Read more on the Aquarian website.

In terms of recording, they translate very well.  I have a 16″ crash that is like a fast burst of heat.  They feel so good they inspire my playing as well.  Any clients may request that I use these.  The other one from this line that I have is a 20″ ride.   My other Soultone cymbals sound great as well, of course.  Enjoy!

http://www.drummagazine.com/gear/post/soultone-cymbals-go-old-school-for-2010/

“Encino, CA–based cymbal maker Soultone has just announced the addition of Old School™ Edition cymbals to its Vintage Series line of cymbals.

Developed in cooperation with Soultone’ roster of top drummers, percussionists and their own Turkish master craftsman, this new line is based on the classic cymbals of the 1950’s and 60’s. They offer a richer, darker signature sound, and a new EarthStroke™ natural finish with deeper lathing to provide a sweeter open tone for nearly any style of music.

In addition, the company worked with Jimmy Ford, Owner of Ford Drum Company, to help identify and recognize some specific tonal properties and timbre for this special addition to an already successful series.

Soultone Cymbals developed their own multi-stage treatment bath to produce the unique finish and for the Old School Edition as well.”

Drum Samples are quite commonly used these days. This is no surprise, as there are some good software packages out there such as BFD. This and other high-quality drum sample software features extensive sampling of a wide variety of drums, in different rooms, with different sticks/mallets/brushes. I did the brush samples for the BFD FXpansion and played a plethora of sweeps and hits.

So clearly there is no problem with the individual samples within such software. They are amazingly thorough in terms of capturing great drum sounds individually. The problem is that they are only useful in a compositional sense. They are not useful in terms of a good end result. Why? Because there is no natural flow, no matter how much time you spend putting all these samples together to sound like a real performance. And the listener can tell something is amiss, even if fooled that the succession of samples constitute a real drum performance.

If you really want your music to sound professional and not to sound “canned”, then you have to have custom drum tracks performed for your song.

Make no mistake, if you use drum samples instead of a professionally recorded session drummer you will severely limit your music’s potential. How do you accomplish this on a budget? The solution lies in the use of an online session drummer.

For years professional recordings were made only by those who had a large budget. Artists signed to major labels and those with investors were predominately the privileged ones who got record professionally.

The difference in sound between recordings made in a professional studio and demos made otherwise was always as chasmic as it is now.

However, with the advent of online recording studios has come a real “power to the people” type of situation. Now artists that don’t have huge budgets can get the professional studio recordings they need to make their music really stand out. This goes especially for drum tracks, as recording drums is the most complicated procedure requiring the most expertise.

Now artists don’t have to rent a room to record in, nor do most of the other work that used to be involved in obtaining pro drum tracks. One can now simply pay on online recording studio to track drums or other instruments, with no logistical fuss and huge budgetary requirements. Welcome to the revolution.

For those who currently aware of the advantages to getting your custom drum tracks online, this article should help you better understand how to make good choices in terms of which provider to go with.

But first we should review the advantageous aspects to online drum tracks

The traditional way of doing things involves having to pay a lot of people.

First, you rent a studio to record in. Studio rates depend on a lot of things, including the area the studio is in. A well-equipped studio usually averages around $150 per hour.

Secondly, using the traditional method, you have to hire one or more sound engineers. Sometimes the same person will set up the mics and run Pro Tools, Logic or whatever recording platform is in use. But often there will be two engineers, which of course raises your overhead for your project.

So far, there are three people you potentially have to pay: the owner of the studio and possibly two engineers. Of course you must add the session drummer in, and that makes three or four people you have to pay. That’s fine if you have a limitless budget, but if you seek to save money (without compromising quality, of course) there is a better alternative. That is of course going to an online session drummer.

We are living in exciting times, as technology expands rapidly in all areas. The ability to do recording sessions over the internet is one of those things that seemed highly unusual not long ago but is now becoming common practice. But as of now this is still a relatively new development in its beginning stages.

Let me get to the point: This is great for composers and songwriters who need custom drum tracks for their music! They can now get drum tracks that are like the big studio recordings (if they choose wisely) for a lot less. This is saving people much money, and they don’t necessarily have to leave their home.

You can now send the files of your songs to an online session drummer, they record the custom drum tracks, then they send you the individual files after you have approved them and paid. Most also have the option of a stereo bounce. This process is way easier than coordinating a bunch of schedules, and it can make travel budget for recording a non-factor.

Now that everyone is clear on the advantages of getting your drum tracks from an online session drummer, lets move on to the point of this article:
understanding your options. So lets get in to what to look for in order to make a great choice.

Or rather what to listen for, because the first priority is great sound.

The playing level of the session drummer needs to be high-level, but if the actual recording quality is not of a professional, master quality level then that good playing is somewhat wasted.

You absolutely must compare websites and find which sites have the best sound quality. As you compare websites, you will hear vastly varying levels of sound quality!

Why? Because some online studios have better outboard gear than others. And, because of the varying level of expertise in terms of sound engineering.

Bottom line: your ears will be able to tell the difference between the lame, the mediocre, and the best. The online session drummer you hire must either himself be a professional sound engineer, or he should be working with one.

To be a truly pro recording engineer is a serious skill. On some of the online drum track sites you can really hear the lack of engineering expertise.

The bulk of these sites are run by drummers who play well, but are limited in their gear, their engineering knowledge, and of course their tracking room. Many sound like they are recording in closets or small booths. You can hear the phasing issues and ugly flutters.

Most online drum track providers have no analog equipment, working totally “in the box”. Nothing wrong with this per se, it just is not the same as analog gear. Most also have only eight or fewer inputs available to them, which is a limitation you do not want for most contemporary styles.
.

The overall is that you can hear weak links in the recording chain, and limitations of the tracking room, on many of these sites.

Better sites are run by session drummers who either are professional sound engineers themselves or are using one. These better sites have no weak links in the signal chain and use excellent outboard recording gear. There are only a few of these!

Keep in mind, most of the best quality sites are of drummers you have heard of such as J.R. Robinson or Bobby Rock. These guys have name recognition that allows them to charge fees that would be out of reach for many clients.

So your first chore is to “weed out” the lemons, which frankly are most of sites.

Be careful not to be tricked into listening with your eyes, because some of the worst-sounding sites around actually have a nice visual presentation. Just listen to the examples.

You can be suspicious of the sound quality of any site charging less than $100 per song. Do your own research, but you get what you pay for. I found a very slick-looking site offering tracks for only $35 per song. MAN that is cheap, and it truly sounded cheap, like the worst thing you have ever heard.

My advice would be to spend what is necessary to get master quality custom drum tracks. Cleaning up a mess is not affordable, get it right the first time. Doing so is more affordable than ever before to do so because of online drum sessions. If you must put your project on hold for a few weeks or even months to save the right amount of money, it will be well worth it in the end.

Now, your next order of business will be to investigate how communication will be.

Some sites had forms to fill out, asking about artistic considerations such as when in the song the drums should enter, if the approach should be similar to that of a specific song or drummer, and how “busy” the drumming should be.

This is a great place to start, but probably not a great way to communicate your musical needs. Other sites offer direct communication prior to recording. Some also employ programs such as NiceCast which allow the client to listen live to the recording from anywhere, hearing exactly what is heard in the studio control room. This is almost like being in the room, and allows clients to produce the sessions in real time.

This approach increases the likelihood of getting exactly what you need in your online drum tracks.

This approach will also probably save you money, as most sites charge extra fees for additional takes, often referred to as “mods” (modifications), or “re-dos”. While this is basically fair, having to do an excessive number of takes per song can be avoided with by having the ability to produce the session remotely in real time.

The last order of business in choosing an online session drummer is the fun part: deciding which drummer you like best in terms of playing style! You need to find a session drummer that will play your music in a stylistically correct way.

Remember, if the playing is good but the sound quality is not, then move on as it won’t be good enough for your music. Once you have found the websites offering the highest level sound quality, you then need to which drummer will handle your songs the most musically.

Listen for things like groove/feel, energy level (some guys sound like they are just “phoning it in”), dynamics, musicality of parts, not stepping on vocals, etc.

In summary, find a site that will give you major-label sound, with a session drummer whose playing you really dig, and will be able to communicate with you (hopefully in real time). Hopefully this article will help you choose the best online drum tracks site for your project.

“How to Easily Get Killer, Pro Drum Tracks of the Highest Sound Quality: Risk Free!”

Mercedes advertisement with drums by eDrumSessions

Dear friend,

Do you need custom drum tracks of the highest sound quality?

Are you deterred by the massive costs you have paid for drum tracks in the past, including:

Perhaps you have a programmed drum pattern you would like duplicated; I’ll nail it.

Some may wish to send me charts; I’ll be able to read anything you send me.

However you choose to do things, you will get drum tracks of a quality you will not be able to get elsewhere…especially at an extremely LOW price…

How can I offer such a guarantee? Because I have that much confidence in my product, plain and simple.

NOT ONE CLIENT HAS OPTED OUT OF THEIR DRUM TRACKS. Our clients have been 100% ELATED, not just “satisfied”.

You are going to love your custom drum tracks, and let me remind you that you will have three takes to work with and edit as you wish!

Other drum tracks sites with comparable prices will definitely not be using the same HIGH END RECORDING GEAR used here!

We’re talking full-on professional studio stuff here, from a Neve 8816 board, to Royer and Audix mics, to Tara Labs cables (these are audiophile-quality cables, which makes a big difference in signal integrity) to Daking preamps. Check the gear link and see for yourself!

BUT DON’T JUST TAKE MY WORD FOR IT, USE YOUR EARS!

GO AHEAD, COMPARE OUR AUDIO SAMPLES TO THOSE OTHER DRUM TRACKS WEBSITES–THE DIFFERENCE IN SOUND QUALITY OBVIOUS! (see link at top to “Listen to Sample Drum Tracks” page)

AT EDRUMSESSIONS YOU GET:

1. major label quality sound
2. custom drum tracks that are passionately played for YOUR song
3. to save huge amounts of time over putting together drum tracks from drum sample software such as BFD (that end up sounding sterile anyway)
4. big savings over paying to rent a studio, paying for engineers, drummer, etc.
5. a satisfying, interactive artistic experience in which you can communicate your needs to me through email or in real time (via phone or using Skype, free download)
6. to stay in your PJs while I track killer drums for you!

“Hi Shay, the takes are perfect, exactly what I was after and played with real
passion, thanks so much!” Owen Duff, London, UK

Under conventional circumstances, to get pro drum tracks you would have to shell out a minimum of $350 per track, plus paying for studio time and engineers, etc…

…but I AM PROUD TO BRING YOU MAJOR-LABEL QUALITY DRUM TRACKS AT THE INCREDIBLE PRICE OF JUST $200 PER TRACK if you act right now!
(A 50% per track *REFUNDABLE* deposit will be required – standard procedure).

You won’t find drum tracks with a comparable level of playing and sound quality at this price anywhere else.

So if you are truly committed to getting the highest quality online drum tracks for your music and saving big money risk-free then contact me right away at Shay@eDrumSessions.com

.

Are you still thinking about it???
This is your ****RISK FREE*** opportunity to get the killer drum tracks that you’ve been dreaming about.

Take it from client Timothy Gillespie of New Jersey:

“Shay! You nailed it! Great work. You were right. I have ‘inevitable glee’. You played exactly what I imagined! I’m sure putting together a mix with your drums will be easy, but you make it hard to decide which takes I want to use…”

YOU CAN’T LOSE.

So go ahead and get the communication going right away at Shay@eDrumSessions.com!

REMEMBER, getting your drum tracks here will save you lots of money over going into a studio (while reaping all the benefits of that situation) and lots of time over using drum samples (with much more musicality), and you will be STOKED with the drum sounds!

THIS IS UNDOUBTEDLY YOUR BEST BET FOR GETTING DRUM TRACKS ONLINE, so take advantage!

IF you are serious about getting the highest quality custom drum tracks and saving then get the ball rolling by contacting me right away!

Shay@eDrumSessions.com

I look forward to working with you and giving you the master-quality, custom drum tracks your music deserves.

Vater Percussion

Aquarian Drumheads

Shure Microphones

Axis Percussion

Daking

Thai Long Ly
myspace page

Monstrous bass player Derek Frank‘s online session website
basstracksonline.com

TAXI’s Music Biz FAQs contain songwriting tips music-business information, and articles on Film & TV Music placement.

“Shay Godwin is amazing drummer with an instinctual approach to music rarely encountered today. Every time I work with him in the studio I’m amazed at how quickly he locks in, and how great his drum sounds are.“ - Ken Andrews: songwriter/producer/mixer; founding member of the groundbreaking group Failure; producing/mixing credits include A Perfect Circle, Tenacious D, Chris Cornell, Nacho Libre Soundtrack, Pete Yorn

“Shay is one of the most talented drummers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. He is a real musician that plays with taste, incredible feeling, and he is amazingly versatile in his styles.”
- Charlotte Martin: founder, Dinosaur Fight Records

“Shay is a true professional – He is solid, has great feel and great tone – One need look no further.” – Ty Stevens: Warner/Chappell staff songwriter; wrote “Rock This World” and was Musical Director for Hillary Duff (Hollywood Records); M.D. for Jennifer Pena, Daniel Rene (Univision); wrote music for Disney, Verve, Universal, artists Mindi Abair; Musical Consultant for Aly & AJ (Hollywood Records); guitarist for Mandy Moore, countless other credits

“Shay Godwin is one of the top session drummers I’ve had the pleasure of working with. He’s a one take wonder, which is great in the studio because time is money. Shay was extremely professional, and well prepared. He has killer sounding drums, and was able to give me all kinds of snare tones to choose from. We will be working together for many years.”- Jay Ruston, Producer/Engineer/Mixer, credits include Brian Wilson, The Donnas, Abandoned Pools, Dianna Ross, American Idol, Morrissey, Polyphonic Spree, Meatloaf

“Hey Shay, I wanted to say thanks again + great job in the studio sessions for the BFD XFL. You really did a top job covering the various brush strokes, and a lot of composers have told me they’ve been featured in many TV shows and movies!
All the best!”
Steve Duda: creator of the BFD Premium Drum Module, credits include: Nine Inch Nails – Fragile – Percussion, Violin, Programming, Choir, Chorus; Pitchshifter – Deviant – Programming, Editing; Pitchshifter – Bootlegged Distorted Remixed Uploaded – Producer; Rob Zombie – American Made Music to Strip By – Remix; Methods of Mayhem – Methods of Mayhem – Programming; A Perfect Circle – Thirteenth Step – Digital Engineer

“Shay and Thai are a great team… Not only is the playing solid the sounds are great! Shay always nails it and gives me a few options to work with. I highly recommend eDrumSessions!”
-Ryan Perez-Daple, Los Angeles: Composer, Producer, multi-instrumentalist. Credits include trailer music for “What Happens in Vegas”(20th Century Fox); “Fired Up” (Sony Pictures); production music for Killer Tracks (Universal-owned music library);

“When we discovered Shay our documentary project had an important deadline and little time left to meet it. Shay created and performed brilliantly, confident in his choices, yet always open to suggestion, Shay was a pleasure to work with. Thai has built a state of the art recording facility and his post work gives the final polish of professionalism. Together they make a creative team I would suggest to anyone.”
-Keith Schwalenberg, Los Angeles
Producer/Director
Back East Productions

“Shay has an attention to detail while working on parts in a song combined with keeping it simple and soulful. His vast knowledge of musical styles and professionalism in getting the job done in a timely manner is why I love to work with him.” – Buck Johnson: co-wrote the single “Just Feel Better” for Carlos Santana‘s album “All That I Am” featuring Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

…Recent email feedback from eDrumSessions clients around the globe:

“Hi Shay, I wanted to let you know that before I decided to use your services I scoured the internet researching all the options available to get drums laid down for my album. I found your website to be the most compelling, from the examples I heard online and the many great testimonials I read. So I took a chance, and I was not disappointed in the least! I knew from the start that I did not only want the best sonic quality possible, but an expert drummer who could craft unique dynamic beats that would bring to life the rest of the arrangements. The album is not finished yet, but as the final pieces are coming together I am constantly being overwhelmed by the impact that your professional contribution is making to the overall artistic work. Thank you for your creativity, persistence, and ability to understand and produce the musical image that I had in my mind. The latter is truly a unique gift and blessing.
Best Regards, Mike Moody

“I tried some other online drummers, you are by far the best.” Luke, Germany

“I was totally blown away by the quality of the recording. By comparison with other drum recordings I have heard (some of them by other online drum recording services), your unprocessed tracks are close to the processed tracks I have heard! Your drumming during the chorus clearly sets it aside in terms of energy from the verse parts, something that I find important. Your playing supports the song and even inspires me with ideas to improve it. Upright Bass, anyone?”
Henrique Pataca, Portugal

“Hey Thai , you and Shay are baddasses, the tracks sound amazing and his playing is unbelievable. I didn’t edit Shay’s takes and nothing was sample replaced or enhanced at all. In this day and age, believe me, that’s a great compliment.”
-Gyom, Alexandria, Va USA

“Nice fills and some cool grooves dude! Exactly what I was looking for!!! All three takes sound great.

I think my favourite is track 2 but I might incorporate some bits of the other takes into it as well.” Ramon McDrury, Sydney, Australia

“Hi Shay, the takes are perfect, exactly what I was after and played with real
passion, thanks so much!” Owen Duff, London, UK

“Your process is great. The three takes is a perfect way to make sure it works. Your tracks sound great. I was very happy with the process. You and Thai Long were awesome. Your professionalism and enthusiasm, not to mention skill at your craft made this perfect.” – Craig Campbell, Detroit, USA

“Shay! You nailed it! Great work. You were right. I have ‘inevitable glee’. You played exactly what I imagined! I’m sure putting together a mix with your drums will be easy, but you make it hard to decide which takes I want to use…”

“Hey guys! I just wanted to thank you both for spending the extra time to nail down these tracks. You really nailed these tracks and inspire me with your playing. I’m really honored to have you guys work on this stuff and grateful.” Timothy Gillespie, New Jersey, USA

DRUMKITS
DW Custom kit
Yamaha Recording Custom kit
1967 Ludwig kit
Cadeson maple kit

SNARE DRUMS
Slingerland Radio King ca. 1935
Slingerland snare drum ca.

1964
Worldmax “Blackdog” (Black Beauty-type brass)
Yamaha Maple Custom
Ludwig mohagany snare
Cadeson maple snare
Pork Pie piccolo and soprano snares

CYMBALS
I usually default to my collection of Soultone brand cymbals, but if
you have a request for a specific cymbal I probably have it.

PLATFORM/SOFTWARE
PRO TOOLS HD3 ACCEL
APPLE MACPRO QUAD 2.66GHZ

ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERSION
APOGEE AD/DA16X

PREAMPS/MIXER
NEVE 8816
MILLENNIA MEDIA STT-1
DAKING 52270B (4)
DAKING MIC PRE ONE (4)
DAKING MIC PRE IV
DEMETER TUBE MIC PRE
FOCUSRITE ISA428
DeMEDIO 103
BOULDER STEREO PRE

EQ’S
MANLEY MASSIVE PASSIVE EQ
MANLEY MINI MASSIVE EQ
DAKING 52270B (4)

COMPRESSION
MANLEY ELOP
DAKING FET COMPRESSOR II (5)
ALAN SMART C2
TC ELECTRONIC FINALIZER
ART PRO VLAII

MICROPHONES
ROYER LABS R-121 (2)
MICROTECH GEFELL UM92.1S
NEUMANN U47FET
BLUE BABY BOTTLE
AKG 414’S (3)
AKG 451C’S (2)
E.V. RE20
SHURE SM57 (5)
SHURE BETA 56 (4)
SHURE BETA 52
SHURE BETA 91
SHURE KSM 141 (2)
SHURE KSM 44 (2)
SHURE VP88
AUDIX I5

MONITORING
FOCAL SOLO 6BEs (PAIR)
YAMAHA HS50Ms (PAIR)
JBL LSR6328P (PAIR)
JBL LSR6312SP
TANNOY PBM 6.5 (PAIR)
HAFLER DH-200
NEVE 8816

BALANCED AC
TARA LABS AD10B (2)

CABLES/WIRING
TARA LABS and Mogami cables throughout

**Please note: for the price you get three full performances of your song, each with a
different approach. This gives you the option of editing different “takes” together. OR you may produce the session real-time by listening live and offering input as the recording takes place**

Additional performance ………………………………………………………………………….$50 each

****Please note: additional performances must be ordered within 24 hours for purposes
of sound consistency.

(We switch out drum kits regularly!)****

Processed stereo bounce (EQ, compression, gating, etc)……………..starting at $75 per take

Single-hit samples (includes closed mic, overhead mics, room mic)

(3)Bass Drum hits (soft, medium, loud)…………………………………$30

(3)Snare Drum hits (soft, medium, loud)……………………………….$30

(4)Hi-hat hits (tight, medium, wash, open)……………………………$35

(3)Ride Cymbal hits (soft, medium, loud)………………………………$30

(3)Cymbal Bell hits (soft, medium, loud)……………………………….$30

(3)Crash Cymbal hits (soft, medium, loud)…………………………….$30

(3)Small Tom hits (soft, medium, loud)…………………………………$30

(3)Medium Tom hits (soft, medium, loud)……………………………..$30

(3)Low Tom hits (soft, medium, loud)……………………………………$30

*other samples (splash cymbal, cymbal swell, etc.) available upon request*