Today I discovered a drummer I had never seen before and was mighty impressed by his incredible drumming ability. His name is Steve Smith.

Steve Smith became famous for being in the successful rock band called Journey, back in the 1980s. Journey had several successful albums including the immensely popular “Escape” and “Frontiers“, both which had their own Top 40 Hits. With his inventive timekeeping and massive tom-toms, there’s no doubt Steve Smith’s ability helped drive Journey to success.

Check out this awesome drum solo by Steve Smith.

If you’re not too familiar with Journey’s music ,check out this vid and it might spark your memory. Its a classic song, called Don’t Stop Believing.

Pretty cool huh?

Although Steve Smith is a little older now, he can still drum. In 2001, Modern Drummer magazine voted Steve Smith as one of the Top 25 Modern Drummers of All Time, along with making his place in the drumming hall of fame announced by Modern Drummer Magazine also

Steve Smith drum set up is:

• Sonor drums,
• Zildjian cymbals,
• Vic Firth “Steve Smith” Signature Sticks and Tala Wands,
• Remo Drum Heads,
• Shure Microphones,
• DW Bass Drum Pedals and
• Puresound Snare Wires.

Here he demonstrates his favorite Jon Bonham (Led Zeppelin) grooves. Its a really good video to watch if you’ve always wanted to know how play these beats. It taught me a few things already.

If this video helps you with your drumming, I would love to know about it. Just leave a comment below or rate the video on my YouTube channel.

Cheers!

Greg

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Today I had a look at the new Pearl Eliminator Demon Drive Double Bass Drum Pedal and let me tell you, I was impressed! It sure is a pretty little piece of equipment.

Pearl believes it is “THE FASTEST, SMOOTHEST, MOST VERSATILE PEDAL IN THE WORLD”.

The Pearl Eliminator Demon Drive features what is called “Duo-Deck”, which is the world’s first convertible footboard – meaning you can adjust the pedal to be shortboard or longboard based, depending on your personal preference. What an absolute genius idea!?!

But this isn’t the only awesome feature the Eliminator sports. It also has:

The Click Lock prevents the tension knob from loosening. Simply flip up for adjustment

The Aluminum Traction Dots are fully adjustable to vary the amount of slip or grip for your playin

Loosen and rotate to desired footboard height. Rotation is clearly indexed for optimal repeatable

The standard Control Core Felt and the optional wood beater feature anti-vibration elastomer core.

Check out the video below for the full run down of this incredible Drum Pedal by Pearl.

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Today I came across and interesting thread about why modern drummers are shrinking their drum set and cymbals.

It seems that there is a common trend these days to reduce the number of drums and cymbals on the drum set. This is particularly interesting given that during the 70’s and particularly 80’s, many rockstar drummers had massive drum sets that sometimes seemed a little over the top. This trend was seen especially among heavy metal and hard rock drummers such as Van Halen, Neil Peart, and Simon Phillips and I suppose even Phil Collins from Genesis was up there.

Phil Collins (In The Air Tonight) “Gorilla Drummer” Cadbury Dairy Milk Advert.

A few differing opinions were put forward on this topic.

It was argued that adding at least one more tom tom and floor tom and a few more cymbals would surely provide extra versatility than a smaller, simpler drum set.

Others believed that by having a smaller kit it is much easier to carry around to gigs etc. Not to mention that a smaller set wouldn’t take as much room in a house or garage compared to a large drum set.

As a drummer myself, I have believed both arguments to be true. When I started playing I thought that if I had more drums to hit, it would sound better - especially looking up to drummers such as Jose Pasillas II from Incubus. Jose still remains my favorite drummer, but over the years of playing gigs and being responsible for lugging my own gear around town, my initial thoughts began to be persuaded by the practicality of having a large drum set and cymbals.

Ultimately, I think the smaller the drum set and the fewer cymbals you have, the better you are forced to play. Plus, it’s certainly a cheaper alternative.

So think about it. By having a smaller drum set you could actually become a better drummer.

What do you think?

Feel free to leave a comment and I will respond to any questions you may have.
Cheers,

Greg Beazley

Click here to see the original thread.

As drummers, it is very important to take care of our cymbals so they last longer, retain their sound and tone, and simply because they’re usually expensive! After years of hearing other instrument playing musicians complain about the cost of their gear I say we as drummers need to stand up and tell them what it means to spend $300.00 on a cymbal that if you take care of, may last 6 months?.. And then tell them that, we are only talking about 1 cymbal. The fact is that by the time you fill out a drum kit you can spend three to four thousand dollars on really good high quality drum cymbals.

First you should get a hard shelled cymbal case for traveling or at least one with a sheep-skin inner protector for your cymbal bag. Many of my drummer friends have hard cymbal cases, but I have a sturdy drum bag, which seems to be protective enough. If I was to tour often with a band, then a hard case would certainly be the better option. I mean, after all, If you drop a hard case full of cymbals it’s not a good thing still, but at least they will be better

protected from the freight handling people at the airport. One tip is to check the bell area of all your cymbals as soon as you can after traveling to make sure there is no damage.

Second, its is recommended to always make sure you have sheaths for your cymbal stands. This isn’t a necessity, but to be extra careful of your precious cymbals, this would be the way to go. That way when you hit your cymbals they move and vibrate against the soft surface of plastic and not the metal of the stand bolt.

Third, clean your cymbals! Apparently, the better they look, the better they sound. Always pick them up and move them by the edges. Finger prints don’t look good on a crisp gold or silver cymbal and the oil in you skin may lead to corrosion and a dull looking and sounding cymbal. If you have finger prints on your cymbals you can go to any music store that sells cymbals and get some cleaner. It can be fairly expensive ($30AUD), depending where you buy it, but its definitely worth the sight of what a clean and new-looking cymbal can look like. You might have to use some elbow grease to apply it, but trust me, it will be worth it.

If you leave your cymbals on the stands as most of us do while the drum set is set up for rehearsing cover them and your drums with an old bed sheet. This will help keep dust and moisture from getting on them.

When you take care of your cymbals you get longer use out of them and you save money. Its sounds simple I know, but I know sometimes we all get a little slack from time to time, well, at least I do sometimes. I suppose the level of your care factor will depend on how much you’ve spent on the particular cymbal, but nevertheless, if you can take good care of your cymbals now, it’ll surely save you from having an empty wallet all of the time.

I hope you have found this article helpful. Please leave your comments or questions below and I will happily answer them as soon as possible.

Thank you for visiting DrumSetCymbalsBlog.com

Subscribe to my feed for regular updates!

Cheers!

Greg Beazley

Buying new drum equipment, whether it is a new or used drum set, cymbals, or any drum accessories, can be a
bit challenging, especially if you’re not quite sure what to look for. With so many different brands of drums, cymbals, and hardware on the market and so many opinions, it makes the decision process even more difficult.

Here are 4 things you definitely need to do before buying new or used drum sets and cymbals…

1. Get Knowledge

My advice is to get all the knowledge you can get before you spend a dime on new or used drum equipment. Don’t just take the advice of a commissioned paid music store sales rep. Their opinion can be swayed by the price tag… the higher ticketed item they sell you will bring them a higher paycheck. Now of course this isn’t true with every music store employee, but why take the chance?

Do your due diligence… Get educated first, know exactly what you are looking for when it comes to drums and cymbals before you go shopping. You could literally save hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, by avoiding the wrong purchase.

2. Know Your Budget

One of the first things you need to consider when contemplating purchasing new or used drums or cymbals is… How much are you able to spend?

This seems obvious, but are you really surprised at how many people end up spending more on drums and cymbals
than they expected? This usually happens for two reasons:

One: They didn’t do their homework first and only relied on a sales reps opinion or recommendation… and

Two: They simply got emotional and bought on impulse with no plan. It’s as
simple as that!

If you’re limited on funds, here’s an idea…

Since drums are unlike most other instruments, you can buy pieces one at a time and build your drum kit as your budget allows.

You can start with as little as a new or used snare drum for your old drum kit, some new or used cymbals, some new or used hardware, and maybe even some new or used drum accessories.

There’s no need to make a huge investment into a brand new set of drums right off the bat, especially if you’re not ready financially!

3. Get Qualified Opinions

I know, I just said you cannot just rely on the opinions of a commissioned paid store employee. But, what I meant to say is, don’t take their opinion as gold. Just hear what they haveto say. Once you “get knowledge,” which is the first step, then you will be able to tell if the store employee knows what they’re talking about or not.

Go to several different music stores or drum shops and get as many opinions as you can from as many different drum sales reps as possible. While you are in the drum shops beat around on the different brands of drum sets that are displayed and listen for which ones are most appealing to your ears.

Since different drum sets and drum manufacturers make their shells out of different types of wood, sounds will vary. Most entry-level drum kits are made of basswood, poplar, or Philippine mahogany, which is cheaper wood that does not produce a high quality sound. Higher-end drums use more expensive wood such as birch or maple, which produce a more rich, more resonant tone, but also require a higher price tag.

4. Test

There is a minor difficulty to overcome about the drum sets on display, and that is, most display drums are not muted, or not muted properly. So, you will have to bring some felt or something with you to the drum shop along with some tape assuming the drum store doesn’t have anything you can use.

Also, ask the drum rep if you can remove the front bass drum head so you can insert a pillow, blanket, or your coat as a muffle if there isn’t something already in there to muffle it.

Why do you think many drum shops don’t have the drum sets already muted? Because they are just assuming you are gonna buy a drum set based on its looks, or its brand name. Unfortunately, this is the way most people spend their money, and needless for me to say, it is the wrong way!

When your shopping for new or used cymbals be sure to bring your own drumsticks with you into the drum shop. You don’t want to use drumsticks handed to you by an employee. Those drumsticks could be much lighter, or heavier than the ones you’re used to drumming with.

When your crashing the crashes, riding the rides, and splashing the splashes, you want to get a good feel for them,
and hear the tone they will produce when you hit them at the same intensity your custom to playing at… and with your own drumsticks.

A quick tip… be sure to write your name on your drumsticks or mark them somehow before you take them into the drum store. Also, inform the drum reps at the store upon entering that you are bringing in your own drumsticks. You don’t want them to think you stole them when you leave, particularly if they look new.

Conclusion

There you have it…

4 things you definitely need to do before buying new or used drums sets and cymbals. By getting educated, knowing your budget, getting qualified opinions, and testing, you are prepared to make the best choices on drum equipment that are right for you!

I hope you found this article useful. Please leave any comments and or questions below and I will respond as soon as possible.

Subscribe to my RSS feed to keep updated with news.

Cheers!

Greg Beazley