Quote:
Originally Posted by MattyC
I kind of have to disagree. The same way you couldn't have Page, Clapton and Hendrix all hit the same note over and over with no effects and be able to determine which is which, but if you gave them all the same full song to play, you would certainly hear a difference and be able to pick out who was who.
I don't think you could a hear a difference of just smacking a snare, but of course letting them run wild on a kit, you'd hear a difference between Moon, Van Halen, Baker, Bonham, etc.., even if they were playing the same song. Just the nature of their fills will tell you.
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Sure, I should have expanded on that further.
If you take a snare drum, set up exactly the same for a bunch of drummers, gave them all the same sized stick, and said "one single stroke in the center of the batter at mp" then yes, they all should sound the same. Then if you said ok, now tune the snare the way you want and play a single note like it was the backbeat with the stick of your choice then absolutely you will hear a difference, their personality. Same thing applies like you say, a guitar with no effects and a single note out of the same gear should sound the same across the board. But like I said earlier, due to electronics, and modern recording techniques you can carve out your own sound. Hell, even the most casual music goer should be able to pick out Lars Ulrich's terrible snare sound on St. Anger. Some guys will keep that sound that entire careers.
The drummers you brought up bring up another interesting aspect. Guys like Moon played on top of the beat all the time. Alex VH is basically in the middle of the pocket and Bonham always sat a little behind the pocket, which is what made his groove feel so thick. And then there are guys like Stewart Copeland, Taylor Hawkins who play so far on top of the beat they push the tempo. You could ask all of those guys to lay down two and four, no fills, at the same tempo and again you will be able to differentiate between all of them. Buddy Rich used to say he knew where a guy fell in the pocket just by how they walked into their first rehearsal.