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Thread: Went Cowbell shopping

  1. #1

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    Default Went Cowbell shopping

    So I got the idea to add a cowbell because I saw Steve Gadd doing some interesting stuff. I always thought of them as an epically cheesy 80s rock gimmick that gets tired REAL fast, but this made me reconsider. It was funky and tasteful; musical.

    I headed to the best drum shop in town expecting to get one of the cheapest in store... Oh good! $13 sounds about right. But I needed to hear for myself what's the difference between a cheapie and the high end stuff? Sure, some of the more expensive ones DO sound moderately better, but then I spotted a shiny one with no price tag. It was head & shoulders above the rest of the 15 or so they had in stock: a Gon Bops timbale bell, Alex Acuna signature. Whatever, I go to the cash and the guy tells me $60 (CDN) +tax! Not today... and I walked out thinking I can probably find one online for less. I was (semi) wrong...

    Seems they're just not very popular but I discovered there are other models/sizes and I had no idea what the differences are. I finally found a shop selling the Bombo bell on sale for $40, so I drove out to get it. It is friggin HUGE, much larger than expected but had the same musical sound of the timbale bell. The guy tells me their other store downtown has the other 2 models on sale too, so I drove down to grab a second just for giggles.

    Now I have the Bombo and Timbale bells for a faux Timbalero thing and I need to work on my latin rhythms. I just find these bells so musical -you hit them in different spots and get a variety of sounds like any good cymbal. Maybe all cowbells can be this cool, don't know & don't care! I'm just proud of my impulse GAS purchases and it's good to know there's more to the instrument than the cheesy 80s crap.
    Taye Tourperformer, PDP Hammered bronze snare, 15" Diril Primitive hats, 17" XPlosion, 10" duo splash, 15" Xtreme china, 22" HHX Omni, 7" cup chime, Yamaha 9415 w. Vickicks

  2. #2

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    For those about to cowbell cheaply, there is this.
    https://www.harborfreight.com/steel-cowbell-97659.html

  3. #3

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    You probably would have found 1 faster if you asked a cow.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  4. #4

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by Natman View Post
    So I got the idea to add a cowbell because I saw Steve Gadd doing some interesting stuff. I always thought of them as an epically cheesy 80s rock gimmick that gets tired REAL fast, but this made me reconsider. It was funky and tasteful; musical.

    I headed to the best drum shop in town expecting to get one of the cheapest in store... Oh good! $13 sounds about right. But I needed to hear for myself what's the difference between a cheapie and the high end stuff? Sure, some of the more expensive ones DO sound moderately better, but then I spotted a shiny one with no price tag. It was head & shoulders above the rest of the 15 or so they had in stock: a Gon Bops timbale bell, Alex Acuna signature. Whatever, I go to the cash and the guy tells me $60 (CDN) +tax! Not today... and I walked out thinking I can probably find one online for less. I was (semi) wrong...

    Seems they're just not very popular but I discovered there are other models/sizes and I had no idea what the differences are. I finally found a shop selling the Bombo bell on sale for $40, so I drove out to get it. It is friggin HUGE, much larger than expected but had the same musical sound of the timbale bell. The guy tells me their other store downtown has the other 2 models on sale too, so I drove down to grab a second just for giggles.

    Now I have the Bombo and Timbale bells for a faux Timbalero thing and I need to work on my latin rhythms. I just find these bells so musical -you hit them in different spots and get a variety of sounds like any good cymbal. Maybe all cowbells can be this cool, don't know & don't care! I'm just proud of my impulse GAS purchases and it's good to know there's more to the instrument than the cheesy 80s crap.

    Good job doing your research and successfully finding something you like.

    Quote Originally Posted by rickthedrummer View Post
    You probably would have found 1 faster if you asked a cow.
    Rick, that's not necessarily the best advice. Most cows only have a demo.
    Signature here

  5. #5

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by The Green Man View Post
    For those about to cowbell cheaply, there is this.
    https://www.harborfreight.com/steel-cowbell-97659.html

    oh man lol Harbot Freight cowbell

  6. #6

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    I don’t have a cowbell, but if I were to get one, it would be the lp rock ridge rider
    Quote Originally Posted by rickthedrummer View Post
    There is intelligent life out there. The problem is that there isn't any here.

    -Mike

  7. #7

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by Bish View Post
    Good job doing your research and successfully finding something you like.



    Rick, that's not necessarily the best advice. Most cows only have a demo.
    Bish, these are cowbells we are talking about. Cowbells and china cymbals are, without doubt, the 2 worst sounding "things" ever put on a set of drums.

    To the OP, buy the cheapest 1 you can find because 99% of the people won't know the difference between the "worst and cheapest" cowbell and the most expensive 1.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  8. #8

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by The Green Man View Post
    For those about to cowbell cheaply, there is this.
    https://www.harborfreight.com/steel-cowbell-97659.html
    Actually, they got great reviews. Here’s my favorite. Sounds like something Rick would have wrote;
    52B78E15-B7A8-45F2-8E7B-6A9DFC13F040.jpg
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  9. #9

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by Bish View Post
    Rick, that's not necessarily the best advice. Most cows only have a demo.
    Growing up on a farm, I can testify this; the only time you need to give a cow a cowbell is when their horns quit working......

    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  10. #10

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    I would rather listen to 3 guys who just had kielbasy, cabbage, beans, and beer, have a f**ting contest than listen to a cowbell or a china cymbal.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  11. #11

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Haven't had a cowbell on my kit for years until recently. Only use it for two songs. I hate how those things sound.

  12. #12

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    @Rick...I'm with you on the china cymbal but I think you need to cut the lowly cowbell some slack. Hard to diss a whole genre of music (Latin) that is driven by the cowbell clave.

    all the best...

  13. #13

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by N2Bluz View Post
    Actually, they got great reviews. Here’s my favorite. Sounds like something Rick would have wrote;
    52B78E15-B7A8-45F2-8E7B-6A9DFC13F040.jpg
    LOL That's a great review..
    Ludwig Classic Maple 22x16,10x8,12x9,16x16
    7" Moon Gel Practice Pad
    Sabian HHX Legacy

    Decide whether this is love for the craft or simply an ego thing

    http://www.redskymary.com/ NOT MY BAND, JUST A GREAT LOCAL BAND WHO SHOULD BE SOOO MUCH BIGGER IMO

  14. #14

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Harbor Freight for $4 is the cheapest way to go and there is an on-line sound example of one.

    There are many different sounds to choose from which makes it more difficult to choose.
    LP makes a variety
    top-ten-cowbells.jpg


    The LP rock ridge rider (Red) sounded the best to me.
    The classic ridge rider (Yellow) sounded typical to what an actual cowbell might sound like to me.
    So you'll have some sound sampling shopping to do.


    I've found using a cowbell my parents brought back from Germany that sounded awesome.
    Not too much different than the Lp rock ridge rider
    Cowbell 1.jpg


    I've even went on to try one of these Swiss cowbells.
    A regular drum stick can't do it justice. Too dull and clunky sounding.
    Cowbell 2.jpg
    Last edited by Olimpass; 05-26-2018 at 08:04 AM.

  15. #15

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    I have a ridge rider. The yellow one. I like it.

    Cowbells sound cool to me.
    RDM/Damage Poets
    UFiP TAMAHA Zildjian
    REGAL TiP
    AQUARIAN

  16. #16

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by kay-gee View Post
    @Rick...I'm with you on the china cymbal but I think you need to cut the lowly cowbell some slack. Hard to diss a whole genre of music (Latin) that is driven by the cowbell clave.

    all the best...
    kay-gee: I don't "diss" ((G_O_D, how I hate that word) the genre, it's that I/we literally never played that style.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  17. #17

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by rickthedrummer View Post
    kay-gee: I don't "diss" ((G_O_D, how I hate that word) the genre, it's that I/we literally never played that style.
    Nothing like a nice quarter note cowbell pulse to give certain tunes an earthy, organic vibe.

    all the best...

  18. #18

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by kay-gee View Post
    Nothing like a nice quarter note cowbell pulse to give certain tunes an earthy, organic vibe.

    all the best...
    E29A6BC8-E947-4112-93FD-CD32ACFA8DF6.jpg
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  19. #19

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    I can't believe people don't enjoy a good china...
    don't get me wrong there's a lot of bad ones but there are some beautiful ones too lol

  20. #20

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by kay-gee View Post
    Nothing like a nice quarter note cowbell pulse to give certain tunes an earthy, organic vibe.

    all the best...
    This megan-fox-at-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-2-movie-set-in-new-york-06-29-2015_1.jpg is a 5/4 pattern which simply means that if you can last 5 minutes be4 she kills you, you will most certainly be ready for 4 fingers on Johnny Walker to help you on that trip to oblivion with a smile on your face like the Chesire Cat. th.jpg I know that she is a tad off the wall, but that is why G-O-D, in his infinite wisdom, put a lot of walls in my house.

    As for the cowbell. I would imagine that you would need 1. Don't you have those Mariachi Bands there.

    Quote Originally Posted by N2Bluz View Post
    Have to love the time variations in that cowbell pattern. Line 4 especially, where it goes from 4/4 to 6/8, then from 6/8 to 11/4 and back to 4/4. Sheer genius.

    Quote Originally Posted by SpazApproved View Post
    I can't believe people don't enjoy a good china...
    don't get me wrong there's a lot of bad ones but there are some beautiful ones too lol
    Believe it Zack. They remind me that back in my younger days when all the garbage cans were metal and you could hear the garbage men throw the lids back on them after they dumped them out at 6 in the morning.

    That was the precursor to the china cymbal. I can't think of another way to ruin the beautiful sound of a set of finely tuned drums then to put a china and a cowbell on them.

    I guess that what you hear as "beautiful" doesn't seem to translate well to my world. I have no idea why that is, no, wait, I do know, THEY BOTH SOUND TERRIBLE.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  21. #21

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by Olimpass View Post
    Harbor Freight for $4 is the cheapest way to go and there is an on-line sound example of one.

    There are many different sounds to choose from which makes it more difficult to choose.
    LP makes a variety
    top-ten-cowbells.jpg


    The LP rock ridge rider (Red) sounded the best to me.
    The classic ridge rider (Yellow) sounded typical to what an actual cowbell might sound like to me.
    So you'll have some sound sampling shopping to do.


    I've found using a cowbell my parents brought back from Germany that sounded awesome.
    Not too much different than the Lp rock ridge rider
    Cowbell 1.jpg


    I've even went on to try one of these Swiss cowbells.
    A regular drum stick can't do it justice. Too dull and clunky sounding.
    Cowbell 2.jpg
    I was taking a ride the other day. While I was watching my gas gauge go down, I was stopped by a gaggle of cows that wanted to know where Olimpass lives so they could stage a home invasion and get their cowbells back. They looked really pi$$ed which cows are prone to get when someone takes their cowbells away.

    Beware Olimpass, this could be you.

    I think that's kay-gee standing by the bike looking for bikini chicks.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  22. #22

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by N2Bluz View Post
    Actually, they got great reviews. Here’s my favorite. Sounds like something Rick would have wrote;
    52B78E15-B7A8-45F2-8E7B-6A9DFC13F040.jpg
    Seems to me that a cowbell on a Loreena Bobbitt type might help.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  23. #23

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by N2Bluz View Post
    Growing up on a farm, I can testify this; the only time you need to give a cow a cowbell is when their horns quit working......

    Winningest post on the internet for the entire month. Thanks for the laughing outburst.
    Signature here

  24. #24

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by slinky View Post
    I have a ridge rider. The yellow one. I like it.

    Cowbells sound cool to me.
    Yeppers, that's the same one I have but don't currently use. I'm now using a Kat electric 4-pad for a set of bongs, a tamborine and the dreaded cowbell. It's the doo-hickey black thing to the left of the mounted tom. Can you say convenient?
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Signature here

  25. #25

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    Default Re: Went Cowbell shopping

    Quote Originally Posted by Bish View Post
    Yeppers, that's the same one I have but don't currently use. I'm now using a Kat electric 4-pad for a set of bongs, a tamborine and the dreaded cowbell. It's the doo-hickey black thing to the left of the mounted tom. Can you say convenient?
    If you're in a band doing Rock to Classic Rock, you gotta have one even if you don't use it all the time. I have done what Bish has done in the past, it works! And yes, convenient.
    Last edited by drummerMD; 05-28-2018 at 12:09 AM.

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