My latest obsession

[Lindsayt]

The percussion sounds of Charly Antolini. How much of that is down to:

1 the skill of the drummer
2 the skill of the recording technicians
3 the Ludwig (or whatever makes and models) of drums used
4 the quality of the recording equipment?

[Lindsayt]

If I were to do a google search on "best drumkit to buy" or "drumkit recommendations" would I be greeted with a load of links to poor to mediocre advice?

With a lot of it being advertorial? And pretending that used doesn't exist? And neither does DIY nor DIY modifications? With certain flavour of the month brands being pushed?

In that case, it would be the same as just about every other category of consumer goods I can think of.

[slinger]

You TUNE drums?

I wonder how many people realise that those "wingnuts and decorative metal bits" have a purpose, Stu.

There was a show on Sky Arts, called "The Art of Drumming," that every musician, no matter what instrument that play, should watch. Paradiddling, cheesy triplets and flam taps plus the basics of military-influenced “rudimental” drumming. I never knew hitting a bit of animal hide with a stick was so complicated. Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden) stole the show for me, and that's as much for his personality as his playing; absolutely brilliant. It's definitely one to watch out for when Sky repeat it, as they no doubt will. It taught me tons of stuff I didn't know, and why would I? I wouldn't expect "the drummer" to know why I'd swapped down from "nines to eights" for my choice of strings, or why I want to use a guitar with P90 pickups rather than humbuckers on a particular track, or, come to that, why I put flats, or even half-rounds on my fretless bass.

It does us good to know more of the basics at least of what the other guys in the band actually do, and appreciate their art.

At least, that way, when the lead guitarist tells the drummer precisely what he's doing wrong he might use the correct terminology for the absolute bollocks he's obviously talking.

[TheMadMick]

Just to derail this part of the thread, I'm currently breaking in an Avalon Ard Ri acoustic guitar. Lovely thing but the ends of my left fingers are a bit ragged.

Trouble is, I can't work out how to get the pic up. It's on my e mail client not on a web page.

[slinger]

Just to derail this part of the thread, I'm currently breaking in an Avalon Ard Ri acoustic guitar. Lovely thing but the ends of my left fingers are a bit ragged.

Trouble is, I can't work out how to get the pic up. It's on my e mail client not on a web page.

Have you tried searching for a similar image on Google?

[Grumpytim]

Just to rerail the thread - Count Me In on Netflix isn't a bad documentary about drummers, well worth a watch.

[karatestu]

The percussion sounds of Charly Antolini. How much of that is down to:

1 the skill of the drummer
2 the skill of the recording technicians
3 the Ludwig (or whatever makes and models) of drums used
4 the quality of the recording equipment?

Nice music, thanks for posting it.

I would put most of the majesty of that down to the skill and talent of the man sat behind the drums. Not easy to do that cowbell pattern with everything else going on. The drums, mic's and sound guys obviously are part of it but the human doing it is the result. As Ivor T would say, source first. Crap in, crap out.

This reminds me of some of the muddy Jimi Hendrix Experience recordings that I love. The recordings are dire but the magic of Mitch Mitchel is still there.

Ludwig make some excellent drums in the good old American way. Many of their vintage drums with roundover bearing edges are the stuff of dreams (with a collector's price tag to match.

[karatestu]

If I were to do a google search on "best drumkit to buy" or "drumkit recommendations" would I be greeted with a load of links to poor to mediocre advice?

With a lot of it being advertorial? And pretending that used doesn't exist? And neither does DIY nor DIY modifications? With certain flavour of the month brands being pushed?

In that case, it would be the same as just about every other category of consumer goods I can think of.

Yes I'm sure if you did that search you would end up with lots of results all recommending different things. Probably written by shills and vested interests. Just like we all like different looking ladies everybody likes different drums. There are trendy flavours of the month, plenty of bad advice . Diy is much like diy audio. There is a very active element but it is mostly concerning the aesthetics of the kit. It is much easier to get a satisfying result doing your own drums than making your own hifi. They are after all a relatively simple thing- played by simple beings

So yeah, the musical instrument industry is much the same as all other consumer goods categories. Preying on the gullible fools who are easily parted with their money and where image is everything. Great minds think alike and fools seldom differ.

[karatestu]

Just to derail this part of the thread, I'm currently breaking in an Avalon Ard Ri acoustic guitar. Lovely thing but the ends of my left fingers are a bit ragged.

Trouble is, I can't work out how to get the pic up. It's on my e mail client not on a web page.

No problem Mick, anybody can post whatever they like on my threads. I hope you have worked out what to do. Post it up here when you have.

[karatestu]

You TUNE drums?

I wonder how many people realise that those "wingnuts and decorative metal bits" have a purpose, Stu.

There was a show on Sky Arts, called "The Art of Drumming," that every musician, no matter what instrument that play, should watch. Paradiddling, cheesy triplets and flam taps plus the basics of military-influenced “rudimental” drumming. I never knew hitting a bit of animal hide with a stick was so complicated. Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden) stole the show for me, and that's as much for his personality as his playing; absolutely brilliant. It's definitely one to watch out for when Sky repeat it, as they no doubt will. It taught me tons of stuff I didn't know, and why would I? I wouldn't expect "the drummer" to know why I'd swapped down from "nines to eights" for my choice of strings, or why I want to use a guitar with P90 pickups rather than humbuckers on a particular track, or, come to that, why I put flats, or even half-rounds on my fretless bass.

It does us good to know more of the basics at least of what the other guys in the band actually do, and appreciate their art.

At least, that way, when the lead guitarist tells the drummer precisely what he's doing wrong he might use the correct terminology for the absolute bollocks he's obviously talking.

Yes drums can be tuned Same pitch at each lug to eliminate nasty overtones. Each drum can be tuned to a specific note and specific intervals between toms. You knew this already though.

I've seen that Sky series and yes it was good. Presented by Stewart Copeland if I remember correctly? Had Taylor Hawkins on it. If I see that bit again then there may be tears. Had John Densmore on it as well (The Doors). He picked old worn out drum heads to get the sound he wanted. That's my kind of thing - ie cheap Drummers changd heads too much. The aren't cheap either.