About Dan Lamb Expertise I have a general knowledge of the band Rush, but I would say my expertise would be in their drummer Neil Peart such as setups over the years equipment etc...
Question Hey dan. I am very intersted in knowing as much as possible about Neil's tom sound preferably when he had the white ludwig kit in the late 80's. I need to know:
what model ludwig?
drum material (maple or birch)
drum sizes (depths included)
heads ( top and bottom, brand and model)
tunning style
I'm recording our first album to be released next year and I got to have those tom sounds
thanx for any help, I really do need it.
Answer Hello Charlie,
Congrats on doing your first album! Well I think I've found most of what you need here we go...
'87 Ludwig Super Classic with 4-ply maple/poplar shells in Custom white opalescent with pink sparkles (inside and out) by Paintworks. Standard triple-flanged hoops and all hardware brass-plated by Percussion Center: (2) 14x24 bass drums; 5.5 x6 concert tom; 5.5x8 concert tom; 9x6 tom; 9x8 tom; 9x10 tom; 8x12 tom; 9x13 tom; 12x15 tom; 16x18 floor tom.
As far as heads go Neil used Remo Clear Emperor on closed toms (or Clear Evans sinlge ply). Remo Clear Diplomat on bottoms. Remo C.S. Clear Dots on bass and snare. Remo Clear Ambassador on gong bass and concert toms. Evans UNO 58 Glass(one-ply) on tom batters during the tour.
"Damping in kind of a nasty word to me when applied to toms. I don't use any at all on mine though I used to use little bits of gaffer's tape. There is one good damping tip I picked up from Peter Henderson, for someone who wants to use a bit of damping without affecting the drum's sound too much. If you make a little pad with some tape at the rim, when you hit the drum, the pad will bounce off the head and thus won't interfere with the sound on impact but it still cut off any lingering overtone."
"In the studio, I generally take off the front heads and use quite heavy damping. I'll use those quilted packing blankets placed right against the head. I wonder if I'll get to the point where I'll be able to get the sound I want without any damping. Years ago I muffled everything on the kit-the toms and the snare. Then, as I became better at tuning drums, I stopped using muffling completely on toms and snare drums in the studio. But with the bass drums, I don't know; it's one hell of a big barrel with too much out-of-control transient stuff going on. For live work, I use both head on the drum. The front head has a hole just large enough to get a mic inside. For muffling I use a crescent-shaped muffling device that just stis inside the durm and rests against both heads. As for heads on the bass drums I like the clear dots for their durability. And I just use your typical felt beater. It's mundane, I know." [laughs]
(This is taken from the book, "Mereley Players: A Rush Tribute")
Well thats about all the info I could drum up. He didnt' have to much to say about the tunings of the drum but I would say that they are tuned on the high side to give that ringing approach. Hope this helps! If you need anything else just let me know!
