Comments on Hi-Hats: the Forty Year Wrong Turn

Soon as I return from work, I will check out Hal Blaine on a good set of speakers. I've found recording drums so case-by-case that it's been hard to really nail down routine techniques. I've been recording people's (and my own) drums for more years than I wish to add up, but technically it is still the great unknown. I'm glad to hear about other people's experiments so that I know what not to do, and I will enjoy some Hal Blaine as a reffrence. Thanks guys :)

Yes, my Gabe. Blaine's all that. I bet if you called him, he'd come out and lay down some tracks for you.

Hal's amazing. Pet Sounds. What more does one need to say?

http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:gcfpxqw5ldfe~T40

While I don't dislike the hi-hats quite as much as Steve Fisk, I have screamed at them plenty of times.

In the studio for me it’s all about how the player plays and getting the best sound without changing their setup.

Live they can make a soundman’s job very difficult. Mic Placement on some drum kits for a live setting can end up very interesting, and sometimes the snare mic becomes the snare/ Hi-hat mic. Needless to say some sound quality is lost. Depending on the venue, it might not be noticed.

in my opinion, brass is better used for shell casings than to have anywhere near a drum kit. cymbals are supposed to be used as an accent, not to cover up the fact that the drummer is a poor player (which is what most of 'em are doing when they're constantly playing an open hat or some godawful giant china/rivet/ride cymbal).

who the fuck plays open high hats anyway?

(besides drummers whose feet are both dedicated to pounding out 16ths on the bass drum)

and please. please. leave the ride cymbal out of this.

I don't know, I've heard the guy from Sunny Day Real Estate, Fire Theft, Foo Fighters play some tasteful crash. Tasteful crash, it's like Turbo diesel.

I remember mixing one of my former bands records back in 2003. I sat with my head in my hands, on the verge of tears complaining: "But, all I can hear is the hi-hat!" The engineer insisted on mic'ing the hats, as they brought out some top end in the snare. I pleaded with him to just hit the mute button.

To me the hi-hat is a necessary evil. I hate the way it sounds, but most rock drumming doesn't sound right without it.

Suggest the drummer invest in different hi-hats, or have some on-hand in your studio. Thinner and bigger is better. Thinner cymbals have lower fundamental pitches and lower sustain. The larger diameter also lowers the pitch but usually increases sustain, something the thinner cymbal equals out. You can also experiment with unlathed cymbals (all those grooves on top are like sound holes for the guitar - an amplification) that tend to have a drier tone with less overtones.

Another trick is to mic drums from the front and lower to the floor, rather than from above. That also cuts out a lot of the higher frequencies.

Fact: the hi hat is the most important weapon in a good drummers arsenal. In dance music its what gives the listener relief from the 4 on the floor bass drum, and the intermediary between the snare drum's relationship w/ the kick in other types of music. In jazz, it creates a perfect symbiosis w/ the ride and bass drum. I could go on, but my point has been proven.