Zilla Studios

We have sent 10 questions regarding the performance of "Thumper" Custom Drums in their individual studio settings. Here are some answers.

What are the primary elements you expect from any drum in your studio & did Thumper Custom Drums meet those requirements? As everyone knows, recording is a chain, the room, the player, the recording gear and lastly the drum equipment itself plays into a good take. Most drummers tend to want to use the gear they have been playing, but of course some of it is not in the best shape and when we hear strange buzzing, vibrating and other unwanted signal flotsam it becomes a time consuming and frustrating search for the culprit. We have however found that in certain cases the player has been brave enough to try a second choice when their own gear has failed. We have a full TCD kit and a couple of their snares to choose from which not only come in handy to save the session, but have also given the individual players something to think about when playing on a well made and maintained kit. I’m a gear fanatic personally and when I take a close look at the Thumper kits, I know I am looking at something made by someone who is a fanatic as well.

When recording with Thumper Custom Drums do you have to use studio tricks such triggering, gating or digital editing? Digital editing, yes but as far as other tricks that would be a player or composition issue, and we haven’t had the need to tamper with the sounds we have been getting live but certainly those and other options that can be easily implemented.

Are the drums easy to tune & keep in tune for the duration of the session? We tend to like the drum heads to be recently mounted tuned and played a bit before we re-tune and go to recording, they need to stretch, plain and simple. And depending on how long the session lasts, we could be looking at a replacement or 2 before things are done.

Is it necessary to use dampeners such as tape, gel or pillows when working with Thumper Custom Drums, or do they sound good naturally? They do have a great live sound and attack, but the room and room reflections microphone choices, the player can determine if those measures are needed more than anything else.

Can you talk about microphone techniques & how they effect the sound of Thumper Custom Drums? We start all sessions in pretty much the same way with a standard set up, after some initial sound, and signal checks we may make adjustments to the positioning of the microphones and or changes in the microphone selection based on what we’re hearing. The TCD drums are treated pretty much the same way, but the attack has been notice on more than one occasion as being rather hot. It can be a good or bad thing depending on the type of music being produced.

We have heard from a number of engineers that it's quick & easy to dial in the sound of Thumper Custom Drums. Do you find that to be true? Yes, as we get more familiar with the drums, we can anticipate the pre-adjustments better.

Do Thumper Custom Drums sound good in the studio with different types of drumheads? For example, do the rack toms sound better with Emperor two ply or Ambassador single ply heads? We have been using a few different types, but again, its more user defined. We like the Aquarian coated satin heads, but that’s because they have a well rounded attack that compliments the sharper bearing of the TCD snares.

What artists have used Thumper Custom Drums at your studio lately? & their comments, any web site info or links that they would like to share with us. More than a few, notably Tim Alexander (Primus, Laundry, Fata Morgana, others), Brain ( Primus, Guns n Roses, Praxis, others) Jay Michaelis (Solid State Logic, Born Naked, others) and more. All have responded favorably to the gear.

Do you have any new techniques or tricks that you would like to share with us? Some, but requires copious amounts of fermented vegetable products to obtain.

What kind of new innovations would you like to see from a custom drum manufacturer? Keep up the great work and please get more of this gear on the street!

If you would like to talk to a professional from this studio please email jeff@zillastudios.com.

Check out this studios' web site & the artists who record there.
www.zillastudios.com