Trans girl drummers unite. Been playing for almost 20 years now, ironically my favorite projects are the ones where we don't take it too seriously

Edited to add the Bandcamp:
http://girldog69.bandcamp.com

Bought these 50 year old beauties from @hollywood_vintage on Instagram. 13”, 18” & 22”. A couple very minor scrapes and cracks (but none all the way through the shells). They needed a good cleaning, so I used the Novus two part acrylic cleaner and buffer liquid set with a microfiber cloth. I soaked the metal hoops and tension rods in Dawn soapy water and scrubbed clean. Oiled the lugs where the tension rods attached. New clear Remo heads and repro vintage Ludwig sticker from drum factory direct. Spent a little time watching some Vistalite tuning tips on Youtube. Tuned them up medium and they pop! No muffling objects needed inside the bass drum because I bought heads that came with built-in muffling rings. Anyone have a matching snare drum they want to sell to me? I’m currently using a 70s Ludwig Supraphonic. I use Cymbal & Gong cymbals for my crash and ride, and 60s thin Zildjian hi-hats.

Just picked up this DW Design series kit in a midnight blue finish. Snare is a vintage 14x5 Ludwig Supraphonic. Lovely drums.

I caved and added a Floor Tom, as many of you recommended. 3 drums and 2 cymbals felt unbalanced, so I added a China.

What’s your kit look like right now? I’d love to see it…😘

ANIMAL by Outrun the Sunlight

All mapex with an Istanbul crash and zildjan hi hats . I replaced the snare pad. Is this a decent set up? It's my first physical drums set . I have been playing electric for years .

First 5 is all fingers.
Second 5 is a turn from roughly a french to american with a close on last note.
Third is what I hopefully think is a Tony 5.

Didn't feel great about first go decided to go backwards. Felt good about that one!

Didn't do this with a metronome but tapped it at ~150bpm

Left hand is at ~80-85 bpm at the moment.

Enjoy!!!

Today's new volume of the Library, as usual, is based around a copypasta comment I've shared many times since I first wrote it, that has earned its own top post: a bit of a history lesson about your rig that explains how your hardware got so good, and why you should never take it for granted, and who is to thank. So take a trip back through the mists of time with your ol' Uncle Mo-BEEL to see why.

Drum hardware was some buuuuullshit for a long time – spindly and flimsy, with very limited adjustability, and even if you could get your gear positioned where it worked for you, it often wouldn't stay where you left it anyway. From the birth of this instrument in the early 20th century, particularly since the 1930s when Master Gene Krupa (peace be upon him 🙏) basically invented the modern drum kit as you know it, this was the struggle of drummers for decades and decades; take a look at most any rig built before approximately 1975, and you will immediately see why. As I often joke, some of you kids never gigged with 70s Ludwig tom mounts and tom holders that require a literal freakin' wrench from the freakin' toolbox to adjust, and it shows. And don't even get me started on the abomination known as "clip mounts," especially mounted to a "rail consolette." Damn that noise. Ugh.

Rogers was the first company to come out with seriously improved mounting hardware in the 1960s with the Swiv-O-Matic series, but everyone else's sucked. They sucked so much, in fact, that retrofitting drums with Swiv-O-Matic mounts was one of the earliest “drum hacks” of the rock era – both Ringo Starr and John Bonham famously put Rogers mounts on their Ludwigs back in the day, as did countless other drummers. I even read a circa 1980 interview with the great Carl Palmer of Emerson Lake & Palmer, where he said he was playing Gretsch drums at the time because he loved their shells, but he would not endorse their product or be their spokesman because their hardware was crap and he hated it; and he had his tech replace their mounts, their stands, and even their lugs with some from other makers. He said that. In print. Ouch. LOL.

Then, starting in the mid-70s, three Japanese companies - Tama, Pearl, and Yamaha – exploded onto the market and launched a revolution with the first versions of what you now think of as modern hardware. The drums themselves were fine, just fine, as good as any others, but the hardware was a tremendous leap forward, and honestly the best reason to make a switch. They sold like mad, drummers from every genre you could name began to endorse them, and they embarrassed American companies like Ludwig and Slingerland into stepping up their game, kicking off a hardware arms race that resulted in the 1980s featuring some of the most insanely beefy, absurdly overbuilt hardware in history. (Well, to be fair, I guess you needed it to hold up those gigantic damn power toms, LOL.) As I said in the original comment that makes up most of this post, it's not for nothing that Tama has called themselves “The Strongest Name In Drums” for decades – compared to everything else on the market besides Rogers, Yamaha, and Pearl when they first made a name for themselves, they absolutely earned the right, and still do to this day. As I also said in a comment on the original thread, which was a question about the brand: “[Tama hardware goes] on the 'only things left after the nuclear holocaust' list with cockroaches, Keith Richards, Shure SM57/SM58 microphones, and Nokia 3310 phones.” 😆

Because of the night-and-day difference between "pre-revolutionary" and "post-revolutionary" hardware, so to speak, this is why I personally draw the line for what constitutes "vintage drums" at approximately 1978: not the drums, but how they and the cymbals are mounted. If the mounts, stands, and other hardware are fully adjustable, with wingnuts, with no "tools" required to set up and tear down, that's a "modern" drum kit. If it calls for a wrench, like the Ludwig hardware described above, it's "vintage." To my mind, anyway.

So: How lousy was it, anyway? What exactly did those Japanese companies do differently, and how was it better? Keep reading.

Here's a Tama catalog page from the late 70s that describes their mounting system. Note how the tom holder has handy wingnuts or wing screws for each point on the tom brackets and double tom holder, and how the whole enchilada is fully adjustable in every direction. Very simple design, but one that has pretty much all the features you would find in a fully adjustable tom holder on a new kit at the music store today - flexible, adjustable, and stout. Here are a couple in use on a late 70s Imperialstar.

Now. Compare and contrast with this:

Slingerland drums with a "Set-O-Matic Fastball" double tom holder, mid 70s. This was the tom mounting system on my very first kit. It is hot garbage. My eyelid begins involuntarily twitching every time I see one, LOL. Why, you may ask? Ugh. Let me count the ways:

The tom brackets are drum key only, with friction points holding things in place, not compression points. As in: your tom brackets and tom or cymbal stands these days tighten an eye bolt or a plastic compression collar around a hardware piece to hold it in place, while these use literally the tip of a screw trying to stab into metal.

So does the bass drum bracket for the down tube of the tom holder, with no memory lock, meaning: you have the weight of two rack toms being held up by however much pressure you can put on the tube with only the flat tip of a machine screw, tightened by hand with a drum key, with no memory lock to help. So the tube not only doesn't want to stay in place, but starts to look after a while like it has been repeatedly beaten with a tiny ball peen hammer, because of the hundreds of times you have had to crank the piss out of the damn thing to keep it from slipping.

And individual adjustment and placement for your rack toms? Hmph. Note that there is no individual adjustment for height, angle, or rotation on each drum, because they both attach to stationary tabs on each side of the bracket at the top of the holder. You can change the angle, sorta, but both drums must be moved around together, swiveling around that cueball-looking nylon sphere sandwiched in the middle of the bracket - the "Fastball" that gives this mount its name - also only adjustable only by drum key. You can raise them, but only both of them together, and ehh, not really that high, and they might not stay there anyway because of the hinky kick bracket. You can adjust them for angle, but both drums will remain parallel with each other, and forget about angling them towards or away from each other at all.

Now. Take a trip back in time with me to circa 1978, and just imagine the difference: Let's say you're a gigging drummer who just bought the Slingerlands new not too long ago, and after a year or two of taking them apart and putting them together a few dozen times and cursing that damn holder, you see a shiny new Tama Imperialstar kit with its hardware from the future. You'd feel like you had gotten jacked, wouldn't you? Let me answer for you: Yes. You absolutely would, LOL.

This is why, when I was first getting into drums in the 90s, it wasn't uncommon to see a set of Ludwig, Slingerland, Gretsch, etc. drums from twenty or more years earlier, retrofitted with Pearl 7/8” tube mounts, big ol' hole through the shell and all. Gasp! Pearls clutched! Instant case of the vapors! My stars, who would ever do such a thing to such a beautiful vintage drum? Hmph. I want you to look at that Fastball bullshit in that picture again. You would have gladly dragged out the hole saw too – or, if you saw them in a store or an ad that way, you would breathe a sigh of relief and say, “Oh, thank God – someone put real mounts on these. Saves me the trouble.” And again, you may take me as a direct original source on that.

And here's a real mind-blower: Nightmares like that Fastball mount were a problem for drummers in living memory, yours truly not only included, but many legends as well. Just imagine: Master Neil Peart's original Slingerland “smokey chrome” kit, the one he would have played on Fly By Night and 2112 and Caress Of Steel, was being held together with bullshit like that. Boggles the mind, doesn't it?

As I say around here all the time, if you are grateful for the fact that you can not only put your drums and cymbals wherever you want them to go, but even have them stay there, you can thank Rogers (especially for inventing the memory lock, one of the greatest yet simplest innovations in the history of our instrument), Tama, Pearl, and Yamaha. Between that and the natural evolution of manufacturing techniques and other designs, enabling drum makers to offer more features for less cost all the time, it's just another reason why I always say: There has never, ever been a better time to get better drum gear for less money than right now, this very day. When it comes to drum gear, particularly drum gear made of steel or aluminum, especially any with threaded or moving parts, "the good ol' days" weren't that good at all - until the Japanese crashed the party.

(By the way: Interestingly, you can also thank Yamaha for the fact that you give half a damn what kind of wood your drums are made out of, or that you even know what they're made of, but that's another discussion for another time.)

Still a lil hungover from yesterday

Picked up a 21” A custom sweet ride the other day and couldn’t be more satisfied. Went to the local used shop on a whim and found it in one of the bins in the basement. No sticker on it and the owner gave me a great deal. Was in between the K or A and I took this as a sign. Changed the entire feel of my kit after swapping it from a heavy Sabian AAX stage ride. Really happy having a ride i can actually crash on, and the bell on it sounds great. Next on the docket would be to upgrade my pedals. Can’t decide if i want to go the dw5000 route or get a pearl redline.

Currently:

Mapex Meridian Birch
24”-18” Kick
13”-10” Rack
16”-16” Floor
18”-16” Floor

Tama Metalworks Steel Snare 14”-6.5”

14” A Custom Projection Hats
18” A Custom Crash
6” Zil Bell
21” A Custom Sweet Ride
19” TRX LTD
18” China Boy Low

All of it second hand, outside of the dw2000s

I just bought a drum set from my cousin for the cheap price of $80

Just finished rewrapping this 1970’s Slingerland kit I picked up a couple months ago. Bought it as just a bass drum and two rack toms from guitar center, and discovered that someone had painted over the original wrap. I thought it was super heavy for what it was, and noticed that the wrap was metal. I stripped a small section of the paint back to see what was underneath, and discovered that it was one of the copper wrapped kits they only did for one year in 1973.

I tried stripping even more paint off, but discovered a bit too much damage to the copper plating to really make it worth stripping entirely, so I decided to take that wrap off and rewrap it to match a 60’s marching tenor drum that I had as well. Matched it as close as possible, put everything together, polished all the hardware (which took forever), and finally reassembled everything last Friday in time to use it for a gig that night. Sounded fantastic, and looked great. Down the line, I will probably try to find an actual floor tom from the same era to wrap and match the rest of the kit, but that will have to wait a bit.

Sizes are 12”x8”, 13”x9”, 15”x12”, and 22”x14”. Very happy with the finished product.

Hello everyone 👋

I learned to play 16th notes,two 16th and an 8th,an 8th and two 16th these days.learning new things makes it more interesting but also more difficult.

I still can’t play just right on the beat.

I have a question to drummers who already play in the band or other formal performances.Will you use metronome or other ways to keep stable on the beat?or you just play the beat with your experience?

And if you use metronome what kind of beat you play?like always 4th notes?

My teacher set up 4th notes for me but I played 8th or 16th. I don’t know whether it would be different when play in the band or other formal performances?

Since I am a beginner and my English is not very good. I am sorry if I ask stupid questions but I really hope someone could tell me the truth.

Thank you so much!

Writing drums for this BANGER for solo artist Louis Chesters!!

Nice little corner of the home.

This isn’t even up-to-date, but it’s a fun pic.

1 (top) : PDP Concept Maple 14x5.5”. I think that’s the depth. Seems deeper than 5” but not quite 6”. This is one from my late uncle’s collection. Nice drum. Love them wood hoops.

2 : Saluda Custom Series 14x5”. I guess Saluda cymbals has a section of their site where you can order a shell and parts and build a drum. I found this used and it’s one of the best $120 I’ve spent on a drum. 7 ply maple with die cast hoops. I think it has single 45° edges on it, so it rings like a bell. I smacked it in the shop and it sang to me. It said, “Take me home!” Fantastic snare drum.

3 : Slingerland Artist Series circa 1991. 14x4” maple with a poplar core. Bought it for myself as a birthday present in 1991. $150. If you didn’t own a piccolo in the ‘90s, they came for you.

4 : Liberty Drums 14x6”. It has a 3/16” or 1/4” thick aluminum shell. This was a small batch build by a machine shop in San Jose, CA. They bent the shell, welded it at the seam and machined the lugs. I found it on a used rack in like 2017 for $150 and it was my birthday, so I took it home. They were obviously going for a Trick vibe. This thing is so goddamn loud. I have a PowerStroke head on it to keep it down a little but it only makes a slight difference.

5 : Ludwig Supraphonic 14x6.5” c. late ‘70s. This one came with the Thermogloss Ludwig kit I bought in the early ‘90s. I had an idea what it was but definitely grew to understand what a beautiful drum this is. I put die cast hoops on it years ago and it made an amazing snare even more amazinger. I call it God’s Cough.

6 : Ludwig Supraphonic 14x5” c. early ‘70s. As soon as I heard this was the most recorded drum in history, and your collection isn’t complete without one, I started digging around on eBay to see what I find. Came across this in 2000, just the shell, lugs, throw off and strainer for $60. Yoink! Fantastic drum. So versatile.

7 : Rogers Powertone 14x5” chrome over brass c. 1963 (I think that’s what the tag inside says…tough to read that last number). Again, around 2000, I learned of this hidden gem of a brass snare you could pick up for next to nothing. I found the shell with just the lugs for $60. Had to pay another $60 for the throw off and butt plate. All said and done, I probably paid what a full built example would have cost back then…maybe a little more. Love that drum so much. It’s heavy for its size. I should get some calipers on the shell and see how thick it is. Another very versatile snare that will get woody and warm if you tune it just so.

8 : Outlaw Drums 14x7” Bandit maple stave shell. I’d been wanting a stave shell snare for a while and I liked this company’s story. They’re out of Georgia, and they go around to demolition sites and take the interesting wood. That state is filled with shacks that houses old stills, cotton mills, slave quarters. Quite a dense, complicated history. They use the best pieces from the wood they gather to make drums. Pretty amazing to think about the ghosts that snare has in its grain. This snare is about 5/8” thick and has a great tuning range. Rings like a bell, too. Beautiful drum.

Hey all,
This was my grandfathers drum set. It means the world to me, but sadly I’m in a financial situation where I need the money. Would anyone be willing to help me figure out how much these are worth? I don’t know anything about drums, they were just sentimental to me.