What was the earliest recording to use dead drum sounds?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by bare trees, Mar 17, 2004.

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  1. bare trees

    bare trees Senior Member Thread Starter

    Several months ago there were questions posted about he earliest record to use a distorted guitar. I was wondering what is the earliest recording that used the dead drum sound that was commonplace on most recordings throughout the 70's and early 80's? I hear it on some of the later Beatles songs such as Hey Jude and Something.
     
  2. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Shreveport by the Jelly Roll Morton Trio, 1927. Suitcase instead of snare drum for the sound that was soon imitated around the world for 70 years. Little did people know that they did that so the cutting stylus wouldn't jump off the wax every time there was a snare hit...

    Hey, I don't make this stuff up..
     
  3. Grant

    Grant Life is a rock, but the radio rolled me!

    ohhhh! That's a tough one, because by the late 60s, there were so many things affecting the way the druns sounded. Some are obvious, some aren't.
     
  4. Urban Spaceman

    Urban Spaceman Forum Eulipion

    (Currently concurring with everyone so far.......) The history of recording acoustic drums has a lot to do with the ability of the technology to deal with an instrument designed to be heard from a long distance! As Steve pointed out, early drummers often had to use suitcases, cardboard boxes, etc..... because these were more suited to the technology. Even today, it amazes me how engineers can mike up a really ringy-sounding set of tom toms and get a "thud" out of 'em. Out in the studio, those drums are producing all sorts of weird overtones which get filtered out through the board, etc...... and when you hear the playback it's like....."Where did that focused sound come from???".
    I would guess the close-miked drum sounds associated with the '70s have their roots with the Beatles in the mid-60's being recorded by Geoff Emerick and possibly with Hal Blaine's famous "timbale-toms" that he used on recordings like "Windy" by the Association.
    ------ Chris
     
  5. CardinalFang

    CardinalFang New Member

    Location:
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    It wasn't the first instance, but I would say that Levon Helm's drumming on the first two Band albums made that sound popular. His drums weren't even THAT dead, but it just kickstarted the trend. Years later you had people going to great lengths to make the drums as thuddy as possible. It's a cool sound, one that I am embracing a little lately.
     
  6. RetroSmith

    RetroSmith Forum Hall Of Fame<br>(Formerly Mikey5967)

    Location:
    East Coast
    Well, as far as Rock and Roll goes, I have pictures of DJ Fontana in the RCA studios (NYC) in 1956 with a towel over the snare drum.

    There are several Elvis songs where the snare is muted like that like All Shook Up and others.

    Also, around 8 years later Joe Meek was doing this ALL THE TIME. Virtually all joes drum sounds have that 70s "dead" sound....in 1963!!

    As a Drummer who came up in the 70s, I hated that sound then, and I hate it now. Drums are supposed to sound full and reasonant.
    Listen to some of the stereo Big Band Recordings, how nice and DEEP the drums sound. Louis Bellson in particular had a really great drum sound.
     
  7. David Powell

    David Powell Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Atlanta, Ga.
    Levon had that old wood-bodied Gretsch kit and then he would loosen some of the lugs of his toms. That sound worked so well with the ensemble approach that The Band used, with the three singers, including Levon.
     
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