Finally got to get out and get some cool photos of the new Pearl smx. Louis, once again, hosted my pix (THANKS! ), so I put a horse in one just for him! Sadly, my pasture is so dry and dead that it's not even brown--it's grey ; so I set up in front of the haystack, as that's about the greenest place around here right now. My Icelandic horse, Shadow, wasn't too bothered by the kit since he had the hay to keep his attention, but he did nose at (and slobber on ) the ride and floor tom a bit.
 Since I dragged everything outside, I skipped the bass pedal. But it's an authentic Drummercafe Iron Cobra--plays great!
 
I finally got the kit tuned up, too--that took a while, plus a call to my drum teacher.   But it's good now! I put the SK1/Regulator combo on the kick, and now it has this bi-i-i-ig WWHONNNGG sound to it that goes right to my heart..

The 3rd one is of my best "Mr. A. face," complete w/ raised cymbals.   They're usually set as they are in the 4th pic.

robyn

http://louisrussell.com/shinypearl.jpg
http://louisrussell.com/pearllookingdown.jpg
http://louisrussell.com/mr_a_face.jpg
http://louisrussell.com/cymbalpony.jpg

Great pics, nice kit.  Congrats.

Nice pics Robin, and a good looking horse.  Sorry to hear about your pastures; Alabama had a similar summer and the barn where we keep our 2 looked the same all summer, dry and hot. 

Robyn,

Nice pics. Congrats on the "New" toy.

Nice photos Robyn!

It's a shame that you had to work so hard, stacking all those hay bales just for a backdrop. 

Did you play while you had the kit outside?  And if so, what did the Horse think about that.

Thanks all. It's been incredible to play! I'm sure in better hands it would sound spectacular, but hopefully I will get there someday. I wanted something that would last the rest of my playing career, however long that may be (30+ years perhaps? ) There are a few concepts that it's helped me to understand--most notably the "sweet spot" on each drum--I sure have found it w/ the toms! When I tuned them initially, they kept going flat, until I got each one "just so" and now they haven't budged. They're at a very nice 1-3-5 and staying there. And rimshots are another thing. I tried playing rimshots on my cheapo kit, and never really heard any difference in sound. Now this baby, wow--there's a real nice crack when I hit the rim (die cast)--great sound!
 So in a late answer to the previous question of "do new drums make you play better?" I answer a resounding YES!

JC, I like the HHX. It's got a good "heavy" tone to it--again, I had to work a bit to find its sweet spot too. And I know I don't do it justice, but... I kinda went nuts on my birthday a few years ago and came home from the drum store w/ it...
 That's about 150 bales of alfalfa behind the kit in the pix. Fortunately I didn't have to stack it, but I do have to periodically move some into the barn as I use it. Shadow wasn't too bothered by the drumkit. I didn't do much beyond strike the cymbal lightly to get his attention. But he was much more interested in the hay. He's a bit of a pig.

robyn

Yep, I have done that myself, four times so far and each time I think I have the kit of my dreams.  Great looking drums, but you still owe me a picture of the drums in the pasture sitting on the green grass and the creek in the background. 

Sorry, a river does not run thru it. 

If we actually have some rain next spring, I will try to do exactly this for you. But for now, this was the best I could do.

robyn