), some with two snares, some who have a bunch, some who are brand loyal, some who couldn't care less….. Why did you choose the snares you did? Why do they work for you? Do you care? Do you not care? How do you set them up and why.
General influences, concepts and inspirations:
So I’ve been an electric guitar player for the last 27 years. I’ve been through all sorts of styles and phases. Mimiking players I was into a bit, some for a few weeks, some for many years. There are two important points that sort of helped me define my type of sound. In a time before everything just worked out of the box, all guitar players seemed to go through the phase of getting conscious of the midrange control on their amp. It was all Metallica style scooped mids regardless of the type of tone one was going for, mainly because bringing up the mids sounds strange when playing alone and can make it a bit harder for beginning ears to play. I really first got focused on this because of an interview I read with Jerry Donahue around ’93. Still a lot of how I approached things was from a sort of technical and theoretical perspective relying less on my ears and not really knowing what I wanted. When I went to players’ School in ’99 I got a regular strat with passive single coils and there started a process which sort of had it’s peak when I went to see Karizma in Oslo in 2000. Standing right in front of Mike’s amp and hearing not just a typical overdriven or distorted tone, but truly how the woody chracter of his guitar cut through. It was truly just a few simple tricks and then the rest is in the hands. This made the electric guitar more of an acoustic instrument to me. Even though I never developed my chops on the saxophone like I did on guitar I always came back to it, probably a lot because of this expressive quality was missing. This is also why I’m not really that into the piano for myself.
There are certain records that have been more important to me than others. Mike and Vinnie play on many of them. Document is one for sure, but so are Joni Mitchell’s “Wild things Run Fast” and Robben Ford’s “Supernatural.” All records with a drum approach I can appreciate and Robben’s record has truly just the most beautiful sounding drums on it. Here starts the Gretsch interest. That tone and that warm character that also seems to cut through most types of music. Clear and distinct, but not in the way at all. A dynamic personalizable voice. Though there are many types of the same constructions with different brands they really are different. There are a few I like and very few I'd like for myself. There is a Ludwig sound, there is a Yamaha sound(those Absolute Hybrids sound nice and are a different animal), there is a Pearl sound, a Sakae sound. DW's are strange. Everybody seems to love them, and yet I've never play even one drum that spoke to me. Toss sounds great on Mike's Live 2000 album, amazing drumming, which offcourse is as much or more about the guy holding the sticks as anything, maybe Bob's API's, but other than that, I don't get it.
Setup:
I use coated Ambassador batter and Hazy Diplomats as well as 20-strand Puresound (I think Custom Series) on everything that I’ve changed. Some still have stock wires. I have been playing a lot of snares with pinstripes on them though and it's an interesting alternative to that little piece of gel I often use.
So here we are.
Yamaha 4x14 Colaiuta Signature:
This was my first snare drum after the one that came with my Catalina kit, that I actually sold today. I knew it was Ltd, I was a Colaiuta fan and after talking to some drummer friends who had tried them back when they came out, it seemed like a smart buy. I’ve seen some crazy prices for it lately, but I really paid only a few hundred for it and it is mint. It’s probably the drum I play the least now, but it’s my only piccolo, so it will probably stay forever. Sidestick is great, but I think that of all my drums.
Longo 5x14 walnut:
There’s a definitive Vinnie connection to this. It’s the drum people were sort of talking about. To me it’s just so different from all my other drums. Singly ply drums have a certain trait with that balanced tonal character at all dynamic levels, lots of overtones, very complex. This makes it not the greatest choice for most things for me. It's almost too much. It does sound great in lower tunings though and if I crank it way up I even feel I can mimic almost a kind of modern metal shell thing, that I’m not really a fan of, well enough. It doesn’t really work in small rooms for me, but I brought it for a Christmas show last year in a big auditorium, where it worked great. There was a scene where they shot a pig for dinner in that play and a solid rimshot on this drum really did the job. It’s the loudest drum I have. It needs room to breathe and sound it's best. It’s easy to see how a 12” version of this would be a smackin’ aux snare.
Ludwig 5x14 Black Beauty w/die cast hoops:
This was just a good deal. It already had matching die cast hoops on it. It’s one of those drums I guess one is supposed to have. I sat down and played some west coast hits with it and there it was. I use it mostly for orchestral stuff which is most of what I’ve been doing the last couple of years. My Pustjens sticks and a piece of moongel that I take on and off and I can do it all with this thing. It just works. It’s also the choice for the Indie mallet, rods, brushes, broomsticks thing. I like the Ludwig better than many other offerings. Even if it's very even and pretty there is that warm upper midrange "growl" and character I miss with others I've heard. That Gretsch tom/Landau strat thing that cuts through in just the right way. I have no idea why it's different.
Gretsch 5x14 USA Custom Colaiuta Signature:
This thing has been on my mind for a long time. Even long before I started playing drums. The reason is that back at university I used to go to the library and watch that ADAA Steve Gadd DVD all the time. You could really hear the sound of the drum, as with all the others musicians as well, and it just stuck with me. When I got it, the tone was there instantly. I don’t know how or if it differs much from a regular 5x14 USA Custom snare. I just like it. Curious about the thicker shelled version.
Gretsch 5x14 brass Colaiuta Signature:
This is my only novelty drum. It was cheap and I got it. Not sure if it was in production as this or not. Basically a 4160 with white paint on it, which dries it up considerably. I’ve played some older COBs that also seemed to be a bit drier than mine. I have a friend who use pinstripes on everything. Sounds a bit like that, but obviously not quite the same spectrum that's influenced.
Gretsch 5x14 4160 COB:
Supraphonics are the classics. I tried both when I got my brass drums. I guess I’m just a Gretsch guy. Works for me.
Gretsch 5x14 Hammered Brass:
Heavily used by Vinnie lately. Both the Gretsch and the Ludwig versions when he was with them. That was the inspiration. I looked around though and found it was really a favourite and slightly surprisingly to any drummer who tried them. The slightly dried more complex lower overtones just seem to work and sound a bit fatter in most rooms. Easily one of the best buys and allrounders out there. They’re cheap and sound great. I’ve noticed though that the older ones have more and smaller hammerings, so it would be interesting to hear the difference. Anyway. What little I do play out I generally use this and it gets a lot of compliments. It’s both pleasing and cutting. Looks cool and is easily replaceable.
EDIT
Yamaha Club Custom 5,5x14 6-ply kapur.
Very open and sensitive. Seems like what I was hoping for. Surprising amount of bottom end. I had a specific intention for this, but it's certainly not a one trick pony. Good for funky stuff, maybe not the best for really heavy back beat. At least not how it's set up currently. Came with flanged hoops, but I'll invest in some wood hoops at some point to experiment. Once again this is sort of a Vinnie and ooops they don't make them anymore, have to jump on it NOW kind of thing. I'm not so much in the know. I've just watched that Steve Jordan vid countless times, did a search a few times, they seemed to not really be in production. What's up with that? Steve Gadd had a whole 6-piece with wood hoops on some show. Then I saw Vinnie had one, what type of music he was playing with it, it was there in the pile the at the Eisenberg session, too. hmmmmmm.... Thin shell, hard wood. Cutting, but not too bright. Might exactly fit my purpose and right now I feel confident it will.
And my little TSS offcourse:
As for the three snares:
Really. I could live happily with just 2. The Vinnie sig and hammered brass. There’s a limit to how deep they can go, but the Vinnie drum can go plenty low and fat enough for my general taste. Really low, it's the Longo. Now, they don't cover that open sensitive BB thing offcourse which is where the Club Custom will hopefully find it's place as a versatile wood option.
There are 2-3 more really distinctive voices I would like to have and that's it. I'm not a famous recording drummer. I don't need tons of snares for those situations. If I had tons of disposable income some day I'd explore the AK copper, bronze and hybrids as I think those sound truly wonderful. If I had the responisibility for an Orchestra I know where I would go shopping. The Noble and Cooley solid plys also sound impressive, but really....
Basically, what's missing is some Slingerland goodness and a swingy thin wood hoop with claws someting. I think the first 12 will probably just be another Longo walnut. Makes sense. Don't know about a 10 yet. I've tried some I didn't like and there are several I don't know where to go to try out.
Are there any isolated clips or vids of those 7x10 Bradys that Jeff liked. I guess Vinnie has one, too. Anyone try a 5x10 of those?
