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Thread: General Gear Update (Snares, Gig pics, new band)

  1. #1

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    Post General Gear Update (Snares, Gig pics, new band)

    So this thread is just a quick summary of things that have happened recently. It will have lots of pics, and some good info. It will be fairly long. I really hope you guys find this somewhat interesting.


    First off, I just started a new band. We kinda don't know what kind of music we're going to be playing yet, but I really like all the folks as people and musicians. I want to play some softer, funkier music than the last band (which was basically hard rock). The bass player is real into funk as well and might be one the most talented musicians I've ever played with. Anyway, I'm really excited about that.
    Our first practice went really well, but I didn't really have a drum kit. So I used this.

    Drums are:
    cajon as bass, 12x8 snare drum with wood hoops (to be addressed later in this thread), and some bongos off to the side used as toms.
    My cymbal setup, though is probably pretty similar to what I'll be using with this band:
    14" HHX stage hats, 18" crash/china stack with a tambourine, and 22" ride with a sizzle.


    Okay, next up is the snare drum that I mentioned previously. It's a 12x8 tom that I refinished and put some snares on (I did a thread on this in detail if you're interested). I just recently got some wood hoops for it. I think they are World max yamaha style. When I got them I sanded them and then finished them lightly with Watcos Danish Oil. They really dry out but at the same time beef up the tone of the drum. Plus, they look really good.




    I also have a new (old) snare drum. It is a Mapex MPX all maple 14x5.5 that has been sitting on a shelf completely dissassembled for almost a year. It was actually the first drum that I bought but at some point I decided that I hated the way it sounded (which was, looking back, caused by poor tuning and not my favorite heads). Anyway, now I have sanded down the finish (you could actually see brush marks, not the best job by mapex), removed the badge, and replaced the strainer with a p86 and p32. It is a whole new drum!



    All I did to the finish was sand it down and then some steel wool to make a real nice (IMO) satin finish. I really like the way the satin contrasts with the shiny chrome. As far as heads right now I just coated ambo over a diplomat snare side. I can tune it high, med, or low, and get great sounds for funk, jazz, rock, you name it. I am pleased.

    (to be continued)
    Tama Swingstar 3 piece 1993 (refinished wine red)
    Ludwig Breakbeats (Azure Sparkle)
    1964 Ludwig Supra
    Old no-name Luan 12x8 tom/snare (refinished wine red)
    Mapex MPX 14"x5.5" snare (refinished in gloss black)
    Pearl Vision 14"x14" ft/snare (refinished wine red)
    Aquarian heads
    14" Sabian HHX Stage Hats
    15" Meinl Extra Dry Thin Hats
    18" Meinl Vintage Trash Crash
    18" Wuhan China
    18" Thin Zildjian Crash
    18" Thin Zildjian Crash with rivets
    19" Meinl Extra Dry Thin Crash
    22" Istanbul Mehmet Legend Dark Ride
    23" Matt Bettis Dry Ride


  2. #2

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    Default Re: General Gear Update (Snares, Gig pics, new band)

    Well I mentioned that I have a new band and sadly that means the end of the last one. We had a good run though, especially this last month. Here are some pictures from our last gig at a music festival in a barn. The 12x8 snare is used as a snare here:







    And lastly I have thought of a very clever way to muffle a snare drum. As I was tuning the Mapex snare I decided on a whim to put a deck of cards (in the package) on the head. This actually worked really well partly because you can add and remove cards from the package to greaten or lessen the muffling. I'm definitely going to be using this in the future instead of spending $$$$$ on moongel or anything else. Just thought this was a cool idea.

    (while I was dorking around with playing cards I decided to arrange them like this on the head. Obviously it didn't work as they went everywhere, but it looks cool)


    Thanks for reading, shame I don't get on here as much anymore, been some busy times.
    Tama Swingstar 3 piece 1993 (refinished wine red)
    Ludwig Breakbeats (Azure Sparkle)
    1964 Ludwig Supra
    Old no-name Luan 12x8 tom/snare (refinished wine red)
    Mapex MPX 14"x5.5" snare (refinished in gloss black)
    Pearl Vision 14"x14" ft/snare (refinished wine red)
    Aquarian heads
    14" Sabian HHX Stage Hats
    15" Meinl Extra Dry Thin Hats
    18" Meinl Vintage Trash Crash
    18" Wuhan China
    18" Thin Zildjian Crash
    18" Thin Zildjian Crash with rivets
    19" Meinl Extra Dry Thin Crash
    22" Istanbul Mehmet Legend Dark Ride
    23" Matt Bettis Dry Ride


  3. #3

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    Default Re: General Gear Update (Snares, Gig pics, new band)

    That's awesome. I really respect what your doing; starting a new band playing something different that you want, building your own drums AND assembling a non-traditional style kit to tie it all together. Well done!
    -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

  4. #4

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    Default Re: General Gear Update (Snares, Gig pics, new band)

    Quote Originally Posted by N2Bluz View Post
    That's awesome. I really respect what your doing; starting a new band playing something different that you want, building your own drums AND assembling a non-traditional style kit to tie it all together. Well done!
    Thanks Brian, you've certainly helped with the building drums part, with all the instructional stuff you do on here and those lugs you sent me. Thanks again for that, by the way. For a moment there I tried tuning the deep snare pretty high and the lugs did break just as you predicted. I ended up taking the threads from other lugs I had laying around (thankfully they fit) and now I just don't tune it up so high
    Tama Swingstar 3 piece 1993 (refinished wine red)
    Ludwig Breakbeats (Azure Sparkle)
    1964 Ludwig Supra
    Old no-name Luan 12x8 tom/snare (refinished wine red)
    Mapex MPX 14"x5.5" snare (refinished in gloss black)
    Pearl Vision 14"x14" ft/snare (refinished wine red)
    Aquarian heads
    14" Sabian HHX Stage Hats
    15" Meinl Extra Dry Thin Hats
    18" Meinl Vintage Trash Crash
    18" Wuhan China
    18" Thin Zildjian Crash
    18" Thin Zildjian Crash with rivets
    19" Meinl Extra Dry Thin Crash
    22" Istanbul Mehmet Legend Dark Ride
    23" Matt Bettis Dry Ride


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