DRUMMER CAFE

Sabian AA Mini
Paiste Signature Medium
Meinl Alien "Marco Minnemann"
Zildjian A Custom Mastersound
Zildjian A Special Recording

in my search, i realized i LOVE 12" hihats.  all the hats were quick responsive, and cutting.  easily heard in a relatively loud mix.

after using these hats, going back to my Paiste Trad's was like riding in a semi after zooming around in a Z3.  

too long a list to go into detail, but...

the A Special's were ok at best.  nothing amazing to write about.  good solid quick foot chick.  nice stick chick.  small sounding, open hat splash.  overall kinda dull.  least fav.  seen them on ebay for $130 new.

A Custom's were fast and brite, but overly piercing to my ears.  really ear splitting open hat splash.  but with that rippled bottom, they were definitely one of the fastest and responsive feeling along with the Meinl hats.

the Paiste Signatures were prolly the best sounding for all around use.  great silky open hat sounds.  splashing with my foot yielded some very sweet tones.  had a nicely defined, silvery, yet loud stick chick.  not as obnoxious as the A Customs.  just an overall bolder feel than the rest.  about as loud as my K/Z combo.  great set, but very expensive, and the most sluggish of the lot.  if you want something suuuper responsive that only a 12" hihat can give, yet loud enough for most other apps, definitely look into these Paistes.

the Meinl Alien hats were very cool.  thinnest of the lot, and the lightest.  suuuuuuuper quick and responsive.  like the hihats were made of air.  also, the most concave, so had a bit of that annoying "air-cupping" sound.  had 4 jingles underneath made for a really fun set of hats to jam on.  but the metal felt kinda flimsy and cheap, so i didnt expect any silky sounds.  but, had a cool funky tonality.  the foot chick is great with the jingles, but not very loud.  had a tinny sounding open hat sound.  not very pretty, but again, still really cool.  stick chick was a bit too trashy sounding for me, especially after comparing them to the shimmery Paiste, but flipping the hats with the jingles on top, made for some fun and unique tones.  its the least expensive, so tho, i wouldnt use it as a main, it'd prolly make a killer auxillary.

Sabian's AA mini's were like a poor man's Paiste.  nice shimmery stick chick, and sweet open hat splashes.  3rd in terms of loudness after the loudest Paiste's, then A Customs.  flipping the hats made for a lower volume yet, sweeter stick chick.  felt about as heavy as the Paiste's, so overall juuuust a wee bit sluggish, but still waaaay more responsive than my 13" K/Z.  for something without the rippled bottom, had the least of that "air cupping" sound.  still there, but not as annoying.  for the price, my winner.

Yamaha Maple Custom Absolute Drums

I played a set of these yesterday at a big outdoor gig - it was my first time seeing/hearing a set of these, and I've been wondering what the difference was between "regular" Maple Customs and Maple Custom Absolute.

Wow. BIG difference.

While hanging on to the low end power that all Yamahas seem to have, this drumkit is much more open-sounding, with a brighter sound and (to my ears) a LOT more volume. These drums were LOUD. (Of course, I was playing loud, and at times I was "swinging like a monkey on crack" as 563 likes to say - see photo below)  . But the drums also responded well at low volumes.



Bottom line: I LOVED them. Best Yamaha drums I've EVER heard. I'm blown away.

To me it's the best of both worlds. Some maple drums can be a bit brash (although I don't really mind), and Yamaha drums always seem a litte more "controlled" - but they are often TOO controlled for my tastes. But not these drums - these drums are wide open - there's nothing choking them. But they still have that certain Yamaha sound to them - slighty more focused than most Keller-shell drums. Really nice.

I like the hardware better, too. They have chrome lugs which, although small, are more substantial than the lugs on regular Maple Customs. And to me, the fact that they're chrome is a plus - I never liked the gold-tone lugs on Maple Customs.

The bass drum KILLED. It was the loudest, fattest, best sounding Yamaha kick I've ever played. It was either a 16x22 or 18x22 - I didn't measure - and had a Powerstroke batter and some padding inside. I don't put anything in my bass drums, but when playing rental kits, I use whatever muffling setup the soundman is comfortable with. The front head was a black Yamaha-logo head with a small-to-medium hole for the mic. I used the hard side of a DW reversible beater. Great sound!

The 10x12 rack tom (I only used one) was mounted on Yamaha's "YESS" mounting system. The drum moved around a fair amount when I hit it - more than it would on RIMS mounts or their equivalents. I play hard, and this motion could get excessive - if I bought a set of these I might remount them on RIMS. The drum had a clear emperor on top and a clear ambassador on the bottom, and sounded great. I don't really like 2-ply heads, but if the drum sounded this good with one, I'm sure it would kill with some single-ply heads of my own choosing. It was easy to tune, and held its tuning well. It sounded particularly good tuned to a low pitch - a characteristic that I've found to be a strength of all Yamaha drums.

The 16x16 floor tom was a great sounding instrument, and well balanced with the rack tom. The legs were adjusted with a drum key instead of a wing nut, which could be a hassle, but once I set the height, it was solid as a rock. Same head configuration as the rack tom. I used no muffling on either tom, and we got a good sound through the PA right away. The slightly brighter sound of these drums allowed the drum to articulate better than most Yamaha floor toms I've played.

Unfortunately I didn't get to check out any snares from this line. The production company provided me a Ludwig Supraphonic reissue with tube lugs. It was nice, but I ended up using my trusty Acrolite.

I'm weird about Yamaha. They make extremely high quality instruments, with possibly the best quality control out there. For that reason, I usually request them as my rental kit for fly-in shows. But I've never bought a set of them, because their sound is a little too controlled for me. I prefer the more open sound of vintage Gretsch and the new Fibes.

But this changes that.

I'd be VERY happy with a set of these - finally Yamaha has made a drum with the kind of sound I LOVE - not just a sound I LIKE. While I used these on a high-energy rock gig, I could tell from playing them that they would respond over the entire volume spectrum, and would make great all-around drums for drummers who value versatility.

They really did it right this time. TWO THUMBS UP!

Over they last year or so, I have picked 3 cymbals that
are in the same line. This was not done so that they "look" like a nice match, but because I really do like the sound and how they compliment each other.

The cymbals are from the Sabian AA series and specifically the El Sabor models. I have the 13"splash, 16" crash and the 18" Sabor which is a crash/ride type of deal. The series also has 14" hats and a 20"ride.

Anyway, these are listed by Sabian as being for "Latin" type music but I can't see whay they would be limited to that at all. The cymbals all have a slighty flanged edge which is not really that easy to see and supposedly makes playing them buy hand easy - ouch

The 16" explodes very easily and has a darker sound. The 13" splash is more like a small crash and just screams when stuck even moderately. I first heard one of these at the 2002 MD Festival. Robby Ameen used it and just fell in love with it. I actually looked up what he was using in the program after hearing him use it in his performance. Then the 18" is a really nice combination of a medium ride and a trashy sounding crash and also has a great unlathed bell as does the 16".

I'm not sure why these cymbals are not more popular. Maybe it's because of how they are marketed by Sabian  But if you are looking for something a bit different, and ever see them at a shop, give them a whack or two. You might be surprised.

 

Vic Firth American Heritage AH5A



I was in the shop the other day after work, and literally stumbled upon a box that was in the way of the aisle.  i noticed on the box was scrawled, "Vic Firth - maple," and thusly piqued my interest.

just to qualify things, i'm a fan of maple sticks for the lighter weight and more responsive feel.  but, i found them to be very inconsistent.  i was a fan of the SD4 Combo, but the ones i've picked up have been splintery, gummy, and rough feeling.  so much so, i moved to Vater looking for a nicer pair of sticks.  also a big reason why i dont like Zildjians, too.
 
at any rate, i picked up the AH5A (L = 16", Dia.=.565") which is similar to my beloved Vater Cymbal teardrop tipped sticks (L 16" D .570") which happen to made of maple and have a similar tip as well.

overall, i was surprised to find i liked 'em alot.  their surface had a nice smooth feel.  none of the rough, splinters.  the weight was VERY light, and yet had a nice beefy feel of the 5A.  going thru a couple pairs, i found that they were overall a few ticks lighter than my Vaters.  one pair literally felt lighter than the stray Hot Rod pair i found on the adjacent counter!!  

as expected, the feel was suuuuper quick and responsive.  faster than my Vaters.  took little effort to crank out a few paradiddles, etc.  might something to do with that .05" difference in thickness and slightly slimmer taper.

but, given their lightness, i'm sure a heavier player could chew thru these in a matter of days.  my Vaters felt waaaay more solid and balanced.

the salesman in the store said they only had the AH5A's that day, cause they didnt get a shipment of the more in demand AH7A's.  next time i'm in the store, i'll definitely try those out as well.

if you do jazz, or low volume stuff, or need a stick that's light, easy to control, yet beefy, or dont hit nearly as hard as break sticks every other gig, or all of the above, i highly recommend you check 'em out.  and yes, Virginia, they rool like ozzy.  

funny, but i always wondered what those bamboo chopsticks would sound like on my set...

anywho...

Sabian Hand Hammered Raw Dry 20" ride



i tried one out recently, and WOW, what a killer ride. seems like Sabian's answer to Zildjian's very cool K Custom Dry Lite ride.

the RD was thin, and very flexible.  bell was a little larger than i'm used to on thin jazzy rides.  on the wall next to it, i could see it looked similar to a K Custom Dry Lite with the burnt, unlathed look, but it wasnt "sand" blasted looking like the KC nor the Sabian Encore next to that.

had a bright & lively sticking tone, with sizzly overtones like it had rivets.  also, had a dark yet complex sounding wash that was very controllable with a rather short sustain.  bell had a clear open, ping that was kinda indistinct and yet not very penetrating.  what i liked best about it was the lack of trash.  some guys love that for jazz, but i shy away from it, and look for something a bit more musical.  tho the sustain wasnt too long, i can imagine its brighter sticking being easily heard in a big band.  crash tones were nice as well.  nothing too trashy.

like i said, similar to the K Custom Dry Lite, but the Raw Dry isnt as brash and has more body.  similar to its couz, Sabian's own Jack DeJohnette Encore ride, but again, i preferred the Raw Dry's darker undertones that gave it a smokier, more meaty voice.

faults?  unlike my Bosphorus Trad Lite, the feel was more brittle and not quite as buttery.  and the purple discoloring that's quite prevalent on the finish might be offputting to some.

but the best thing about the cymbal was the price.  compared to the aforementioned cymbals, the Raw Dry was easily $50 cheaper.

IMHO, a killer setup would be to have the Raw Bell Dry ride or a Leopard ride on the left with a Raw Dry ride on the right. that would be sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

had i not had or heard my sweeter than honey Bosphorus Traditional Lite 20" ride, i woulda bought it right then and there.

much recommended.

yet another funky gadget review  

Everyone's Drumming Mounting System

im always trying to work my hand drums into my kit.  especially this little 8" aluminum darabouka that i love so much.  and all my ways till now have been functional at best.  but ive always been sacrificing stability or flexability (positioning etc) ive found a solution.  unfortunately not a 100% perfect one, but a great one for this drum.



everyone's drumming site

essentially what youve got here is a 1" nylon strap (long enough to fit around your entire family) attached to a tom mount clamp, with a cinch fastener.  nice and simple in design really.  the mount clamp comes prepared to fit a fat pearl mount, but it comes with inserts for smaller mounts as well (which i used with a standard cowbell L-rod) they fit the tom arms snug and securely.  you adjust the latch on the strap to where its just long enough to fit around your drum.  the latch then fits over a hinged clamp which snaps shut.   it takes some adjusting to get the length right, and it could be easier, but im afraid that would mean less secure, so ill take the hit on setup time since it wont be often.

now, hows it work on a variety of drums? well, my little darabouka excelled with this thing.  i could position it right where i wanted and it was rock solid, with hands or sticks.  very cool.  i tried it on my 16" frame drum.  i cant see a whole lot of practical use for this setup, but they show pictures of it so i thought id call 'em on it.  the results were less spectacular with the frame.  it was easy to position, and held up well under hands and sticks, but because of the size it had a little too much bounce for my tastes.  but if youre used to playing on rims mounts it might be normal to you.  then i tried it on my tabla.  i thought "wow, a single based double tom stand with two of these and ive got kit tabla!!!" well ... im not sure.  first let me mention that ive got wrench tuned tabla so wrapping a strap around 'em wouldnt effect tuning like strap tuned tabla.  my dayan (the smaller wood drum) seemed too heavy for the mount.  it held, and held securely.  but i just was hesitant to trust it.  the fact that the mount relied on plastic didnt ease my worries.  but youll notice on thier site they show djembe's and ashiko's etc all strapped in.  but you can also see (as in the pic above) that the drum gets piggy backed on the tom arm itself.  i think with the setup they show in that pic, it could actually work quite well.  and yes, they do include a couple of those little foam pads

all in all, id grade it a B.  works well and worry free for small accessory hand drums.  if you wanted it for larger things, id contact them first for hints on how to use it best.

note to everyone's drumming ... forget the plastic.  try aluminum for more stability and longer life expectancy.

Puresound Equalizer™ Snare Wires

These things surprised me.  As some of you, may or may not know I have a very sensitive metal snare.  And as great as it sounds it has been a serious pain in the tucos dealing with the sympathetic snare wire buzz.

So I picked up this set of the Puresound "equalizer" wires and put them on.

It reminded me a little of a 40 strand bed of wires with the middle bunch of wires removed but not as wide.  The equalizer is I bought is an 18 strand...I believe you can get 16's as well.  The are slightly wider than your stock 20 strand set of wires- very well made with copper ends and high carbon wires.

Not only is the buzz greatly reduced, it has evened the buzz out so that not just one drum activates the wires- all my drums activate the wires now, but just a little bit.  It's great.  I don't have to wring the daylights out of my strainer and I still have a really big snare sound- open and fat (what more can you ask for?)  I don't know how they did it, but I'm glad they did.  I thought the drum might dry up too much- no way.  These things are well made, but they cost.  I got mine for about 25 bucks.

I figured this would be fine as a Percussion Corner item, especially since most of you play kit. But, 563 suggested it should go in the gear review thread,, so here it is!

Maybe some of you will be amused even if it's not your ballgame.  

Well, we've played them about 4 or 5 times now. And I say "we" and not "I", because I'm not really playing them with soul until the whole Cuban Rumba study group comes over and we get down and polyrhythmic. That's the real test for a set of congas, in my opinion.  
Tonight we played GUA-GUAN-CO & learned YESA for the first time.
Just to give you an idea of how one of these things we play looks on paper, the following jpg is sheet music for Yesa. This song is in 4/4.
The dark notes are bass notes done with a flat hand in the middle of the head, the empty notes are tones - palm of hand on edge of drum, the stricken through notes are muffled tones - hand slightly cupped heel slightly hangs over edge, The Ts are touches, the notes above the line are left hand, and below is right hand.


We played all the parts of Yesa except for the second bell.
Mp3s soon to come.

For the first tuning we only had to tweak two of the drums a tiny bit and they were all amazingly in tune with each other, nor were they too high - even though they were made in San Francisco and transported to Colorado!
That, was only the first of many astonishments.
Everyone in the group with experience and know-how was pretty freaked that the drums sounded "warm" as if they were already broken in. Apparently congas take years, sometimes a decade to get warmed up and sounding right. But these came sounding really nice and full of character right from the factory.
Somehow Akbar at Sol was able to get his new drums to not have that ringing sound that new congas always have! Everyone keeps saying over and over "I've never seen drums so green (new) that play that well! Just wait until a year from now! They'll sound even better than this!" The sound is already round and mellow, but strong and very present.

The workmanship on these drums is superb.
The heads are nice and thick and fairly soft. Well oiled, but not so much that they're glassy. A friend of mine suggested that since they're in a dry climate now, I might want to add some shay butter,,, but I don't think they need it.
The top edge of the shells are slightly sharper than the more rounded LPs, more like the old classic Gun Bops. This provides for a tiny bit sharper attack on slaps and tones, but the same mellow bass.
The head is not attached to the top of the drum the same way most other drums are attached, in that the skin is pulled at about a 45 degree angle away from the side of the drum with the use of large diameter outer ring and fulcrum. This ensures that the excess skin never vibrates against the drum. This is often what causes the obnoxious rattling and fuzziness in cheaper drums.
The heads are all that perfect 1 inch height from the rims - already stretched to where they're supposed to be.
The hardware is nicely anodized bronze and the wood is Virginia Red Oak. The base of the drums have brass rings inlaid amazingly tight with no apparent fasteners to protect the bottom of the drum from scraping and cracking.
They're heavy, but solid enough for a tractor to roll over them. And, nicely narrowed at the base for comfortable leg support when played in a seated style. I'm used to having the fatter Rumba drums slip away from me, and these stay right with me through a whole night of playing!

They cost what they're worth,,, so it's a lot...
Retailing for $800 a drum. I was very lucky to have a very nice dealer in Boulder give me the killer discount, so wasn't that bad, but well out of my normal price range - just happened to be the right time - after the tax refund windfall...

Each time I walk by them, I can't resist a slap here or a tone there. Can't wait until the next practice!

If you're getting congas and have the mother load of cash on hand,, get 'em! They're awesome!

Here are some more observations about the Sol congas, though in the negative realm..

When we shuffle drums around from player to player to change from part to different part, we have gotten used to a careless brushing of the lugs on the sides of the drums when they scrape by each other.
With these drums we noticed tonight that they're so heavy that they can unscrew the lug nuts on the drum they brush past.
This has never been a problem before with our lighter congas.

Also, for the first time we noticed the drums almost completely lose their tone within the same sitting.
The temp today got up to 94 degrees, then after dark it dropped quite a bit - (maybe 60s.) It was probably just due to having the sliding door open.

Yeah,,, whatever, just feeling a balance in the Force OB1..

Dave

My order came in a couple of days ago for the Aquarian Hi Frequency heads in "video gloss" black.

I put them on my yamahas and man, they look great and sound just as good.  I had coated evan's g1's top and bottom which were SPENT.  Off they went and for the top I ressurected some coated studio x's that are in decent shape for the batter heads.

Nice, very very nice in my studio at least...pretty even tone between all the toms, nice warm and focused "cut" with controlled sustain.  I'll take a pic tonight at the job, the black reso's all the way around look very very nice on this drumset.  As louder db would say..."neat, sweet and complete"