I've read this multiple times. I also think the toms on the self titled release appear to confirm this... a more of that warm, round Slingy sound than the Ludwig 'thump'... you know, as well as I can make out from a 47 year old rock recording anyway...

I kind of agree. I certainly can't prove much but I have always thought that Zep I was a slingerland set given the pics of him using one early on. I have read the books and read from people that knew him back in the day that he had a green sparkle Ludwig super classic but I have yet to ever see one pic of the set and Zep I does not sound like a Ludwig set to me.

I may get hate mail for this but I actually think the smaller sized bass drum sounded better for recording when it came to his drums. The bass drum tended to stand out more VS what is heard on albums like IV which I am to believe is one of the green sparkle big sets. Don't get me wrong as his live sound was amazing to me and the big bass drum seemed to be great for that but I almost feel like it got lost in the studio as it pushed more air and lost some clarity if he was playing anything quick. I just about gaurentee that if good times bad times was recorded on a 26", you would never hear those triplets as cleanly as they sound on the set he used for that recording. Just my 2 cents anyway.

I dunno man.. Listen to moby dick on a good set of speakers.. loud. Tell me they aint capturing that bass drum!

His studio drums sounded much different later on, and much better to my ear.

Bonham's drum sounds on IV (like When the Levee Breaks) are some of the best recorded drum sounds I've heard.

Yeah man, honestly I don't think the earlier albums sounded very good with the exception of just hearing the drums themselves on moby dick.. IV sounded good but in through the out door sounded way better. Too bad they didn't have their earlier ideas put to tape when they had "better tape"

One of the best things on youtube are isolated drum tracks of Bonham's playing. You can hear the sound differences over time.

I love this one. His drum sounds are huge.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCkukQq0wgk"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCkukQq0wgk[/ame]

I think "whn the Levee Breaks" is a bit of an exception as we all know the story of how that was done. I'm thinking more in terms of songs like Misty Mountain Hop, Black Dog, Rock and Roll, Celebration Day, The Ocean, Song Remains the Same. Those are just a few examples. I'm not saying any of it sounds bad I'm just saying that compared to the sound he got on the live albums like Royal Albert Hall, How the West Was Won and Song Remains the Same I think he sound is a lot better. The cymbals have amazing brilliance and the drums themselves sound like thunder. Bonham also took way more chances with the live stuff so it just sounds way more explosive to me.

The first time I saw the Royal Albert Hall DVD I was pretty much speechless! Right before We're Gonna Groove kicks in, Bonham does a quick pass around the set and the sound of those drums practically made me crap myself! The snare in particular sounds incredible. Bonham sounds possesed playing that show. I know people always talk about "playing for the song" but when I hear Bonham, Mitchell, Moon just go off I just love it. The respective guitar playes may not have liked it so much but I sure do!

Apparently, the kit that was played Zeppelin I will be auctioned off to raise money for a Bonham statue in Redditch. This was mentioned on another forum.

Jason Bonham indicates this in an Edddie Trunk interview around the 41-minute mark.

http://www.podcastone.com/Eddie-Trunk-Podcast

Go to Past Episodes, 'Jason Bonham'.

The kit will be donated by Robert Plant. I always assumed that Jimmy Page owned the kit used on the initial gigs. It will be interesting to see which kit it is.

Those bands were all about excess and showmanship though eh, so it worked, really well! OTOH it's funny to think of Stevie Wonder going wild all over the place tracking drums for Isn't She Lovely. :) (He put drums on that tune pretty much last btw, I saw the footage it blew me away.)

I think you can hear quick footwork on a tall bass drum. The tallness makes them relatively shallow so it's kind of a quick "pah pah" to my ears.

Mitch

No..He did not play Slingerland on Zeppelin I..There is a pic of him from the book,

A Thunder of Drums-- John Bonham- The Godfather of rock drumming, where he is clearly playing the already endorsed Maple kit in the studio sessions for that album.. I have the book and it states all the kits he had,including the Slingerland from the early club days, to his last Barbershop Pole Swirl Vistalite kit he had sent over to him by Ludwig, but never used on tour.. We all know what happened after those Polar Studio sessions.. :( On a side note, how would Jason know ?

He was only 2 at the time..All he has to go on is conjecture, unless dad himself told him about it..