"I play a percussion instrument, not a musical saw; it needs no amplification. Where it's needed, they put a microphone in front of the bass drum. But, I don't think it's necessary to play that way every night"
About this Quote
Buddy Rich isn’t just talking about microphones; he’s drawing a bright, slightly contemptuous line between musicianship and production gimmickry. The jab at the “musical saw” is classic Rich: funny, cutting, and designed to shame the very idea that a drummer’s job is to be rescued by technology. A percussion instrument, in his view, is supposed to move air on its own. If it can’t, you’re either playing too timidly, the band is too loud, or the room has been engineered into a kind of sonic dystopia.
The intent is practical, but the subtext is pride - even territoriality. Rich came up in an era when drummers had to project acoustically through big bands, when volume wasn’t a knob but a skill. By the time rock stages and cavernous venues normalized close-miking and heavy reinforcement, amplification wasn’t just a tool; it was a new aesthetic, one that could flatten dynamics and reward brute loudness. Rich is resisting that shift. He’s defending the drummer’s control over touch, balance, and nuance - the things that disappear when every drum is individually magnified and mixed like a laboratory sample.
His concession matters: “Where it’s needed” they mic the bass drum. He’s not anti-technology; he’s anti-default. The deeper complaint is about habit becoming ideology: playing “that way every night” suggests a touring-industrial routine where consistency beats responsiveness. Rich is insisting the room, the band, and the music should dictate the setup - not the other way around.
The intent is practical, but the subtext is pride - even territoriality. Rich came up in an era when drummers had to project acoustically through big bands, when volume wasn’t a knob but a skill. By the time rock stages and cavernous venues normalized close-miking and heavy reinforcement, amplification wasn’t just a tool; it was a new aesthetic, one that could flatten dynamics and reward brute loudness. Rich is resisting that shift. He’s defending the drummer’s control over touch, balance, and nuance - the things that disappear when every drum is individually magnified and mixed like a laboratory sample.
His concession matters: “Where it’s needed” they mic the bass drum. He’s not anti-technology; he’s anti-default. The deeper complaint is about habit becoming ideology: playing “that way every night” suggests a touring-industrial routine where consistency beats responsiveness. Rich is insisting the room, the band, and the music should dictate the setup - not the other way around.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
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