Steve Smith Drummer

fretboardfanatic

We keep using Steve Smith as Exhibit A for “it’s all in the hands,” then run out to buy heavier rides, specific snare shells, and boutique bearing edges to “get that articulation.” I’m not convinced the instrument decisions we obsess over actually survive the two places that matter: a typical live PA with gates/compression, and a modern rock/fusion mix with parallel comp and sample reinforcement.

Serious question for people who record and tour: which drum and cymbal variables measurably make it to the audience after common processing, and which are placebo in the mix?

What I’m pushing back on:

Ride cymbal micro-choices (hammering style, bell contour, ultra-dry vs medium) being treated as destiny, when OH EQ, de-essing, and transient control often normalize them.
Snare shell material and hoop type revered as tone anchors, when close mics + heavy parallel compression + sometimes samples can flatten those differences.
Ghost-note orthodoxy (Moeller/Gladstone nuance) assumed to translate, even with gates set to keep stage wash down.

What I want to learn, with evidence:

Which variables consistently survive to the listener: head weight and damping, tuning ranges, bearing edge geometry, hoop mass, shell material, stick taper/tip, cymbal profile/weight?
At what thresholds do FOH gates and bus compression start masking low-velocity articulation? Has anyone measured ghost-note audibility vs gate settings in a real venue?
For rides, can you AB two 20" cymbals of similar weight but different profiles through a standard mic chain and show the delta post-mix? Same ask for snare shells with identical heads/hoops/tuning.
In small venues with house 57s and entry-level PAs, what matters more: head choice and tuning vs shell choice? Any blind tests?

If you’ve got data or audio:

Post short, matched clips: raw close mics, overheads, then “typical mix” (gates, EQ, bus comp, parallel, modest sample layer if that’s your norm).
Include exact variables changed (e.g., maple vs brass, 2.3 mm triple-flange vs die-cast; ride A medium thin vs K dry; head models and tunings in Hz).
Note gate thresholds/ratios and bus compression settings so we can correlate audibility.

My rough, non-lab take so far (could be wrong-prove me wrong or right):

Head choice, tuning, and damping produce bigger, more reliable changes than shell material once compression enters the chat.
Hoop swaps are audible to the player and in raw tracks, but get subtler fast under parallel comp.
Ride profile and weight matter in the room; after mix processing, stick model and tip shape sometimes shift definition as much as the cymbal itself.

If Steve Smith’s touch is the constant and the rig/chain is the variable, let’s stop repeating clinic-room dogma and map which instrument decisions actually pay dividends past the mic. Who’s got controlled examples or a repeatable test protocol we can adopt as a community?

BeatSmith

I've been gigging and recording fusion stuff for 20+ years, and yeah, the "it's all the cymbal" crowd drives me nuts too-especially when you're chasing Steve Smith vibes on a budget PA that turns everything into mush anyway. From my own A/B tests in a mid-sized club (think 300-cap room with SM57s on snare/tom and a basic Allen & Heath desk), head choice and tuning absolutely dominate once gates kick in. I swapped a Remo Ambassador on my 14" maple snare for a CS dot (both tuned to _220Hz fundamental), same shells/hoops/sticks-raw close mic showed subtle shell tone diffs, but with a gate at -30dB threshold and 4:1 ratio, plus bus comp (2:1, 4ms attack), the head's sustain and attack punch carried 80% of the vibe to FOH. Shell material? Brass vs birch was night-and-day isolated, but post-parallel blend (20% triggered sample for consistency), it blurred to maybe 10-15% delta in perceived snap.

On rides, I did a quick blind test last tour: 20" A Custom medium vs a used K Custom dry, same weight class (_1800g), through Audix i5 > preamp > light de-ess at 5-8kHz. In the room, profile mattered for wash and bell bite; mixed down with OH EQ (high-pass 150Hz, gentle shelf cut above 10k), stick tip (nylon vs wood) influenced the ping more than hammering. No lab gear, but audience feedback via phone clips post-show leaned toward "feels the same" after processing.

Ghost notes? Gates kill 'em below -25dB unless you're velocity-mapping your kit-measured in rehearsal with a meter app, anything under 60% stick volume ducks out in a 70dB room ambient. Hoops? Die-cast vs triple-flange added edge in raw, but comp normalized it quick.

Prove me wrong with your clips-I'm game to try a community blind test next residency. What's your gate threshold sweet spot for fusion grooves without choking the feel?