Steve Weiss Music Blog

What do you say when your son or daughter asks for a drumset this holiday season? Although the first reaction may be “not in my lifetime”, here are a few things to think about when you decide to purchase your first drumset.

One of the most important features to look for on an entry level drumset is if it includes cymbals and a seat (throne). This will avoid experiencing the “what do you mean batteries aren’t included?” feeling Christmas morning, as your child looks at you in disgust. Since many of the top manufacturers include all items needed to start playing immediately, it should be something that you look for. Some off-brand or store brand drumsets disguise the fact that they do not come with everything needed to play.

The height of your child is another factor to consider when picking out a drumset. Purchasing the correct size drumset will allow a more comfortable playing experience, and will enable your child to have an easier time learning to play. If your child is of medium to tall height, then a 22″ Bass Drum set will work perfectly. If your child is on the smaller size, a drumset with a 20″ Bass Drum may be more appropriate. The smaller sized drums will make it easier to play, because it will be easier to position the drums in the correct playing positions.

You will find dozens of possibilities when looking for entry level drumsets, but we would suggest sticking with a major brand name. Purchasing a brand name drumset will allow you to get replacement parts or even add onto the drumset in the future when your child wants more “stuff” down the road. “Off Brand” names will not be able to provide the parts and service that a brand name manufacturer can provide. Playing any instrument is hard enough without having to deal with broken parts that cannot be fixed. Add the fact that all of the major brands are now competitively priced with off brands, and it seems like sticking to the major names is an easy choice. Some of the major drumset manufaturers include Gretsch, Ludwig, Pearl and Yamaha.

Hard drum throne surfaces can be very uncomfortable and difficult to endure for extended periods of time. Without solid support and comfort, your style and creativity can be severely impaired.

Gibraltar’s new Softy Throne incorporates a top grade, 5″ thick cushion and an outer layer of plush courdura fabric creating a soft and comfortable sitting surface. The Softy seat mounts on a double-braced tripod base with die-cast spindle height adjustment system and Gibraltar’s Super Foot solid foundation rubber foot support. This Gibraltar Drum Throne offers maximum comfort.

The 9608SFT Softy Gibraltar Drum Throne with double braced tripod. Retail: $189.99 Steve Weiss Music Price: $99.95

I recently got a last minute call to fill in on percussion for half of a duo at a downtown Philadelphia restaurant. Set one was to start at the height of midweek rush hour and the playing area was about the size of a table for two, nice and cozy. Since I was a short train ride from the gig, and parking, gas and aggravation would bite mightily into the pleasure/profit component of this endeavor, I thought to myself, (in dramatic announcer’s voice) “This is a job for the Travel Conga, From Pearl”. Weighing in at under twelve pounds, and not much bigger than a pandeiro, I had no trouble easily packing Bongos, Travel Conga and a variety of percussion toys in a back pack and small cymbal bag, and hopping on a commuter train to beautiful center city Philadelphia.

As far as sound goes, the Pearl Travel Conga has a full, rich open tone, and a crisp loud slap. The open tone and slap project well and (when accompanying other instruments) rival full size instruments. While the inside bass tone does not fare as well, it has been my experience that in non-traditional settings, this sonic space is dominated by the bass of other instruments. In this case, even an unamplified nylon string guitar (given, my partner and his guitar were impressive in their volume and presence). The bass response was prominent enough to provide the feel the player needs to keep all the rhythms flowing. As I said, the open tones were rich and full, so in this duo setting I used a strip of ProMark Drum Gum to tone it down a little. In larger band situations, wide open would provide a bit more cutting power. It should also be noted that The Travel Conga’s tuning range extends from Tumba, through Conga, onto Quinto. Tuning is done with a large allen wrench with an over sized ergonomic foam handle, which is provided. I was able to change which “drum” I would use between songs without any hassle.

A feature which I found a real plus was how comfortably I was able to play the drum from different setups. While in many settings, a standard snare stand would be practical, sound, projection, and volume were virtually undiminished playing from my lap, or when I used it as a secondary drum, from a small table next to me. The big deal here is you don’t necessarily need a stand. This makes the Travel Conga a very portable and easy to use drum. And speaking of using it as a secondary drum, it really fills the bill to get those ubiquitous open conga tones on the “four” and the “and of four”, regardless of whatever other percussion you’re playing.

Bottom line, this job probably would not have been worth it if I had to haul gear, drive and park at rush hour. With the Pearl Travel Conga, I was in and out like the breeze.

If you go back far enough, I’m sure you can remember the days when there were NO Mallet Instruments on the marching field…or any other sideline percussion for that matter. Even if you don’t go back quite that far, you probably remember the day when sideline percussion was made up of one Marimba, Xylophone, Vibe, maybe a few Timps and a station of concert toms/cymbals/hand-held gadgets. Boy, how times have changed.

Check out Drum Corps sidelines over the past few years and you would be hard pressed to find less than 4 Marimbas, 2-4 Vibes, several sets of Timps and at least 3-4 stations of concert bass drums/toms and hand held percussion. As incredible as this expansion is, it is also equally incredible that the marimba itself has “grown” from the standard 4.3 Octave into placing 4.6 and 5.0 Octave instruments in the outdoor arena…and not just in DCI!

I’m sure it started before I noticed it, but the first person I know that really pushed to place these larger instruments on the sidelines was Brian Mason…then of the Phantom Regiment and now with Santa Clara Vanguard and Morehead State University. Brian told me years ago that he didn’t want to be limited in his writing and with the full sound of the Regiment, he wanted his sideline to be able to support the horn line with a larger range of sound. So, he started taking 4.6 and 5.0 instruments out on the field.

The drawback was that the larger instruments only had Rosewood bars, which ended up having excessive wear-n-tear and lost much of their sonic effectiveness. This led manufacturers such as Adams to make a 4.6 and even a 5.0 Marimba with Synthetic Bars and even now with an outdoor Field Frame. The Adams MAKF46 Marimba is a full 4.6 Octave “Concert” instrument that has outdoor friendly Synthetic Bars (which really have a very full, rich, and bottom end tonality) all on an outdoor Field Frame so it will travel over any terrain. It’s amazing to think that only a few short years ago, we were using Marching Timpani and Marching Mallet Instruments on the field…ah, the days of the Blue Stars…and now, Marimbas that were originally designed for the Concert Hall are commonplace on the field. As long as the equipment trucks are big enough, I suspect that the Percussion sideline will continue to grow.

Marching season is right around the corner and as schools and individuals prepare to purchase new marching snare drum heads for their Marching Snare Drums, the age old question of Kevlar versus Mylar will once again become a topic of debate. While there may be some aspects of the discussion that are of a “personal opinion” nature, there are also several aspects that are factual and may help a person make a better decision on what will work best for your situation.

A Mylar drum head will provide a more natural and realistic feel with far more “give” to allow the player a more comfortable playing experience. Mylar Marching Snare Side Drum Heads such as the Remo Clear Mylar Snare Side Drum Head or the Evans MS3 Snare Side Drum Head provide a natural response and overall tonality not found in the Kevlar style counterparts. Yes, even the bottom head (which by the way is equally as important to change as frequently if not more than the top head) will affect the playability and tonality of the Snare Drum…no matter how much you like to crank it up. Just as this is based on fact, there are also a few bits of knowledge that are useful when choosing to use Mylar for your bottom head.

Mylar does require more upkeep and attention than Kevlar. Because Mylar stretches far more than Kevlar (what do you expect from a material that can stop a bullet!), that stretching will cause the drum head to dip or go out of tune more frequently. This requires more time to tune and keep all of the drums in the line in tune with each other. The other aspect of Mylar versus Kevlar debate is certainly the overall cost factor. For every one Kevlar style bottom head, you could purchase three Mylar style heads. Budgets the way they are these days, this can be a tremendous savings to an overall program…but it comes with a different type of “price”, which is the time and effort needed to keep the drums tuned up. The greatest benefit in using Kevlar can be summed up in those words made famous by Ron Popeil…you can Set It and Forget It!

Either Kevlar or Mylar bottom heads can be used with whatever style Marching Snare Drum top head you are using. No matter what your top head of choice is…Remo Black Max Snare Drum Head, Remo White Max Snare Drum Head, Evans MX White Snare Drum Head, or any of the other choices available….you can use whatever bottom head you want for the sound desired. Kevlar doesn’t have to be matched with Kevlar and Mylar doesn’t have to go with Mylar. Mix and match whatever heads you want to achieve your desired sound or for your particular playing situation. My preference in teaching the Villanova Drumline is the Evans MX White Top with a Mylar style bottom head. We use 13″ Pearl Championship Drums and marched 6 snares last year, so this combination worked very well for overall tone and projection.

No matter what choices you make, you can be sure that someone else will choose another option, which doesn’t make one right or wrong. The most important thing is to be sure you understand your particular needs and desired sound. I can promise that there is a drum head combination that will help you accomplish your goal…a great sounding snare line. Well, maybe a few more hours in the woodshed would help too!

Update 06/05/2007:
Due to popular demand, Evans has created a new type of marching snare drum head that combines the durability of Kevlar with the sound of Mylar. Evans Hybrid Grey Marching Snare Drum Head, Evans Hybrid White Marching Snare Drum Head and Evans Hybrid Snare Side Marching Drum Head.

UPDATE 10/12/2011 – Roland has released the Roland SPD-SX Sampling Pad to address many of the issues found in the comment thread of this blog entry.

The Roland SPD-S is a great sample pad, and allows for even the least tech-savvy of us to be able to run it efficiently with ease. It is a great way for a drummer to be able to start incorporating electronic sounds into his or her live setup as well. You can use the SPD-S pad to do what you want in four easy steps.

1) Connect an external audio device via 1/4″ jacks.
2) Hit record, which is started by hitting one of the pads.
3) Play the sample from the external audio device.
4) Hit the pad again to stop the recording.

I have used the Roland SPD-S on plenty of gigs, and it is perfect for all styles of play. I found it extremely helpful on club dates and wedding band gigs, as well as super helpful in the studio. Also, the on-board sounds are of relatively good quality. You can find anything on the Roland SPD-S from regular drum kit sounds to African drums, and even to sounds like that of a cat’s meow.

All of us at Steve Weiss Music, Inc. are very happy to welcome a “new” vendor to our product lineup, Yamaha Combo Division Products. Yes, we are once again officially authorized Yamaha Combo Dealers, which means we can help you with all of your Yamaha needs. Newly added products include Yamaha Drum Sets, Snare Drums, Hardware, Electronic Percussion and Accessory products.

We have had a lot success with Yamaha Educational Products and we are looking forward to helping all of our customers by expanding into the Yamaha Combo product offerings. You may be familiar with the strength and versatility of Yamaha Hardware and the tremendous value of their Electronic Drum Sets, but you also may want to check out their Drum Set lineup that features the new Tour Custom line of drums.

All of the Yamaha Combo products are available to purchase from us however, we do not ship Yamaha Combo products outside the U.S.A.

Although not as popular in school and community circles as Brazilian Percussion groups or Samba Schools (primarily due to the overall cost factors), Taiko Drumming is becoming more popular and more affordable. The gain in popularity is due to the increase of awareness and instrument availability. With the addition of this line of products into such “mainstream” companies as Remo and Pearl, Taiko Drumming is being made available to more and more schools and individual community groups than ever before.

The word Taiko literally means “fat drum” in Japanese and has been a part of Japanese culture for many centuries. Its roots lie in the many temples and shrines scattered all over Japan and are based in their religious festivals and ceremonies. In addition to marking the edge of a village (it is said that as far as you could hear the Taiko Drum was the edge of your village) Taiko Drumming was also used in warfare by producing such a loud and thunderous sound that it would scare the enemy away.

A visit to Epcot Center in Disney Florida and you can’t help but notice these magnificent drums and players, which certainly adds more and more recognition this kind of music to millions of people each year. Among the many Taiko Drum groups in this country, San Jose Taiko (www.taiko.org) is one of the leaders in promoting this art form to as many people as they can. San Jose Taiko has been testing a set of drums for Pearl that we now have in our stock for sale as Demo Taiko drums. With more people having the opportunity to hear and understand Taiko playing, and companies like Remo and Pearl making high quality instruments more readily available than ever before, this form of drumming is becoming more and more popular and affordable to a greater number of groups that truly want to enjoy its ancient roots.

The AKG D112 is the standard kick drum mic, well it’s my standard at least. There are a ton of great choices out there for the kick. Maybe you’re lucky enough to have a vintage AKG D12 or maybe you prefer the Sennheiser 421. In any case, the D112 is the mic I always go to for the kick drum and bass guitar amp. What you get with it is a nice low end thud without ignoring the upper mid thwack.

Over the weekend I was tracking some drums for an upcoming project. We had our choice of a few large diaphragm condenser and dynamic mics. After messing around with a few we got a huge, but defined sound out of the D112 just outside the resonant head and an SM-57 oddly enough on the batter side of the kick. Even with the bass drum stuffed with muffling we still could get a giant sub sound out of it. We ended up trimming some low end out to make it sit a little tighter in the mix.

Shoot, now that were selling these at Steve Weiss I might have to pick up a second. Then I wont have to compromise the bass guitar mic when the D112 is on the kick. If you’re a gigging or session drummer, it would probably pay off to keep a d112 with your kit. If the venue or studio is short on good kick mics you won’t have to compromise a solid low end.

Check out an audio sample of the AKG D112 in action on my blog…

http://www.solusmusic.com/2007/04/tracking-drums-on-the-neotek/

Being a player that does a lot of live playing as well as studio recording, I couldn’t be happier knowing that we are now carrying the SM-57 mics by Shure. It is by far my favorite mic to use on my snare drum, and gets a great sound, whether you mic the drum from the top or from the bottom. It is ultra sensitive, and just picks up the full tonality of the drum in either setting.

I had a chance to play around with the Roland Handsonic HPD-10, and I was pretty impressed with it for the most part. The first thing that I noticed when I plugged it in and started tapping on it was the velocity sensitivity on the individual pads. Somehow, the “instrument” notices when you are playing a “slap” type of hit on the pads when trying to perform a conga “slap.” The pads also respond quite well at low velocity. The next thing that I really liked about it was the array of sounds that come pre-installed, and they are fully customizable. Granted, I only played it through my AKG headphones and not a real sound system, but the overall ambiance of the tones produced, especially by the congas and bongos was superb. There was a very natural sounding reverb on the drums, and being one that would rely on an instrument like this instead of the real thing (because I have ZERO hand drum technique), I felt very convinced that I was hearing the real thing. Of course, you can tone down the level of any effect, or turn the levels way up to produce some pretty zany sounds. I must also mention that the bell and block sounds were also spot on.

The last feature that I found to be really cool was the D-Beam controller. You can basically wave your hand, or any other limb for that matter above a spot on the pad and it causes a sound to occur, just as if you were striking a pad. It also senses how elevated your hands are off of the pad, in determining the velocity or pitch of the patch being played. VERY cool! This is definitely a really cool piece of gear straight out of the box, and if you’re not looking to shell out all the dough for the HPD-15, then this is just as good of a pad to either learn about electronic percussion, or to toss into a live setup to achieve authentic percussion sounds.