Mega Music Talent

Posts Tagged ‘Drums’

Drum building routines are discovered by pro drum makers after years worth of messing up, constant repetition and drum building experiments. Possessing the “drum building secrets” from years and years of practice would take… well… years and years of practice! Can’t we skip some of that and learn from others? That’s where our Guerrilla Drum Making DVD comes in; you can learn from 10 years of drum making mistakes, methods, and ideas.

In the DVD we steer away from the term “drum building secrets,” and practice these three “drum building philosophies” that are necessary to follow if you want a good looking and sounding drum set (who doesn’t?).

These are practices put to use by the big boys, so following these philosophies will not only help turn your DIY drum building project into a professional adventure, but also establish some great routines for future drum building projects.

#1: Save Time By Batching Your Drum Building Stages:

This is huge, people. Batching your drum building stages simply means to group similar activities together and do them all at the same time. This is the most simple drum building tip! Activities to batch in a drum building project could be the sanding stage of all your drum shells, glueing your drum wrap, staining all the shells, etc.

Batching the drum building stages are important for many reasons including time saving, the reduction of activity clutter, and finish consistency.

#2: Measure Twice, Drill Once:

I know? you’ve heard this a million times and drum building is no different: measure twice and drill your drum shells ONCE.

Drum building has a few crucial steps that are unforgiving and irreversible. One of them is the drilling stage. After you measure and mark all your hardware lines, you’d better do a quick double check before drilling.

#3: Set Your Drum Building Goals and Invest in Quality Products:

Drum building with poor products WILL yield poor results.

Think of the end goal and set your drum building budget accordingly. Do you, for example, want a studio kit or something to bash on the road and throw around every night without drum cases?

You get what you pay for, and you should be paying for products that are specific to your goals. If making a professional sounding and looking custom drum set is your goal? invest in the best.

If you’re band sounds like the Ramones and you want to trash your drum set every night like Dave Grohl did? I would recommend investing in something that is LESS expensive and lesser in quality.

A lot of people first getting into drum building want to make the coolest looking drum set and the baddest sounding kit ever for $300.00

Is it doable?

Of corse? it’s doable. There’s a million situations where this could work out.

Remember that drum building to save money is a byproduct of drum building to make a killer, 100% one of a kind drum set that is perfect for you and your musical situation. Saving money and having a unique sounding set go hand in hand? and one shouldn’t outweigh the other.

Author Bio: For more Drum Building Tips and to preview the Guerrilla Drum Making DVD, visit our site at:http://guerrilladrummaking.com

Learning how to make a drum set is easier than riding a bike. And believe me.. once you know HOW to ride that bike, you’ll never get off.

Grasping the simple art of drum making is easy… it doesn’t matter how much drum building experience you have or how good of a drummer you are, YOU can learn to make a drum set with barely any tools and build it practically anywhere. One of our clients that saw our Guerrilla Drum Making DVD built an entire drum kit in his apartment in Japan, another one is about 10 years old.

Here’s my 5 key reasons why YOU should take the DIY drums route and learn how to make a drum set.

#1. Make a Drum Set and Save Money: Saving money is a byproduct of knowing how to make a drum set; it’s like a mechanic working on his own car. Ofcorse he’s gonna save money, he’s not paying for labor!

And here’s a little secret that people hate to hear: both custom drum builders and major drum companies use drum supplies that YOU can get your hands on. Woops… it slipped. The cats out of the bag.

In fact, you could save up to 70% of your money by getting supplies to make a drum set rather than ordering a customized drum set from a notable drum company. I’ve seen company price quotes as high as $5,000… and you can make a drum set exactly like it for $1700 or less. In fact, if you have $5k, you can make a drum set, and then make another drum set, and then make another drum set. Not bad… 3 drum sets for the price of 1.

#2. Don’t Settle! Make A Drum Set Thats Perfect For You: Don’t settle on something when you can make a drum set that fits you like a glove. Nobody sees your dream better than you do, so take control and believe that you can make a kit that lives up to your dreams.

And you have the ability to hunt down all the products you want in order to make a drum set of the highest quality. Whether your aiming to make a kit for the studio, the rehearsal room or a kit that’s going to get the beating of life on tour, you can easily make a drum set to fit the drumming lifestyle you live.

#3. Make a drum set and Save a Ton of Time: How long would it take YOU to make a drum set? Great question. I’ve made a drum set in one day after getting the products a week after ordering them. Not bad. The first custom drum set I ordered from DW drums took about 8 months to get to me. Not Good. 240 Days for an ordered kit versus 8 days to make a drum set? I’ll take the latter… thanks.

#4. Drum Making is a Blast: Most do-it-yourself projects aren’t that fun. We’ve all helped a family member tile his own bathroom and it sucked. But make a drum set and challenge yourself… put some passion into the kit you’ll be sitting behind night after night.

In my opinion, the entire process to make a drum set is a blast…from seeing your vision to bringing it to life.

#5. Make a Drum Set Once… and Have Drums For Life: Once you find out how easy it is to make a drum set, you’re a drum maker for the long haul. You’ll retain the methods and know-how for the rest of your life. You can always hop right in and make a drum set or custom snare drum if you have the budget.

You’ll have the ability to add to your drum set whenever an extra drum needs to be used, build a snare drum for your upcoming studio recording, make a drum set for your colleagues, and more. And as I say in the title of this article, once you know how to make a drum set… You’ll never look back.

Author Bio: For more tips To Make a Drum Set and to preview the Guerrilla Drum Making DVD, visit our site at: http://guerrilladrummaking.com

“What Kind of Drum set should I buy?” or “What’s the best brand to buy?” are probably two most frequently asked questions. Even some professional players get it a little confused when it comes to making a decision on what to buy sometimes. This guide should help you figure things out and help you make the right decision.

First, for you beginners, let’s look at the different components of a drum set. First you have:

1. Bass drum
2. Snare drum
3. High tom
4. Low tom
5. Floor tom
6. One ride
7. One crash
8. Two hi-hats

Those are just the basics. Now we’ll move on to the hardware and accessories;

1. Snare stand
2. Cymbal stands (includes wing nuts)
3. Hi – hat stand
4. Foot pedal for the bass drum
5. Mount for the tom toms
6. Throne (this is where the King or Queen drummer sits on)
7. Legs for your floor tom (sometimes you’ll have a stand)
8. Drum keys used for tuning purposes

So now that you’ve got the basics down, let’s move on to making a buying decision. In an ideal world, you’d have just one main brand that magically works for everyone. You’d also have enough money to afford to buy it. Drum sets can cost you anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to several thousand dollars , depending on brand name and quality.

Now if you go online to places like Musician’s Friend or Guitar Center or even Ebay , you’re liable to find the following brands: Pearl, Remo, Tama, Gretsch, Mapex, Yamaha, Slingerland, Ayotte, DW, Ludwig, CB700, Premier, Sonor, TKO, Maxwin, Sunlite, and Thor. There are more name brands, but this is just a basic list here. Cymbals also have brand names such as, Solar, Ufip, Paiste, Meinl, CB, Stagg, Sabian, and Zildjian.

Again, you get what you pay for. When you’re making a buying decision, you want to make sure that both the bottom and top heads are on your drums. You also want to make sure that none of the lugs on the drums are missing. You need them to be able to tune your drums. Also, be sure that the exterior drum finish is in good condition. Your hardware needs to be sturdy and all your locking mechanisms need to be secure.

Another thing to look out for is to make sure the drum heads are in good shape. If all the drum heads are bad, then it’s going to be pretty expensive to replace them all.

If you are able to afford to buy a brand new set of high end quality, then by all means do so, but if you’re on a budget and you need to look for a used set, then be sure that you get it from an older player who takes care of his or her equipment. Sometimes you can get an older set that will still last you many years from someone who has given their drum set loving care.

Do a basic search on a drumset on google or look through your local classifieds. Just like buying a used car, if you’re getting a used set, you’re going to have to put some money into it. If you can, take an experienced drummer with you to help you check out your potential drum set. Also, listen to your gut instinct. If something doesn’t “vibe” or it doesn’t “feel” right, then leave it alone. Another thing you want to look for is external clues. What does their home look like. If it’s filthy and dirty, they probably don’t take care of the drumset you’re about to buy. On the other hand, if they are neat and clean, you’re probably in luck. This is not always the case, and there are exceptions, especially if people are renting or living with roomates, so use your head here.

Visit John Sandy at http://www.JohnSandy.net for more information drums and learning how to play drums. Free music and art lessons available!

Article Source: http://megamusictalent.com

Drums have been around forever. Another name for drums is called a membraphone. This is because drums are really an instrument that makes sound by striking a membrane. Drums consist of the body which is hollowed out. Then, a membrane of some sort is stretched over the end of that drum. Pegs are tightened and loosened to create different tones. Most people think that the body of the drum makes the sound, but it’s actually the membrane that makes the sound.

Drums date as far back as 6000 BC. Mesopotamian excavations have unearthed drums that date back as far back as 3000 BC. Markings on the walls of caves in Peru depict drums. The Native American Indians made drums out of gourds and wood. They used these for their ceremonies and spiritual rituals. Drums have played and important role in many ancient societies and were used for more than just music.

As the uses of drums evolved, drum kits were developed. A drum kit is basically a group of various toned drums. It was found that one person could play more than just one drum at a time. He or she could play several simultaneously. This is also called double drumming. Tom toms and cymbals were invented in China and they were then added to the regular drum kits. Later, more people got creative and added percussion instruments like wood blocks, cowbells, chimes and things. By the time 1930′s rolled around, the standard drum kit had taken shape. This drum kit consisted of a bass drum, foot pedal, large hanging cymbals, hi-hat, snare and tom toms.

Later on during the 1960′s, rock drummers expanded the drum kits, which are the normal standard of today. More cymbals and toms were used as well as another bass drum to increase speed. Electronic drums were also created. Electronics drums are cool in a way because they can create sounds that traditional drums can’t. So then, we had the synthesized drum sounds that you hear in many styles of modern music of today.

If you’re a beginner and you’re wondering what you should have in your drum kit, here’s a list of items:

1. Snare
2. 3 toms, high tom, low tom , floor tom
3. Bass drum
4. Ride cymbal
5. Crash cymbal
6. Hi-hat

If you’re wondering how much a drum set will cost, the answer is a little complex. Some drum sets can be as cheap as $100 or $200, while others can cost as much as $10,000 or more. As with anything, you get what you pay for. You want a drumset that’s sturdy enough to endure years of playing. If you’re planning on becoming professional and going on the road, doing performances, you’ll want to invest at least $700 and up on it.

On the other hand, if you’re just planning on keeping it a hobby, then you may can get away with $200 or $300 sets.

These are the basics. You can always add more things like Chinese cymbals, a cowbell, etc. If you don’t have a drum kit yet, don’t let that stop you from practicing. All you need is a couple of drum sticks (they cost about $3 to $10 at the music store) and a wood block. Main thing is that you practice your rhythm and the basics like paradiddles and basic beats. If you’re a complete greenhorn, then this is going to take you enough time to learn until you can save up for a set. Until then, keep on rockin’.

Author: Enigma Valdez

Check out http://www.JohnSandy.net for free drum lessons, art lessons and more!

Article Source: http://megamusictalent.com