I personally love the sound of the drums and the cymbals sound great. My friends always tune my drums up really tight but I like them low as it just suits the way I like to hit.
Kris, i keep coming back to these videos (I don’t have much gear yet). I don’t know if many of us are Christians here, but personally I’d be curious to see more worship sessions with this unplugged vibe :) If you’d release a course on it, I’d buy it!!
For folks curious about ride cymbals for this type of playing, I have a Dream bliss 24 small bell ride and can’t say enough about it. I tried the 22 crash/ride but found it too washy. The 24 is just amazing.
Haha... that's funny that you saw my question - and answered. I wrote the question just before getting to the part where you mentioned the brand, then I deleted the question and just saw your answer. Glad you are still drumming. I am looking for a sound like that C&C... low tuned and warm, bassy... Cheers, Brother.
how to tune a 16 inches bass drum. I'd love to hear from you.. this is not topic here, but, really love your way of learning. love to hear you, listen you.. talking, playing.. :) tnx Kris!
Very Very Very nice! I always love to use my big thin cymbals, I find that Heartbeat cymbals have a bit more shimmer, but i prefer anything big and thin!
Kris, I'm enjoying so much your videos! The Episode 4 is amazing and helped me a lot, thank you very very much for doing that! But there's one thing you have mentioned here that I always searched about and it never got clear enough for me. When you say ROUNDED bearing edges, you mean fully rounded? Like internal AND external? Sometimes I hear drummers saying "rounded edges" but its actually rounded outside and 45 degrees inside and vice-versa. I'm asking this because I'm about to order a drumkit that I'm able to choose exaclty how I want the edges to be. For mellow tones and more body drums I think that fully rounded edges are the go to option, but in the other hand I heard that because they are rounded, it's a little more hard to tune them. You'll need to apply more tension (consequently, higher pitched) to get them resonating. Can you tell me your experience with this kit of yours? Thank you very much, bro!!
Arthur Azoubel I'm really glad it's been helpful! And yes, that's a very good question. So think with me about when you're tuning a head..... you set the head on and it sounds totally dead at first.... once you work up the tension a ways, it starts to have tone. Ok, that happens because the collar of the head is being pulled into the shape of the bearing edge. Once it has full contact with the bearing edge, it can vibrate freely and make tone. Now, the shape of most head collars is rounded not a sharp angle, right? So heads are naturally closer the the shape of a rounded bearing edge.... meaning that it doesn't take much tension to get them to conform perfectly to the shape of a rounded edge. This means you can tune drums with rounded edges much lower than you can a drum with sharper edges like 45s. You are correct about the variety of "rounded edge" styles. These drums have C&C's "Full Contact" edge. (You can google for pics) But basically, its rounded over from the outside and a straight 90 degree drop on the inside. So they follow the exact contour of a head. I can set a head on the drum with no tension, and there's already some tone there. I can tune these drums lower than any others I've tried. Crazy!!!
Thanks for the answer!! Yes, that made total sense for me. I have already "googled" (pretend this is a verb hahaha) this C&C round edges styles and for what I know, it's actually a Grestch ideia from back the 60's. How about sustain vs attack? Would you say that rounded edges have more or less sustain than sharper ones? How about the attack? Thank you again! I just subscribed to your channel and I'll be watching every single video of yours! :)
Seán Geraghty Thanks! I have done that a few times but most of the time I keep them wide open. I try to use cymbals that are dark enough that I don’t need to knock any of the highs off. That can be a quick fix if you’re stuck using brighter cymbals though.
Man, I have this same exact C&C kit w/triple flange hoops and I'm extremely impressed with how low you got the pitch of that floor tom! Do the wooden hoops have something to do with it?
Anthony DelPlato the wood hoops change the sound quite a bit. I have the triple flanged hoops for the kit also. The wood dry it out and make it more mellow toned. A darker, earthier tone.... I wouldn't say that has anything to do with getting the pitch lower though. I do have it tuned pretty resonant so it might just be all the low end resonance making it sound fuller? It's the stock vintage A on top and a Coated diplomat on bottom. What heads are you running on yours?
I'm curious about your preference for a washy ride. A lot of folks like flat rides for low volume - which seems opposite of your intent. Doesn't it a thin washy crash/ride build up to a dull roar - I could see that get out of hand trying to keep the volume down.
Nathan Stewart I like flat rides for low volume stuff too. I think I enjoy a normal profiled Ride more though, just because there are more sounds you can get out of it. And that’s one of the exciting parts of low volume drumming.... all the little nuances you can play that would get covered up in a big loud mix. And yeah, you have to be careful with a big washy Ride. it definitely can get away from you volume-wise.... but it can also sound totally beautiful if you use a light touch and keep it under control.
Kris, thank you so much for this amazing video series! I play in a low volume worship setting, where I would prefer a big fat snare sound with long decay. The problem with my current wooden 13x5 snare is that the sound is quite harsh. Would you recommend a 14x6.5 or a 14x8 snare for this setting? Also, what kind of snare wires would give the smoothest attack with long reverby decay? (Or is it about tuning rather than wire selection?)
Hey, you’re welcome! Yeah I would definitely try to get a larger snare for that sound. One thing I’ve really gotten into since making these videos is vintage marching snares like 14x10… for getting a fat snare sound that got a lot of presence and natural low end even at a low volume, these snares just do it the best to my ears. And they are very cheap on the used market. You can find them under $200 USD all the time. I have a video on my channel tuning one of these snares for fat sounds. But yes, 14x6.5 or 14x8 would get you a lot closer to this sound too. Now I’m not sure if you’ve checked out episode 4 from this series but halfway through I pull out a blue sparkle snare and use a towel over it … that’s a 13x5. I don’t think the wires are as big a factor as the batter head, tuning and muffling. I can get the sounds I’m after with almost any wires. I will say I do not like 42 count wires, especially for low volume. The harsh wire sound becomes super loud and nasally in the room. Anyway, hope some of that helps!
@@KrisRedusJazz Thanks a lot for your thorough answer! I actually saw that marching snare video a while ago. It sounded really nice! However, we have quite a poor market for vintage snare drums here in Finland, so I'll probably go for a new 14x8 drum instead. I have watched your low volume video series many times, but never noticed that 13x5 snare. I guess I just assumed you're always using bigger drums:) Thanks again and God bless your ministry!
@@tuomaslilja6820 Yeah, I understand that. One thing that's interesting about "fat" snare sounds... They're less about the low pitch and more about how the attack is shaped. The attack is softened up. It's not a sharp pointed tone... It's blurred and mushy. In recording/mixing they soften up the transient with heavy compression. But live we can achieve that through dampening. That's why I still got a fat sounding tone from the higher tuned snare... the towel + broomstick made the attack less defined.
@@KrisRedusJazz So maybe I could even get the fat tone from the 13x5? I've already tried a low tuning and adding "Steve's donut" type dampening. It helps a lot, but the snare wire response is still rather harsh. I've also tried cutting out part of the snare wires, but not sure has that really helped. I thought perhaps I could still try a two-ply batter head and concert snare wires. But I'm a bit hesitant spending money on this snare, if a 14x6.5 or a 14x8 would do all this a lot better. Some people say a wider and deeper drum would also be louder, could you comment on this? What would be the sweet spot? I probably can't invest on a really high quality drum with rounded bearing edges and such right now.
I think I forgot to mention the exact heads.... doh! ...But for this video I have a lot of different heads. On snare batter is the Remo P77, which I kind of hate now, lol. I'd go with a coated emperor for the low fat tone. 12" rack tom had an Adoro heritage head (synthetic calf style head), with a coated diplomat on bottom. The 14" floor tom had a coated vintage ambassador on top and a coated diplomat on bottom. However, now I'm usually going with coated emperors on top and coated ambassadors on bottom for a low beefy tone. If I'm playing jazz, then coated ambassadors all around. The kick has an Evans coated EMAD in this video.
Forgive me if you have already answered this. I am considering purchasing a new kit in the future. What is your feeling about shell size and materiel. Do smaller drums help or not... I know you advocate lower tuning, would smaller shells i.e. A 20 inch kick and 14 in floor tom be a better fit... What about mahogany vs birch vs maple, I've heard mahogany is warmer, birch is more focused and maple is brighter, thoughts? Also I noticed feet on your floor tom legs, what are those and do they effect sonic output?
Steven Delamar my kit here is 20, 12, 14. The mahogany shells allow you to tune super low so they sound bigger than they are. Mahogany, because it has a darker more mellow character, ends up being quieter than maple or birch. It also cuts less in a mix which is a big help in the Volume game as well. The feet on the floor tom are called Booty Shakers. They let the drum resonate way more than if it's sitting flat on the floor getting the resonance sucked out. Hold your drum up in the air and listen to how much longer the note lasts. These pretty much preserve that and let all that nice low end sing.
I wish Heartbeat would help lower-budget churches by offering financing of some sort. I have been drooling over Heartbeat cymbals and have settled for Wuhan because any church drum upgrades come out of my person pocket. I'm thankful for what I have, but it's nice to play something that sounds good.
I personally love the sound of the drums and the cymbals sound great. My friends always tune my drums up really tight but I like them low as it just suits the way I like to hit.
Kris, i keep coming back to these videos (I don’t have much gear yet). I don’t know if many of us are Christians here, but personally I’d be curious to see more worship sessions with this unplugged vibe :) If you’d release a course on it, I’d buy it!!
Fantastic video, thanks for sharing!!
For folks curious about ride cymbals for this type of playing, I have a Dream bliss 24 small bell ride and can’t say enough about it. I tried the 22 crash/ride but found it too washy. The 24 is just amazing.
I really dig this series of videos, very informative. Thanks!
George Fisher Thanks so much! Really glad it's been helpful 😀
Haha... that's funny that you saw my question - and answered. I wrote the question just before getting to the part where you mentioned the brand, then I deleted the question and just saw your answer. Glad you are still drumming. I am looking for a sound like that C&C... low tuned and warm, bassy... Cheers, Brother.
i am really enjoying these series, glad i found your site !!
hdriderpat22 awesome, dude! So glad they are helpful 😃
Great content Kris!
how to tune a 16 inches bass drum.
I'd love to hear from you.. this is not topic here, but, really love your way of learning.
love to hear you, listen you.. talking, playing.. :) tnx Kris!
Your video lessons are really wonderful and knowledgeable , keep it up ♥️😊.
Very Very Very nice! I always love to use my big thin cymbals, I find that Heartbeat cymbals have a bit more shimmer, but i prefer anything big and thin!
Great series of vids
Thanks man! Glad you liked them!
very very good, thanks Kris!
Kris, I'm enjoying so much your videos! The Episode 4 is amazing and helped me a lot, thank you very very much for doing that! But there's one thing you have mentioned here that I always searched about and it never got clear enough for me. When you say ROUNDED bearing edges, you mean fully rounded? Like internal AND external? Sometimes I hear drummers saying "rounded edges" but its actually rounded outside and 45 degrees inside and vice-versa.
I'm asking this because I'm about to order a drumkit that I'm able to choose exaclty how I want the edges to be. For mellow tones and more body drums I think that fully rounded edges are the go to option, but in the other hand I heard that because they are rounded, it's a little more hard to tune them. You'll need to apply more tension (consequently, higher pitched) to get them resonating.
Can you tell me your experience with this kit of yours? Thank you very much, bro!!
Arthur Azoubel I'm really glad it's been helpful! And yes, that's a very good question. So think with me about when you're tuning a head..... you set the head on and it sounds totally dead at first.... once you work up the tension a ways, it starts to have tone. Ok, that happens because the collar of the head is being pulled into the shape of the bearing edge. Once it has full contact with the bearing edge, it can vibrate freely and make tone. Now, the shape of most head collars is rounded not a sharp angle, right? So heads are naturally closer the the shape of a rounded bearing edge.... meaning that it doesn't take much tension to get them to conform perfectly to the shape of a rounded edge. This means you can tune drums with rounded edges much lower than you can a drum with sharper edges like 45s.
You are correct about the variety of "rounded edge" styles. These drums have C&C's "Full Contact" edge. (You can google for pics) But basically, its rounded over from the outside and a straight 90 degree drop on the inside. So they follow the exact contour of a head. I can set a head on the drum with no tension, and there's already some tone there. I can tune these drums lower than any others I've tried. Crazy!!!
Thanks for the answer!! Yes, that made total sense for me. I have already "googled" (pretend this is a verb hahaha) this C&C round edges styles and for what I know, it's actually a Grestch ideia from back the 60's. How about sustain vs attack? Would you say that rounded edges have more or less sustain than sharper ones? How about the attack? Thank you again! I just subscribed to your channel and I'll be watching every single video of yours! :)
Do you have any or do you ever put tape on the back of your cymbals? Love your channel & playing,thank you from Ireland
Seán Geraghty Thanks! I have done that a few times but most of the time I keep them wide open. I try to use cymbals that are dark enough that I don’t need to knock any of the highs off. That can be a quick fix if you’re stuck using brighter cymbals though.
Kris Redus thanks for your reply. I’m gonna pull the trigger on 22” vintage bliss. They all seem extremely unique yet musical
Seán Geraghty awesome! It’s such s great cymbal. Super affordable considering the quality of time.
Man, I have this same exact C&C kit w/triple flange hoops and I'm extremely impressed with how low you got the pitch of that floor tom! Do the wooden hoops have something to do with it?
Anthony DelPlato the wood hoops change the sound quite a bit. I have the triple flanged hoops for the kit also. The wood dry it out and make it more mellow toned. A darker, earthier tone.... I wouldn't say that has anything to do with getting the pitch lower though. I do have it tuned pretty resonant so it might just be all the low end resonance making it sound fuller? It's the stock vintage A on top and a Coated diplomat on bottom. What heads are you running on yours?
Oh hey, just saw your response. I've got the stock vintage A on the top and the stock clear ambassador on the bottom.
I'm curious about your preference for a washy ride. A lot of folks like flat rides for low volume - which seems opposite of your intent. Doesn't it a thin washy crash/ride build up to a dull roar - I could see that get out of hand trying to keep the volume down.
Nathan Stewart I like flat rides for low volume stuff too. I think I enjoy a normal profiled Ride more though, just because there are more sounds you can get out of it. And that’s one of the exciting parts of low volume drumming.... all the little nuances you can play that would get covered up in a big loud mix. And yeah, you have to be careful with a big washy Ride. it definitely can get away from you volume-wise.... but it can also sound totally beautiful if you use a light touch and keep it under control.
Kris, thank you so much for this amazing video series! I play in a low volume worship setting, where I would prefer a big fat snare sound with long decay. The problem with my current wooden 13x5 snare is that the sound is quite harsh.
Would you recommend a 14x6.5 or a 14x8 snare for this setting? Also, what kind of snare wires would give the smoothest attack with long reverby decay? (Or is it about tuning rather than wire selection?)
Hey, you’re welcome! Yeah I would definitely try to get a larger snare for that sound. One thing I’ve really gotten into since making these videos is vintage marching snares like 14x10… for getting a fat snare sound that got a lot of presence and natural low end even at a low volume, these snares just do it the best to my ears. And they are very cheap on the used market. You can find them under $200 USD all the time. I have a video on my channel tuning one of these snares for fat sounds.
But yes, 14x6.5 or 14x8 would get you a lot closer to this sound too. Now I’m not sure if you’ve checked out episode 4 from this series but halfway through I pull out a blue sparkle snare and use a towel over it … that’s a 13x5.
I don’t think the wires are as big a factor as the batter head, tuning and muffling. I can get the sounds I’m after with almost any wires. I will say I do not like 42 count wires, especially for low volume. The harsh wire sound becomes super loud and nasally in the room. Anyway, hope some of that helps!
@@KrisRedusJazz Thanks a lot for your thorough answer! I actually saw that marching snare video a while ago. It sounded really nice! However, we have quite a poor market for vintage snare drums here in Finland, so I'll probably go for a new 14x8 drum instead.
I have watched your low volume video series many times, but never noticed that 13x5 snare. I guess I just assumed you're always using bigger drums:) Thanks again and God bless your ministry!
@@tuomaslilja6820 Yeah, I understand that. One thing that's interesting about "fat" snare sounds... They're less about the low pitch and more about how the attack is shaped. The attack is softened up. It's not a sharp pointed tone... It's blurred and mushy. In recording/mixing they soften up the transient with heavy compression. But live we can achieve that through dampening. That's why I still got a fat sounding tone from the higher tuned snare... the towel + broomstick made the attack less defined.
@@KrisRedusJazz So maybe I could even get the fat tone from the 13x5? I've already tried a low tuning and adding "Steve's donut" type dampening. It helps a lot, but the snare wire response is still rather harsh. I've also tried cutting out part of the snare wires, but not sure has that really helped. I thought perhaps I could still try a two-ply batter head and concert snare wires. But I'm a bit hesitant spending money on this snare, if a 14x6.5 or a 14x8 would do all this a lot better. Some people say a wider and deeper drum would also be louder, could you comment on this? What would be the sweet spot? I probably can't invest on a really high quality drum with rounded bearing edges and such right now.
@@KrisRedusJazz Btw, Remo has these Renaissance snare side heads, which they say are less bright. Ever tried them for softer snare sound?
You're a killer, man!
Did I miss the mention of type heads, other than being 'coated'?
I think I forgot to mention the exact heads.... doh! ...But for this video I have a lot of different heads. On snare batter is the Remo P77, which I kind of hate now, lol. I'd go with a coated emperor for the low fat tone. 12" rack tom had an Adoro heritage head (synthetic calf style head), with a coated diplomat on bottom. The 14" floor tom had a coated vintage ambassador on top and a coated diplomat on bottom. However, now I'm usually going with coated emperors on top and coated ambassadors on bottom for a low beefy tone. If I'm playing jazz, then coated ambassadors all around. The kick has an Evans coated EMAD in this video.
Thanks Kris...did not recognize the logo on the 12"
Never heard of Adoro. May have to look into them.
What cymbals
Forgive me if you have already answered this. I am considering purchasing a new kit in the future. What is your feeling about shell size and materiel. Do smaller drums help or not... I know you advocate lower tuning, would smaller shells i.e. A 20 inch kick and 14 in floor tom be a better fit...
What about mahogany vs birch vs maple, I've heard mahogany is warmer, birch is more focused and maple is brighter, thoughts?
Also I noticed feet on your floor tom legs, what are those and do they effect sonic output?
Steven Delamar my kit here is 20, 12, 14. The mahogany shells allow you to tune super low so they sound bigger than they are. Mahogany, because it has a darker more mellow character, ends up being quieter than maple or birch. It also cuts less in a mix which is a big help in the Volume game as well.
The feet on the floor tom are called Booty Shakers. They let the drum resonate way more than if it's sitting flat on the floor getting the resonance sucked out. Hold your drum up in the air and listen to how much longer the note lasts. These pretty much preserve that and let all that nice low end sing.
I wish Heartbeat would help lower-budget churches by offering financing of some sort. I have been drooling over Heartbeat cymbals and have settled for Wuhan because any church drum upgrades come out of my person pocket. I'm thankful for what I have, but it's nice to play something that sounds good.
Really? Acoustic drums are loud,play dynamic....