ENJOYED THIS YOUR KNOWLEDGEABLE ASSESSMENTS STAND UP THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO NOW SUBSCRIBED MANG CARLOS GUITARLOS 90042

[@valclements1244]

Root Beer sparkle?....there's no sparkle in the wrap, it's a Mahogany Duro-plastic Swirl, now commonly known as the Ringo finish