John Bonham kit 

Jeff is fighting stage 4 cancer. I really hope he can recover. He’s a legend in the drumming community.

This guy is Jeff Ocheltree, Bonham's drum tech in the late 70's.

"This guy" lol. His name is Jeff Ocheltree and it's worth knowing.

damn that snare. it sounds so amazing, as does the rest of the kit. But damn, that snare...

These videos are gold. So grateful these exist!

our band is recording a demo in a few weeks and our drummer is absolutely drooling over the fact that he gets to use a copy of this kit for the recording, these things are gorgeous

Just found this gem on youtube and i am ready to cry...

Damn, didn't get someone to play it. Just teased us with it's familiar godly sounds.

Cool video! JB had a signature sound; I think I might go crank the resonant heads on my drums right now!

Thank your for this posting, really professional and great interesting information about the great mans setup. cheers, Charles.

Bonham was a Master Player and Tuner

Yep, that snare is perfection. It's one of my gripes in terms of how drummers set their kit-up. If the snare isn't happening it puts the rest of the kit out.

everything sounds beautful from this drum kit

Very informative. Interesting as well.

chrome and brass are metals

Brilliant, very useful, thank you.

Best solo ever

God those drums sound sooo good

14 16 18 Toms boys

@aero105 This guy is Jeff Ocheltree. He was John Bonham's drumtech. I'm sure that he got sick and tired of being asked how Bonham got his sound by every drummer that he met so he made this video to explain it. He's not just some random fan who happens to own the kit and be obsessed with John Bonham. This guy really worked with the man and he's just trying to pass along his knowledge. Although I do agree that there are some people who just take it overboard.

Essentially a Buddy Rich drum kit and tuning. JH was a big fan of Buddy and Buddy was 40 years ahead. He just brought the big band drum sound to rock and Lots of BR licks too!

the snare sounds beautiful

Awesome description

How the hell that bass drum ride mount supports that 24, I'll never know.

Diggin this Vid! Good Work!!

thats for sure! I was just wondering what the whole purpose was for using the felt, i mite give it a try

@metallicaaddict451, Paiste made cymbals for Ludwig to be included on their lower line kits, so my guess is that they made the cowbell for John, since he used Paiste cymbals.

Awesome stuff.

That snare drum is like a dream snare sound. When I heard that, my heart skipped a beat. Unreal. Jeff said 'always' a lot. My guess is he is ex-milatary.

gota love that snare.

The drum KIT: oh oh Yeah hit me daddy ahhh

i´m loving it

woah thats pretty cool how he tuned it like that i had a screwed up bass drum that was tuned up like that then the school fixed it saying it wasn't tuned right

Between Bonham snare sound and Alex VanHalens snare sound love them both they JUST CRACK.

thx sky i'd like to add ....... it doesn't matter its all in the tuning, although Bonham tuned his much higher then u would think.. listen to jeff the drum tech or if u play or any1 try tuning the heads top n bottom experiment till u find ur tone and bounce

The drum kit at my school has 2002s and I sometimes wanna steel them

terrific thanks for sharing!

@jas0nv00r33s I think he started using the sound control drum heads when he started using the Vistalites.

without knowing it I gravitated towards a 20" crash, coated emperor heads, 24" kick, large square sized toms and a metal snare and tune the same way lol.

@metallicaaddict451 Paiste used to make a Ludwig Standard set of cymbals in the late 50s through the 60s for Ludwig so a cowbell isn't out of the question. Some of the Ludwig Standard cymbals are actually sought out by vintage cymbal lovers for their sounds.

"always used"... DRINK!

Perhaps someone with a Tune-Bot can grab the fundamental note of each of the drums. Could help in learning to tune a kit to a similar tuning.

@Mightyhumungus In your opinion, how does the Ludwig re-issue of this compare to the original? I know that Ludwig has also re-issued the stainless steel and also the Vistilites as well as the Maple with green sparkle finish and natural maple finish. I know you don't want to get in trouble with the Ludwig company but I'm just looking for your expert opinion. Thanks, Steve

@metallicaaddict451 Paiste exclusively made cymbals called ludwig standard cymbals, that quite often came standard with all Ludwig kits in the 50's and 60's..therefore they also made lower budget cowbells made from the same brass as those cymbals..they'r4e actually very nice sounding cymbals and are collector cymbals today..

A felt strip muffles the head without obstructing the shell, like a pillow or blanket does. The result is a louder, fuller, and more tonal sounding bass drum.

Pretty cool

@jas0nv00r33s He only used those on the vistalites. His main crash was a 18" Medium crash, he had a 16" inbetween his floor toms on the Stainless Steel Kit. He used Universal Timpanis if I recall correctly.

@jas0nv00r33s i ve seen where he has two crashes over on the hi hat side and three on the other side •15" 2002 Sound Edge Hi-Hat •24" 2002 Ride wwwanswerscom/topic/john-bonham •20" 2002 Medium Crash •18" 2002 Crash (Switched to 18" 2002 Medium Crash in 1973) •16" 2002 Medium Crash •36-38" Symphonic Gong

@jas0nv00r33s let me explain to you exactly what Bonzo used through out his career..the skins you're talking about are remo CS (control sound) black dot heads, and he used those for his amber vistalite kit, simply because they were transparent, to match the rest of the kit for esthetic purposes only.. bonham always used the skins that Jeff Ocheltree mentions in this video..cymbal wise, he barely hanged his set up..he did have a 16" 2002 crash in his first set up, which was the maple kit..

@rock1the1arts100 It's no secret that Bonham patterned him self after buddy a bit or at the least got a few ideas form ........ Bonham did indeed bring the intriguing jazz off beats, with the big band sound, to Rock n or Roll incorporating it at times with the heavy deep pound or a soft sound with the finesse many of us try to achieve .. ( I seen it it's amazing ... Gene n Buddy both Great )....

Did he always use the tom mount on the bass drum? Thought he used to put the tom in a snare stand

It`s Jeff Ocheltree. He`s very well known- made Paiste`s snares.

Ching ring is stamped tin and steel, rings chromed. The paiste cowbell is a B20 bronze actually made by Paiste back in the day. Jeff Oakltree is the man.

Respect to Jeff!

do the drums have an ambassador coated on the resonant side? or do they have a simple resonant head ambassador?

His kit is set up like Buddy Rich and he paid attention to bottom head tuning. He rather let the head wear quite a bit instead of changing it often.

At the time speed king pedal was considered top of Ludwig line. It was noisy after a while. I remember buying my first speed king for $25.00 Pedals have come a long way since then.

you forgot to mention what else he use to do to the inner bass drum to get that thunderous boom,which is written about in "Hammer of the Gods" autobiography. I did it to mine and wow what a difference in sound!

@jas0nv00r33s his final set up for the rest of his career was exactly the way you see it here..if you really want to know what he used in full detail i recommend you pick up the book, John Bonham, A thunder of drums, (the godfather of rock drumming)..you'll see gear that he used that i wasn't even aware of, and i've been following Bonzo for the last 2 decades !.for example,did you know that during the "77 tour he also used a silver sparkle kit ?anyway check it out for yourself and you'll see !

Yes that is surely one of the great qualities about large drums. Bonham's drums were tuned a little bit higher than normal but he still got such a fat sound.

Coated Emperors are the most perfect sounding batter heads(to me anyway!).

Aren't chrome and brass both metals? Or am I missing something? Sweet fat kit, though.

In Song Remains the Same he is using Remo Black Dot heads on his toms. This guy just said he always used coated heads

@keith81081 i can believe it do you have any pictures or something else that would verify that

@the7train, you have to give Gene credit for the things he did to the drum, such as tuneable top and bottom drums, instead of a tacked bottom head.

When he got his maple Ludwig kit in 1969 there was no Paiste 2002 series yet. He would have either been using a Paiste Formula 602 16" or a Paiste Giant Beat 16". He didn't start with the Paiste 2002s until 1971-72 at the earliest.

nice

thank you SpH-eppe-LyN Rules

awsome

That bass drum sound tho

@metallicaaddict451 they may have commissioned them to or paid to have their logo stamped in it

are u using mics for anything but the bass drum

26" bass drum.... Cool

1:40 What's the point of putting the felt between the bearing edge and the rim of the bass drum?

hmmmmmmm looks like 14 x 5 1/2 not sure look n listen again or try weiklipedia john bonham did it before and they listed all sets from the early days to the 1980 set thank you!

Yes, you're right..My mistake..No 2002's back then, but i can definitely say that it was a Gian Beat..In the book, a Thunder of Drums that i have, it states that he used Giant Beats earlier in his career than later went on to 2002's..He never used Formula 602's, that i know for sure..

ludwig and paiste used to sort of endorse each other. ludwig "standard" cymbals in the early 60's and 70's were manufactured by paiste.

That kick is amazing sounding, and the snare totally reminds me of John. Toms not so much, but the 18 floor sounds great.

Man he really rocked out at the end, just kiddin... Good fyi.

14x6.5" Ludwig Chrome Supraphonic 402 Snare

May be a stupid question but is that a clear or batter on the res side of the tom?

how do you get your toms 2 sound like that??

Do you know what sticks Bonham used?

I can't figure it out. Are these just some 70's green sparkle drums, or are they actually Bonzo's drums?

@MajorT127 i would 20 inch is huge for crash

that's what i call drum set!

What video is this from?

This 'guy' you're all talking about is the great Jeff Ocheltree, one of the most wanted drum technicians. Go check him out....

Did Bonham have his muffler touching the snare batter head as a rule?

This is old but great! What kind of sticks did Bonham use? Make, Model, weight?

That drum must be priceless

how big is his snare drum

Watch the Gene Krupa vs Buddy Rich vid on here. Then tell me where Bonham got his idea for his setup.

yw

Beautiful tone, especially considering they aren't mic'd.

If you're talking about lining the kick with aluminum foil, it 's not true..You want the real facts of everything Bonham used, how he tuned his kits, what gear he used for each album, kits he purchased but never used, kits he used before Zeppelin, etc..It's a book called "A Thunder of Drums" The Godfather of Rock drumming...Everything you need to know and didn't know is in that book..Hammer of the Gods has a lot of inaccuracies, and speculation..

Wish he would have put his hand over the opposite head when hitting each one to hear the pitch differences

it was for Bonham .......... he could have anything he wanted

there is i will try to locate the link

I wish he used a drum dial and took measurements on both side of each drum.