Keith's Drum sound vs. Bonham's Drum Sound

[AnEnglishBoy <campbell@fix.net>]

Keep in mind that James Patrick Page had thousands of
hours of studio time as a session player, arranger,  and
producer leading up to the time of early Led Z.

To compare Moon's drums sound, in the early days especially,
to that of 1969-'79 Led Z is unfair. Apples and Oranges, IMO.

Pagey's sophistication as a studio wizard aside, (which I'm sure
accounts for the great drum sound of Bonham, however poor
his drumming was IMO), recording techniques and additional
tracks available, probably 8-12 track recording machines and
consoles, must account for the improvement in drum sounds
overall due to mic-ing the drum kits as an individual instrument,
with multiple mics used on the kit.

Just listen to recordings from the 60's or earlier, and see how the
drums are mixed in the recording. For the most part they are WAY
back in the mix, probably due to the drums being recorded as part
of the *room* rather than an individual instrument.

For the last 30-35 years drums have been painstakingly mic'ed and
eq'd for the sound that became popular in the 70's and is taken
for granted today.

Nigel? Any input here?

AnEnglishBoy~