One man band drum setups

[Gonzo]

I'm looking towards setting up a basic one man drum setup for recording at home, similar to Ty Seagal, Dead Elvis and His One Man Grave, Mark Sultan etc

I'm basically think a snare and bass drum, both with individual foot pedals but I'm wondering if anyone has any idea how BBQ gets his sound, because it sounds like he's got a tamborine in there somewhere, I've seen him once before but it was a few years back and I can't seem to find close up pictures on the internet. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions for one band drumming or ideas on recording drums for someone who isn't a drummer I'm welcomed to hear anything.

[G. Wood]

I'm not an expert or anything, and I'm not familiar with those guys you mentioned, but the first thing that comes to mind is the "tambourine in there somewhere." My drummer puts a tambo on top of his hi-hat sometimes. 

I think you're talking about a basic, stand-up rockabilly drum setup, no? Anyway, the basic recording technique is the same for any kind of kit. You put two mics on overhead boom stands, equidistant from the center of the kick, maybe a foot or so to either side of the kit, and about 6 or 7 feet high. Record these on separate tracks, and later, mix them with a spread, anywhere from 30/30 out, depending on what other instrumentation you have, and the sound you're after. The spread gives a sense of movement, or stereo.

Mic the snare and kick, and bring up these tracks in the mix to round out the drum sound. You can mic the top and bottom of the snare, and blend the two tracks for the sound you want. If you're just using one mic on the snare, mic the top. You'll get some bleed from the other drums in these mics, but it'll be mostly the drum you mic. Mic the kick from the front, not the back where the pedal is. My drummer's kick has a hole in the front head, about 6", I put the mic a few inches in front of that.

What kind of mics to use could fill up many pages of another thread, but use what you have, even stage mics can give a decent sound. Experiment with placement of the mics, it can make a big difference, as can the acoustics of the room you're in. In the mix, you'll probably want to EQ a lot of it, especially the kick. Keep the levels out of the red! You can always bring them up in the mix, but it's impossible to undo oversaturation. 

Of course, there are other ways of doing it, but this is a common technique, and I could go on a lot more about finer points. The are lots of how-to vids on Youtube.

[MR. HIPSTER!]

My good buds in the band DUST FROM 1000 YRS. use a maracka as the beater on the kick. It gives it a great sound blend.
Great topic btw! Just this weekend I started my solo guitar vox and kick drum career. The whole time there was a bit of a rattle/vibration I felt would be cooler if a tambourine was in the mix somewhere.
Ask EDDY PRICE of Th'Empires

[Thijs Oosterbaan]

check out king automatic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5byg8Tx7mNQ

[The Desperate Twisters]

Bbq has a tambourine stuck with the beater of the kick drum. Each time he kicks the bass drum, the tambourine rings.

[Kendal Killjoy]

Desperate twisters is right about BBQ. But if its for home recording and not live playing live I recommend just overdubbing the tambourine separate cuz sometimes I want tambourine on off beat instead, plus with the BBQ method the tamb can tend to get slightly off n really muck up your rhythm and since it is so high frequency it will be super obvious. Hey, mark sultan overdubs so I don't feel it breaks any rules. For an example of a tambourine being off the ENTIRE song check out kk @ BBQ's "love you so" from the s/t release. Awesome track but goddamn is that tambourine on its own rhythm!

[Gonzo]

That was SICK !

Thijs Oosterbaan said:

check out king automatic:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5byg8Tx7mNQ

[Gonzo]

How does he actually attatch it though ? Just a simple fix of duct tape ? I've only seen him once and never got close enough to see how exactly it's seated.

Kendal Killjoy said:

Desperate twisters is right about BBQ. But if its for home recording and not live playing live I recommend just overdubbing the tambourine separate cuz sometimes I want tambourine on off beat instead, plus with the BBQ method the tamb can tend to get slightly off n really muck up your rhythm and since it is so high frequency it will be super obvious. Hey, mark sultan overdubs so I don't feel it breaks any rules. For an example of a tambourine being off the ENTIRE song check out kk @ BBQ's "love you so" from the s/t release. Awesome track but goddamn is that tambourine on its own rhythm!

[Drew Starr]

You just clamp it to the kick drum. When the beater hits the head it will cause the tambourine to do its thing.

Gonzo said:

How does he actually attatch it though ? Just a simple fix of duct tape ? I've only seen him once and never got close enough to see how exactly it's seated.

Kendal Killjoy said:

Desperate twisters is right about BBQ. But if its for home recording and not live playing live I recommend just overdubbing the tambourine separate cuz sometimes I want tambourine on off beat instead, plus with the BBQ method the tamb can tend to get slightly off n really muck up your rhythm and since it is so high frequency it will be super obvious. Hey, mark sultan overdubs so I don't feel it breaks any rules. For an example of a tambourine being off the ENTIRE song check out kk @ BBQ's "love you so" from the s/t release. Awesome track but goddamn is that tambourine on its own rhythm!

[Drew Starr]

Drew Starr said:

You just clamp it to the kick drum. When the beater hits the head it will cause the tambourine to do its thing.

Gonzo said:

How does he actually attatch it though ? Just a simple fix of duct tape ? I've only seen him once and never got close enough to see how exactly it's seated.

Kendal Killjoy said:

Desperate twisters is right about BBQ. But if its for home recording and not live playing live I recommend just overdubbing the tambourine separate cuz sometimes I want tambourine on off beat instead, plus with the BBQ method the tamb can tend to get slightly off n really muck up your rhythm and since it is so high frequency it will be super obvious. Hey, mark sultan overdubs so I don't feel it breaks any rules. For an example of a tambourine being off the ENTIRE song check out kk @ BBQ's "love you so" from the s/t release. Awesome track but goddamn is that tambourine on its own rhythm!

[Drew Starr]

There is a special drum clamp that on one end you attach it to the tambourine and the other attaches to the kick drum. when the beater strikes the head the tambourine sounds just slightly behind the beat. I've played as a one man band for years and this method really fills out your sound.

[Kleber Rogério Januário]

new brazilian one man band:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWIdtjWxFWI

[TipplerMario]

I saw him play last year, in my opinion, it looked like he just has the tambourine in between his right foot and the drum pedal.

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/252/26261645.jpg