SKIN TIGHT BOY HOWDY’S GUIDE TO DRUMS

SKIN TIGHT BOY HOWDY'S GUIDE TO DRUMS

BOY HOWDY'S GUIDE TO DRUMS

by Dave Patrick

The following is CREEM's comprehensive look into the world of drums. We'll be looking at the top drummers in rock 'n' roll, what they play and how they feel about it. We'll also be looking at the folks who make those laminated, chromed, Wood, fiberglased, stomped-on shells and what they make. Finally, we've put the whole thing together with stage set ups and cymbals in this guide to just what all that noise is really about.

EARTH, WIND AND FIRE

The Earth, Wind and Fire stage show is the slickest production you'll ever see, and that's saying a lot considering you've got nine guys in the band and so much equipment that the stage has an extension where the first 15 rows of seats go. There are pyramids, giant gongs with Tutlike attendants, suspended animation tubes, two complete drum sets, two percussion rigs out front, a keyboard arsenal, and all of the usual guitar and bass equipment, too.

(Dave Patrick runs the Drum Shop at Strings 'n' Things in Memphis. He's been around the equipment so long that people have a hard time telling which is which. Fortunately, we snared him long enough to come up with our guide to drums).—Ed.)

The show opens with two types in Egyptian outfits cranking two big Paiste gongs up, as nine clear tubes about 40 feet above the stage light up and descend slowly to the stage. The lights dim momentarily and when they come back up, there in the tubes, with heads bowed and arms crossed, as if in suspended animation, is Earth, Wind and Fire. The tubes rise, the band members come twirling out in an intricate dance, complete with metallic red peacocked robes, and you're in for two and a half hours of the hottest, most energetic music there is. It's obvious from their records that the band can play, but you haven't heard a band sing until you have heard Earth, Wind and Fire. The lead vocals and good vibrations of Maurice White, the impossibly high leads and harmonies of Phillip Bailey, and the tight harmonies of the rest of the band, make you bet that even the roadies could sing! Also, seven out of nine members of Earth, Wind and Fire are drummers, so when they go into their percussion things onstage, they cook!

The day after the show, as we shot the bull, I got a few personal glimpses of Ralph and Freddie. Freddie's current drum set-up on stage is a set of Tama's with a 24" bass, 12,13,14,16, 18 Toms, a Ludwig W.F.L. model snare, a 6" and 8" North Tom on Ludwig stand and Paiste cymbals.

Ralph Johnson, who dominates the right hand side of the stage, is a double bass player, and when we talked had just seen John Bonham of Led Zeppelin at the Forum. He was bubbling about what a powerhouse Bonzo was, and couldn't get over his live drum sound. Freddie's drum set on stage this tour was also Tama and consisted of two 22" Bass drums, with 12,13,14, 15 Toms on the basses and a 16" and 18" floor Tom. Ralph also used an old Ludwig W.F.L. snare drum and Paiste cymbals. Ralph said he used 22" because they were more "musical." The drum set Ralph bought from me was a customized set of Maple Gretsches with an 18" bass drum, a 12" mounted Tom, and 14" floor Tom with a Slingerland mount and Ludwig spurs. This is more a jazz combo set and we outfitted it with K. Zildjian Ride and Crash cymbals, Paiste Hi-Hats and a Pro-Mark Hi-Hat stand. Nowadays, this combining of different brands to come up with what you want is becoming more and more the way to go.

Maurice White, who got started himself as a drummer from Memphis, plays four Latin Percussion Timbales, a crash cymbal, and several cowbells, as well as fronting the band and sharing lead vocals with Phillip Bailey. • Phillip Bailey's on stage rig consists of a set of three Valjays congas, Valjays bongoes, and a set of Syndrum electronic drums.

All in all, although I've concentrated on the percussive angle of Earth, Wind and Fire, when you leave the show, you definitely feel as if you've shared something with the band and it's a most refreshing change, coming from a superfriendly bunch of folks.

Phil Ehart—KANSAS

I caught Phil Ehart at home the night before Kansas' first tour of Europe and he was kind enough to take some time off from packing to answer some questions about drums for me.

The Kansas band, as ft exists now, was formed in 1972 and drummer Phil Ehart is the member who actually founded the band. The multi-faceted music of Kansas demands a drummer who can play a variety of styles comfortably and who can use many different percussion sounds tastefully and effectively.

Phil got his start drumming in the second grade with a Slingerland snare drum, and when he got his first drum set in seventh grade, it was also av Slingerland. It was a four piece with no cymbals, but it helped him to get a start on navigating tfae 17 piece set of Slingerlands he plays on stage with Kansas (see photo...). Phil never formally took lessons—instead, he learned by listening to the radio and recalled some of his early influences as being the Dave Clark Five, the Animals, the Beatles, Wilson Pickett, and Booker T. and the M.G.s.

Phil's on stage includes Remo Rototoms, Syndrum electronic drums, a Chinese bell tree, two tympani, and chimes and glockenspiel, in addition to a stand and drum kit. He also combines Ziljian and Paiste cymbals with a Kashian gong to get the brass souhd he wants. When asked about mixing brands of cymbals, Phil said, "The Zildjians give me a nice warm tone, the Paiste have ‘bite' and cut through great, and the 32" Kashian is a mother of a gong!" Of great interest to me was Phil's comment on playing such a large set. He said, "The thing you have to be careful about when using the many drums, is to stay tasteful with the effects and not to overplay them. Syndrums, roto-toms, and swish cymbals can get real obnoxious if you use them too much, but they're great for adding new colors to songs and real nice for solos. Although \ I have all these special goodies on stage, I play the major part of our songs on the basic kit using the rest for effect. Also, a lot of purists say all the gimmicks, electronic drums, etc. are shit and not drums and they shouldn't be part of the set because they are crutches. Well, Carl Palmer uses gongs and flames, electronic drums and strobe lights, and nobody can tell me he can't play! Mart, what a cool drummer! Some of these older cats are just set in their ways, but this is 1978!

"People ask me about miking drums often, and the most important thing is to get a good sound flat. The finest P.A. system can't make the drums sound tight if the sound isn't there to start with. If the sound is good from the beginning, the sound man doesn't have to ‘doctor' your drum sound and you get the sound you bought the drums for."

As for advice to the younger drummers, Phil wished that he had to learn to read drum mu&ic and suggested any drurnmer who could stick with it to take lessons and play all styles of music any chance you get. It's nice to be able to sit down with a drum chart and be able to blow right through it! Phil covers in his clinics that a drummer needs to be thinking, that they're not doofusses, and need to think about what they can contribute to the sound instead of just being the stereotyped timekeeper.

When asked why he plays Slingerland, Phil replied, "Because of the number of drums in my set-up, I am constantly experimenting with hardware to get everything into a more comfortable laying position, and I do mix brands, but the SOUND I want comes from Slingerland drums."

Phil Ehart

KANSAS

1 — 14" x 26" Bass Drum Slingerland

1 — 10" x 14" Tom Slingerland

1 — 16" x 16" Floor Tom Slingerland

1 — 16" x 18" Floor Tom Slingerland

1 — 8" Concert tom Slingerland

'1 — 10" Concert Tom Slingerland

1 — 12" Concert Tom Slingerland

1 — Roto Tom set-up w/ 6, 8, 10" Rotos

1 — 26" Sling Tympani

1 — 29" Sling Tympani

1 — Chinese Bell Tree

1 — Set of Slingerland Chimes

1 — Slingerland Glockenspiel

1 — 32" Kashian Gong

1 — Set (4) Syndrum Electronic Drums

1 — 24" Zildjian Medium Ride Cymbal

1 — 22" Zildjian Swish with Rivets

1 — 22" Zildjian Pang with Rivets

1 — 18" Zildjian Medium Crash Cymbal

1 — 22" Paiste China Type Cymbal (mounted upside down)

1 — 18" Paiste thin Crash Cymbal

1 — pair of 15" Paiste Sound Edge Hi-Hats

Phil also uses Remo C.S. Heads and , Slingerland 3A Phil Ehart model sticks.

Jerome Bailey—

PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC

Jerome Baiiey, drummer for ParliamentFunkadelic, has five sets of drums—and they're/ all Ludwig! We were sitting backstage before a Parliament-Funkadelic show shooting the breeze and I told him I had noticed that his current stage set-up was two different colors. He said, "Man, I got a set of drums in Virginia, another one out in the truck, and two I'm not sure where they are!"

Jerome Bailey

PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC

Jerome's Ludwig fetish is already obvious and on this band we did a manbehind-the-scenes approach with drum roadie, Tim Ryan. Tim said, "The Ludwig kit is the easiest to service on the road, you can get parts anywhere, and they've been pretty durable, considering what they go through. Besides that, they sound good! We use Avedis Zildjian cymbals for the same reason, they're more durable, sound good, and we use the brilliant finish ones, so they're pretty, too!"

Jerome's favorite stage set-up is a Ludwig Black Vistalite Power Factory set-up with 26" base drum, boom cymbal stands, and an extra 16" x 16", and 16" x 18" floor tom. His Avedis Zildjian Brilliants cymbals include:

15" Hi Hat (new beat)

22" Ride — Heavy

18" Crash — Medium

16" Crash — Medium

10" Splash — Thin

Jerome also uses one set of four Syndrum Electronic Drums and plans on adding extra goodies like a set of Octa-Bans, maybe a gong, and well...who knows with the Parliament-Funkadelics!

Carl Palmer

ELP

In addition to his custom drum stuff, Carl also uses:

1 — Premier #2000 Snare Drum

1 — Premier Bass Drum Pedal

1 — Rogers Memri-loc Supreme Hi^Hat Stand

1 — Set of Premier Chimes

1 — Set of Premier Vibes

2 — Premier Tympani

1 — 22" Zildjian Ride Cymbal (very green and funky)

1 — pair 13" Paiste Sound Edge Hi-Hats

1 — 24" Paiste China Type Cymbal

1 — 22" Paiste Medium Cymbal

1 — 24" Paiste Medium Cymbal

1 — Set Paiste Children's Cymbals (4", 6", 8")

1 — 17" Paiste Cymbal

1 — 38" Paiste Symphony Gong

1 — 50" Paiste Symphony Gong complete with hand-painted dragons on the back!

1 — Set Chinese Temple Blocks

Jerome started his musical career playing trombone in school, but changed to drums when he got his first set of Ludwigs at age 15. Jerome never took drum lessons when getting started, but cites Lenny White, David Garabaldi, Billy Cobham and Harvey Mason as some current favorites, and he,has plans to study with some of these guys when he comes off the current Parliament-Funkadelic tour.

Jerome1 joined Parliament-Funkadelic in the first part of 1975 after paying dues in lots of different places including sessions for the Five Stairsteps and several years with the Chambers Brothers. He spoke about Parliament-Funkadelic's wilder days when he did gigs in just a jock strap, and we were left wondering what they do for an encore.

Carl Palmer—

EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER

Carl Palmer's stainless steel arsenal, with an estimated worth of $60,000.00, is the epitome of a drum set custom built to the owner's fancy. This outfit incorporates a revolving drum riser, a computerized light show, and modular welded chrome moly stands in addition to the usual drum set. But, the drums themselves are far from the usual because they were designed from the ground up by Carl Palmer himself. The set consists of eleven drums with the 28"x28" bass drum being the only unusual size, and all of the toms are single headed concert toms. The shells were built of stainless steel by a British steel company and are etched with small forest creatures such as squirrels, chick a dees, etc., with each lug being mounted on a gun metal rosette. The drums are all welded to the riser through an intricate series of crooks and bends with each tom on a ball bearing swivel, and the cymbal stands and microphone stands are included in this modular unit. Carl is so confident of his style that his cymbal stands don't have adjustable tilters—they're just permanently bent into position!

SKIN FACTORIES

LUDWIG 78

Ludwig has answered a deluge of demands for wood finish drums by coming out with a maple wood lacquered set for 78. For you Ludwig followers who will say they used to make maple drums, they did indeed make finish drums but they were never like this! The NEW maple Ludwigs are a 6-ply die-mold shell with no reinforcing hoops and this is a first in Ludwig outfit construction. This 6-ply construction is also available in their Chrom-o-wood drums and the new rock snare drum, which is a wood shell, maple finished. At press time, rumor had it that all of Ludwig's wood drums may soon be made this way. The Rock Snare drum features the classic snare throw-off, wood shell, and combination gut and wire snares in the continuing pursuit of the ultimate fat and crisp snare sound.

As drummers become more and more ferocious, the hardware continues to get more and more heavy duty. Ludwig has updated all of their Atlas stands with massive rubber feet with treads to keep everything stable on stage. They also manufacture the most popular boom cymbal stand, as I have seen almost every major act that comes through Memphis using them, no matter what brand drums they have. There is a new, more substantial Hi-Hat in the works, and now the Ludwig pedal line offers the world famous Speed King, the Ghost Pedal and a French import, the Asba Caroline.

For the ‘drummer who has everything, there's now Tivoli by Ludwig. Tivoli is a striped Vistalite set with tiny lights imbedded in the shells all the way around the set, so be sure the guitar players leave you an extra plug-in! They come only in a five-piece configuration and only in stripes 'cause the lights go between the seams.

Ludwig's new extra long tom tom option is called Aerial Toms, and when used in conjunction with the new Sound Projectors, make the fattest drums Bill Ludwig III has ever had. The Sound Projectors are semi-elliptical bowls that attach to the bottom of concert toms with Velcro strips and besides directing the sound to the audience, they also lower the pitch about V2 a step! Ludwig has also introduced, for the first time ever, different drum heads designed for the specific type of music a person plays, and the specific requirements of these types of music. Rockers drum heads are for rock drummers, Groovers are for jazz drummers, Ensembles are for concert drummers and Striders are for marching drummers. The difference in the heads has to do with weight, size, coatings, etc. The new Ludwig catalog is available with all the new goodies...by writing Ludwig.

Barriemore Barlowe

JETHRO TULL

1 — 22" x 14" Ludwig Bass Drum

1 — 24" x 14" Ludwig Bass Drum

1 — 8" x 12" Ludwig Tom

1 — 9" x 13" Ludwig Tom

1 — 10" x 14" Ludwig Tom

1 — 14" x 14" Ludwig Floor Tom

1 — 16" x 18" Ludwig Floor Tom

1 — 6V*" x 14" Supra-Phonic Snare Drum

Barriemore has this identical setup in four different colors — Blue Vistalite, Silver Sparkle, Black Panther, and White Cortex! His cymbal set-up includes:

1 — pair 15" Paiste Sound Edge Hi-Hats

1 — 16" Paiste Crash #2002

1 — 20" Paiste Heavy #602

1 —18" Paiste Crash #2002

1 — 11" Paiste Splash #2002

1 — 8" Paiste Splash #602 (Prototype)

1 — 16" Paiste Thin #602

1 — 18" Paiste Medium #2002

(The handlebars, headlight, and rearview mirror are optional.)

SONAR-PHONIC 78

What if you could have a drum set Custombuilt with 9-ply beechwood shells with staggered seams, first quality German steel throughout, forged steel bass drum pedals, locks on all of the lugs and, to top things off, could have it finished in genuine Brazilian Rosewood veneer?! Well, if you've got the cash, Sonor's got the drums! Sonor drums may not be for the weekend warrior, drummers out there because quality comes before price. Tommy Aldridge, a sevenyear veteran of Black Oak Arkansas who is now with the Pat Travers Band, is the hardest hitting drummer 1 know, and he won't play anything but Sonor! But, so that you don't limit them to slugger use only, Jack De Johnnette, who tunes i his drums like piano keys, is also a Sonor player. Both of these guys have done clinics at "The Drum Stand" and although they play two different ends of the drum spectrum, they've both played Sonor for years.

Besides using first class materials throughout, Sonor uses several construction, methods not found in any other drum line. The heads on Sonor drums are suspended like Tympani heads on the shells so the rims don't "crimp" the drum shell. This floating drum head leaves everything free to resonate and makes for better tone, more volume, and more accurate tuning. Also, any clamping device, such as on floor tom legs, has a prism shape clamping device that WILL NOT SLIP when properly tightened. All stands have both spike tips and screw on rubber tips to accommodate any playing surface you may run into. To get an idea how heavy duty Sonor equipment is, do the weight test on 'em! We did, and a 24" Bass with 14" and 15" tom weighed 153 pounds.

Sonor drums are made in Germany and have not always been easy to obtain in the U.S., but since Charles Alden Music took over distribution several years ago, service has been excellent. The Sonor-Phonic drum line has certainly turned some heads, and your hip drum dealers should have 'em!

SLINGERLAND

Slingerland for 78 is still the most flexible drum company happening and will go that extra mile to be sure you're happy with their drums. Slingerland will do lacquer finishes, make special sizes, and will also make your drums in 3 or 5 ply shells. With their new hardware now available, this should be a banner year for them!

The complaints I've heard most on Slingerland were about their stands and that should all be over now. The new tubular leg stands are good looking, strong, and priced real competitively. The cymbal stands have got a gigantic, very sturdy new tilter and should sell like hotcakes. The new bass drum pedal is called "The Yellow Jacket" and is a combination of several things Slingerland has done in the past. Looks like a good pedal, especially for the price. The tubular leg hi-hat is basically identical to the Dynamo, except for the tubular legs. Why mess up a good thing?

Slingerland offers some drum sizes that no one else does, with the most interesting of these being the double headed hi-pitch concert toms. Drummers have been asking for these for a while now, and it's good to see someone respond! Bravo, Slingerland!

GRETSCH DRUMS

The most beautiful lacquer drum finishes available are offered by Gretsch Drum Company. Gretsch is the only drum company to offer a 5-coat handrubbed lacquer finish on REAL WOOD drums and they come in walnut, maple, cherry rosewood, blue spruce and ebony. All of the Gretsch drums are 6-ply maple shells which are stained to the different finishes, then lacquered. Gretsch does not make drums in a hurry and it's obvious when you see them. (The lacquer finish itself takes four days!) Each drum has tone controls top and bottom, and all of the drum hoops are die-cast. Gretsch has been known to the jazz world for years for "That Great Gretsch Sound" and they are now making headway into the rock scene, at an incredible rate. 1 built two Gretsch drum custom sets for Earth, Wind and Fire, and funk-master Steve Ferrone of The Average White Band play Gretsch drums exclusively.

Gretsch stands and holders have been extremely dated until lately, but the addition of the Gretsch Giant hardware line has helped round this drum line out to give it a more universal appeal. Until the Giant hardware, Gretsch drums just couldn't take the "Gorilla" treatment some of us Neanderthal rockers put 'em through. Because this hardware was so long in coming, you'll see more Gretsch sets around with someone else's holders, etc., than any other drum line. "The Drum Stand" has done many a custom set with Gretsch drums and Ludwig, Slingerland, Sonor or Pearl holders and stands. (The sets we did for Earth, Wind and Fire had Sonor tom holders.)

Gretsch is an old fashioned drum company that doesn't move as fast as so/ne more modern percussion facilities, and this is both an advantage and a disadvantage to we drummers. You cannot order a set of Gretsch drums and get them overnight; but when you do get them, the quality control and attention to detail is fantastic.

NORTH DRUMS

North Drums, a radical departure from contemporary drum construction, have a sound and look that is totally unique. North's are especially designed for the drummer who wants lots of bottom and clear projection. The shape of the shell gives a unique tone and puts the sound out to the audience instead of intq the carpet. The shells are %" fiberglass and all hardware and excellent quality steel. See North drums on stage with Return To Forever, Yes, Glen Campbell, Waylon Jennings, Brick, Earth, Wind and Fire and Jackson Browne.

PEARL

The most exciting news from the Pearl camp this year is the introduction of their Vari-Pitch Roto-Toms cannons. The major complaint with roto-toms has always been than, because they had no shells, they didn't project as well as conventional drums. Well, Pearl has taken care of that once and for all! The Vari-Pitch Cannons are Roto-Toms with 10" deep phenolic shells around them and they register on an oscillascope as 5 to 8 times louder than shell-less rototoms! Remember, you heard it here first! To top that, Pearl is offering Vari-Pitch snare drums, that is, a snare drum with a roto-tom assembly for the top head. In my opinion, this is a daring step for Pearl, and should offer some interesting possibilities.

Pearl's locking tom holder assemblies, the Vari-Set system, was introduced at the 1977 Namrrj show and we have covered it in this column, just a reminder that it is a very functional and attractive holder and we're anxious to see Vari-set incorporate into their cymbal stands and boom stands. The Vari-Set minibooms are nice for getting that extra cymbal into that position that a floor stand just won't reach, and they work out nice on small toms as well. With these minibooms, you can get a lot of drums in a small space, which is important on some of the tiny stages encountered when you are "paying dues" on the way to stardom!

Pearl's most popular drum shell is the fiberglas version, and the reason for its popularity is that, because it is rion-porous, it projects and gives a big, fat thump. If you don't believe me, just ask Peter Criss!

ROGERS DRUMS

Rogers drums with Memri-loc ® hardware have become a trend setter in the industry, with more than one drum company quickly copying their locking hardware. Rogers went through a period of declining interest in their drum line for a while and spent BIG BUCKS to tool up for the Memri-loc hardware innovations and all of the little trick goodies that come with the line like external mufflers. Memri-loc® makes it possible for a drummer to play exactly the same instrument, day after day.

John Henry Bonham

LED ZEPPELIN

Ludwig Stainless Steel

1 — 14" x 26" Bass Drum

1 — 12" x 15" Mounted Tom although he also has 8" x 12", 9" x 13" and 10" x 14")

1 — 16" x 16" Floor Tom

1 — 16" x 18" Floor Tom

1 —61/2 x 14" Supra-phonic Snare Drum

.1 — Ludwig Dresden Tympani

Bonham also has this set-up in Amber Vistalite, and Rainbow Vistalite in black and white stripes!! His cymbal set-up includes:

1 — 24" Paiste Ride Cymbal

1 — 16" Paiste Medium Crash

1 — 18" Paiste Ride (that roaring crash on the records!)

1 — pair 15" Paiste Sound Edge Hi-Hats

1 — 38" Paiste Symphony Gong

All drum sets are, in reality, a collection of individual drums and cymbals, arranged in such a way that the drummer can use both feet as well as both hands. The problem occurs in arranging or setting up a drum set. It is virtually impossible to recreate precisely the same set-up from one performance to the next, but Memri-loc has changed all that.

Once the drummer sets the clamp securely in place on the tube (with ,a drum key), it retains the exact angle and position for every set up, time after time.

The clamp then fits into a receiver and a wing screw provides the exclusive double locking action. This clamp and receiver double locking principle is used on all Rogers holders and stands. —

Areas where extra holding power is needed feature a textured (sand blasted) satin chrome finish to provide the clamps with a non-slip surface. All other tubing is triple chrome plated with a high lustre finish.

Studio workaholic Harvey Mason uses all Rogers equipment, and helped design some of the trick thingies on the Memri-loc® stuff. His equipment has to be versatile because he's worked with everyone from Herbie Hancock to George Benson, and studio time for these cats is extremely expensive, so your equipment must be right the first time.

Rogers has the best drum clinic play happening anywhere that features Roy Burns, Harvey Mason and Jim Ganduglia, and these guys talk a good clinic. Roy Burns will get as detailed as you want, and ended up showing us how to tune drum sticks when he was in Memphis. These clinics are available to any Rogers dealer who's selling a few sets, and are a treasure chest of information. So get out there and shake a few trees and learn!

SYNDRUMS

Although they're electronic drums, th6 Syndrums have to be the most exciting thing to have happened to drums this year! These are the drums you've heard on everything from Linda Ronstadt to the Doobie Brothers and Jackson Browne. (Also, check out Phil Ehart's comments elsewhere in this issue!) Syndrums will give you fat tom sounds in even the smallest rooms because the sound is produced electronicly, and the sound possibilities go from wood blocks and tubular bells to R2D2 from Star Wars! Once you get the sound you want, you can take the sweep pedal and bend the pitch like a tymponi or get a wah-wah effect. My award for percussion innovation of the year goes to Pollard Industries for Syndrum.

OLYMPIC

Olympic drums are Ampeg's answer to the demand for a good drum set at a reasonable price, and they fill that gap pretty well. Olympic drums are made in England by Premier Drum Co. and are sold by Premier overseas as their economical drum line. They are offered in four and five piece configurations only and come with what I consider to be medium weight stands and pedal. You can also get an Olympic set in any color you want as long as it's Jet Black or Solid White. The drums have the same double tom holder assembly used On Premiers most expensive drum sets and the floor tom legs and brackets likewise. The drum shells are exceptional for a set priced $3000 under the the nearest name brand. The shells are high quality wood with reinforcing hoops and the quality control is excellent throughout. Both chroming and exterior drum finish were flawless on the sets I examined and I played a five piece set with an ass-kicking bassdrum. Thanks to Ampeg for fine drums in the under-$1000 price range.

FIBES

Fibes Drums, a division of C.F. Martin Organization, produces fiberglas shell drums only and offers an unlimited warranty on their drum shells. Some of the benefits of fiberglas drum construction include: the strength-toweight factor inherent to fiberglas; the fact that it is less susceptible to warpage due to atmospheric conditions; and since fiberglas is not porous, the volume and projection is excellent. The Fibes snare drum is one of the crispest in the business and is a fiberglas shell with chrome laminate over it. The Fibes hardware line appears quite functional and offers such goodies as Sta-Way drum bumpers and a bass pedal with a chain in place of the usual leather strap!

Fibes drums come in a nice marble-ized agate finish, as well as solid white, butcher block, jet black, buckskin, and chrome steel. For more info on Fibes, contact the C.F. Martin Organization or Targ and Dinner Dist.

TAMA

Tama drums seem to have come out of nowhere in the last couple of years and seem to be doing quite well in such a short period of time. Tama's strongest area has been their hardware and you'll .see quite of lot of their cymbal stands and boom stands on other people's sets. They supply three different lines of hardware: the Mercury, Titan, and thir newest, the Spartan line. The Mercury hardware is the lightweight, economical little brother of the Titan super-duty hardware, the stuff that caused quite a stir when it hit the scene. The Spartan hardware features die-cast alloy legs with a reversible tip on each leg that has a rubber side for carpet surfaces and a spike tip for preventing slipping and sliding on gym floors. Billy Cobham, who plays all Tama equipment now, uses the Titan hardware while touring and he's no timid pop-rocker as we know.

Tama offers two lines of drums, the Imperial Star and the Super Star with the main difference being the Super Star drums being the Super Star drums come in a real wood finish and the Imperial Star drums don't. The Super Star drums also feature Super Sound shells which are fourply rock maple. A Tama exclusive is the fact that their bass drums are 15 inches deep where the usual depth from other drum companies is 14 inches deep.

If you have been seeing a wild looking set of clear tube drums that look like an upside down pipe organ, you have been hipped to Tama Octabans. Octabans are a set of eight tuned length toms with six-inch heads that produce a diantonic octave when tuned up and produce a completely unique sound not available anywhere else.

Tama snare drums come in wood, metal, or fiberglass shells with die-cast hoops top and bottom and your choice of three different snare strainers. You can get the snares in either fiveinch or 6J4 inch depth. This is a well-rounded drum line that is gaining in popularity quickly and offers some innovative ideas to keep the industry thinking. BILLY COBHAM SAYS THEY'RE THE BEST THERE IS!

PREMIER

Premier Drums, which are manufactured in England, have been used by many successful English rock groups, including the Faces, Genesis and the Who. Keith Moon, lunatic drummer for the Who, not only bashes his gigantic Premier set unmercifully, he's been known to blow them up, jump on them, throw them out of hotel windows, and bounce them off the stage. Keith uses Premier exclusively and has played them from the Who's very beginning.

Premier shells are made of beechwood, usually three-ply with reinforcing groups of mahogany. But they also offer a unique special shell design called The Resonator. Resonator shells are double drum shells with an air pocket between the layers to obtain more resonance and projeciton. The Resonators only come in these sizes: 24 `and 22 inch base, 9 x 13, 10 x 14, and 16 x 16 tom toms. Premier also offers a Resonator~ snare drum which comes in 51/2 x 14 inches only.

Premier has always had excellent quality hardware, with sometimes~ unusual design, and their chroming is suberb throughout the drum line. All of their lokfast hardware is designed so the major portion of the weight is at the bottom of the stands, and this lower center of gravity gives greater stability, especially for the cymbals. The lokfast double torn tom holder is one of the simplest and most functional torn tom holders I have ever used, and use plenty of metal in the right places. The Premier PD252 bass pedal is the hippest pedal in England and is what Carl Palmer uses in his custom set.

Premier has never enjoyed the success it could have in the USA because they were too hard to get serviced. However, since the Selmer organization took over the USA distribution and the problems have been resolved, the Premier line in the USA has been growing by leaps and bounds. They also have a network of Premier service centers for any problems that may arise. They even come with a five year guarantee -

YAMAHA

O.K. drummers, you heard it here first: Yamaha has a new drum line, and it's a killer. They're called the YD-9000 series by Yamaha and they feature the standards of quality you've come to expect from the Yamaha name. The first Yamaha I saw was a double bass set of chrome and was on stage with Cozy Powell of Richie Blackmore's Rainbow. And they were nice. Hardwood shells with no reinforcing hoops, hardware parts which are interchange able to make lots of trick goodies, wooden and metal snare drums which come in three sizes and floor toms with tiffany pedals. It'll make Yamaha a very modern designed drum line. Cozy said, "They sound good. They're the loudest drums I've ever played and I can't break them."

To be fair, I admit the only Yamaha drum set I saw up close was Cozy's and I didn't dare sit down and play in front of him. If this drum supplement stirs up half the interest we believe it will, we will probably follow it up with the Yamaha road test. I examined Cozy's set thoroughly and there are some very innovative ideas. The hardware and the snare drums look and sound killer. I do know that Yamahas come in white, black, chrome and wood finishes only, but they do come with two different series of hardware: the YD-7000 and YD-9000 series. The shells are identical on both series, with the 9000 hardware series being about double the size and weight of the 7000 series hardware. The quality control, Cozy said, was beautiful to ship and the roadies had nothing but praise for the drums. Yamaha `could be the drum line to watch for in 1978.

CYMBAL SHOPPING

Many drummers would swear the most important part of a drum set is the cymbal set up and I wouldn't be the first to argue. Because of the manufacturing methods and the cham elon qualities of the type of metals used, no two cymbals sound exactly alike, which make veritable rainbows of color available. The largest protion of most quality cymbals is brass, but from there, the variation of alloys used by' different manufacturers is great. Avedis Zildjian, for example, uses a "secret" formula that con tains brass, silver, tin and a rumored "11 dif ferent herbs and spices," while Paiste, the other best known cymbal manufacturer, has two dif ferent formulas, known by Formula 602 and Formula 2002, for their trap set cymbals.

Both Zildjian and Paiste offer many different shapes and textures of cymbals to provide a gigantic selection of colors and flavors for the widely varied styles of drumming in the music world today. Since Zildjian and Paiste are the two most popular cymbal lines and offer the greatest selection of sounds, these are the ones we are most concerned with right now. There are many other cymbal manufacturers with some excellent products which we may cover in future issues, including K. Zildjian, Ajaha, Ufip's Kashians and Camber. The object this month is to touch on which cymbals make which sounds.

Hi-Hat Cymbals: Hi-Hat cymbals are the two cymbals, usually the same size, placed on a hihat stand that can be played by moving the hihat pedal up and down, by striking with a stick, or by innumberable combinations of both.

AVEDLS ZJLDJJAN

New Beats: The most popular pair of hi-hat cymbals from Avedis Zildjian are called New Beat Hi-Hats and are a combination of the best of both worlds. New Beat Hi-Hats have a heavy bottom cymbal which offers the best "chic" sound when using only the foot pedal, and a medium top cymbal, which gives better stick response-and faster pedal response because it's lighter. Truly the best of both worlds-and they're factory matched!

Regular: For years both hi-hat cymbals were the same weight, usually mediums, and these are still offered by Avedis Zildjian for those people who want that particular sound. They are not nearly so popular since the advent of New Beats.

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Rock: The Rock Hi-Hats offered by Zildjian combine two heavy weight cymbals and are great for the heavy metal bashers who break cymbals often because they're more durable and also cut through amplification better so you don't have to play so loud!

Flange: Flange Hi-Hats are an unusual pairing of a specially tapered medium-heavy top cymbal and a heavy bottom cymbal which has a 2" flanged outer edge. This is the pair of hi-hat cymbals most similar to Paiste's Sound Edge HiHats.

PAISTE

Sound Edge: Paiste Sound Edge Hi-Hats are made with the Formula 2002 and their most unique feature is the ripple edge bottom cymbal, a patented design to eliminate air lock. They cut through amplification very well and are extremely loud cymbals.

Heavy Hi-Hats: Paiste Heavy Hi-Hats are thicker and heavier than Sound Edge and, as the Zildjian Rock weights, are best suited for the heavy player because they are both louder and more durable.

Ride Cymbals: Ride cymbals are the cymbals made specifically for carrying a substantial beat and nowadays, just like crash and hi-hat cymbals, the demand for different types of music necessitate several drastic design changes to suit everyone.

ZILDJIAN

Medium Ride: Medium Ride cymbals are medium weight over the entire cymbal body, and are versatile for practically all applications. Not recommended for a high volume rock gig.

Ping Ride: Ping Ride cymbals are heavier than medium rides, usually medium heavy to heavy, and the stick tip sound is more precise on these cymbals. The wide-spread overtone of lighter cymbals is minimized, and usually the louder you're playing, the heavier ride cymbal you want. My own dream cymbal is a 22" Heavy Ping Ride with a body that's Mr. Clean and a bell that sounds like an anvil.

Mini-Cup Ride: The Mini-Cup Ride, as the name suggests, has a smaller than average cup or bell, and has a high pitched stick sound like a flattop cymbal, but with a usable bell.

Flat-Top Ride: The Flat-Top Ride cymbals were designed with one result in mind, a highpitched, distinct stick ping with no concessions made. They are completely flat with no bell, and are not for everybody. If you've been unable to get a clean enough stick sound on your ride cymbal, check out a flat-top, especially for a country, studio, or small trio gig where a noisy cymbal just won't do.

Rock Ride: The Rock Ride cymbals are heavier in weight than most Ride cymbals, with a deeper, special profile bell, and were designed for the hard rock bashers. You can play these cymbals extremely loud without the noisy buildup of lighter weight cymbals.

Swish: This is a Zildjian "trash can top" sounding cymbal and is the one most often used by drummers. They have a tuned edge to get that "chunka-chunka" sound and are most often used with about six rivets in 'em. » \

PAISTE

Dark Ride: The Paiste Dark Ride comes in 22" size, and combines a special alloy and hammering pattern to make a cymbal that pings clearly and still has a low, dark sound. Reminds some folks of an old K. Zildjian Ride.

20" Heavy: This cymbal combines the hammering pattern of the Dark Ride with the 2002 alloy formula to get the same effect as the 22" Dark ride.

Flat-Top: Flat tops have no bell whatsoever and do wonders for getting a crystal clear stick sound with no noise. Not a real versatile cymbal, and a real luxury for most drummers.

China Type: These cymbals have a turned up edge and squared off bell for that funky "trashcan lid" effect you hear on so many hits these days. These can be used as ride, crash, or special effects cymbals, but be careful —they get obnoxious if not played tastefully.

CRASH CYMBALS—ZILDJIAN

Medium Crash: This is the most common crash cymbal weight and is probably the most versatile crash you can buy. Neither super fast or loud, the medium crash is nice to have a second crash to play with.

Thin Crash: Thin Crash cymbals are made to hit quick, explode, and be gone and have to be slightly thinner than a medium crash to do it right. Because it's thinner, a thin crash shouldn't be used as your only crash cymbal especially on a rock gig.

F^ock Crash: These Crashes are fairly heavy and usually have larger bells than most crashes. Because they are heavier, they are louder and more durable, so they are the most popular weight with rock drummers.

CRASH CYMBALS-PAISTE

Medium Cymbals: The roaring crash of the Paiste line is good, for rock things 'cause it projects well and the medium is more durable than the regular crashes.

Crash cymbals: The crash weight Paiste is the quick decay, fast cymbal of the line, with minimal sustain.