Sound Balance

Eight-note rock grooves can be played two-dimensionally. In other words, with every instrument struck with the same intensity. This promotes a consistent performance, which to be fair is a goal in itself, but sells the beat short. For a start, the snare sounds best when its the loudest instrument. It doesn't have to be a lot louder, but definately louder than the bass drum. The hi-hats should be the quietest sound. Silky smooth in fact. This makes the drums the dominant sound in the set, not the cymbals - the classic rock sound. This is the opposite approach to swing and shuffle music, in which the cymbals, especially the ride, are the loudest instruments. My old drum tutor showed me this approach to playing rock when I first had lessons, but it took ten years to get the balance right. At first I didn't worry about it, not until I heard Jeff Porcaro play a shuffle on a live recording. Talk about perfectly balanced kit sound, and that's not engineered either. Pure technique.