Big Drum Thump

Drum and Drummer News and Photos

Category: Drums

  • Spaun’s Edgevent Kits

    Forget about vintage gear. The contemporary drums that manufacturers are busting out with are infinitely more exciting and creative. Check out, for example, this Edgevent kit from Spaun. The drums feature a unique “shell within a shell” design that’s not just for crazy looks. The outer shell holds all the parts (lugs, spurs, strainer, butt, etc.) and also has outside holes for venting. The inner shell has no holes and no parts attached, so it resonates independently from the outer shell for a big, fat sound. Because all Edgevent sets are custom built, with a nearly unlimited choice in sizes, finishes, and options, we can’t tell you exactly how much a kit will pummel your bank account. But we’re pretty sure it will be worth it.

  • New Ludwig Gear

    Not about to let Gretsch get all the drum thunder, Ludwig too has recently announced some new bangables.

    First up is a modernized version of the company’s legendary Black Beauty snares. Featuring the same nickel-plated brass shells as their big bros, the new Black Magic snare drums are outfitted with matching die-cast hoops for increased volume and tube-style lugs for maximum shell resonance. They’ll be available in three sizes—14″ x 5″, 14″ x 6.5″, and 13″ x 7″—and they’ll be priced to move, starting at $489.99.

    Then Ludwig really takes off the gloves with its Centennial series of affordable maple shell packs. The drums boast Ludwig’s new Classic Micro-Lug, Vibra-band mounting system on toms, and 2.3mm drum hoops. The finish options include transparent high-gloss and as well as the new 2mm SuperFlake sparkle lacquers. MSRP starts at “less than $1,400,” which we presume means $1,399. We can’t do the math on what the cock-rock double-kick kit in the second pic below will cost, but we’re certain it’s totally worth it.

  • Gretsch Gear Out the Poop Shoot

    That is to say, there’s a bunch of new Gretsch stuff on the way.

    First up is a high-end bubinga beauty in the Renown Purewood series. It’s a limited-edition shell pack (“limited” as in only 110 available worldwide), and it features six drums: a 22″ x 18″ kick, 10″ x 8″ and 12″ x 9″ toms, 14″ x 14″ and 16″ x 16″ floors, and a 14″ x 6″ snare. The shells themselves are 9-ply, 100% bubinga with a clear gloss finish. The damage: $3,850 retail.

    More appealing to the cash-strapped among us is the latest in the Catalina Club Mod line. Featuring an exclusive G-Tube finish, the 4-piece shell pack comes with a 22″ x 20″ bass drum, 12″ x 8″ tom, 16″ x 14″ floor tom, and a 14″ x 6.5″ snare. The drums are made of mahogany, and that’s reflected in the price: $1,075 MSRP.

    Still too many digits for your bank account? Maybe just settle, then, for one of these new Renown Purewood Rosewood snares. They are, as you astutely guessed, made of 100% rosewood, which we are going to assume sounds way bitchin’. The drums will be available in three sizes—14″ x 5.5″, 14″ x 6.5″, and 14″ x 8″—and will come outfitted with 30-degree bearing edges, die-cast hoops, 10 lugs (20 lugs for the 8-incher), and 20-strand snares. Respective prices are as follows: $770, $845, and $925.

    Now to the drum porn:

  • Budget Bashing With Rogers

    Once a celebrated manufacturer, the Rogers drum company fell on hard times and was almost relegated to the history books before Yamaha stepped up and bought the name last year. Of course, it might have been better to let Rogers die with a little dignity instead of becoming a budget brand aimed squarely at beginning players. But what can you do? We live in some ruthless times.

    Yamaha is, however, at least expanding the Rogers line with new sizes and finishes in the Trailblazer and Prospector series. The first new Trailblazer kit features a 20″ kick, 10″ and 12″racks, a 14″ floor tom, and a matching 14″ wood snare. The second Trailblazer set boasts a 24″ bass drum, 12″ rack, 16″ floor, and a 14″ x 6.5″ steel snare drum. The latest Prospector configuration sports a wee 18″ kick, a 12″ tom, 14″ floor tom, and a matching 14″ wood snare. No mention of what wood the drums are made of, but it’s probably some poplar or poplar-like mix, the standard for entry-level drums now.

    The new finishes include this not-too-shabby Brushed Copper in the Trailblazer series. Definitely better than a bunch of cardboard boxes anyway.

  • Sgt. Pepper Drum Sells at Auction…

    And for a shitload more than we were led to believe a few weeks ago. The iconic Pepper drum was expected to fetch $195,000, but it actually raked in over $1 million. Not even the lyrics to John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” sold for that much.

    We drummers finally get our due?

  • Assloads of New Tama Gear

    Happy 4th from all of us here at BDT. We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate independence and freedom than providing you with lots of extremely hot drum porn. Forget the family for a few minutes, lock the door, close the curtains, turn out the lights, and enjoy a little you-time courtesy of Tama.

    First up are new bubinga/birch shell packs. They are part of Tama’s venerable Starclassic Performer series and will come in four possible configurations. The 7-piece version lists for $5,649.99.

    Next comes more news from the bubinga front: a limited-edition Starclassic Reserve kit. The high-end drums feature Tama’s bubinga shells with an outer-ply of North American walnut. Sets will be available in two configurations: a 5-piece kit with a 20″ x 18″ bass drum, and a 6-piece kit with a thumpin’ 22″ x 20″ kick. A total of only 50 kits will be available worldwide. If you got a spare $7,689.99, better get in line now.

    Can’t part with that kind of cash but still want some new gear? Tama has also unveiled a few limited-edition snares that are more wallet friendly. The one we really want is the Artwood Custom (pic below), which features a 14″ x 8″ maple shell that screams ’80s arena rock. Only 100 of the drums will be available, and they’ll all be sold only in the good old U.S. of A. The list price is $549.99.

  • Pearl Unveils MCX Shell Packs

    Ah, don’t you just love the idea of a shell pack? No hardware, no snare, but no big price tag, eh? Well, not quite. The reason manufacturers sell high-end shells without all the shiny stands is precisely because the sticker shock is already, umm, shocking. For example, Pearl’s 4-piece MCX shell packs retail for $2,499 each, which means you can probably grab one for around $1,500 at your local drumming supercenter….but that’s still four digits for only four drums. Looks like we’re just going to have to make do with our beat-to-hell Slingys for a while longer. But for all you large-livin’ Cheddy Johnstons out there, here’s the MCX breakdown:

    • 6-ply maple shells
    • Masters bridge lugs
    • MasterCast die-cast hoops on toms
    • Maple bass drum hoops
    • OptiMount tom holders
    • Molded rubber gaskets
    • A choice of six finishes

  • History of Tama Drum Catalogs

    Oh sweet bloody Thor, has Tama ever given us gear junkies something to drool over now: a whole bunch of the company’s catalogs—from the 1960s to the 2000s—have been posted online. Love seeing all those monster concert-tom kits!

  • Spaun Unleashes New Signature Snare

    Built to the ear-shattering specifications of Inferno, Spaun’s new signature snare is a 14″ x 8″ beast with an 18-ply shell—10 outer plies of maple and 8 inner plies of birch. It comes outfitted with custom graphics, black die-cast hoops, Spaun’s exclusive solid-brass lugs, and a Gunmetal Metallic finish. The MSRP weighs in at a hefty $1,350, so take a good look at the drum below: it’ll probably be as close as you get to actually owning one.

  • Neil Peart Drum Kit Replicas

    Didn’t have an extra $30,000 to buy Peart’s 30th-anniversary kit from DW? Yeah, we didn’t either, but if you still got a hankering to have some Neil-like gear, don’t give up. AndrewOlson.com has been collecting photos of Peart-inspired setups for almost two years. Some of them might even cost less than a pair of lungs. A sample of some of the cooler kits:

    Created by AccuSoft Corp.

  • New Yamaha Gear…

    Newish Yamaha gear, that is. The company pulled the sheets off this stuff in January at NAMM, but sweet bangables usually take a while to get into the hands of us wee consumers.

    First up is a new Stage Custom kit in birch. It’s described as Yamaha’s “first mid-priced birch kit,” but in fact it’s Yamaha’s individual reaction to the industry-wide panic precipitated by PDP. Once DW’s younger bro started offering affordable kits in what were once considered premium woods (maple and birch), other manufacturers had to follow along. Even Pearl finally caved in with its Vision series. If you want the best now, Big Drummer Brother tells you to buy bubinga.

    Of course, you could just forget the wood altogether and go electronic. Yamaha’s got you covered there too with its redesigned flagship e-kit, the DTXTREME III. It comes in regular and special flavors. Both get you three-zone drum and cymbal pads, over 1,000 onboard sounds, and over 100 MIDI voices. The special edition also comes with Yamaha’s new Hex Rack System. Take a gander below. And as always, stop drooling on the screen.

  • Gretsch Is Looking for the World’s Hottest (and Nicest) Unsigned Bands

    Not to be outdone by Sabian, Gretsch is also sponsoring a contest for the best unsigned bands. At stake is a grand prize package that includes $20,000 in gear and a slot at Gretsch’s 125th Anniversary Concert in New York City. The details:

    • The contest is open to unsigned and independent label recording acts from the United States, U.K., Canada, Spain, Germany, France, and Japan.
    • Entries will be accepted from May 1 to May 31, 2008.
    • Your band must submit an original song as an MP3.
    • The content of your song submission apparently “cannot be obscene or offensive, endorse any form of hate or hate group or promote any activities that may appear unsafe or dangerous,” which most likely means that no remotely interesting bands can participate.

    [via Drummer Talk]

  • Pearl’s Redline Reference Kits

    The ads have been plastered in all the latest drum mags, and now we’ve finally got a price point for Pearl’s limited-edition hotness. Note the phrase “limited edition”: only 50 kits will be made in each color set…which means the Redline = $$$.

    The White-on-White Redline shell pack includes a 13″ x 9″ rack tom, 16″ x 16″ and 18″ x 16″ floor toms, and a big ole 24″ x 18″ kick. The Black-on-Black shell pack features a 12″ x 8″ rack, 14″ x 14″ and 16″ x 16″ floor toms, and a 22″ x 20″ bass drum. Matching 20-ply snares are available for each set.

    Price List
    Black-on-Black shell pack without snare: $4,999
    Black-on-Black matching 14″ x 5″ snare: $1,059
    White-on-White shell pack without snare: $5,299
    White-on-White matching 14″ x 6.5″ snare: $1,159

  • Tama Metro-Jam Drums

    Small is the new black at Tama. First Hyper-Drive toms, and now the Metro-Jam kit. It’s anchored by a diminutive 12″ x 14″ bass drum with a specially designed lifter, but the birch/bubinga shell (along with four magical ½” holes drilled into the drum) apparently give it some serious punch and volume. A 6.5″ x 10″ tom and a 10″ x 13″ tom complete the kit; a snare must be purchased separately. No word yet on the Metro-Jam’s price, but we’re guessing…um…not so small.

  • Get Stewart Copeland’s Drum Set…

    For, oh, $15,500. Stewart’s Tama signature set is a 14-piece Starclassic maple kit in a “Police Blue Sparkle” finish. Only 50 kits will be made available worldwide…and Stewart’s grandmother is buying 49 of them, so get in line.