@@jyanks1018 i think if you watch terrys online demos,breakdowns etc you will be surprised what you can learn,,,also looks at Derricks playing,timing,even spaces between notes etc and placement of the notes is key,,bonham was a master at doing this along with all the little things he did that made a big difference to his sound and approach to his playing,,,if you watch George fludas drumming and his breakdown of bonhams fills etc etc its exactly how bonham played i dont think many people noticed on alot of the technical things bonham did in his playing,sometimes its just over looked, because not unless your listening for certain fills and you no what your listening for its easy to miss or uninterrupted whats actually been played,ive done it on a few songs and when i got back and listen to Georges take on it 99.9% of the time he is right,it even blows me away sometimes,, you can really appreciate and envy how good bonham really was,,,and dont forget when bonham started out with zeppelin he was 19 years old and only been playing for 4 years on a kit that is,, he would of had alot of practice on his snare drum he got when he was 10 give or take a year or two (correct me if im wrong)....thats why his singles,Parra diddles,and doubles were so precise....
*_Ludwig, still the best sounding drums especially the older classic sets from the 60's and 70's... I think they just somehow just fluked it with this particular model because Ludwig has never quite been able to replicate that sound since messing with different woods, plies, thicknesses and dimensions... Like a lot of acoustic instrument making, it's more of an art than a science... My first set was Ludwig in 1965 which I later foolishly traded in for a set of Rodgers which I eventually ended up hating... after that, I must have tried just about every brand of drum out there as if searching for that perfect sound, which now as I reflect, was my original Ludwig's... It's just like they say, "You don't appreciate what you've got until you lose it"_*
@@stephenplotnick5133 The TuneBot settings are in the Video description of this video when you click Show More. Example: "14x26 Bass Drum: @ - Resonant: 130-135 / Batter: 84-87" I used my TuneBot to tune my Silver Sparkle kit (same exact sizes) and they sound amazing now!
I guess it's taken me six years to respond to your comment, but it doesn't mean I don't appreciate your comment to the greatest degree! Thank you so much! The covers have been far more infrequent than I'd like to own up to, but I promise there will be more coming soon! And I'll keep giving them my best effort!
UPDATE: As I built this TANK from separate Flebay purchases, targeting the '73 kit, I averaged instead, a '75 kit! Two 3-ply and 2 6-ply ! The 3-ply fell into the range Gr. Sparkle while the 6-ply was a cross between the"GS" and Vista Lite! But, these are new heads! Let me beat em up a bit, then retune!!
Hey man, I've got a 13x 9 tom. Do you think I should tune it up past what your 14 tom is so maybe 280/200 since it's smaller? Or because it is smaller do you think it should be lower than what your 14 is? say maybe 255/170? I'm not sure if because it's a slightly smaller drum it should be tuned higher or lower than your one in the video basically. Cheers for all the great content.
That 16" floor Tom sounds amazing! I've never been happy with the sound of my floor toms, so I'm going to try this technique out soon. Thanks for making this vid.
Check out Pearls air suspension tips for floor tom legs. They kick some serious ass. My floor toms are really the only ones I'm completely satisfied with.
MrMojo you have got the drumming skills, we have all seen it, heard it, and your comments sections back it up. All those years of sweating over the drums was the easy part. Now you must begin the hardest part of your Musicianship, Shameless Self-Promotion...Lights and multi-cameras, backdrops, smoke machines, stick twirling, lip sinking, flashy wardrobes, you know, the important stuff.
Sound guys "take the front head off our put a hole in it,it will make a better sound for the mics" lol,no kick drum sounds as good as Bonham's with the front head on.
Bro... been a drummer my whole life. Both my cousin and I both learned listening to a lot of jazz artists... and Bonham. You got it spot on... nicely done.
Hi. Just woundering, the tune-bot results, on the resonate side of the drums, were they done with or without the batter side heads on? Thanks for an excellent video. Cheers
Hi Tommy - I did have both heads on when I got the Tune-Bot settings. I'm going to do an update soon that actually shows me getting the readings on both a Tune-Bot and Drum Dial, so any guess work will be taken out of the equation. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Kick It Like Bonham Sounds great. I recently bought the amber Vista zep-kit. Tuned my 10x14 and the 16x16 according to your tune-bot numbers. Even with old heads, that came with the kit, it sounds good. New black dots are one their way. Thanks for answering. Looking forward to the amber tuning vid. Have a great day.
Jdogg7565 Thanks, man - I appreciate it. I need to be a lot better about generating content. I have a ton of ideas and songs I'd like to cover, but need to for that all into a busy schedule. There's going to be a lot more coming though.
That's awesome, man! My goal is to get an updated version of this together soon with Tune Bot and Drum Dial settings to make it even easier for everyone!
a little trick I picked up over the years. Take an 8 pound kettle bell. place in the center of loose head. twist tension rods until you don't see wrinkles. Now all your heads should be in tune with each other providing maximum thump .. easiest and fastest tuning method I now of .
I am a drummer, however, it drives me nuts when a drummer doesn't know how to properly tune his set. Whether you like a low or high pitch to your drums at least set your snare correctly. You need that sweet pop.
Hey, what do you mean when you say set snare correctly? You mean bottom is to tight or? Just curious what you mean. Im tuning my steel supralite to and having a doubt between 400hz and a bit lower. Thanks
Many thanks for that video! Trivia @ 35:20 : "Dazed and Confused" has been recorded on Slingerland 22",13",16" kit. Still sounds Bonham. It was all about his touch.
Wanted to express a great deal of gratitude to you for posting such an excellent video, I know it was very time consuming to produce but the results were worth it, Iv been a Zeppelin fan before you were born and was very impressed with your knowledge as well as your playing skills both are top notch looking forward to if you decide on it the same type video on the Vistalites.
You have made my day! It did take quite a bit of time to put together, so I really appreciate your comment. I will do a video for the Vistalites, as well. I've got a few more songs I'd like to cover first, and then I'll get to the next tuning video! Thank you so much for your comment!
What's your thoughts on burying the beater on the bass drum? It would be great if you made a video of your right foot on a tougher BD pattern song like Good Times Bad Times at some point, I'd love to see how it's done!
Exactly that! It's definitely an adjustment up close if you're used to medium to medium-low tuning because of the punch you get out of the kit. But the thunder you hear out front is the ultimate impact of the kit!
+Ruckle McChuckle That's a good question, man! I honestly don't know. I've never seen or used a Tama tuning dial before. If you're thinking of picking up anything else that assists in tuning, my honest recommendation would be a drum dial. Since making this video, I've acquired one of those, and I really dig how easy it is to get consistent settings on any number of drum kits. Sorry I can't help you more there, mate. I'd say just try and get the drums tuned by ear first, and then maybe use the dial you have to make sure there's even tension all around the drum head.
Amazing video! What exercises would you recommend to help me develop those long rolls like you were doing in the raw sound section that ended at around 36:46?
Great to hear from you, Billy! Man, I hope everything is well on your end! I'm glad the efforts to put this video together are still paying off nearly ten years later (🤯). All the best to you, my friend!
Billy Ray Smith I haven't done anything to them. They seem pretty solid and even to me. I'm sure if they were given a slight overhaul that they may be a little easier to tune-up evenly, but I'm not complaining about them as they are. Do you have a kit that needs the bearing edges re-cut?
+MrMojoRisin1967 hey pal I see here you asked if I needed any edges cut and it shows here that I didn't reply which I find weird, it was a while ago ,sorry if I didn't get back,,bin a little cra ,cra, here , any way hope yer well , and no edges are ok , I usually do my own if need, this is a great vid
That's a good point! I believe in this video, I was using the stock 20-stand wire that came with the drum in the 70's. However, I would definitely recommend the Gretsch 42-strand wires!
great job! Very solid sounding and playing. You didn't mention the width of the snare wires..but if you were to put a wider one on...that snare would really open up and you would really nail it. It's a small thing. You did a great job! You can check out my Moby Dick cover under my name..and I only filmed with a single camera mic. Check it out.
Fantastic video. Not feeling the kick drum though. Everything else sounds awesome. Edit: just watched your Bonham Re-Issue Kit and 1979 Kit video, that kick sounds amazing.
Goosedrum4 Hey Goose, it would be F (Kick) - R (Snare) - L (Snare) - F (Kick) - R (Floor Tom) - L (Rack Tom) - F (Kick) - L (Floor Tom) - R (Rack Tom) - F (Kick) - R (Floor Tom) - L (Rack Tom) - Repeat...
I have a few questions for you.. I know that this is the classic bass drum head set up that Bonham used, and i have used this technique for well over 20 years myself, using a variety of bass drum head combinations, but have you ever used the combination of a Powerstroke 3 smooth for the reso, and a Powerstroke 3 coated or clear for the batter, and if so, what do you find, if any , are the differences.?. I currently use that combination on my bass drum and it sounds great, and use vintage coated emperors on the batter side and clear vintage ambassadors or sometimes vintage clear emperors on the reso side for the toms, and i get an open and fat sound.. But also because i'm in a classic rock, pop, and RnB cover band i need my drums to sound a little more versatile because of the wide spectrum of music being played.. Any thoughts are appreciated.. Also, you're much too modest for your own good, when apologizing that you're not that technical in your tuning, playing, and sound engineering approach. ! LOL ! You know exactly what you're doing my friend, and keep up the great videos.. Cheers !
blica 1 Thank you again, Blica! I have used a Powerstroke 3 Smooth on the reso head before, but never on the batter side. I liked the PS3 on the reso side, but did find that I lost a little of the fatness in the punch of the kick drum. It was just slightly more dry and not quite as round. That being said, I know that's more or less the equivalent of what Bonham used on his early day kits - you can see the dampening ring in many pictures of his Maple Thermogloss and Green Sparkle kits. I'd actually like to get another PS3 at some point just to revisit that sound. It's been a few years since I've owned that drum head, and I definitely want to try it again. I do have something similar to a PS3 on the reso head on another kit I own (14x24 kick), and it does give me a much punchier attack, and a more modern drum sound (which is what I'm going for with that kit). I've also tried a variety of drum heads on that kit (7x10,8x12,14x14,16x16 toms), and have it tuned a bit lower and more modern. I can't recall off the top of my head with heads I have on them at the moment, but I don't think I've ever tried the combination of emperor - reso / ambassador - batter that you've mentioned. I'll have to try that. I did give the vintage emperor - batter / ambassador - reso combination on the Bonham kit, but found the sound a little 'darker' / less focused than I prefer, so I didn't stick with the vintage line of Remo's heads.
Hey man Does it matter if the hoops are not completely flush with the shell? Just got a new yamaha kit and the wooden hoops don't sit flush.. There doesn't seem to be any issues tuning or with the sound it just bothers me a bit since it's brand new. The hoop is in contact with the head all around but sticks out over the shell - am I worrying over nothing?
While it can cause minor frustrations with trying to fine tune a drum, having kick drum hoops that are out-of-round isn't a deal breaker. I will say, though - if it's a new kit, as in, straight-from-the-factory, then they should definitely be round and you should talk to wherever you bought it from to get replacements under warranty. But if it's a new kit to you, but previously used, then you can make the best of what you have without it affecting your sound.
Quick question, I've used a Speed King pedal on a 26" bass drum before. Do you have the beater centered with the batter head or is it slightly offset lower ? Also, do you use a felt strip on the bass drum reso head or does it have a "power collar" or "Ritchie Ring" built in ??
MrMojoRisin1967, I, like many here, am pretty enamoured with your tuning. Those things sound incredible. Your playing is amazing too! I have a 3 piece 70's Ludwig kit with 13 and 16" toms. I tuned my floor tom like yours, and frankly, it blew my mind. Like you, I have a TuneBot, and am hopeful that you might help me try to figure out how to tune my other regular drums like you have with yours. Basically, I want to have my 14" ft tuned like your 16 (G I think?), then the 10 and 12. I have the 14" in the same range notewise, but the top to bottom ratio is not in that magical-unicorn zone yours is. I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the right ratio between top and bottom, or even which notes I would shoot for. My lowest tom is actually a 16, plus the 14, 12, 10. Even if you could point me in the right direction of notes to use for each, I would be so grateful. But ideally, I'd like to use the same method you have here with them, as opposed to even head frequencies top to bottom. Goofing around with mine last night, I now have some strange dissonance when hitting the 10/12 or 12/14 together. Sounds interesting, but not what I'm looking for. I have not stopped watching and listening to your videos since happening upon them last week. Best sound, hands down, I've heard from real drums in years.
@@KickItLikeBonham Yes ok, but the bass resonant you first start with is not a coated Ambassador and in some other videos I've seen felt being used on the bass resonant as well as the batter head. It looks like you didn't use felt but since you started with head already on the drum you can't tell. I was thinking of maybe just taping in a 1" x 4" felt strip on the inside on top and/or bottom. Do you feel using no felt at all on the bass resonant is better to get the right sound?
Im a Bonham freak too. I can't believe how accurate your tuning and playing is! Awesome! I don't have a tune-bot though, I use a tama drum watch. I wonder if there's a conversion chart.?
Uhh rumor has it when John joined zeppelin he was playing a blue sparkle set of Slingerlands!!! 22",13" +2 16" " floor toms!! He played those on Zeppy l !! First tour to the US Carman Appease hooked him up with Ludwig reps who supplied him with drums!!
@@KickItLikeBonham Slingerlands were great drums!! Their problem was all their high profile drummers were grand pa,s favorites!! Gene Krupa, Lou Belson. If Slingerland nabbed Bohnam ohhh! Pert played Slingerland, Phil Ehart played Slingerland! They were made better than Ludwig after Ringo! Their was huge demand they struggled to meet!! QC suffered
Love this video!! Works great on my Vistas too! Using clear black dots batter side and clear Ambassador on reso side! Yeah,I found about 3 turns on the reso side works well!! Thanks!👍
I actually have acquired a drum dial since making this video. It's been a little while since I've taken a look at the settings, but if I remember correctly, the kick drum was: batter: 75 / resonant: 80, and then all the toms were: batter 80 / resonant: 85. Snare drum was: batter: 90 / resonant: 85 (because the head is thinner - it's still pitched higher than the batter). Hope that helps!
Thoose numbers varya lot from the ones you put up in the video description. Did you use both of thoose settings at one time ? By the way,..thank you soo much for coming up with the Tunebot settings for your tuning. Your drums sound awesome !
That's just an homage to John Bonham, the drummer for Led Zeppelin. He had that symbol on the front head of his green sparkle kit and a similar design for his Vistalite kit.
Hey Francisco! That sounds like a great deal for such a wonderful kit. I have no doubt you're going to love it! I paid a little less for mine, but I bought mine about 7 years ago when the market for drums was very different. There was less demand for old vintage drums, and so people were selling them for a little less.
Hey, first of all, this is the best video I've ever watched on JHB tunings, or on drum tuning generally. Thank you! Second, your technique is amazing. The Buddy Rich /JHB crossovers in particular stunned me. Your commitment to excellence has paid dividends. Well done! Finally, around 32:30, you talk about the tone controls (internal mufflers) on toms, which Ochletree doesn't address at all in his video. I'm not sure I interpreted your comments correctly, but I'm assuming that the tone controls are in the "off" position, i.e., not touching batter heads of any toms or of the snare. Is that correct? I assume that after going to such pains to tune his drums (which even Page compliments him on), and to have them sound so great via tuning, an open player like JHB would not engage the internal mufflers. And when you hit the drums after tuning each one, the open sound suggests you have not got the muffler touching the head. Have I got that correct? I wasn't quite clear on what you were saying about applying dampening materials to keep the (unengagd) muffler mechanism from rattling, but that isn't as important. My main question is whether you think JHB used any muffling on any of the toms or snare, and whether you are doing so in either the tuning or performance parts of the video. If you get this, please write back if you don't mind. Thank you again! You are a superb teacher and a superb drummer.
I have many 3ply kits, many 26s, many 24s. mainly Maple or Granitone. Many 22s including white inners. For me, nothing inside any of them. Agree, 26/24 P3 or Aquarian Super Kick. Resonant, tight and dampened (sound ring/foam strip/Felt variations). Toms; P3/P4 coated batter, resonant ambassador coated. Not Emperor as the new Emperor is nowhere near the same as the old version. (Mylar is clear under coating on new version, opaque on old) on 22s Emad batter and sometimes resonant or as above, work well.
Wow, this is pure gold. 10/10. Probably the best tuning video I've ever seen on the sparkling green kit (much better than John Ocheltree's 'Trust your ears'). I have the vistalite kit. They sound great, but they're a fucking pain when it comes to tuning. I often get frustrated and give up after a while. By the way, where did you get the video footage?
Thanks again. The 16 is a bit too tinny for me. The 18 rocks. I like the 20 as well. I think a 19 medium would be perfect. But they are no longer made. Congrats on the new gig. Good video!
There's a specific part - Ludwig L-1372, that includes the mount and the L-arm. Two holes are drilled in the shell for the mount, and then you just fasten the L-arm to the mount. The kit in this video came with the mount factory-installed. It's a brilliant, stable device to use for your ride cymbal, and saves you having to haul an extra boom stand around for shows!
I wish I could tell you off the top of my head. I want to say 82 on the batter side on all toms, 88 on the resonant side. I'm about to give this set of drums a thorough cleaning, and when I put it all back together, I'm going to do a video showing the drum dial and tune-bot settings for it.
I used these settings for my acrylic set and the toms turned out fantastic! However, the bass drum sounded too high pitched and choked, both behind the kit and out front. Does a wood shelled bass drum require different tuning than acrylic? Seems strange especially when the acrylic toms sounded outstanding with these settings. I'll try the bass drum setting you have in your video of the Bonham acrylic kit. Maybe it's just my heads? Batter is smooth emperor with felt strip and the reso is an unmuffled clear single ply Ludwig.
Love my new 6 piece evolution element in silver sparkle. Drums not as big as those, but I tuned them really low. I use a Steve's fat snare ring to eliminate the snare ping.
i wanted to also mention that if you really want a vintage sound and you dont have re rings you can use the thin foam tape in a circle on the underside of the batter head .. it really gives you that tubby re ring sound.. use more foam tape for the bigger toms and less for the smaller
Are you kidding me , nothing like Bonham , especially the Kick drum which made Bonham sound different then anybody else around . Listen to the Kick drum on Good Times , Bad Times , Black Dog , Rock And Roll this kick sounds nothing like that
I have a Tama Kit in the Bohnam Sizes but Im struggling to get that sound can the sizes alone get me pretty close or is it the fact they need to be 3 ply maple shells the Tamas are a 6 ply all birch
Bass drum rings out a little too much... Bonham did use a muffle ring around outer edge of the reso head...YES he did! But, very awesome video anyways and good job! Thanks!
Enjoyed the video. Since you've gone so far for authenticity of the kit though, perhaps you should look into a few large diaphragm condenser mic's and read up on the Glyn Johns style of drum mic'ing. It'll probably give you a much more Bonham-esque sound than these modern close mics.
Eh, except for one picture of Bonham's kits during the recording of In Through The Outdoor, I've never seen a felt strip on the front head. There are an extensive number of pictures of Bonham using what's called a Ritchie ring on his front head, which ultimately had the same effect as a felt strip (although in my opinion, the Ritchie ring is a little more effective). What he would do is cut out a 22" head for a 26" and then paste the smaller skin centered inside the resonate head. The thermogloss and green sparkle kits employed this method for muffling, along with a thick felt strip on the beater side. The vistalite kit used the felt strip on the beater side, but it doesn't appear that anything is on the resonate head (no Ritchie ring). The stainless steel maaaaaaaybe utilized a felt strip on the front head during Zeppelin's shows??? The footage from Seattle 1977 makes it look like there might be felt at the bottom of his resonate head under certain lighting, but it's tough to tell. So, all that is to say - I don't think Bonham utilized a felt strip on each side of the kick drum when he shaped his iconic sound from the late 60's through the early 70's. I think the Ritchie ring is responsible for some of that. Unfortunately, there's little in the way of studio photos available, so it's always possible he added a second felt strip during recording. My personal opinion from fawning over his sound for so long is that it's doubtful he did that. I think the main source of the two felt strips comes from Jeff Ocheltree, who claims to have worked for John Bonham in the late 70's. A lot of people, including Jason Bonham, have said Jeff's claims of working with John are a little dubious. I have no idea, and am guessing that Jeff did get to know John Bonham, and maybe sat backstage with Mick Hinton in the Denmark 1979 shows or something like that. As far as being employed by Led Zeppelin or being given one of John Bonham's green sparkle kits or being involved in recording sessions...I wish there were more proof available.
What kind of interval do you have going on between the batter and reso heads with this tuning? Min 3rd? Maj 3rd? Perfect 4th? Perfect 5th? It sounds amazing!
Man, that's a good question. I'd say I'm going for 1/3 step up in the difference between the batter head and the resonant head. As it applies, to the intervals between the drums - unless a song requires different, I typically try to tune the drums to the same tension for each size, and let the dimensions themselves dictate the tonality/note that's being played.
I was fortunate to buy this kit with the rail mount and ride cymbal L-Arm included. You can do a search on eBay or Reverb for, "Ludwig Rail Mount," and you should find something. They don't make them quite like this anymore, as they're specific to the 60's/70's. I love them though, and can't imagine using anything else now.
I am soooo close to doing any updates version of this video! I need to strip this kit and do a thorough cleaning on it. Once that's done, I'll record putting the heads back on and videotape the Tunebot settings/notes, as well as drum dial settings.
nice video... nice playing...nice theory! But, you even don't turn those lugs the same turns each in the first run...when you tuning each drum head from start (using tuning key)...each lug sound different...some for one tone up or down...you even don't turn them the same turn with tuning key (som 3 times , some 5 times) at the start. but you said that is cool to tune them in the same tone. Any way you got that soud at the end :) . Bravo! good playing! all best! cheers!
It's true. I wish I had had a more scientific method when I made this. I have since acquired a Tune-Bot and Drum Dial, and both of those have helped to make sure that the tension all around is more even. My goal for this was the overall sound, but I was still hoping to be as accurate as possible. I am currently wrapping up a tuning video on the vistalite kit, and that should be a little more thorough.
Wow awesome! Just wondering how you would alter tuning for a 22x14, 9x13, 16x16 kit to get a similar vibe. Would you tune the kick lower etc? Tune bot suggestions even better.... Well done. Now please do one for Ringo
Dave Stanley Hey Dave - Yeah, I would just take everything down a step or two for a smaller kit. I'm not too far off from making a video on how I tune my Vistalite drums, and I'll make one right after that of how I'd tune a Super Classic (22,13,16) kit. I'll make sure to include Tune-Bot settings.
Spent most of my afternoon retuning the drums from scratch and used your video as a rough guide. Great sound from your kit, and my bass drum (16x22" 1990's Ludwig super classic) sounds as amazing as ever!
LedZepfilm That's awesome, man! I'm thrilled to hear it. Considering all that you do for the Led Zeppelin community, it's always a tremendous honor to get such a nice word from you. Thank you!
Hey, Mr mojo... you play great! Just like me, you're a critical listener and player to Bonham's stuff!! That's how it's done!! excellent!! Anyway, just was curious about something... where do you get all these drum sets? How? I'm very jealous! Either you hit the lottery, or you're a lawyer or surgeon?!! lol!! Just wondering!! I mean, you have all the real vintage sets!!! I can tell. Cause of the single tom mounts, and Consolettes with the cymbal mounts on the bass drum, too!! awesome!!! how do you grace yourself with all these great, iconic drum sets?!!
+james richardson Ha, ha! I fear I'm not a lawyer or a surgeon. For all the potential drawbacks there may be to living in Los Angeles, there's never a shortage of awesome musical equipment available for sale on Craigslist. This whole crazy collection started with an early 70's Green Sparkle set that I discovered at the old Ontario Music for $1,050. Bonham's Green Sparkle kit was always my favorite kit, and so there was no way I could leave that store without getting it. From that point on, I saved any discretionary spending money I had for other Bonham-related kits, and just scoured Craigslist and E-Bay in the attempt to find the kits he played for reasonable prices. It took a period of five or six years to finally get all of them, but that's how it happened. There are also great communities on particular websites like the Vintage Drum Forums where you can interact with stellar and upstanding members of the vintage drum community that are willing to sell old equipment for much more reasonable prices than what you typically find on E-Bay. That's where the vintage rail mounts and other hardware came from. Just keep your eye out on a regular basis. There's definitely stuff around...
Somebody get Ludwig to give MrMojoRisin1967 an endorsement deal, show off all the Ludwig gear, and then try to destroy it with his sick Drum Riffs on video. Awesome tuning tutorial, awesome kit tour. Thanks for the vid, I am breaking down all my drums after I write this and Tune Them Up! I really dug the freestyle playing at the end of the vid, Bonzoriffic. Why do some of these other TH-camrs have thousands of hits, subscribers, and endorsements? MrMojoRisin1967 Drummer of the Year!
Where can I get a kit like that?I have a 6pc set of MAPEX but I think I'll sellthem and pick myself up a kit like those,love the sound of that 26 in kick.
Cool:) So I got my vistalites tuned into your numbers. The toms sound excellent. I am having trouble with the bass. The batter is set a little higher than yours, at 90. The reso is the same. There seems to be no depth or bass. I have zero muffling, so maybe I should get a felt. Any suggestions? Thanks again!
brad slinkman Awesome to hear the toms are working the way you want them to! Yeah, I would say for the bass - get a felt strip, and tune it down maybe half a turn all the way around on the batter side, and I think you'll be really happy with the results. I've been out on the road for the last few weeks, and it's going to be another week or so before I'm home, but I still hope to have the tuning video that I'm making for the vistalite kit up as soon as possible.
awesome job, brother. i'm a bit of a Bonham purist myself so i was very happy to find this tutorial to go along with my tunebot and recently purchased set of reissued Bonham vistalites. you took all the guess work out of it for me. thank you so much for posting this tutorial! great job, you nailed it!
Bohnam was SO unique , it amazes me that he was so young and developed such an ability and sound.
MMR: the drums sound beautiful!!!
bonzoleum I always hold your comments in the highest of regards, Terry. Thank you so much!
You both rock!!
You guys should team up to produce some instruction videos. Not joking.
@@jyanks1018 i think if you watch terrys online demos,breakdowns etc you will be surprised what you can learn,,,also looks at Derricks playing,timing,even spaces between notes etc and placement of the notes is key,,bonham was a master at doing this along with all the little things he did that made a big difference to his sound and approach to his playing,,,if you watch George fludas drumming and his breakdown of bonhams fills etc etc its exactly how bonham played i dont think many people noticed on alot of the technical things bonham did in his playing,sometimes its just over looked, because not unless your listening for certain fills and you no what your listening for its easy to miss or uninterrupted whats actually been played,ive done it on a few songs and when i got back and listen to Georges take on it 99.9% of the time he is right,it even blows me away sometimes,, you can really appreciate and envy how good bonham really was,,,and dont forget when bonham started out with zeppelin he was 19 years old and only been playing for 4 years on a kit that is,, he would of had alot of practice on his snare drum he got when he was 10 give or take a year or two (correct me if im wrong)....thats why his singles,Parra diddles,and doubles were so precise....
*_Ludwig, still the best sounding drums especially the older classic sets from the 60's and 70's... I think they just somehow just fluked it with this particular model because Ludwig has never quite been able to replicate that sound since messing with different woods, plies, thicknesses and dimensions... Like a lot of acoustic instrument making, it's more of an art than a science... My first set was Ludwig in 1965 which I later foolishly traded in for a set of Rodgers which I eventually ended up hating... after that, I must have tried just about every brand of drum out there as if searching for that perfect sound, which now as I reflect, was my original Ludwig's... It's just like they say, "You don't appreciate what you've got until you lose it"_*
Rene Dominguez j
I traded my old Ludwigs in '78 for a nice Slingerland kit...but I'd love to get that old Ludwig kit back.
Love the sound of drums. Especially the snares. Delicious. I don't own any of their drums. But I love to listening to them on any record of any band.
I have a hybrid beat up silver sparkle half silver badge it sounds mint
Thanks for showing us the tune bot settings for the Bonham tuning. I think you're the first person in the world to do this thank you.
Jeff Ocheltree did 10 years before this. (Bonhams drum tech) Video is here.
th-cam.com/video/kmXy-ksqlq8/w-d-xo.html
Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see any tunebot settings on this or the Jeff Ocheltree video.
@@stephenplotnick5133 The TuneBot settings are in the Video description of this video when you click Show More. Example: "14x26 Bass Drum: @ - Resonant: 130-135 / Batter: 84-87" I used my TuneBot to tune my Silver Sparkle kit (same exact sizes) and they sound amazing now!
@@CaseyJust Thanks Casey. I actually found it on my own shortly after my comment. Great video!
When you have unlimited cash and free drum sets from manufacturers you could do whatever you want
Extremely well done. Most informative tuning vid I’ve seen to date for getting john’s sound. Thank you for all your hard work and attention to detail.
Thanks so much, M W! I'm really glad you got something out of it! That makes me happy!
This guy has the absolute best Bonham versions of every song he tackles.
I'm totally impressed.
To mimic JB is a gift
It s much more a learning available for everyone who know how to listen
No, there's a guy from Canada who does Bonham better imo. It's ... shit i can't recall his name right now..
Bonzoleum...
I guess it's taken me six years to respond to your comment, but it doesn't mean I don't appreciate your comment to the greatest degree! Thank you so much! The covers have been far more infrequent than I'd like to own up to, but I promise there will be more coming soon! And I'll keep giving them my best effort!
@@mattmarkus4868 I like the guys on this channel and Brian Tichy is a monster too.
even a cheap set in a garage sound good once tuned well.
3:09 you can see Peter Grant standing back there in the yellow shirt
Nice call out to Rival Sons and Michael Miley's drum sound. If that guy isn't channeling the spirit of Bonham, I don't know who is. Great tutorial
Wow I'm blown away!!! Sound's identical to Bonzo's drums. Gotta love you Tube.
Thanks so much, Darrin! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to respond, but it doesn't mean I don't appreciate your comment any less.
Also, I purchased a "Tune Bot" to better dial in the tone on the ,"Green Sparkle " kit.
UPDATE: As I built this TANK from separate Flebay purchases, targeting the '73 kit, I averaged instead, a '75 kit! Two 3-ply and 2 6-ply ! The 3-ply fell into the range Gr. Sparkle while the 6-ply was a cross between the"GS" and Vista Lite! But, these are new heads! Let me beat em up a bit, then retune!!
Hey man, I've got a 13x 9 tom. Do you think I should tune it up past what your 14 tom is so maybe 280/200 since it's smaller?
Or because it is smaller do you think it should be lower than what your 14 is? say maybe 255/170?
I'm not sure if because it's a slightly smaller drum it should be tuned higher or lower than your one in the video basically.
Cheers for all the great content.
That 16" floor Tom sounds amazing! I've never been happy with the sound of my floor toms, so I'm going to try this technique out soon. Thanks for making this vid.
Poisonjam7 I'm really glad to hear it! I hope it turns out the way you've always hoped it would...
Check out Pearls air suspension tips for floor tom legs. They kick some serious ass. My floor toms are really the only ones I'm completely satisfied with.
MrMojo you have got the drumming skills, we have all seen it, heard it, and your comments sections back it up. All those years of sweating over the drums was the easy part. Now you must begin the hardest part of your Musicianship, Shameless Self-Promotion...Lights and multi-cameras, backdrops, smoke machines, stick twirling, lip sinking, flashy wardrobes, you know, the important stuff.
Great video, nice playing. The drums sound fantastic!
+Jeff Howe Thanks so much, Jeff! I really appreciate it!
Thanks for providing the Tune-bot settings. You wouldn’t happen to also have a Drum Dial around or to borrow? :)
Sound guys "take the front head off our put a hole in it,it will make a better sound for the mics" lol,no kick drum sounds as good as Bonham's with the front head on.
lol @ recording with the front head on.
Disgusting colour drum kit
Sounds fucking phenomenal tho
Ludwigs always make a lovely sound when the tuned right and played well...
Simon-approved is A-Okay in my book! Thanks so much for the comment, man!
Bro... been a drummer my whole life. Both my cousin and I both learned listening to a lot of jazz artists... and Bonham. You got it spot on... nicely done.
LORD DOMINUS Right on, brother! Thank you so much.
I wish every drummer would do this!
the artist Ha, ha! That would be a lot of tuning videos! :)
MrMojoRisin1967 hahahaha!!!
Yeah but then every drummer would sound like Bonham... there are lots of other cool drum sounds out there.
garycooks If you tune your drum kit you will sound like Bonham? You must be new!
No, I meant that every drumset would sound like Bonham's. You could have inferred that from what I wrote though.
Hi. Just woundering, the tune-bot results, on the resonate side of the drums, were they done with or without the batter side heads on? Thanks for an excellent video. Cheers
Hi Tommy - I did have both heads on when I got the Tune-Bot settings. I'm going to do an update soon that actually shows me getting the readings on both a Tune-Bot and Drum Dial, so any guess work will be taken out of the equation. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Kick It Like Bonham Sounds great. I recently bought the amber Vista zep-kit. Tuned my 10x14 and the 16x16 according to your tune-bot numbers. Even with old heads, that came with the kit, it sounds good. New black dots are one their way.
Thanks for answering. Looking forward to the amber tuning vid. Have a great day.
DOPE SHIT BRO! I've been debating on going to larger sizes, especially 26" kicks. Brutha you just sold me!!! peace.
Without a doubt! They are a blast to play. So much fun to dig into, and they give you so much back in return! All the best in your 26" kick endeavors.
Stick size will change the sound of drums too
Dude! Amazing video! I'm so following this to a "T".
Glad to hear it! Thank you again for the support, Warvibe!
Brian Tichy is the new Bonham. Billy Idol, Foreigner, Dead Daisies, currently with Gene Simmons Band
Brian Tichy is incredible! You won't find me arguing with your statement! 🥳
Hey could you possibly make a tutorial on that fill/groove on 35:15 I love it!
Sergio Romero I will. It's definitely in my plans to put together a few tutorials for particular songs. These fills will definitely be one of them :)
Awesome! Looking forward to it
Why do you only have 7,000 subscribers?
Jdogg7565 Thanks, man - I appreciate it. I need to be a lot better about generating content. I have a ton of ideas and songs I'd like to cover, but need to for that all into a busy schedule. There's going to be a lot more coming though.
ive watch this every time I switch my skins or buy drums hahaha thanks man !!
That's awesome, man! My goal is to get an updated version of this together soon with Tune Bot and Drum Dial settings to make it even easier for everyone!
a little trick I picked up over the years. Take an 8 pound kettle bell. place in the center of loose head. twist tension rods until you don't see wrinkles. Now all your heads should be in tune with each other providing maximum thump .. easiest and fastest tuning method I now of .
That's definitely an interesting technique! I would certainly think it would be good for breaking in new heads!
I am a drummer, however, it drives me nuts when a drummer doesn't know how to properly tune his set. Whether you like a low or high pitch to your drums at least set your snare correctly. You need that sweet pop.
Tony Marinelli A well tuned drum kit will form new islands in the pacific ocean if your play them properly...
Hey, what do you mean when you say set snare correctly? You mean bottom is to tight or? Just curious what you mean. Im tuning my steel supralite to and having a doubt between 400hz and a bit lower. Thanks
Here is from behind the kit,same settings
th-cam.com/video/vBMOTM8CnfY/w-d-xo.html
***** Freakin' awesome, man!
Many thanks for that video!
Trivia @ 35:20 : "Dazed and Confused" has been recorded on Slingerland 22",13",16" kit. Still sounds Bonham. It was all about his touch.
Indeed!
Have you ever tried doing this whole thing after 40 shots of Vodka?
Gavin Parsons I'm going to leave that aspect of things to Bonham :)
Wanted to express a great deal of gratitude to you for posting such an excellent video, I know it was very time consuming to produce but the results were worth it, Iv been a Zeppelin fan before you were born and was very impressed with your knowledge as well as your playing skills both are top notch looking forward to if you decide on it the same type video on the Vistalites.
You have made my day! It did take quite a bit of time to put together, so I really appreciate your comment. I will do a video for the Vistalites, as well. I've got a few more songs I'd like to cover first, and then I'll get to the next tuning video! Thank you so much for your comment!
What's your thoughts on burying the beater on the bass drum? It would be great if you made a video of your right foot on a tougher BD pattern song like Good Times Bad Times at some point, I'd love to see how it's done!
Go Ludwig
That's what I'm saying! Go LUDWIG!!!
@@KickItLikeBonham hell yeah
D'you find this tuning sounds a little thin" maybe behind the kit but massive out front?
Exactly that! It's definitely an adjustment up close if you're used to medium to medium-low tuning because of the punch you get out of the kit. But the thunder you hear out front is the ultimate impact of the kit!
Man , Bonzo's sound it's an art . and you did it awesome , that the best i'hv ever heard.
hi I am trying to use a tama tuning dial to get these settings. I assume the tune bot is different but is there a way I equate the two?
+Ruckle McChuckle That's a good question, man! I honestly don't know. I've never seen or used a Tama tuning dial before. If you're thinking of picking up anything else that assists in tuning, my honest recommendation would be a drum dial. Since making this video, I've acquired one of those, and I really dig how easy it is to get consistent settings on any number of drum kits. Sorry I can't help you more there, mate. I'd say just try and get the drums tuned by ear first, and then maybe use the dial you have to make sure there's even tension all around the drum head.
tama drum key ! i have the same one .
Amazing video! What exercises would you recommend to help me develop those long rolls like you were doing in the raw sound section that ended at around 36:46?
Haven’t been over in a while , my boy’s friend bought a 71 Ludwig , and I sent him yer way . Love ya buddy
Great to hear from you, Billy! Man, I hope everything is well on your end! I'm glad the efforts to put this video together are still paying off nearly ten years later (🤯). All the best to you, my friend!
Thanks for that. Just tuned up. Sounds great. Tighten bottom heads.
Hey buddy, when you first acquired those green monsters did you get lucky with bearing edges , or did ya need to do any work to them
Billy Ray Smith I haven't done anything to them. They seem pretty solid and even to me. I'm sure if they were given a slight overhaul that they may be a little easier to tune-up evenly, but I'm not complaining about them as they are. Do you have a kit that needs the bearing edges re-cut?
+MrMojoRisin1967 hey pal I see here you asked if I needed any edges cut and it shows here that I didn't reply which I find weird, it was a while ago ,sorry if I didn't get back,,bin a little cra ,cra, here , any way hope yer well , and no edges are ok , I usually do my own if need, this is a great vid
You didn’t mention what type of snare wires you are using
That's a good point! I believe in this video, I was using the stock 20-stand wire that came with the drum in the 70's. However, I would definitely recommend the Gretsch 42-strand wires!
great job! Very solid sounding and playing. You didn't mention the width of the snare wires..but if you were to put a wider one on...that snare would really open up and you would really nail it. It's a small thing. You did a great job! You can check out my Moby Dick cover under my name..and I only filmed with a single camera mic. Check it out.
the crossovers at 36:23!!! whats the sticking??
Bonham played it L-R-F. I play it R-L-F. It's essentially the Dazed and Confused triplet roll sped up as fast as you can play it :)
Fantastic video. Not feeling the kick drum though. Everything else sounds awesome. Edit: just watched your Bonham Re-Issue Kit and 1979 Kit video, that kick sounds amazing.
dude i love your ride!!!! could you please tell me what ride that is exactly?? thanks. good video
Matthew Batki Aye! It's my favorite ride as well. It's a 24" Paiste Giant Beat - one of the reissues, so you can still buy one for a reasonable price.
I use a 24" Heartbeat classic original light ride!!! Sweet ;) Thanks. Keep up the good work
Awesome. But what is the pattern as far as which drums? R (floor t) L (high t) F R (High t) L (floor t) f ... ? So fast I can't see it. Thanks.
GOOSE
Goosedrum4 Hey Goose, it would be F (Kick) - R (Snare) - L (Snare) - F (Kick) - R (Floor Tom) - L (Rack Tom) - F (Kick) - L (Floor Tom) - R (Rack Tom) - F (Kick) - R (Floor Tom) - L (Rack Tom) - Repeat...
awesome thanks
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I used my TuneBot to tune my 60s Silver Sparkle Ludwig kit (same exact sizes) and they sound amazing now!
I love it, Casey! I'm thrilled to hear they worked for you and that you're digging the sound!
I have a few questions for you.. I know that this is the classic bass drum head set up that Bonham used, and i have used this technique for well over 20 years myself, using a variety of bass drum head combinations, but have you ever used the combination of a Powerstroke 3 smooth for the reso, and a Powerstroke 3 coated or clear for the batter, and if so, what do you find, if any , are the differences.?. I currently use that combination on my bass drum and it sounds great, and use vintage coated emperors on the batter side and clear vintage ambassadors or sometimes vintage clear emperors on the reso side for the toms, and i get an open and fat sound.. But also because i'm in a classic rock, pop, and RnB cover band i need my drums to sound a little more versatile because of the wide spectrum of music being played.. Any thoughts are appreciated.. Also, you're much too modest for your own good, when apologizing that you're not that technical in your tuning, playing, and sound engineering approach. ! LOL ! You know exactly what you're doing my friend, and keep up the great videos..
Cheers !
blica 1 Thank you again, Blica! I have used a Powerstroke 3 Smooth on the reso head before, but never on the batter side. I liked the PS3 on the reso side, but did find that I lost a little of the fatness in the punch of the kick drum. It was just slightly more dry and not quite as round. That being said, I know that's more or less the equivalent of what Bonham used on his early day kits - you can see the dampening ring in many pictures of his Maple Thermogloss and Green Sparkle kits. I'd actually like to get another PS3 at some point just to revisit that sound. It's been a few years since I've owned that drum head, and I definitely want to try it again. I do have something similar to a PS3 on the reso head on another kit I own (14x24 kick), and it does give me a much punchier attack, and a more modern drum sound (which is what I'm going for with that kit). I've also tried a variety of drum heads on that kit (7x10,8x12,14x14,16x16 toms), and have it tuned a bit lower and more modern. I can't recall off the top of my head with heads I have on them at the moment, but I don't think I've ever tried the combination of emperor - reso / ambassador - batter that you've mentioned. I'll have to try that. I did give the vintage emperor - batter / ambassador - reso combination on the Bonham kit, but found the sound a little 'darker' / less focused than I prefer, so I didn't stick with the vintage line of Remo's heads.
Hey man
Does it matter if the hoops are not completely flush with the shell? Just got a new yamaha kit and the wooden hoops don't sit flush.. There doesn't seem to be any issues tuning or with the sound it just bothers me a bit since it's brand new. The hoop is in contact with the head all around but sticks out over the shell - am I worrying over nothing?
While it can cause minor frustrations with trying to fine tune a drum, having kick drum hoops that are out-of-round isn't a deal breaker. I will say, though - if it's a new kit, as in, straight-from-the-factory, then they should definitely be round and you should talk to wherever you bought it from to get replacements under warranty. But if it's a new kit to you, but previously used, then you can make the best of what you have without it affecting your sound.
@@KickItLikeBonham Thanks for the reply - turns out the shell was out of round..time to wait another 6 months..ah well ha
Quick question, I've used a Speed King pedal on a 26" bass drum before. Do you have the beater centered with the batter head or is it slightly offset lower ? Also, do you use a felt strip on the bass drum reso head or does it have a "power collar" or "Ritchie Ring" built in ??
VA3GJR Hey George, I just sent you an e-mail addressing (I hope) all your questions...
MrMojoRisin1967, I, like many here, am pretty enamoured with your tuning. Those things sound incredible. Your playing is amazing too! I have a 3 piece 70's Ludwig kit with 13 and 16" toms. I tuned my floor tom like yours, and frankly, it blew my mind. Like you, I have a TuneBot, and am hopeful that you might help me try to figure out how to tune my other regular drums like you have with yours. Basically, I want to have my 14" ft tuned like your 16 (G I think?), then the 10 and 12. I have the 14" in the same range notewise, but the top to bottom ratio is not in that magical-unicorn zone yours is. I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the right ratio between top and bottom, or even which notes I would shoot for. My lowest tom is actually a 16, plus the 14, 12, 10. Even if you could point me in the right direction of notes to use for each, I would be so grateful. But ideally, I'd like to use the same method you have here with them, as opposed to even head frequencies top to bottom. Goofing around with mine last night, I now have some strange dissonance when hitting the 10/12 or 12/14 together. Sounds interesting, but not what I'm looking for. I have not stopped watching and listening to your videos since happening upon them last week. Best sound, hands down, I've heard from real drums in years.
It would've been great if you included what actual heads you use and not just tuning. Thanks.
Remo Coated Emperor on batter. Remo Coated Ambassador on resonant.
@@KickItLikeBonham Yes ok, but the bass resonant you first start with is not a coated Ambassador and in some other videos I've seen felt being used on the bass resonant as well as the batter head. It looks like you didn't use felt but since you started with head already on the drum you can't tell. I was thinking of maybe just taping in a 1" x 4" felt strip on the inside on top and/or bottom. Do you feel using no felt at all on the bass resonant is better to get the right sound?
Im a Bonham freak too. I can't believe how accurate your tuning and playing is! Awesome! I don't have a tune-bot though, I use a tama drum watch. I wonder if there's a conversion chart.?
Uhh rumor has it when John joined zeppelin he was playing a blue sparkle set of Slingerlands!!! 22",13" +2 16" " floor toms!! He played those on Zeppy l !! First tour to the US Carman Appease hooked him up with Ludwig reps who supplied him with drums!!
This is all true (to the best of my knowledge)! I have a 60's-era blue sparkle Slingerland (22/13/16) that I plan on making some videos with soon!
@@KickItLikeBonham Slingerlands were great drums!! Their problem was all their high profile drummers were grand pa,s favorites!! Gene Krupa, Lou Belson. If Slingerland nabbed Bohnam ohhh! Pert played Slingerland, Phil Ehart played Slingerland! They were made better than Ludwig after Ringo! Their was huge demand they struggled to meet!! QC suffered
@@russellesimonetta9071 Aye! They really are fantastic! I like their more rounded over bearing edges that give the drums a more bouncy tone.
Love this video!! Works great on my Vistas too! Using clear black dots batter side and clear Ambassador on reso side! Yeah,I found about 3 turns on the reso side works well!! Thanks!👍
on entend rien. on comprend rien, cmal filmé, mal commenté la batterie c pas ça etc.
Je suis désolé que vous n'en ayez rien tiré.
If I ship you my Drum Dial, would you check your tunings and post the Drum Dial settings? I'll pay for shipping both ways.
I actually have acquired a drum dial since making this video. It's been a little while since I've taken a look at the settings, but if I remember correctly, the kick drum was: batter: 75 / resonant: 80, and then all the toms were: batter 80 / resonant: 85. Snare drum was: batter: 90 / resonant: 85 (because the head is thinner - it's still pitched higher than the batter). Hope that helps!
Wow! 80 batter and 85 reso on toms? Man...that is tight! How do they not sound like bongos? :D
big shells
Thoose numbers varya lot from the ones you put up in the video description. Did you use both of thoose settings at one time ? By the way,..thank you soo much for coming up with the Tunebot settings for your tuning. Your drums sound awesome !
Thanks a lot for the Drum dial settings ! - What about the settings for the Vistalite drums ?
Very nice. I have tuned my kit like this for years. I play on a 14x28 kick that I rebuilt. All other tom sizes are the same as yours.
that graphic on the front head. Is that to dampen it or something? Why would you need to do that.
That's just an homage to John Bonham, the drummer for Led Zeppelin. He had that symbol on the front head of his green sparkle kit and a similar design for his Vistalite kit.
@@KickItLikeBonham dude that is so cool! Your drums sing man.
Nice!! How many did it cost you? I am buying one for about 3.800.
Hey Francisco! That sounds like a great deal for such a wonderful kit. I have no doubt you're going to love it! I paid a little less for mine, but I bought mine about 7 years ago when the market for drums was very different. There was less demand for old vintage drums, and so people were selling them for a little less.
Great! Thanks for your comments. I really appreciate you share it.
Another question, Where did you buy it?
Hey, first of all, this is the best video I've ever watched on JHB tunings, or on drum tuning generally. Thank you! Second, your technique is amazing. The Buddy Rich /JHB crossovers in particular stunned me. Your commitment to excellence has paid dividends. Well done! Finally, around 32:30, you talk about the tone controls (internal mufflers) on toms, which Ochletree doesn't address at all in his video. I'm not sure I interpreted your comments correctly, but I'm assuming that the tone controls are in the "off" position, i.e., not touching batter heads of any toms or of the snare. Is that correct? I assume that after going to such pains to tune his drums (which even Page compliments him on), and to have them sound so great via tuning, an open player like JHB would not engage the internal mufflers. And when you hit the drums after tuning each one, the open sound suggests you have not got the muffler touching the head. Have I got that correct? I wasn't quite clear on what you were saying about applying dampening materials to keep the (unengagd) muffler mechanism from rattling, but that isn't as important. My main question is whether you think JHB used any muffling on any of the toms or snare, and whether you are doing so in either the tuning or performance parts of the video. If you get this, please write back if you don't mind. Thank you again! You are a superb teacher and a superb drummer.
I have many 3ply kits, many 26s, many 24s. mainly Maple or Granitone. Many 22s including white inners. For me, nothing inside any of them. Agree, 26/24 P3 or Aquarian Super Kick. Resonant, tight and dampened (sound ring/foam strip/Felt variations). Toms; P3/P4 coated batter, resonant ambassador coated. Not Emperor as the new Emperor is nowhere near the same as the old version. (Mylar is clear under coating on new version, opaque on old) on 22s Emad batter and sometimes resonant or as above, work well.
Wow, this is pure gold. 10/10. Probably the best tuning video I've ever seen on the sparkling green kit (much better than John Ocheltree's 'Trust your ears').
I have the vistalite kit. They sound great, but they're a fucking pain when it comes to tuning. I often get frustrated and give up after a while.
By the way, where did you get the video footage?
Thanks again. The 16 is a bit too tinny for me. The 18 rocks. I like the 20 as well. I think a 19 medium would be perfect. But they are no longer made. Congrats on the new gig. Good video!
How’d ya get the ride cymbal mount on the bass drum?
There's a specific part - Ludwig L-1372, that includes the mount and the L-arm. Two holes are drilled in the shell for the mount, and then you just fasten the L-arm to the mount. The kit in this video came with the mount factory-installed. It's a brilliant, stable device to use for your ride cymbal, and saves you having to haul an extra boom stand around for shows!
@@KickItLikeBonham Thank you so much brother! Happy Easter!
What are the equivalent Drum Dial settings for this kind of tuning?
I wish I could tell you off the top of my head. I want to say 82 on the batter side on all toms, 88 on the resonant side. I'm about to give this set of drums a thorough cleaning, and when I put it all back together, I'm going to do a video showing the drum dial and tune-bot settings for it.
Thanks, man, you're awesome!
I used these settings for my acrylic set and the toms turned out fantastic! However, the bass drum sounded too high pitched and choked, both behind the kit and out front. Does a wood shelled bass drum require different tuning than acrylic? Seems strange especially when the acrylic toms sounded outstanding with these settings. I'll try the bass drum setting you have in your video of the Bonham acrylic kit. Maybe it's just my heads? Batter is smooth emperor with felt strip and the reso is an unmuffled clear single ply Ludwig.
Love my new 6 piece evolution element in silver sparkle. Drums not as big as those, but I tuned them really low. I use a Steve's fat snare ring to eliminate the snare ping.
i wanted to also mention that if you really want a vintage sound and you dont have re rings you can use the thin foam tape in a circle on the underside of the batter head .. it really gives you that tubby re ring sound.. use more foam tape for the bigger toms and less for the smaller
Are you kidding me , nothing like Bonham , especially the Kick drum which made Bonham sound different then anybody else around . Listen to the Kick drum on Good Times , Bad Times , Black Dog , Rock And Roll this kick sounds nothing like that
I have a Tama Kit in the Bohnam Sizes but Im struggling to get that sound can the sizes alone get me pretty close or is it the fact they need to be 3 ply maple shells the Tamas are a 6 ply all birch
Bass drum rings out a little too much... Bonham did use a muffle ring around outer edge of the reso head...YES he did! But, very awesome video anyways and good job! Thanks!
Enjoyed the video. Since you've gone so far for authenticity of the kit though, perhaps you should look into a few large diaphragm condenser mic's and read up on the Glyn Johns style of drum mic'ing. It'll probably give you a much more Bonham-esque sound than these modern close mics.
Did Bonham use a Ludwig Speed King,I always wondered?
He did, indeed! Through his whole career...
Yep he did. No double kick for Bonzo!
I read bonham used a felt strip on both sides so......?
Eh, except for one picture of Bonham's kits during the recording of In Through The Outdoor, I've never seen a felt strip on the front head. There are an extensive number of pictures of Bonham using what's called a Ritchie ring on his front head, which ultimately had the same effect as a felt strip (although in my opinion, the Ritchie ring is a little more effective). What he would do is cut out a 22" head for a 26" and then paste the smaller skin centered inside the resonate head. The thermogloss and green sparkle kits employed this method for muffling, along with a thick felt strip on the beater side. The vistalite kit used the felt strip on the beater side, but it doesn't appear that anything is on the resonate head (no Ritchie ring). The stainless steel maaaaaaaybe utilized a felt strip on the front head during Zeppelin's shows??? The footage from Seattle 1977 makes it look like there might be felt at the bottom of his resonate head under certain lighting, but it's tough to tell. So, all that is to say - I don't think Bonham utilized a felt strip on each side of the kick drum when he shaped his iconic sound from the late 60's through the early 70's. I think the Ritchie ring is responsible for some of that. Unfortunately, there's little in the way of studio photos available, so it's always possible he added a second felt strip during recording. My personal opinion from fawning over his sound for so long is that it's doubtful he did that.
I think the main source of the two felt strips comes from Jeff Ocheltree, who claims to have worked for John Bonham in the late 70's. A lot of people, including Jason Bonham, have said Jeff's claims of working with John are a little dubious. I have no idea, and am guessing that Jeff did get to know John Bonham, and maybe sat backstage with Mick Hinton in the Denmark 1979 shows or something like that. As far as being employed by Led Zeppelin or being given one of John Bonham's green sparkle kits or being involved in recording sessions...I wish there were more proof available.
Thanks for all the info!!!! I may try that!!!!
Keep it going! You know how to tune drums. Will you be playing more on future videos? The sound is genuine.
That Bass Drum!!!!!!!!!! Fucking Awesome!!!!!!!!
+Guitarwizard Ha, ha! Thanks so much! I'll take it!
What kind of interval do you have going on between the batter and reso heads with this tuning? Min 3rd? Maj 3rd? Perfect 4th? Perfect 5th? It sounds amazing!
Man, that's a good question. I'd say I'm going for 1/3 step up in the difference between the batter head and the resonant head. As it applies, to the intervals between the drums - unless a song requires different, I typically try to tune the drums to the same tension for each size, and let the dimensions themselves dictate the tonality/note that's being played.
Hallo again! Cymbals. I have the 24 ride and 15 se. What are your thoughts on Bonham style crashes. I hear 18,20 or 16,18 both medium. Thanks!
+brad slinkman I have 16" and 18" crashes, but I would love to go with 18" and 20". I would go with those sizes.
Why not use NEW heads? Whats the point of making this with already tuned and played heads?
I tune my 22, 16, 12, 14 drums according to this vid dude thanks so much!!! Upload some more
I'm thrilled to hear it, Kred! And you can bet that there will be more videos coming soon!
@@KickItLikeBonham nice sir ahahahah
Killa drummer...woooooooo!!!!
Alex Cox Ha, ha! I like the energy of your comment, Alex. Thank you so much!
Where did u purchase the tom holder? Keep up with great videos
I was fortunate to buy this kit with the rail mount and ride cymbal L-Arm included. You can do a search on eBay or Reverb for, "Ludwig Rail Mount," and you should find something. They don't make them quite like this anymore, as they're specific to the 60's/70's. I love them though, and can't imagine using anything else now.
@@KickItLikeBonham Yeah didn't think so. Thanks for the info.
Wish he played a groove instead of his impression of drums falling down a flight of stairs.
Fantastic sounding drums! Great job on the video!
Can anyone guess which notes this would translate to?
I am soooo close to doing any updates version of this video! I need to strip this kit and do a thorough cleaning on it. Once that's done, I'll record putting the heads back on and videotape the Tunebot settings/notes, as well as drum dial settings.
@@KickItLikeBonham Thanks Mate!!
nice video... nice playing...nice theory! But, you even don't turn those lugs the same turns each in the first run...when you tuning each drum head from start (using tuning key)...each lug sound different...some for one tone up or down...you even don't turn them the same turn with tuning key (som 3 times , some 5 times) at the start. but you said that is cool to tune them in the same tone. Any way you got that soud at the end :) . Bravo! good playing! all best! cheers!
It's true. I wish I had had a more scientific method when I made this. I have since acquired a Tune-Bot and Drum Dial, and both of those have helped to make sure that the tension all around is more even. My goal for this was the overall sound, but I was still hoping to be as accurate as possible. I am currently wrapping up a tuning video on the vistalite kit, and that should be a little more thorough.
Wow awesome! Just wondering how you would alter tuning for a 22x14, 9x13, 16x16 kit to get a similar vibe. Would you tune the kick lower etc? Tune bot suggestions even better.... Well done. Now please do one for Ringo
Dave Stanley Hey Dave - Yeah, I would just take everything down a step or two for a smaller kit. I'm not too far off from making a video on how I tune my Vistalite drums, and I'll make one right after that of how I'd tune a Super Classic (22,13,16) kit. I'll make sure to include Tune-Bot settings.
Spent most of my afternoon retuning the drums from scratch and used your video as a rough guide. Great sound from your kit, and my bass drum (16x22" 1990's Ludwig super classic) sounds as amazing as ever!
LedZepfilm That's awesome, man! I'm thrilled to hear it. Considering all that you do for the Led Zeppelin community, it's always a tremendous honor to get such a nice word from you. Thank you!
You're very welcome! Thanks for your compliments and I'm looking forward to new videos!
Hey, Mr mojo... you play great! Just like me, you're a critical listener and player to Bonham's stuff!! That's how it's done!! excellent!! Anyway, just was curious about something... where do you get all these drum sets? How? I'm very jealous! Either you hit the lottery, or you're a lawyer or surgeon?!! lol!! Just wondering!! I mean, you have all the real vintage sets!!! I can tell. Cause of the single tom mounts, and Consolettes with the cymbal mounts on the bass drum, too!! awesome!!! how do you grace yourself with all these great, iconic drum sets?!!
+james richardson Ha, ha! I fear I'm not a lawyer or a surgeon. For all the potential drawbacks there may be to living in Los Angeles, there's never a shortage of awesome musical equipment available for sale on Craigslist. This whole crazy collection started with an early 70's Green Sparkle set that I discovered at the old Ontario Music for $1,050. Bonham's Green Sparkle kit was always my favorite kit, and so there was no way I could leave that store without getting it. From that point on, I saved any discretionary spending money I had for other Bonham-related kits, and just scoured Craigslist and E-Bay in the attempt to find the kits he played for reasonable prices. It took a period of five or six years to finally get all of them, but that's how it happened.
There are also great communities on particular websites like the Vintage Drum Forums where you can interact with stellar and upstanding members of the vintage drum community that are willing to sell old equipment for much more reasonable prices than what you typically find on E-Bay. That's where the vintage rail mounts and other hardware came from.
Just keep your eye out on a regular basis. There's definitely stuff around...
Outstanding man…you and Frankie Banali are the closest to the real deal.
Somebody get Ludwig to give MrMojoRisin1967 an endorsement deal, show off all the Ludwig gear, and then try to destroy it with his sick Drum Riffs on video. Awesome tuning tutorial, awesome kit tour. Thanks for the vid, I am breaking down all my drums after I write this and Tune Them Up! I really dug the freestyle playing at the end of the vid, Bonzoriffic. Why do some of these other TH-camrs have thousands of hits, subscribers, and endorsements? MrMojoRisin1967 Drummer of the Year!
Somebody pay this man for his amazing confidence building skills and incredible PR work! Ludwig VonLudwig for greatest comment-leaver on TH-cam!
MrMojoRisin1967 Seriously, i agree.. The folks at Ludwig should add you to their roster..
Where can I get a kit like that?I have a 6pc set of MAPEX but I think I'll sellthem and pick myself up a kit like those,love the sound of that 26 in kick.
James Hershey Sr ludwig centennial is available in these sizes! And sounds killer!
Cool:) So I got my vistalites tuned into your numbers. The toms sound excellent. I am having trouble with the bass. The batter is set a little higher than yours, at 90. The reso is the same. There seems to be no depth or bass. I have zero muffling, so maybe I should get a felt. Any suggestions? Thanks again!
brad slinkman Awesome to hear the toms are working the way you want them to! Yeah, I would say for the bass - get a felt strip, and tune it down maybe half a turn all the way around on the batter side, and I think you'll be really happy with the results. I've been out on the road for the last few weeks, and it's going to be another week or so before I'm home, but I still hope to have the tuning video that I'm making for the vistalite kit up as soon as possible.
awesome job, brother. i'm a bit of a Bonham purist myself so i was very happy to find this tutorial to go along with my tunebot and recently purchased set of reissued Bonham vistalites. you took all the guess work out of it for me. thank you so much for posting this tutorial! great job, you nailed it!