2018 - Update

So much for regular blogging...……..!
Alongside my other interests I've really had no time to maintain this blog. Anyway, this year has been great teaching various ages of students and also recording some really cool stuff. I've been introduced to some new bands (and some old!) and chatted with drummers from all over the world, exchanging tips etc. I'm hoping that next year will be even more productive!
Wishing everybody a very Merry Christmas and all the best for 2019!

Planet Rock - Who is the most important person in a rock band?

I was listening to Planet Rock today and Wyatt raised the question of 'who is the most important person in a rock band?'
The replies that came in were mostly of the opinion that the drummer is the most important!
This was based on the reasons that you can have a rock band without a singer or a band without a bass player, or even without a guitarist, but a rock band without a drummer simply does not work.
I couldn't agree more!
However, if we're that important why always shove us at the back of the stage......!
I wish Wyatt the best of luck with his ride to Rockstock!

Back in the studio...

Studio session booked for next week. Real kit. Can't wait....!

E - Snare drum project

My E snare project really began with a view to simply expanding my Roland kit by way of an additional cymbal.
I looked at the cost of additional cymbals and decided that I could probably make one cheaper. So, as I always used to practise on a rubber pad on my acoustic cymbal I decided to see if I could modify this. I purchased a 27mm piezo and a stereo cable from Amazon for the total cost of around £3.90. I then soldered the piezo to the stereo cable (simple job) and stuck the piezo to the back of the rubber pad. I set up my acoustic ride cymbal in the correct position, placed the rubber pad on top, plugged in the jack and…….. it worked!
The rubber pad mutes the noise from the cymbal and, for me anyway, it’s nice to have that element of ‘real kit’ amongst all the pads and plastic cymbals.
The low cost of this addition and relative ease of making it got me looking at other mods online.

So, I decided I needed another ‘drum’ to hit and planned to build a splitter cable and go all the way by converting my acoustic snare drum to an ‘E-Snare’. The idea being that I could split ‘head’ and ‘rim’ on my dual trigger snare and assign any sound to it (another tom was the plan).I found a ‘how to’ guide online with instructions how to wire up a splitter. I ordered a male stereo to two female stereo splitter cable. I wanted it to look neat and managed to solder the much needed resistor (yes, it really does need this) into the jack end without it looking a mess.

It’s probably here that I should point out that they accept no responsibility for any damage to your module (or any other part of your kit) if you try this.

Next came researching how to convert my acoustic snare to an E-snare. This was quite an eye opener and I learnt a lot about how triggers work and various methods of mounting them. I decided to go for a relatively simple technique of bridging between two opposite lugs and mounting my piezo centrally. I do have previous engineering experience so making up a couple of brackets and necessary parts wasn’t too much of a task. I decided to use a thin wooden batten to span the gap. The tricky part is getting the piezo to sit at the correct height as it needs a ‘cone’ to trigger correctly. The most difficult part for me was sourcing the correct type of foam to make a cone. I eventually used a yoga block (Argos) which I cut down to around 40mm x 35mm. Then the fun part came. I taped the foam block onto a small sanding disc on the end of a drill and used coarse sand paper to shape it to a perfect cone. Note: the cone needs a 7mm flat top as this touches the head to trigger.

Also note: sanding this stuff creates a lot of dust – wear a mask!

Once I had my cone made I wired up my 27mm piezo (lead comes out of air hole in shell) and stuck the cone on. The top of the cone needs to protrude 2mm above the bearing edge. Easy to check using a straight edge across the drum.

I opted for a remo mesh head which was around £17. Plugged into the splitter and everything worked.

For a few days…..

Then ‘mis triggering’ started. To cut a very long story short my dual trigger snare no longer ‘dual triggers’. Whether this is due to using the splitter cable which has fried something on the pad or whether it’s age (6 years old), or whether it’s just coincidence, I’m not too sure.

What I do know is that there’s an ongoing debate about whether electronic kits will surpass acoustic kits. You either love them or hate them. I’m kind of torn at present as I think both have their place. With my Roland kit I can play anytime, teach more easily and record simply. My acoustic kit is noisy, big, looks fantastic and at least the sounds I’m making are from the actual sticks / brushes on the drums and cymbals and not some pre-recorded samples that I’m just triggering.

From my recent experiences I can safely say that I wouldn’t convert anymore drums. The mesh heads are good, very quiet, but very bouncy. I read beforehand that a lot of drummers were of this opinion but I think you need to try it for yourself. So, in conclusion, if anybody has read this far and wants my help I’m happy to email photos and measurements etc so you can try for yourself.

But in my opinion, don’t waste your time.

Who inspired me?

My 5 year old daughter (who is an up and coming drummer) recently asked me who, when growing up, my favourite drummers were? 'Easy' I replied, Eric Carr, Randy Castillo and Tommy Lee.
That got me spending a bit of time browsing the web remembering all those cool drum solos and rock videos. One in particular that inspired me back then was of Eric Carr on the Kiss 'Animalize' tour 1984 - 85. I remember borrowing a tape of the performance and rushing home from school to watch it! If you have a bit of time, check it out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UScz9fEWWU
Although these particular drummers played the same genre of music they had very different styles. I would watch drum solos with my late Father and although I think he secretly favoured Neil Peart he did say that no matter what Tommy Lee was playing he always looked like he was enjoying himself and was (still is) a very watchable drummer. Likewise, Randy Castillo who stepped into Motley Crue for a while put his thundering talent to many a band. So yes, basically it was an easy question to answer!
Out of interest I asked the same question back. The response I got was 'Sheila E, Meytal Cohen........ and you Daddy'.

Meytal Cohen

Visit her website here: http://www.meytalcohen.com

Impressive stuff!

Long overdue...!

I thought I'd better update this blog as it's been 8 months since I last posted anything.
I've got through 87 pairs of sticks, 14 heads and 3 pairs of drummers gloves........ Just kidding.
A lot has been going on during that time though including different side projects, working in London and meeting new musicians to collaborate with. LinkedIn has been cool as I've been chatting with other drummers and swapping ideas and techniques. One guy who knows his stuff is Owen Liversidge who has produced a couple of good tutorial books which are now available to buy.
With the school holidays rapidly approaching the demand for teaching increases which is always good fun.
Additionally, I'm looking forward to collaborating with a good singer/songwriter/bassist who I met at the start of the year (you know who you are!) but it's just coordinating schedules etc.
 And, as always, thanks to everybody for your endorsements and recommendations over the past few months!