Most drummers use 2 rack tom drums attached to the bass drum, in fact most drum kits come standard with 2 rack toms, john bonham used only one rack tom, anyone know why?
It was the standard old-school way, so besides personal preference, maybe he was just being old-fashioned.
Bonham made no secret of his love of soul music (he was heavily influenced by Al Jackson of Booker T. and the MGs), where drumming was traditionally based around the groove rather than complex drumming. Very few early R&B drummers had fancy setups and that appeled to Bonham. As he put it in "John Bonham: The Powerhouse Behind Led Zeppelin
Moved MPSIMS --> Cafe Society.
He used the exact same set up as Buddy Rich - one of JB’s idols.
He wasn’t really unique in that respect. I’ve played with two drummers who don’t use any rack toms. Snare, high hat, kick, floor tom and a ride/crash combo was their complete set.
I forget his name and can’t be buggered to look it up, but Santana’s drummer at Woodstock 69 only had one rack mounted tom. That’s all Ringo Starr used too. For some drummers, a high hat, ride, and a crash are all the cymbals they want also. Different strokes, you know?
Yeah, one rack tom is actually pretty common to this day and has been for ages - in rock as well as soul and jazz. A lot of drummers feel like if you’re good and creative enough, one rack tom should be enough to do everything you want.
Michael Shrieve. Easily my favorite Santana drummer. In all his glory.
It’s ironic then that JB couldn’t play soul to save his life, unless you consider his ham-fisted bludgeoning of the drums “soulful.” I don’t. His attempts at reggae are just as awkward and irritating, IMO. Benny Benjamin, please.
Actually… there is just one rack (mounted) tom in your basic drum set. Buddy Rich (best drummer who ever breathed) used only one mounted tom, and two floor toms. Comes down to personal preference.
Yeah - as a drummer, I’ve never been a big fan of Bonham’s style (“ham-fisted” pretty much encapsulates it); there’s really no comparison between him and Benny Benjamin (it’s like comparing Tommy Lee to Clyde Stubblefield - fans of hard rock aren’t even going to understand why anyone would prefer Clyde). But I will give him props for “Fool in the Rain” at least, which is the closest he ever came to swinging, and somewhat of a departure from his general style.
This seems like a pretty unfair criticism. It’s like criticizing Max Roach for his double-bass skills. Bonham wouldn’t have compared his playing to Benjamin, although he probably adored Benjamin’s playing like most good drummers do.
He had only that one mounted tom, but he made excellent use of it. I noticed he also played the snare drum there with the snares turned off, an effect I like. It effectively converts it into a sort of higher-pitched tom. Why was his left eye squinty? Did something get in it?
Presumably, but I’ve never heard that explained.
If it we were still back in 2011 you could have bought his entire Woodstock kit for 350k ;).
Huh. I must say, I’m very surprised by this. I wouldn’t call Bonham’s style ham-fisted at all. His style was powerful, but filled his parts with nuances, little ghost notes all over the place, cool triplet licks, a galloping right foot, groovy behind-the-beat playing, etc. And maybe we have different definitions for “swing,” but, for a rock drummer, he swings like a motherfucker. Few rockers can hold down a groove like him. I dunno, when I hear “Kashmir” I always think to myself, how can a drummer make a simple boring beat like swing?
Yeah, I thought about commenting on this, too. I figured that you, woodstockbirdybird, were pretty clear on your POV about Bonzo, though, so I wasn’t going to try to change your mind ;). But yeah, pretty much everything that pulykamell says…
The change to drum kits I always notice since my drumming days is that hardly anybody has the tom mounted to the bass drum anymore. It is always on its own stand like the snare. I always wonder why.
An actual drummer my happen by with the actual answer, but I think it’s because the mounting has become universal on them, and it’s a lot sturdier than mounting them on the bass drum. (I own a drum set, but I don’t pretend to be a drummer.)