Big Drum Thump

Drum and Drummer News and Photos

Category: Gear

  • Travis Barker Playing Zildjian Pitch Black Cymbals?

    This is a new video of Barker beating the hell out of the song “Dope Boys” by The Game. Cool enough. But what really got our sticks standing at attention were the cymbals: are those Zildjian’s new Pitch Blacks Travis is bashing? And if so, they sound much better than we had anticipated. Perhaps there will be a professional and a budget line….

  • 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

  • Buy Sgt. Pepper’s Drum…

    …for around $195,000. That’s how much the iconic tub is expected to fetch at Christie’s auction house on July 10. Kinda makes those custom DWs seem like a sweet deal, eh?

  • Zildjian Pitch Black Cymbals (Part 2)

    This promo video in French doesn’t answer the main question we asked yesterday about Zildjian’s upcoming line of Pitch Black cymbals, but it does at least give a release date: July 14. Plus, it’s not completely boring to watch.

    [thanks to Ted for the tip!]

  • Zildjian Pitch Black Cymbals

    We just cracked open our July issue of DRUM! and got to wondering about what some folks at Pearl’s drummer forum have already been asking for days now: what the hell is up with Zildjian’s ad on the back cover? It’s solid black with the phrase “pitch black” in a very dark gray. Clearly, the big money is on Zildjian unveiling a series of black-coated cymbals, but the mystery is whether it will be a professional or budget line. Travis Barker recently appeared in Rhythm magazine with a set of black Zildjians…but that doesn’t necessarily mean the cymbals are designed for discriminating ears. Got any spy pics that will clear this up? Send ’em posthaste, please.

    [Updates: Zildjian Pitch Black Cymbals (Part 2), Travis Barker Playing Zildjian Pitch Black Cymbals?, Zildjian Pitch Black Cymbals in France]

  • 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.

  • TRX’s LTD Cymbals

    TRX crept onto the scene a few years ago with fistfuls of Turkish-influenced, acronym-laden cymbals—the BRT, ALT, DRK, and MDM series. Because having four forgettable three-letter designations is clearly not enough, the company has now introduced a fifth, the LTD line. It includes 20″ and 18″ crash-rides as well as a pair of 14″ hi-hats.

    So far, so boring. But here is where TRX’s shite gets interesting: an LTD cymbal features three finishes, a different one for the outer edge, the bow, and the bell. According to the press release (more or less), this tri-finish process apparently produces a crash sound that is more crash-y and a ride sound that is more ride-y than ever before heard from a dual-purpose cymbal. Plus, they look pretty damn cool.

    [via Music Radar]

  • Sabian Fierce Hats

    More Jojo-related stuff to drool over, and we ain’t complaining. To go along with Mayer’s Fierce Ride and Fierce Crashes, Sabian has unleashed the cleverly named Fierce Hats. The cymbals measure in at 13″, feature an unlathed surface with jumbo hammer marks, and are described by Jojo himself as having “a raw aspect and a complex darkness that works well in live and recorded contexts.” Yeah, well, just as long as they make us sound like this.

  • Paiste’s New Heavy Full Crashes

    Designed for hard-swingin’ rock and metal drummers, Paiste’s Heavy Full crashes are new additions to the company’s venerable Signature series. The cymbals come with a Reflector finish and in a variety of sizes—16″, 17″, 18″, 19″, 20″, and a whopping 22″. Because Nicko McBrain and Hena Habegger had a hand in the design, you also know the Heavy Fulls can survive a serious whacking. Check out their sound here. [Update 2022: The sound files have been removed from Paiste’s site. Boo.]

  • Mandala High-Def Drum Pad Released

    What exactly is a high-def drum pad? Beats the piss out of us, but we do know that Danny Carey has been playing a Mandala pad forever. That, thumpers, is endorsement enough.

    …But if you insist on the details, here are some easy-to-follow bullet points:

    • The Mandala plugs into a PC or Mac with a USB cable.
    • One pad can accommodate up to seven different sound zones.
    • The surface detects 128 strike positions from center to edge.
    • There are 128 strike velocities (from soft to hard) with no false triggers.
    • Each pad is handcrafted and thoroughly tested before it is shipped.
    • The Mandala will set you back $349.

  • Meinl’s Fat Hats

    Developed with input from groove dude Flo Dauner, Meinl’s new Fat Hats are 16 inches of B10-alloy loudness. Meinl also describes the sound of the cymbals as low pitched and dark, but we’re still putting our hard-earned sou on that “loud” part.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Surge Electronic Cymbals From Alesis

    Whoa. And double freakin’ whoa.

    If Alesis’s new e-cymbals play as good as they look…well, then at least one DC’er is officially getting plugged in. The Surge line features, so sayeth the press release, a “custom brass-alloy with a special, clear dampening layer to merge the look and feel of real cymbals with the flexibility of electronic cymbals.” The series comes in a 12″ single-zone hi-hat, a 13″ single-zone crash, and a 16″ dual-zone ride. All can be mounted on standard cymbal stands.