The Drum Buzz

When I first started playing percussion I never gave a thought to my hearing and how the loud noises would one day effect my ears.  At the ripe old age of 24 I now can barely hear out of my left ear and have to ask people to repeat themselves more frequently then I would care to.

It wasn’t until a year ago when I became serious about protecting my hearing.  Cheap throw away ear plugs are so cheap there really is no excuse to not use them.  I used to wear earplugs while I was in drum line.  I think think that this was mostly because, as a group, we all consented that this was  a good idea.  And since a group mentality seems to have more power then solitary though in may situations, I obliged and wore the earplugs at every performance and rehearsal.

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Popularity: 18% [?]

This is a guest post Kent Aberle who has been a mentor and friend of mine for a while – he’s also an awesome Atlanta session drummer

Merry xmas!  This time of year gives birth to many new drummers as kids all over the world walk downstairs to their first drumset under the tree.

If you are playing Santa this year and buying your child his or her first drumset, or even 2nd drumset for the teenage drummer it can be a stressful situation.  There are so many choices now at different prices.  Don’t stress!  The beauty of the many choices is that there is something for every budget.  So, the first thing to do is decide your budget.

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Popularity: 2% [?]

Ever listen to a cd or a live performance and think “Wow those drums sound so awesome I must immediately go out and buy all of the equipment that guy uses” ?  Well, don’t drag out that platinum card and jump online to order those drums just yet.  Something a lot of new drummers don’t take into account are the talents and equipment of the sound engineer.

The sound engineer has the power to make you sound crazy awesome or like a blurry, muddy mess.  This is why for live shows it helps to befriend your engineer during sound check (a tip or some drinks won’t hurt either).

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Popularity: 5% [?]

This is a guest post Omar Alvarado who runs the great drumming website – The Paradiddler

When we think of the drum kit, we usually think that all the drums are of the same brand and type.  This would be a good assumption!  A drummer wants to make sure that their drums have the same ‘timbre’ throughout, that even though the sizes differ, the drums tonally match regardless which size is struck.

A similar case can be made for speakers.  You could buy two different brands of speakers, similar in size, with identical specifications as far as watts per channel, impedance, sensitivity, etc.  But when you set them up as a left and right speaker in a stereo setting, they sound different.  Likewise if you mix and match brands of speakers in a surround sound environment, the sound difference can be quite pronounced between speakers.  This has a lot to do with the design of the drivers within the cabinet, the placement of the drivers within the cabinet, the construction quality of the drivers and cabinet, and the like.

The same can be said about drums.  If you have a 10” tom from brand A, say, Ludwig, and then another 10” tom from Tama, even if they have the same type of head and tuned similarly, they would tend to sound different.  Sometimes even if they’re made of the same material, such as maple or birch, they may sound different due to the different manufacturing process of each, thickness of the shell, etc.

So due to the above, for good reasons, drummers tend to stay with one brand of drums for the whole kit.  This doesn’t necessarily include specialty drums, however, such as mini timbales, roto toms, or Tama’s famous Octobans.  These have special sound properties (usually higher pitched) that give more options and melodic possibilities for drummers who want that flexibility.  However, there’s one particular drum in the set that, well, most drummers in the know would rather you ‘leave it alone’.

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Popularity: 100% [?]