No Resos! 1970's Drum Sounds | Season Four, Episode 32

[@TXMusicDrummer]

This reminds me of an interview with Alex Van Halen when he spoke about the first Van Halen album, that he expected his drums to be all lively and resonant as John Bonham, but producer Ted Templeton took off all the rezos and placed duct tape all over the batter heads. He hated how dead and crappy his drums sounded in the studio, and his overall experience was negative. It wasn't until years later that another drummer came up to him about his drumming on their debut, and Alex was getting ready to apologise about how terrible his drums sounded, but before he said anything, the other drummer exclaimed how it was such an inspiration to him, about how much he loved his performance and how the drums sounded. Alex said this statement stunned him so much, that all he could say was thank you. He remarked how this meeting changed his whole perspective on that recording session.

[@davidperez5089]

I remember reading that too. Nice job retelling the story! Makes me wonder if it happened on the other TT records. Probably!

[@Evanrholloway]

Lol wow I never noticed how dry these drums were before

[@markblanch2905]

So pretty much turned the drums into triggers. Definitely makes for super tight playing, articulation and mixer man/woman can add all the EQ and resonance later if

[@liamfitzdrums]

@@markblanch2905 It also allows for internal micing which means less cymbal bleed.

[@markblanch2905]

@@liamfitzdrums it sure does. Still, most drums are externally mic'ed so it should never really be a issue

[@shannonedens7854]

You nailed the 70’s sound. And proved that even great drums can sound like CB700’s.

[@stevej1910]

My first kit!! :)

[@Nate_Higgins]

😆 yeah

[@travisbartley58]

The first band I was in the drummer played CB 700s and I remember he used duct tape as dampers. As a guitarist I thought What The Hell.

[@TheWaveGoodbye-Music]

I have a CB kit but I've not managed to find anything out about them

[@stevej1910]

@@travisbartley58 That could have been me, even though it wasn't. Good times.

[@sipzter]

BRICKHOUSE - she's mighty, mighty.......That sound brings it back. Great job

[@DanteSinfernoftwww]

That intro plug explaining what the video is and isn't is phenomenal. Wish more people did this

[@calebneff5777]

I’m 27, so I didn’t grow up with them but after searching for how to achieve my perfect Tom sounds I just randomly gave it a try and liked it, then experimented with heads before landing on hydraulics. I just love that super punchy tone that sounds like produced drums, but live.

[@waskerbasket9601]

Kit is getting me ready for Christmas. This is exactly how I set my kit up. Heads and all. I’m not even typically a drummer but I was looking for that quick warm sound and just so happened to get the set up.

[@johnday8092]

Same haha . I’m a guitar player but have a cool old set .

[@-ellow]

I always loved the fast attack rapid decay that you get from the single headed concert tom & bass arrangement.

[@queenpurple8433]

I put mesh reso heads on my vistalite and cut a 24 inch port in the 26 inch kick and it’s incredible. Pretty much the only way to tame vista lites for recording. If you’re ever able to get your hands on a set for an episode I’d love to see ANY video with some acrylic drums

[@TheDistortionist]

Yes! Another concert tom video!

[@ER-yq1lc]

I think a lot of the inspiration for the 70s sound came from Hal Blaine and his giant fiberglass concert tom set up. He put that kit together after liking the sound he got from a smaller set with Gretsch timbales for toms. I have a '68 Ludwig "Carioca" kit, a 5 pc. with timbale toms, it does the earlier wrecking crew timbale sound well, but I like to use it with CS dot heads and tea towels clipped with the mic clips and a Standard snare for that thuddy 70's studio sound. It's also great for the Ringo "rooftop" thing, that's probably where most people started hearing that type of sound, that '68 natural kit, ringo may have got the idea to remove the bottom heads from Hal. On the flipside, I've spent a good bit of money replacing missing hardware restoring old kits that had the bottom heads removed and stayed that way since the 70's. In the old punk rock days it sure made it easier to pack drums around when you could nest them inside each other with only batterside heads and cheaper too with only one head to replace. Corky Laing of Mountain was another early timbale tom guy.

[@crlaw75]

John Densmore of The Doors would also remove the bottom heads, as early as '67. The Funk Brothers (Motown studio band), their drummers sometimes took the bottoms off sometimes.

[@nohandleforme....]

I started playing the drums back in the 70s and I still love that sound.

[@jonashellborg8320]

This series of drums through the decades is great, I love this series. Both from an entertainment perspective, but also practical: I’m looking to reduce my stage volume, or rather sonic footprint, and some of the 60s and 70s muffled, dry sounds work well. It’s a much nicer way to keep a full, fat sound and giving space to vocals, without resorting to super quiet playing, killing all fullness and getting a thin sound. Again, loving his series, I found it very inspiring for developing my own sound!

[@Smailien]

Best thumbnail yet!

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Haha, thanks! Glad you appreciated it.

[@af7119]

What a fantastic series. Thank you and your team for bringing excellent content!

[@unhtread]

LOVEING the varity! Totally needed this video for a song I'm recording. You guys are awesome.

[@ziccuj]

Tons of useful information again. Thank you so much for another excellent video!

[@MdhLV]

Hey guys! Love this channel. I've learned more from all these videos than 20+ years of acquiring "tribal" knowledge etc on my own. Speaking on the "70's sound", with the increase of popularity of acrylic drums in the last decade or so, could you guys consider doing a video about tuning acrylic drums? I've learned tuning these can be tricky. Any tips, tricks, advice whatsoever would be awesome! I'm sure there are more folks out there that would agree. You guys rock! Keep doing what you're doing.

[@joelalexander4513]

Dude, you're awesome, brother. Such great attitude and presentation. Cheers from Connecticut.

[@diddyhayes]

Great stuff again guys! About the concert toms. Very much enjoy that sound. Short but deep. I find that it sounds a lot like the way i like my toms sound, coated double sided with external muffling. Might have to try the concert tom set up and rid of muffling. Seems perfect for recording purposes (avoid mic bleed)

[@davidknibbs9646]

We also have to remember the drumheads at that time was REMO ambassador heads then the near future was the different heads came about. The 70s was REMO then mid 73 to mid 80s was became different company and drumheads was available at theses times keep in mind. Keep bringing back the old future to the new ones. Rock on!

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

While Remo heads were definitely all around, this was when Evans really started to take off, thanks to the Hydraulic series. This eventually lead to Remo developing the Pinstripe.

[@adalbertoschuckjr.1509]

Very nice hints. Kudos, guys...

[@demisemedia]

The first time I actually sat down and played drums was at my friends house. His dad had a vintage set with ebony remo drum heads (no reso/bottom heads) and they sounded awesome. Just like the drum kit from “Brick house.” I personally love my toms to “sing” more but I’ll never forget how badass that first kit sounded!!

[@aaabeverages7152]

In the early 70s practice pads were furnishings; pillows, brass candy dishes etc... way ahead of our time ;)

[@robertscharlow]

Those dead, dry drums... ahh. What a lovely sound.

[@drummercarson896]

Awesome video. I love this jelly bean kit

[@JazzyJonas]

I love this sound/setup for small-ish venues where the drums are mic'd. The drums (toms and bass anyway) sound like they're from a polished pop album out front and sound engineers don't need to do much beyond adjusting levels.

[@ksgtrpkr]

That’s it!! That’s the sound! Love it!

[@bakerfam1000]

Neil Peart’s 6 8 10 12 inch concert toms were always a marvel to me

[@TsunamiBeefPies]

The 70s was when I bought my first kit (Ludwig "Hollywood" in Gold Sparkle), which is still most of my kit today. All of the time that I ever made any money from playing, I played with no reso heads on the toms or the kick. (In fact, somehow over the years I lost track of the hoop and hardware for my bass drum reso, much to my chagrin.) It sure did make my drums sound LOUD. My technique was pretty primitive in those days, so the sound fit what i was doing pretty well. Nowadays, as a happy hobbyist, I would never play that way again. I like the tones that reso heads give my drums too much, not to to mention the rebound. Another great entry in this series. Thanks!

[@frankievalentin533]

Should have more likes! Your Tutorials are great!

[@necrodamus5481]

It's always interesting to see people use a mix of concert Toms and normal toms with reso heads on a drum setup. It makes for interesting fills

[@shalaq]

One thing to note is the totally different feel of the drumhead. It takes a while to get used to that.

[@davidperez5089]

Right, no air coming back.

[@allenmitchell09]

I like how a lot of roots reggae drummers have used many of these techniques in their playing. Like the deadened toms with only a batter head. In many cases the deader the drum the better with that style.

[@jhardy0786]

What would also help you with the 70’s sound would be Remo black dot heads on all the drums with no resonance heads

[@DarrenLloydPDX]

As somebody with a 7-piece Vistalite concert tom kit, this is super interesting and helpful. Thanks!

[@christophersmay4508]

Yeah this is a rad one guys and you really did nail it. It is that 70s sound, and oddly it's the sound we were all seemingly chasing even into the 80s, trying to play hard stuff influenced by growing up on all those records made in the 70s, like Black Sabbath, etc. Matter of fact, I was just looking at footage from the US Festival in 1983 and almost all the metal bands were playing setups without bottom heads. The new wave bands not so much with all the Simmons pads and rototoms! Can't wait for your take on the 1980s with all it's variations.

[@StrappingYoungLadam]

Hearing this drum sound instantly got Keep on Rocking by Steve Miller Band stuck in my head for some reason 😅

[@micheleletany5715]

Great video! Takes me back to high school and smokey bars! Listened to alot of bands that left the resos off!

[@DavidEpstein]

Very cool episode. A few years ago, I picked up some '70s Ludwig concert toms with the little metal protector around the bottom edge and a severely damaged '60s bass drum shell where the reso side was totally unusable. The finishes nearly matched. The toms were from a larger concert toms kit. All I did was put some floor tom legs on the 16" inch, and for next to nothing, I had a really vibey '70s 13, 16, 22 concert tom kit. It's super fun to play and the sound engineers love it when I use it on gigs.

[@davidreidy5750]

That's the sound I'm sticking with my setup,it took a while to finally get it to sound like that especially the Tom's but man it sounds amazing thru the mix(guitars,bass,synth,)

[@drummersk5318]

Oh yeah! Brick House got me in an instant! One of my all time favourite "no resos needed" players is John Densmore! My old Hayman kit is missing a bassdrum hoop, so I use it that way, but without extra muffling. You can check that one out in my videos.

[@davidhellyer5353]

Still playing my 1975 Smoky Vistalites with 24” bass. Still jamming to Zeppelin, my favorite band.

[@ChristianContemporaryMusic02]

I always do this with my kirs now and i absolutely love the sound it gives you. Ill be making a video on this soon and how i get that unique sound with and without muffling

[@1111Paiste]

LOVE this! How have others solved the rattling bottom lug problem?

[@terrykline3423]

I take an old head, cut out everything but leave a bit over the bottom bearing edge to hold it on. Then I put the bottom rims on. Be careful not to over tighten them , just enough to hold them on without rattling.

[@1111Paiste]

@@terrykline3423 Thanks!

[@SonorGeek05]

Ronnie Tutt drummer for Elvis Presley had quite a setup 6", 8", 10", 12" single head concert toms, 13", 14" double headed toms, 16", 18" double headed floor toms, and 2x 24" single headed bass drums, and 14x6.5" chrome over brass snare.

[@rootvalue]

Loved this episode. I’ve always wanted to try pulling the resos off my toms… but now I think I prefer the resonance of resonant heads. 🤣

[@rootvalue]

Kick is killer though 👌

[@lorenznew2208]

Would you agree that a port in the reso of the toms would make them sound a bit more like concert toms? Maybe that would be a nice compromise.

[@a.j.wilkes6352]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/sKm9iJ6lq96Kp80 It just so happens...

[@irlikingpie]

Roger Taylor from Queen used to do that in the 80s. It was less a "port" and more of cutting all but about two inches of the reso head off and jamming mics inside. He got an enormous tone.

[@munavir4946]

I like the sound of my drumset but yours sounds perfect for me.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

the kick sound reminded me of Sabbath IRON MAN !

[@skinfiddler]

Can appreciate, but will never go back.

[@geoffcowan2384]

My first kit was a Maxwin, all concert tom, including the kick drum. I was never happy with the sounds. My mind is more open now, but it was a love/hate relationship with those drums at the time. :) Vinnie Appice's sound on "Holy Diver" and "Last In Line" is classic concert tom to me.

[@joshuabpolys]

Great! Thx!!

[@markielinhart]

I learned a lot today, thank you 👏🇦🇺✌️

[@vanhunsberger4192]

rogers used to have a thing called a "hoop spacer" that was kind of s shaped and let you have the bottom hoop attached to the drum without a head. solved the rattle problem and still gave you the appearance of a bottom hoop.

[@nilsfalth791]

Thanks, great videos! Would be sweet if you could do the “Levon helm, king harvest sound”

[@steevidrums]

Wow, that kit sounds great like this. You could multi sample this and offer it out for use in Kontakt, Hallion or whatever multi sampler.

[@sammcdouall4849]

I agree it would be great if there were multilayered samples available from the different decades. I would load & play them on my 2Box drumit 5 ekit.

[@davidknibbs9646]

If you have time, you can take the lug off and put in the lug a little peace of feltbubber in between the spring will stop the rattle in that lug....For muffin the drum take a sponge cut in 2" peace or 3 inches take tape rap it up on the edge take another peace of tape on it to the rim and the take a little bit of water on the sponge will dampen it and if it is to much squeeze it out. Remember it will bounce up and down to dampen it to your liking 👍

[@elliotpietri98]

I call this the "Hotel California" sound...

[@1thess523]

I had a CB700 in the early 90's and I used an open rack tom mainly because I couldn't get a good sound with both heads because I was a newbie, I have a practice recorded on cassette and it sounds huge. I used Pinstripes on all the drums except the Snare.

[@charliesmithdrummer]

Love the concert tom sound, all its missing is a bit of tape and tissue to deaden them up to the extreme as was the dampening of the time!

[@jamesangel6986]

Anticipation by Carly Simon, listen to the drum fills, they are spot on.

[@joelfortin6634]

rattling wise, i'm a big fan of just putting masking tape on whatever is rattling. quick to put on, quick to remove, works most of the time

[@LeakyJAZZ]

Brick house by the commodores ;)

[@niteshades_promise]

white coated heads sound better to me. with or without resos. ill rock concert toms but will never go reso-less on bass again. not sure how yours sounds so great.🍻

[@patdeniston3697]

I was waiting for this one because it's the sound I go for. The reason I use Evans hydraulic heads and love em. Might try the control dots though. No better snare ever in my opinion.

[@2dan4me97]

6:10 I think Phil Collins still used concert toms in the 70s, but without the big gated reverb I know he uses them on "Wind and Wuthering" and "And Then There Were Three"

[@kevinbothwell8425]

Correct. The gated reverb thing was discovered by accident while he was working on some of Peter Gabriel’s solo stuff.

[@TS-gn2wy]

This reminds me of being at a Vinnie Colaiuta clinic and he was asked about the Gino Vanelli album, Nightwalker. I always loved the drumming and drum sound on that, but Vinnie hated recording it. He recalled that the drums were all taped up and sounded like cardboard. The end result sure doesn't sound like that though!

[@hamueramusic]

this sound gives songs in the key of life by Stevie Wonder

[@salthedrummer1]

Back in the day, engineers would ask us to put the wallet on the snare drum, That made a big difference in the sound...

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

I call it a franken-kit - Jelly bean is fun :) - used to play my kit like this for years because I was too lazy to tune a resonant head. No one noticed ! . LOL

[@miker5233]

The supraphonic snare drum I believe was the most recorded snare drum in history correct me if I'm wrong

[@alexfreeman7979]

pretty late to this but anyone who is dealing with a rattle when the resos are removed, u can just put the screws in to where they are tight, no hoops, heads, or washers even. just screws and ur good

[@lorenznew2208]

I totally love the sound of those toms! Do they project well?

[@mcovey2020]

They do tend to be louder initially cuz all the air moves out of the shell instantly. What little sustain they have tho doesn’t really get heard over the mix without help from mics. It’s cool, but sometimes you want just *a little* more sustain and you just can’t get it.

[@jamescassidy4045]

Haha, sorry. I deleted my question before I saw that you answered it. I asked before I even got to the part of the video you mentioned them lol. My bad lol.

[@beckerzineo]

Today I had mount a 12' tom and I had only the batter head at first, it sounded pretty good to me already, then I put the resonant, and having watched that video from yours about resos killing the sound, I tried tuning it really low, it had this "thunderous" chaotic sound. I kinda liked it, but the reso sounded so low it was resonating with the floor tom and having a weird "double sound" (I tuned the batter a bit high). I changed it to be really tight, like a snare reso, but then it sound super thin and shitty. Ultimatelly, I tuned it similar to the batter, but a bit lower, it gave it some nice sustain, fine on the 12', but my floor tom was tuned similarly and was resonating too much, I had to muffle it for it to be in par with the other tom. I think removing the resos can be dope mostly for carrying drums inside each other and only having to buy batter heads lol (mine are cheap that came with the drums, the resos are pretty bad, the kick one was wrinkled and shit, but it's an 18' kick and I'm recording with only one mic, so I want as much kick as I can get, therefore I'm afraid to remove it lol, it's tuned how I want it now)

[@VON_RHEDBEARD]

Do no reso drums sound louder acoustically than double headed drums?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

In terms of the initial transient, yes- that seems to be the case. As far as perceived volume, it's tough to tell but the shortened sustain and general loss of full tone can make them sound a little "less" than double-headed drums, if that makes sense.

[@wafflehouseco]

Are there any videos talking about the best tuning methods for live and unmic’d (besides bass drum) in a wedding band type setting?

[@firstnamelastname9955]

The beginning was almost verbatim the drum open to Brick House - Commodores.

[@joe44850]

Now if I could only get this sound in GarageBand 😀

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

No reason why you can’t!

[@NEALBABBITT]

I always fought with sound engineers to try to get them to put the microphones in the toms like that but they always refused. Makes me wonder if I would have had a better sound if they'd listened to me.

[@a.j.wilkes6352]

No Evans Red Hydraulic heads? :D

[@bpmdrums]

When I take my reso head off, my drum just vibrates excessively, physically and audibly. I’m not talking about loose lugs or metal rattle, but the batter head just sounds and feels horrible. Standard Yamaha stage custom with a new-ish Evans Emad. Thoughts?

[@SopranoPizzaJMFNJ]

Love your channel and this is a great video but I’m happy to say that my drums sound NOTHING like this 😂

[@gangofgreenhorns2672]

I've just stuck card stock/paper in the lugs before. Was better than cutting a head which I also tried.

[@srajfnly2]

I use mesh heads as resoes

[@frankstone919]

Yeah you got a nice sound going there. I'm a terrible drummer but , drummers like my cheap Tama Imperialstar drumkit. I usually don't play it. LOL Heck they even like the cheap Mienl HCS cymbals that came with the kit. I've got Remo Control Sound Black Dot's on the ride toms 12" , 13" and 16" floor tom. On the bottoms I have Pearl Mesh heads. No reso's. We just play them here in my home studio. I keep a front head on the bass drum though with , a hole cut for a mic. The shell is too thin and the Tama accu tune bass drum hoops are some kind of plastic. So even if I used hoop spacers (really expensive) , I'm afraid it would be too flexible. A friend of mine has a big pillow in his bass drum , both heads on it no mic hole. His bass drum sounds great and it has a good bounce on the beater. I mic his from outside the front head. Before I'd buy a mesh head for the bass drum I'd buy another solid head. There's something about the beater bounce that would make me go that way. The hole cut for the mic , really isolates the bass drum track , for recording though. "Hoop Spacers" ? That was something from the 70's I guess. They were made of aluminum and you put them right where the lug goes. If you drop a tom without the rim on it , you'll know why you need em. I had some on my old Londoner 5 kit. The mesh heads are cheaper and will keep the inside of the drum clean. Also you wouldn't want to dent the bearing edge on the reso side of the shell. Here I'm rambling on and I'm a really terrible drummer. I know a few good ones.

[@ralphbenites1819]

My Ludwig rocker saries from the 80’s 12/13/16 tom’s have cs black dots.on top the.removed the bottom heads made some drum rings out of used drum heads thats a nother way to get a 70’s concert tom’s.

[@drumbran]

brick house!

[@nautica7084]

reminds me of the marching band tenors

[@Darrylizer1]

Whew, hated that sound then and hate it now. But good video anyway.

[@michaelmaston4702]

Or using 's' clips to mount the bottom rims without using the heads.

[@VeradoSil]

I feel like I'm listening to Boz Skaggs nice

[@marshallhackworth2908]

BRICK! … HOUSE!

[@jhardy0786]

Sorry I wrote my comment about black dot before you said it

[@roybeckerman7843]

I have a 70s English Premier kit, with the bottom heads removed from the 2 rack toms and floor tom. I paid several hundred dollars to have the bottom hoops and heads put back on and the drums sound so much better now. A very warm sound like vintage Slingerlands and Ludwigs, which I also have.

[@batouttahell454]

Listen to how great open headed Toms can sound by Drummer Graham Lear on Gino Vannellis album,GIST OF THE GEMINI and the Great John Guerin on Tom Scotts TOM CAT ALBUM!!!

[@sennysoon]

Was that a wool beater on the kick?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

That's a Vic Kick felt beater.

[@sennysoon]

@@SoundsLikeADrum awesome thanks!

[@hamueramusic]

only thing that would complete this one is micing the snare from the side

[@darleneknight1]

I am 73 and started playing in highschool band in 1960 and have lived through many changes in the drums but held true to the open big sound of a great drum sound. Most of these changes came about from kids seeing someone on tv playing with heads on or off or full of pillows and thought this is the way to do it and not knowing what the hell they were doing themselves. Stick to a good sound out front and not what sounds good in your face and you will get manny compliments that is if you are any good. I remember seeing keith richards on ed sullivan playing satisfaction with a piece of paper stuck under his bridge and everyone was trying to get that sound only for all to find out it was a fuzz tone box so stick with the real drum sound and it will carry you a long way down the road like me.

[@rollzolo]

How bout a stuff animal in the bass?

[@sickofthebulldodo1461]

Let's jump in and see what these drums sound like. If the drums were human they would need a ventilator.