How to Make Your Drum Kit Sound Like John Bonham's of Led Zeppelin | Reverb.com

A quick rundown of how to make your drum kit sound more like Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham's, without breaking the bank.

Used in this video:
Late 70s Tama Imperialstar toms: 10x14, 16x16, 16x18
Early 80s Tama Imperialstar kick: 14x26
1982 Ludwig LM402 Supraphonic snare
Modern Paiste 2002 Cymbals: 24" Ride, 15" Sound Edge Hats
1970s vintage Paiste 2002 Cymbals: 20" Ride, 20" Crash

Tom/Bass/Snare batters - Remo Vintage Emperor Coated
Tom Reso heads - Remo Ambassador Coated
Bass Reso head - Remo Powerstroke P3 Smooth White
Snare Reso head - Remo Ambassador Snare Side

[jimiquackers]

Don't forget installing your bio-mechanical robotic right foot for them triplets!

[bpa]

The tapedeck in the background looks quite surprised.

[solomongarcia]

How'd Reverb get James May to do a drum setup tutorial? I'm impressed!

[starclassic]

You forgot one of the most vital parts: the bass drum pedal squeak

[marcelb]

By far the best demo on the subject. Straight to the point with audio illustration all along. Well done mate ! Cheers from Canada.

[THUNDERWORX]

Great sound. I don't know if Bonham was the best drummer in rock history, but he was my favorite drummer in rock history. -And, had the best sounding kit. Great job covering that sound and style. -Such a familiar sound. I think Bonham made Page the great guitar player he was; in that, if Page screwed up with timing, or if he was experimenting with a riff that wasn't working right, Bonham could sense what to do to cover for him. As a guitarist, I can sometimes see Page experimenting with a riff live, which I do too. That kind of freedom and experimentation is the heart of rock and roll to me. But, if something isn't working, and you are wishing you hadn't gone out on that limb with a guitar riff, you know you have X number of steps to get back to the tree before you can try something different. Bonham, being a virtuoso too is going to chop up the beat and put some filler in there. He could even drown Page out if he needed to do so, and he knew when to do that. He could syncopate or add breaks to his playing, which some would call "making it breathe." He could truly cover for Page. As I listen to Bonham and Page, it is not that Bonham would slow down or speed up to match Page, he would literally stop, fill and start again, so seamlessly that he was fixing timing issues on the go. That is true teamwork. When Page screwed up the solo on Stairway at Live Aid, I think Bonham would have gotten him out of that mess had he been there. And, hats off to John Paul as well, who was just as talented a part of that machine as either of them. Great job. You were getting a great sound out of your drums.

[jaygold]

This has to be one of the best equipment analysis on YouTube. You've captured these sounds exactly, and the playing.

[Milewskige]

You forgot to mention to place the drum kit at the bottom of the stairwell at Headley Grange, and record it using two Beyerdynamic M160 microphones at the top!

[Bateo]

Please do one of these on Mitch Mitchell

[Hawiianlion]

1:26 I just love that sloshed together sound the kit has.

[Hadrorex]

I still love the sounds I get from them old-school Imperialstars! My brother passed away and left me two and three of every Imperialstar bass and tom that Tama produced up until 1998. Including the X-tras. All Black. 61 of the 108 drums still in their boxes. Even the Octobans and Gong drums. All three rosewood snares sizes too! I still favor the 26-inch Yamaha Rock Tour Customs over the Tama 26-inch Imperialstars. I was a Yamaha guy then. I intend to recover an 8-piece kit like the Lifesaver candy but in sparkle/glitter colors for my living room.

[danielortega]

Use, sledgehammers as drum sticks, simple.

[itslikethesamebutdifferent]

John Bonham was truly ahead of his time. Excellent drumming dude.

[Guitarguyart]

This is pretty accurate! Everyone has to keep in mind that Bonham would go through different setups and use effects like compressors to get his signature sound. Early in Led Zeppelin he would accually use Zildjan avedis, even on Zeppelin 1.

[marshallhammond]

When you started to play the intro of "good times.." I was like : "ooohh goooddd !!" 😁😁 wanna try those tips very soon! Thx a lot !!!

[timbrown]

Excellent playing! The only thing I heard that was off was the bass drum sound which might just be the way it's mic'd. And you should mention that you won't get big sound out of small drums. I have heard guys saying they can make a 20 sound "Just Like" a 26.

[bp]

great vid. I always thought Bonhams distinct sound was from mic placement and im sure part of it is.really cool to see how to tune a kit to Bonham. Thanks for uploading this!

[genezoellner]

Snare drum tuning for Bonham is high on both top and bottom (E Key) with a slight diviance to the top about a quarter turn down. Bass drum is tuned high the same as the snare.

[rjs]

very nice job man! Sounds killer...the kit and the playing

[drummerboy]

Keith moon drum sound would be awesome