Small Format Film Forum

Wow - talk about friendships here in these forums.

I was recently contacted by telephone by one of the members of the other forum. They had noticed I hadn't been posting for a long time. They wanted to know if I was okay or did something happen.

How kind is that.

I'll let everyone know that I am doing just fine. Just been really busy the past month with other things going on in my life.

I joined a band as a drummer, and we're busy with practice. We did a lot of practice leading up to our first gig, recently posted in this section. We had 9 songs planned, but because of the late bands before us, we ended up getting cut down to only 4 songs. We were supposed to play for 45 minutes that turned out to be 18. But still it was a lot of fun and I am ready to do this again.

I am also trying to stay fit with walking and biking. Plus we have had the usual family parties and reunions.

My interested for super 8 and dvd is still very much strong and that will never change. Just been really busy so there it sits in the cellar waiting for me. Perhaps the corn will be popped in the fall.....

Happy summer 2012 where it applies

Chip G

Good to hear that U R doing well, Chip!

Were you able to film any of the concert? We were hoping to see some of it, and, of course, Chip in action. You spoken much in the past of your love of the "skins" and I personally would love to see you in action!

Hi Osi

Unfortunately no video was shot that I could get my hands on. I had someone lined up to shoot for me, but they bailed last second stupid bastard.

My kit is modeled after Buddy Rich. Two floor toms (16x16 & 16x18) one rack tom (9x13) one snare and a bass drum (16x22) complete with the front initial shield.

My kit is a Pearl Forum series from 1998 basic 5pc kit - I have for the preference of tone left the 8x12 rack tom off the kit. The 9 x 13 replaces it, and I added a L-rod cymbal holder off the right side of the bass drum to make this look as an authentic 1950's bop jazz kit.

There's also a Mambo King cowbell, a clamp on tambourine for the hi-hat. And a KFC bucket to hold the "drumsticks." (rim shot)

Link to old video here: http://youtu.be/S3owZ6JcAns

The following images are now quite old. There have been some changes done since the pictures were shot. So as I sit here typing this, I realize another photo shoot is in order soon.

Pictures:

Lovely to see. I'm become partial to a nice thick deep snare hit in my rock songs, with some reverb on top of it. It's a style that Lynne used effectively in some of his music. The only problem is that he didn't utilize it in his live performace of ELO when he returned to the stage with the "ZOOM" tour.

He had a song on that album, "State of Mind" (if you folks haven't heard, look that up on the internet, as it's a great return to the old style ELO rock that Jeff LYnne and ELO were always famous for!), and yet, when it was performed live on the "ZOOM" tour DVD, they didn't add any simulation to the drums to give the drums that thick sound, and it really showed, as there was an emptiness in the song that took away a good deal of the imapct, which is sad, as all the other instruments were spot on as they were on the album.

ThanX 4 sharing Chip!

Hi Osi

Look close at that video on the snare see the plastic ring around the outer diameter on the head. This is a muffler ring what it does is take out the overtones commonly produced with low entry snare drums. The one I play is a Ludwig Rocker but is still low end.

Basically the muffler rings are designed for smaller rooms and night clubs. If you are on a big stage and field obviously you want the muffler rings off the drums.

A 5pc muffler ring pack retails for $18.00 give or take.

They just sit on the head. The idea here is easy on easy off and with no residue. It kills me to see drum sets in videos with masking or duct tape stuck to the heads to change the pitch.

Thanks for your comments. Much appreciated.



Chip G

Now I'm embarrassed ...

I used to have a lovely late 60's "Pearl" brand drum set .... and I had the duct tape on my snare!

... not to mention the ancient pillow in the, well, YOU know where!

I beat the living hell out of my set (I've always been "heavy handed", hee hee) but because of it's vintage, though in great dis-repair, I was able to get 200.00 for it from a friend!

July 16 Photo Shoot Drum rebuild project complete. As of today, here is my kit as it would appear on stage:

Comments appreciated

PERCUSSION:
3 RIDE CYMBALS SABIAN B8 PRO ROCK & MEDIUM + PAISTIE PST3 WITH RIVITS
2 CRASH CYMBALS 18" SABIAN B8 PRO ROCK & MEDIUM
14" ZILDJIAN NEW BEATS ON THE HI HAT
10" SABIAN B8 PRO SPLASH CYMBAL COMMONLY PLAYED ON THE 2ND SNARE FOR A TECHNO EFFECT
8" RADIANT SPLASH
8" MAMBO KING COWBELL

DRUMS:
1998 PEARL FORUM OUTFIT
8 X 12 RACK TOM
9 X 13 RACK TOM (REMOVED FROM KIT REPLACED BY L ROD CYMBAL HOLDER OFF BASS DRUM)
5.5 X 14 LUDWIG ROCKER SNARE DRUM AS MAIN SNARE
5.5 X 14 PEARL SNARE DRUM AS 2ND SNARE
16 X 16 PEARL FLOOR TOM
16 X 18 PULSE FLOOR TOM
16 X 22 BASS DRUM

THRONE:
STANDARD 29" BAR STOOL CUT DOWN TO 24" THIS ALSO SERVES AS A WOOD BLOCK. THE FRONT LEGS JUST BELOW MY THIGHS ARE PLAYED AS NEEDED. MAKING THIS IDEA TRULY ORIGINAL FORM OF DRUMMER'S EXPRESSION. SIMPLY CREATE A DIVERSION WITH THE PEDALS WHILE LOWERING OR RAISING THE HANDS. TYPICALLY I WILL DO THIS AS A (1)SNARE DRUM ROLL (2) FOOT DIVERSION (3) THRONE ROLL (4) FOOT DIVERSION (5) RESUME NORMAL PLAY. THIS IS A WELL HIDDEN GREAT EFFECT. OFTEN COMPARED TO A WOODPECKER ON A TREE. AUDIENCE DOESN'T REALLY KNOW WHERE IT CAME FROM BUT THEY KNOW THEY HEARD A POWERFUL STATEMENT.

HARDWARE:

LUDWIG BOOM CYMBAL STANDS
PEARL HI HAT STAND
PEARL SNARE STAND
LUDWIG SNARE STAND

PICTURES BELOW PLEASE CONTINUE TO SCROLL:

Now, there's an artist at work.

I have to admit, I'm not as careful about a "kit", and I really don't know the acoustic differences to the use of assorted cymbals ect., but if I ever do help in this kind of thing, I think I know who to call!

Osi

Thank you for your great comments. Much appreciated. It's one thing to do a lot of hard expensive work. And it's even better when recognized.

I was amazed by the amount that cymbals vary. And there's a simple way to try it at home and you don't make lots of racket in the process:

Assume you have two identical cymbals 100%. Size, brand, and class.

For me, this was Sabian 18" crash - 1 medium and one rock.

I placed them off stands directly on a table top side by side without about 12 inches in between them.

Then I struck the bells twice with a medium weight stick wood tip.

You will be amazed at the results if yhou try this following the above steps.

This teaches anybody who tries this what a difference they can make.

I happen to have two 18" Sabian B8 Pro crashes. And I tried the same test with these. And yes, there's an instant audible difference even though they are the exact same cymbal (medium)!

Cymbal selection all comes down to a matter of personal taste. Sabians tend to be on the ping side of percussion. Even the deeper tone cymbals (rock) can have significant ping. So if you are headed for jazz, you might like Sabian. They are from the other half of the Zildjian company and are affordable priced. I built my Sabian cymbal stock at an average price of $110.00 each.

The only cymbal I didn't seriously look into was the 8" splash which is Radiant brand @ 35.00 new. A splash is just a splash and in my testing at the music stores I didn't see fit to spend more money for a name of a cymbal (Zildjian @ $98.00) because they both produced the sound I wanted.

-cg-

I would assume the placing of the cymbals can make a drastic difference in overall sonic quality. Two contrasting cymbals, placed too close together, when hit at the same time or approximately the same time, will give an unwanted "blah" to the crash.

I'm sure that there are the "textbook" placing of the cymbals, but I'm sure that professionals differ in they're placement of cymbals, especially mindful of which ones are the most commonly used by the individual artist.

For instance, though I would not consider myself a professional "percussionist", I do like specific cymbals in my rock sound to back up a hard driving beat. When using keyboard cymbals, I'll actually use some cymbals to enhance the performace of other instruments. For instance, the light "tap" on a proper high end cymbal will wonderfully enhance the crispness of a keyboard 12 string guitar, and I have some truly elegant 12 strings on my keyboard, but it gives the "strummed" feeling, even more realism with that cymbal backing the 12 string.