[IOP Drummer]

First off, I have 11 years experience with drums, and about 7 years recording them. I started off with ****** drums, ****** mikes, the whole thing. Tried for years to make that sound the best I could. Then I got better drums, cymbals, mikes and tried to make that sound good. But, at last I realized this:
As with any instrument, listen to it without even thinking of recording. Make the drumset sound how you want by balancing the whole drumset with itself. Not with faders, certain compression or EQ, but with how you play and which combo of cyms and heads you use. With the right combination it can be VERY easy to get a great drumsound. If you compress the snare alot after recording to make it consistent, just play it consistently, or use a certain snare or head combination to make it consistent. If you are boosting a lot of high end on the toms, then use heads that have more natural high end. Same goes for cymbals. I must admit to having a 17" signature crash as well as a 20" signature full ride. They sound awesome, but my 5 other cymbals definitely shape the way my 2 paistes sound relative to my whole kit. If you make your drumset sound great, then recording yourself will be HARD to mess up. At this point you can take advantage of mic placement and processing. I know that there are a lot of easy or safe ways to make drums sound good (like triggers, pinstripe heads, paiste cymbals, DW drums) but I consider each drum an instrument, and feel responsible for their balance with each other. You being an engineer and being able to hear how your instrument translates to tape is a great tool. Use it to determine which cymbals to buy. Guitar center is great cause of their 30 day money back guarantee.