Drum Sounds that you can't stand

[Louis Russell]

I can't stand cowbells.
Hate the bloody things !
Donk donk donk.
Yeah what a great noise.
Cowbells belong on Swiss mountainsides attached to the necks of cattle.

Dave,  http://louisrussell.com/gonnawantthatcowbell.mp3]Click Here  Then  http://louisrussell.com/igotafever.mp3]Click Here

[waymag]

Best cowbell song of all time is Still Im Sad-- By Rainbow. Gary Driscoll is one of my favorite drummers

[Benjamin8888i]

Hmmm, I really dislike ride cymbals that sound too high (As if I am riding a crash cymbal) or too low either until it sounds like an aluminium sheet falling to the floor. I like it articulated and crips sounding with a certain high quality ride cymbal sound to it.
Next, I really dislike bass drums that are super bouncy and doesn't holds enough punch no matter how hard you kick it. One that will only boom when you kick it really hard, by that time your foot would have already felt strained. Otherwise all you hear would only be pecky like as though they are tons of cushions behind the bass drumhead swallowing up all the sound. And it is really irritating if the bass drum is too bouncy and having all the issues above. Sometimes I always get in a double bounce and it sound funny and expecially if it is swallowed up, all your efforts just gets wasted.
I also dislike snare drums that have a malfunction sort of ring/decay to it after striking it abit off center, it sounds more like wooooooooong........ like a wind tunner having leaks everywhere. The teacher at school always scolded me for hitting off center and I guess that he was affected by the sound too, not because it was the only way like he said it:p. Thank goodness the drumset was changed. Now I can hit as off center as I like;p

There are a number of other sounds that I really dislike as well such as the floor tom sounding loose and shaky like or not low sounding enough. And the tom toms not sounding right at all.
I also do not like cymbals that sound seriously weird when ever you crash them. It is as if they were not made to be crashed at all. They would emit some sort of a phunnnnng sound. No matter how hard you crash it the right way, a louder version of the same sound will be produced. Yucks..!
Finally, I really feel irritated with the sounds of hi-hats that are perfectly alligned and tightly closed, If you hit them, they will sound pucky like. This always happens whenever the drummer is too tense and steps on the hi-hat too tightly, shutting it close completely. On the other hand, it can be even more irritating if another drummer likes to leave the hi-hat very loose and sizzling like. Sounds like rusty work going on to me.
All in all, I like crash cymbals to be sensitive to my crashes and sound like proper crashes, not phung like! And toms to sound right and properly tuned, not like empty sounding containers, and hi-hats to sound well controlled, not tight or rusty hanging sounding.

^_^

[Tae]

Dave,  http://louisrussell.com/igotafever.mp3]Click Here

Who is that?

[LuvmyLeedy]

the drums sounds that i can't stand are the drum sounds that belong in a different context than the one they are being used in.

like the band that is supposed to be all heavy and rockin' out, but the snare is all bippy dry picollo rimshots. you get the idea. almost all sounds can be good in some context.

[Louis Russell]

Who is that?

That my young friend is the one and only Louis M Russell.  Oh yeah, the M stands for MoreCowbell!    8)

[wishihadapearl]

loose bottom heads

[Dave Heim]

That my young friend is the one and only Louis M Russell.  Oh yeah, the M stands for MoreCowbell!    8)

"Russell" as in. . .  go rustle up some more cowbells.

[xdrummer2000]

But let someone start "tuning" my drums and they'll be off the stage faster than they came up.   ;)

+1. When I get into a band and we start playing at clubs and county fairs and such, I'm not gonna let anybody retune my drums unless it is me. I know what sound I like, and I don't want it to change. Another thing I hate is when kick drums are miked from the outside (as in the microphone head or "sound pickup area" being completely outside of the front head and/or drum). When my kick is miked (like we did in church in the adult service before we got that stupid electronic drumkit that I hate so very very much >:( :D), I like the full head or "sound pickup area" of the mike to be inside my bass drum, so it can pick up all the punch, attack, and low end acoustics.

[Louis Russell]

Another thing I hate is when kick drums are miked from the outside (as in the microphone head or "sound pickup area" being completely outside of the front head and/or drum).

You can actually get a great sound when you use two microphones outside the drum.  Use one on the batter side and another on the resonant side.  It does take more experience in placing the microphone and also a real engineer on the sound board but with the right equipment and technicians you get a killer sound.  

before we got that stupid electronic drumkit that I hate so very very much >:( :D),

It takes a while to learn how to play ekits.  If you expect to use the same techniques as on an acoustic kit you will not be happy.  Many times the kit sounds horrible because of the sound system not being able to handle the drums.  There are also different techniques you must learn.  There are numerous threads available that discuss this in detail.  What drums did you use in Church?  One of my kits is a Yamaha DTX V2 and it performs much better in a small Church than one of my acoustic kits.

[Chris Whitten]

I know what sound I like, and I don't want it to change.

You guy's are going to enjoy short careers in the music biz. The idea is to grow and learn as you encounter people with more experience than yourself. Also to improve as you gain more experience yourself.
I think you'll find that most of the worlds top drummers are open to change and eager to learn from anyone who says they have a better way to do something. Otherwise we would all still sound like 'Baby' Dodds.  ::)

[JeepnDrummer]

I thought I knew what sound I liked....er, I should say more accurately....that I thought I knew what sound I was getting until I had a listen out front as I had another drummer friend play my kit.

I've learned many things here that went against my preconceptions or habits about tuning (and much more) that were developed over time.  I'm so very thankful for the great advice and tips I've picked up here and rarely ever turn down the chance to learn something new in person or over the 'net.

I probably sound like Baby Dodds, though, however that goes.  ???   ;D

[Louis Russell]

I've learned many things here that went against my preconceptions or habits about tuning (and much more) that were developed over time.  

When I was 15 I was a great drummer, at least I though so!  I knew all the best ways to do things.  After High School graduation I was really a big fish in a small pond and acted the part well.  Several years later an old man I was in a band with explained the facts of music life to me.  The main thing he told me was to keep an open mind and accept the fact that a 16-year-old kid knows absolutely nothing about making music out in the real world.  I still have my own ideas of how things should be BUT I never express my opinion when being paid to play.  I have auditioned many times and beat out drummers who were much better technically than I and my attitude is what made the difference.  

[gammalight6000]

really open glangy hit hats...

[Mark Counts]

I have to agree with Felix and Louis!

[dwdrummer665]

the snare drum suckedIn metalica Saint Anger lars ulrich need to tune drums better

[DougB]

Can't have the beginning of Gimme Three Steps without dat cowbell!

[KevinD]

I pretty much hated Alex Van Halen's drum sounds on 5150...I know, I know...at the time it was considered innovative with the Simmons and all but to me it sounded like GAK.

I did like his old natural sounds, esp. his snare on their earlier albums though.

[Chris Whitten]

the snare drum suckedIn metalica Saint Anger lars ulrich need to tune drums better

I think it was fairly well documented that there was heavy drum sample use on that album.

[lilblakdak]

I pretty much hated Alex Van Halen's drum sounds on 5150...I know, I know...at the time it was considered innovative with the Simmons and all but to me it sounded like GAK.

I did like his old natural sounds, esp. his snare on their earlier albums though.

Alex has used the same snare drum on every Van Halen album and tour. Its an old 60's Ludwig maple.