L'Arc~en~Ciel: heavenly
Unlike other albums, we are blessed with tons of details and even photos regarding his recording set-ups for "heavenly" from an issue of the magazine GIGS in 1995. This gives us a lot of insight into just how much Sakura changes up his kit per song. I think "heavenly" in particular features a lot of experimentation with various set-ups because the band was not in as much of a rush to record as with the last two albums. It is perhaps because of this high amount of variation that we have such a high level of detail. Unfortunately, due to Sakura's endorsement of Pearl, a fair amount of info given by the magazine is inaccurate, but still insightful.
For recording "heavenly," Sakura commented that he used two different studios: one with a normal, neutral "studio" sound and one which had a much more "live" sound. The influence that this has on the sound of the drums cannot be understated. The songs "GARASU dama," "shizuka no umi de," and "The Rain Leaves a Scar" were all recorded in the more "live" studio, and the difference is tremendous even though much of the gear is the same.
Below I will include the pictures from GIGS magazine as well as their "specs" (which as I've mentioned are highly inaccurate as we can see from careful examination of the photos). Below the pictures I will include the far more likely specs of the cymbals and drums, as well as any notes and observations.
Finally, a note on heads: the toms almost certainly are his standard Coated Ambassador over Clear Ambassador combo by now. Sakura mentioned using Ambassador Clear heads on the roto-toms for "natsu no yuuutsu" and "C'est La Vie", but for other songs he was likely using Controlled Sound (black dot) heads on the roto toms.
 | |
| Notes: Generally this one appears to be accurate as we can clearly see the Sabian logos. However, he is almost surely not using the 13" PRO series hats. The 20" bass drum must be borrowed from Pearl as it does not match his set. The snare drum could be something different, but the view is completely blocked so there's no way to tell. The crazy positioning on the cymbal in front is apparently to cut the sustain and make it more dry. |
Bass drum: Pearl MR 20"x14" Snare drum: 14"x5.5" Pearl Custom Classic Toms: Pearl MR 13"x8", 14"x8", 15"x8" Cymbals: 22" Sabian HH Heavy Ride 20" Sabian HH Crash Ride 20" Sabian HH Jazz Ride 18", 17" Sabian HH Medium Thin Crash 16" Sabian HH Thin Crash 20" Sabian HH Thin Chinese 20" Sabian AA Chinese 13" Paiste Signature Dark Crisp Hi-Hats |
 | |
| Notes: Although he used them for concerts, I find the likelihood of Sakura using AA Flat Hats for the recording quite low, and so I think he is using Paiste Sound Edges. Also, the Chinese could actually be a PRO Chinese as he is often using Sabian Chinese cymbals in the studio, but it hardly matters since I don't think he even hits a china in this song. Sakura mentions that this song's arrangement wasn't entirely done when he recorded the drums, so that's why he went with his "standard" set-up. |
Bass drum: Pearl MR 24"x16" Snare drum: 14"x5.5" Hammered Steel Toms: Pearl MR 10"x8", 12"x8", 14"x8", 16"x16", 18"x16" Cymbals: 22" Paiste Signature Dry Ride 20", 18", 17", 16" Paiste Signature Full Crashes 10", 8" Paiste Signature Splashes 20" Paiste 3000 Reflector Chinese 15" Paiste 2002 Sound Edge Hi-Hats |
 | |
| Notes: When zooming in on the picture, it seems there is a center bead on the snare drum and no large Pearl bage. I suspect this is a Ludwig Supra and not his Hammered Steel snare, as a result. As for the cymbals, I assume the Sabian ones are accurate, and just substituted the usual Paiste cymbals. However, there is clearly a chinese cymbal present, and it's heavily used at the end of "natsu no yuuutsu." So I included it in my specs even if the magazine didn't. Also, on "natsu no yuuutsu", Sakura plays ghost notes on a wooden snare off to the left of the hi-hats. Supposedly it's his Pearl Custom Classic. |
Bass drum: Pearl MR 20"x14" Snare drum: 14"x5.5" Ludwig Supraphonic Toms: Remo Roto Toms 10", 12", 14", 16", 18" Cymbals: 22" Paiste Signature Dry Ride 20" Sabian HH Jazz Ride 18", 17" Sabian HH Medium Thin Crash 16" Sabian HH Thin Crash 10", 8" Paiste Signature Splashes 20" Sabian AA Chinese 13" Paiste Signature Dark Crisp Hi-Hats |
 | |
| Notes: Follows the same patterns as the other sets. The chinese appears to have a rounded bell, indicating Sabian, but then again I don't think he even uses it in "Cureless." |
Bass drum: Pearl MR 24"x16" Snare drum: 14"x5.5" Hammered Steel Toms: Remo Roto Toms 10", 12", 14", 16", 18" Cymbals: 22" Paiste Signature Dry Ride 20", 18", 17", 16" Paiste Signature Full Crashes 10", 8" Paiste Signature Splashes 20" Sabian AA Chinese 13" Paiste Signature Dark Crisp Hi-Hats |
 | |
| Notes: This song seems to use a lot of fancy extra percussion. I made the usual adjustments to the cymbals. I can't see the Remo Spoxe in the picture, and the chinese cymbal doesn't appear to be mounted in such a way to support a stacked splash on it. He seems to be playing on it in the part leading up to the guitar solo, but perhaps it was an overdub later? |
Bass drum: Pearl MR 24"x16" Snare drum: 14"x5.5" Hammered Steel Toms: Remo Roto Toms 10", 12", 14", 16", 18" Cymbals: 22" Paiste Signature Dry Ride 20", 18", 17", 16" Paiste Signature Full Crashes 10", 8" Paiste Signature Splashes 20" Sabian AA Chinese 13" Paiste Signature Dark Crisp Hi-Hats Also included: 20" Paiste 3000 Reflector Chinese stacked with a Paiste 8" Signature Splash, a pair of 6"x12" and 6"x15" cannon toms, and a Remo Spoxe |
 | |
| Notes: Here, the snare drum is not visible, but I would bet it's a Supra on this track. The sound is just right, and it would seem fitting for the style of song. Everything else is pretty standard. Could be his Paiste Chinese but again, I don't think he even uses the thing in this song. Sakura states he tuned the toms a bit "low" to be more "rock" but kept a high tuning on the snare to let it pop. Also, there are timpani and tamborines overdubbed through much of the song. |
Bass drum: Pearl MR 24"x16" Snare drum: 14"x6.5" Ludwig Supraphonic Toms: Pearl MR 14"x8", 16"x16", 18"x16" Cymbals: 22" Paiste Signature Dry Ride 20", 18", 17", 16" Paiste Signature Full Crashes 10" Paiste Signature Splash 20" Sabian AA Chinese 15" Paiste 2002 Sound Edge Hi-Hats |
 | |
| Notes: Not much to say on this one. The usual adjustments were made to the cymbals. Again, the chinese doesn't appear to be stacked, but I also can't think of a time in the song when he uses it, so maybe it doesn't matter. |
Bass drum: Pearl MR 24"x16" Snare drum: 14"x5.5" Hammered Steel Toms: Remo Roto Toms 10", 12", 14", 16", 18" Cymbals: 22" Paiste Signature Dry Ride 20", 18", 17", 16" Paiste Signature Full Crashes 10" Paiste Signature Splash 20" Sabian AA Chinese 15" Paiste 2002 Sound Edge Hats Also included: 20" Paiste 3000 Reflector Chinese stacked with a Paiste 8" Signature Splash |
 | |
| Notes: The hats could be different from those listed, but since he's on the ride nearly the whole song, it hardly matters. As you can see, he's using vintage mics to record this one, and he tuned the toms to a more high-pitched "jazz" sound. Apparently this was his favorite song to record for this album. |
Bass drum: Pearl MR 20"x14" Snare drum: 14"x5.5" Pearl Custom Classic Toms: Pearl MR 10"x8", 12"x8", 14"x8", 16"x16" Cymbals: 22" Sabian HH Heavy Ride 18" Sabian HH Medium Crash 18", 17" Sabian HH Medium Thin Crash 14" Sabian AA Flat Hats |
 | |
| Notes: Making a few leaps with this one. Again, the snare isn't visible, but I am going to guess by context that he is in full Bonham worship mode and is using a 6.5" Supra. Also, the magazine indicates 2x of 20" and 18" crashes, and since I know he was acquiring some Paiste 2002 cymbals around this time, I'm going to guess that's what accounts for having two of each. Finally... the hats actually do visually look like they could be AA Flat Hats from the picture. But, it's very hard to tell and I'm convinced he uses Paiste as much as possible, especially when emulating Bonham. You can see he even has the Bonham ching ring on the hi-hats! |
Bass drum: Pearl MR 26"x16" Snare drum: 14"x6.5" Ludwig Supraphonic Toms: Pearl MR 12"x8", 14"x8", 16"x16", 18"x16" Cymbals: 22" Paiste Signature Dry Ride 20", 18" Paiste Signature Full Crashes 20", 18" Paiste 2002 Crashes 15" Paiste 2002 Sound Edge Hi-Hats |