Portland area drummers!
I'm fully vaccinated and ready to hang outside.
So I'm throwing a little something just for us.
Bring your pad and sticks for a little social chopping.
Please check out all the details on Facebook (link below) and come if you can.
Over the course of a lifetime of drumming that began when I was seven and has continued with only one injury-caused break over the last fifty years, I've had an opportunity to try a LOT of products.
Among the most important for me have been drum heads and sticks.
As a relatively unknown professional drummer and percussionist, I have found that my opinions don't matter to music stores or to major manufacturers nearly as much as they matter to fellow drummers and to the students I've had the privilege of teaching over the years.
That said, it's not a bad idea to say something positive when I discover a great product, or product line.
The pandemic has given me a chance to try a lot of different sticks, and after going back and forth and finding what I like, I've switched over all my sticks -- for rudimental/pad work, concert and drum kit -- to Vater Percussion.
I find that every Vater stick I've tried has been well-balanced, feels great in the hands and plays with great response on drums and pads.
Today my stick bag holds nothing but Vater sticks, in these models:
-- MV-20: rudimental, marching and heavy pad work. A great stick in a size that's perfect for smaller hands.
-- 2B: My go-to pad stick, especially in the mornings when my arthritis gets in the way during careful warmups, but really this is the stick I reach for more than any other when I just want to chop.
-- Classics 2B: a nice, slightly heavier alternative to the regular 2B.
-- Classics 5A: this has replaced the Vic Firth 5A and Promark 737 that used to live in my bag, as a great jazz or combo stick. I love the way it sounds on my cymbals.
-- West Side: a really nice drum kit stick that I think would be great for pit work as well as pop. Like a Vic Firth "Buddy Rich" model but less anemic. This is my current go-to drum kit stick. It feels absolutely perfect in my hands.
-- A old pair of "Acousticks" that I've had for a few years. I found these at a yard sale and was surprised at how much I liked them. They're great for a slightly more diffuse sound but sturdy enough to still play rudimentally with them around the kit.
At this point, I haven't had an opportunity to try any of Vater's brushes, and until I can get back to work I'm not ready to shell out money for them. My go-to brush since high school has been the Regal wood-handled jazz brush, but I am open to considering something else when the time (and wallet) are right.
And while my endorsement doesn't mean all that much in the big picture, I think it's nice to have settled on a product line that feels really comfortable in my hands, and that I'd happily recommend to other drummers.
Happy chopping.
I recently obtained this from a woman in Iowa who had put it up for sale online at a very reasonable price. During the transaction I asked her for any information about the pad, and she told me it had been hers in fourth grade. She wrote a little note on the outside of the shipping box:
I responded to this note by asking her where she'd gotten the pad, and she told me her father had been the original owner. He'd been a drummer for a local jazz band in their hometown of Clinton, Iowa, and she gave me his name. She had no other information.
I found what appears to be a faded music store decal on the underside. Using some photoshopping I was able to draw out the lettering a little more, but found no links online to any music stores that were an obvious match.
I've reached out to the Clinton Chamber of Commerce and am hoping they'll have something more to share.
***UPDATE!***
I Just got this marvelous email from Janice Hansen at the Clinton County Historical Society, regarding the decal on the underside of the pad:
Meanwhile, I made the decision to refurbish and stabilize the pad so I could use it now and then.
The pad had arrived with the top surface literally splintering apart, and the base wobbling just slightly.
By counter-sinking the nails a tiny bit with a very small punch, I was able to stabilize the pad. I also applied a little super-glue underneath at the contact points, out of sight. Finally, I carefully applied multiple thin coats of clear nail polish to keep the top side from splintering away further.
Since letting it dry and firm up, I've enjoyed playing it quite a lot.
Here's "Crazy Army," an appropriate choice for a pad of this vintage.
If I hear back from the Clinton Chamber of Commerce, I'll post an update.
Happy chopping!
I spent time yesterday trading in a few bits in order to finish the kit, and setting up what I had.
Today I took delivery on the rack tom, which Kaleb had repainted and clear-lacquered for me.
I installed the new hardware, mounted it on the tom arm I'd shortened down in my bike workshop, and installed it on the kit.
It has been well over a decade since I had a drum kit, and my playing is rusty. But I thoroughly enjoyed taking the complete kit on its maiden voyage. In addition to this short video, I invited my wife to come in, admire the kit, and sing a few bars (strictly OFF-camera) of "Bei Mir Bist Du Sheyn," a favorite she used to cover with her Klezmer band when we were first dating, while I accompanied her on brushes.
It was glorious.
I think I'm pretty happy with the kit overall, though the bass drum probably needs some additional tuning before it's dialed in. It's a bigger bass drum than I'd wanted, but it's what was available; removing depth helped quite a bit for both sound quality and portability.
The kit was cobbled together from these drums, each of which Kaleb repaired and refinished:
-- late 1970s Pearl snare drum
-- early 1980s CB700 rack tom
-- late 1980s unknown brand bass drum
I supplemented the existing hardware I already had (stands and such) with a Pearl ISS rack mount for the tom, and the bass pedal is a Peace (budget brand) model I got at Goodwill. I've left the Goodwill price sticker ($6.99) on it.
If I do it right, all of the hardware will fit into a giant messenger bag, the cymbals will fit in a cymbal bag and the drums will each fit into padded gig bags. I may find a way to modify a deeper 14" tom bag to take both toms with a layer of padding between them, but at this point I'm just glad to have a complete drum kit to play again.
Special shout-out to Kaleb at West Craft Drums for the stellar job refinishing and refurbishing these old drums to make them look and sound so good. I hope to enjoy playing them for a long time.
I've been cleaning out the dark corners of my practice pad collection, selling off doubles and making some space in my studio. Along the way, I've been trying out different pads and deepening my knowledge of pad design in the process.
Tonight I did a little comparison.
Using an excerpt from one of the NARD solos ("Benevolent Bill"), I played the first section on each of four different pads in my collection (disclaimer: all keepers, so don't ask if I'm selling them).
In order of trial and approximate age, here are my videos.
1. 1948-50 Slingerland Radio King pad, 2B sticks. The pad itself is actually no big deal, because it's the same design dozens of companies were selling in the back of their respective drum catalogs. Slingerland's Radio King pad was perhaps a little bit bigger than a lot of what else was out there at the time, but really the only thing that makes it special is the iconic "Radio King" badge. Still, it's fun to play on something so historic and older than I am.
The black rubber surface is still in good shape, and hasn't hardened yet. But it's also not quite as bouncy as gum rubber would be, and I have to pull the strokes out of the pad. This would also be the case with the bigger, deeper drums of this era (marching snare drums measured 15" or 16" in diameter back then), with Mylar heads tuned lower. Drummers of this era had to do some of the work involved in double bounce rolls and paradiddle rudiments, which is why so many worked out on pillows as part of their training.
2. 1972 Patterson design Pad. Another wood box, this one horizontal, with a more pure gum rubber playing surface that's lively and offers a bit more rebound. Still using the 2B sticks out of consideration for the design and the pad's age, I can get a very nice bounce. This is more in line with the marching drums of my youth, which usually measured 14" in diameter and had more lugs, so they could be tuned tighter and higher than the older 15" drums. Combined with a Remo "Pinstripe" head, these drums produced a fat but crisp sound that was tremendous to hear when eight or ten drummers played in perfect unison.
3. Vater Chop Builder pad, black (hard) side, with marching sticks. Switching to marching sticks for this heavier, denser pad made sense; the 2B sticks don't really work as well with the modern marching pads. I chose to utilize the harder black side of this pad to see if there was a real difference between it and the final pad in the comparison. There definitely is a difference.
Several companies produce two-sided pads with a soft and hard side, and in most cases the hard side on these pads is SO hard that you might as well be playing on a Formica countertop. The Vater version pulls back a little from that, with a thick "hard" side that still has a little rebound in it and makes for a more pleasant playing experience.
4. Vic Firth Heavy Hitter Slimpad. One of the most popular marching pads on the market since its introduction in the early 2000's. This predates the Vater pad by a few years but I saved it for last because it comes closest to the feel and rebound of a modern Kevlar marching head. It's 1/8' thick gum rubber on a wood base. Nothing fancy, but they dialed in the feel so it gives modern marching drummers exactly what they need in a practice situation. The gum rubber is lively and offers rebound, but the thin playing surface means there's a lot of hardness coming from the wood underneath. As opposed to "pulling" the strokes out of the drum, as I'd do on a Mylar head, all of the bounce comes from the tightness and hardness of the Kevlar surface. If I tried to "pull" the strokes from as Kevlar head I might end up pulling a wrist muscle and actually hurting myself.
The heavier marching sticks are really the best way to go on this pad, as the heft of the bigger stick balances against the hardness of the pad.
Practice pads from the early days up through the 1970's and very early 80's were not quite as purpose-driven, not as specialized as they are today.
They didn't have to be because concert, jazz and marching drums all utilized Mylar heads, which can only be tightened so far before either the head breaks, or the hardware pulls out from the side of the drum.
With the advent of stronger materials, drum heads could be made from carbon-fiber and Kevlar, and later on, hybrids of the two materials. These heads, capable of being cranked high and tight, became the standard for marching bands and drum corps -- and changed the way marching drummers approached technique. New drum pads specifically designed to meet the demands of marching drummers came onto the market. Some of the earliest models are no longer in production and are highly sought after by drummers of that generation, hoping to replace the pad from their younger marching days that got worn out or lost.
But practice pads for Mylar drummers have also evolved. Very few drummers today would willingly choowe to practice on that Slingerland Radio King, when other, more responsive pads now exist on the market.
That said, how much have technical advances in drum and pad design affected drumming technique? Or vice versa? Or does it have that much of an effect outside of modern marching ensembles? These are questions with complex answers, and I'm just trying out practice pads.
Feel free to respond with your questions and insights here in the comments.
And Happy drumming!
I recent scored this because I wanted to muffle the echo of my bass drum a little.
This may be more than I was looking for. It's a lot bigger than the photo indicated...
I'm taking the bass drum to Revival Sunday to get some help with setting up the drum to take both a ride cymbal AND a small rack tom, using the hardware the drum came with.
I'm hoping I can get away with something that isn't too complicated and which won't topple over from excess weight. I don't plan to use a floor tom with this kit so I need everything to be compact and minimalist. I hope they can help me with the cymbal mount as well.
Last week, I found a bass drum at one of my favorite junk shops for $25. It was a cheap, low-end drum from the late 1980's, nothing special but it was almost complete and the wood shell was in good shape.
It was bigger in diameter than I'd wanted, but in the end it turned out to be the drum I took to Kaleb at WestCraft Drums for refurbishing. I asked him to complete the hardware and paint it to match the snare drum he had refurbished for me a couple months ago.
I picked it up yesterday, came home and set up my new minimalist kit. And I began getting to know it, and to know myself as a kit drummer again.
Video at https://www.facebook.com/beth.hamon.9/posts/3704847102977126
A few glamour shots below.
I had Kaleb cut the bass drum down from 14" to 8" deep. He kindly added a couple pieces of missing hardware, including legs to fit the existing brackets.
He even repainted the plastic strips on the rims to match the drum shell (and the snare drum he'd done earlier).
Setting it up took more time than I thought, mostly because I had to sort out the cymbal stands and choowe a snare stand that would get the snare drum low enough for me to sit where I like in relation.
Here's the finished kit as it sits for now.
The existing tom mounts should serve well enough for my purposes, even as I'm still figuring out exactly how to make them work.
These aren't the cymbals of my dreams, though the hi-hats have been a nice surprise. The ride is way too ringy and has too many overtones.
The crash cymbal is, well, cheap. Heavy, slow to respond, not terribly sensitive.
So I'll be looking for some lighter more responsive cymbals down the line.
But the bass drum feels a little less "big" cut down to 8" depth. It sounds nice and punchy and will only need a small external muffler.
I'm using a boom-arm assembly clamped to an old tom arm and for now it works; once I get the rack tom back I'll figure out a better way for everything to go together.
Ideally, the rack tom will fit into a smaller practice pad basket, which in turn would fit onto an arm to fit into the second hole. I'm hoping my rack tome, cut down as well, will be shallow enough to work alongside the ride cymbal.
There will be more tweaking involved before this kit is where I want it.
But the two refurbished drums sound fabulous.
And as I can afford to, I'll slowly trade up to better cymbals in the coming months.
I'm really thrilled with how this turned out. If you're in the Portland area and you're thinking about some new drums, you might want to consider giving your old drums some new love. Kaleb Shields does incredible work -- and as a bonus, you can opt for a beautiful front bass drum head painted by his wife. (See above for how she made my bass look like the Big Blue Marble.)
Happy drumming!
Almost from the beginning of my decision to focus on collecting and researching practice pads, one name kept popping up in my conversations with other drummers: Kieffa.
The Kieffa Practice Snare was apparently a special pad. It was in production for only a short time in the late 20-oughts to early 20-teens, and when production ceased, anyone who owned one of these pads clung to it like double-sided tape. Pad enthusiasts who'd had a chance to try one at trades hows but never bought one later regretted their decision. The company went out of business sometime between 2013 and 2014 (?); their URL is up for grabs and I can't find any info about the company's existence or Keith Pickens' whereabouts in the drum industry after 2014.
By the time I'd done some research about the design, the pad was long out production and had become some kind of holy grail among pad collectors.
So when I had an opportunity to try one myself, I jumped at the chance.
Kieffa Drums, LLC was founded by the inventor of the Kieffa pad, Keith A. Pickens.
Here are the short descriptions of the pad and its adaptation for electronic amplification, from the US Patent office:
*****
Patents Assigned to Kieffa Drums, LLC:
• Hybrid electric/acoustic percussion instrument
Patent number: 7179985
Abstract:
A hybrid electric/acoustic percussion instrument and percussion set
containing the instrument. The instrument includes a hollow cylindrical
shell having a first end and a second end and an inside cylindrical
surface. A first substantially rigid plate having an outside surface and
an inside surface is attached to at least the first end of the hollow
cylindrical shell. A first resilient pad is attached to the outside
surface of the first substantially rigid plate. An electroacoustic
transducer is attached to the inside cylindrical surface of the hollow
cylindrical shell.
Type: Grant
Filed: April 13, 2005
Date of Patent: February 20, 2007
Assignee: Kieffa Drums, LLC
Inventor: Keith A Pickens
• Acoustic practice percussion instrument and practice kit
Patent number: 7429698
Abstract: An acoustic percussion instrument and percussion set containing the instrument. The instrument includes a hollow cylindrical shell having a first end and a second end and an inside cylindrical surface. A first substantially rigid plate having an outside surface and an inside surface is attached adjacent to the first end of the hollow cylindrical shell. A first resilient pad, that provides a percussion surface that does not require periodic adjustment, is attached adjacent to the outside surface of the first substantially rigid plate. A raised rim circumscribes the first resilient pad.
Type: Grant
Filed: February 19, 2007
Date of Patent: September 30, 2008
Assignee: Kieffa Drums, LLC
Inventor: Keith A. Pickens
And here is further explanation as to why Pickens felt there was a need for his invention:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY
The gum rubber playing surface is embedded into a cylinder, with a rubberized "rim" around the edge. The gum rubber doesn't appear to be as densely filled in as, say a similar surface on an older HQ-Real Feel tan pad. If you look very closely you'll see tiny air bubbles all over the playing surface.
The underside of pad shows a metal panel with lots of small holes, similar to a speaker.
