lately i've been really appreciateing crappy sounding kits. i've been a drummer for about 20 yrs now and have a sort of nice kit, and also a sort of crappy kit.
i was recently at a show of a detroit garage band and at line check it was the worst sounding kit ever. laughably bad on its own. a group of my friends were talking about how terrible it was, and it truly sounded awful while checking. in the mix - it was perfect for the band - it stuck out and was the mole on cindy crawford's face. a month or so later, my favorite part of that band was the terrible sounding kit.
to me, it's just like the decision to use a closed hole front resonant bass drum head, or ported. or hydraulic heads or coated ambassadors. or a les paul or a strat. those choices are all valid and should be made. hopefully the band you're working with is making a conscious choice about using that crappy kit. if that conversation hasn't taken place, i'd hope it could take place in preproduction, it seems as if tracking isn't the right time to have that conversation.
when i record bands it's difficult for me during basic tracking to deterimine whether thier kit is good sounding or not, usually when it's all said and done, i like the particulars of that person's kit and their playing - and have to realize it's not MY kit, or ME playing or MY record either. i've made all of those decisions in my band. i'm usually pleasantly suprised that the band knew more than me going into it. once we hit vocals there's an "ahhhh, now i see what you were going for" moment.
also, each of my kits respond completely different from each other, and the kits tell me how to play. if i've written a song on one kit, and am thrown into another kit all of a sudden the part just doesn't make sense anymore. maybe that's good or bad.
elaborate "that's my sound, man" answer i guess.
