Old Star Drums Hits the Studio with David Dunham + Thaddeus Corea
This August, Southern California drum builder Donavan Foy brought a handcrafted Tigerwood stave drum kit to Jaguar Recording Studio in Las Vegas. The occasion: capturing a live play-through of “Howdy,” the new single by drummer David Dunham and his band Pool Party.
At the console was Thaddeus Corea
(yes, son of jazz legend Chick Corea), recording engineer, multi-instrumentalist, and longtime drummer for Blue Man Group. With his decades of studio experience, Thaddeus immediately noticed how naturally the Old Star kit fit into a professional recording environment.
On the snare:
“It’s magnificent. If I had my eyes closed, I would’ve thought it was steel or brass. It has power, clarity, and a really great side stick — which you don’t always find alongside a great snare sound.”
On the toms and kick:
“The toms were easy to record. They sounded in the mics just like they did in the room. The kick drum sounded amazing right away. You just put the mic in the right spot and you’re golden.”
When asked what a seasoned drummer could expect from an Old Star kit, Thaddeus summed it up in four words:
“Solid. Professional. Studio sound.”
For David, that meant the freedom to focus on performance without fighting the gear. For Donavan, it was another chance to see how his hand-crafted drums inspire confidence in the studio and on stage. Check out the full play-through video on YouTube and hear the kit for yourself.
