House of Drumming.com

Lucas Ives wrote:Ever played a Yamaha drum?

I recently acquired an Oak Custom...before extinction! I found a new kit for a steal. I've actually wanted one for a long time having heard them live a couple times. I once heard Weckl at Martyr's here in Chicago where I was sitting close enough to be able to actually hear the natural sound of the Oaks a bit over the sound reinforcement. I was sold. I've been playing them for a few months now in a variety of venues/situations and they have proven to be extremely versatile. I still love my Gretch kits...I now have the best of all worlds!

Russ Miller's moving to China?

Julián Fernández wrote:From Sakae Facebook page (above the pic posted):

"Legendary drummer Peter Erskine with our Trilogy Series during his tour in Japan"

I know I sound like a broken record, but if all these top names switching around their gear tells you anything at all, it's that I nail it when I say it's ALL business. Long time loyal endorsers are being paid annually, and make percentage of products with their names on them like Gadd, Weckl etc. I also know this because as an accountant, when I do certain people's taxes, I see who pays them what. <wink> Did you know that when they acquire free gear, that many of the companies treat that as income ? The bigger companies actually have a salary allotment for some players. Say the player agrees to sign for $38,000 per year. This means they use their $$ allotment on gear, and whatever is left that they did not use, they receive a check. Are there drummers here that really don't know this is how it works?

Thats funny shit Paul.....

I have an Oak Custom kit that I really dig and tried all the new models that will be made in China... they sound and play great too. I talked with Russ last November at Yamaha's artist showcase (Steve Holmes was there too). Russ spent quite a bit of time telling me how awesome the PHX drums are. I was surprised that 2 months later he was playing something else. Basically, so what, and it's his business not mine. All anyone can do is speculate, and who cares. really. It doesn't matter what drums you play. I recently acquired a 1965 Ludwig Club Date kit, by today's standards it's not made well but it smokes I think. I digress. I hope Russ "is" getting paid and I hope he digs his new drums.

-fb
www.frankbriggs.com

I think there is a consensus that brand-switching is primarily a business decision; that most drummers play on a variety of brands regardless of their career stature or endorsement status. It happens, sometimes by choice (a certain drum sounds better for a certain application) or by chance (festival backline is brand x and there are no available options.

What does bother me, specific to the Russ Miller situation, is that it would appear that he researched/was courted by Mapex for a while, yet he remained aligned with Yamaha right until the announced switch. In this case, what does Russ' "endorsement" (in the sense of "his recommendation") really mean? How can one brand be perfect/essential, and then next week it is not? If I was Yamaha and found out I'd been buying ads to feature this guy in the same quarter that he's getting Mapex test-products shipped to his house, I'd be pissed.

I am not suggesting Mapex's product is inferior, I am sure it is good stuff, I've never played any of their drums, but I do think Russ Miller's opinion on what I should buy is suspect. The clinic/endorser route is a necessary career path these days; the high-end live work is more competitive than before (how do we edge our way in when Vinnie, Gadd and Steve Jordan are willing to tour 9months out of the year?) , and studio work is a dying art. I can only imagine the money RM has sunk into his home studio (yikes!). With that in mind, how you navigate that career path is important, because in the absence of live work or high-profile recordings, how do we assess a given drummer's talent/contribution/authority that makes him a spokesperson for a drum company?

I think those that choose this path should adopt a policy of "going dark" for a reasonable period when they make wholesale shifts in endorsements. There were some hilarious moments in old issues of MD where Cobham and (maybe Carmine) were caught endorsing competing products in the SAME ISSUE by virtue of advertising lead times...

It's pretty safe to say nearly all of the endorsement freak is horseshit.

Old Pit Guy wrote:It's pretty safe to say nearly all of the endorsement freak is horseshit.

I should clarify this .. or not. Anyway, freak is critical to the thought. I find nothing unusual in the endorsement thing because it's business. Which is usually knee deep in horseshit.

I find ALL forms of advertising disgusting.

I really don't like how big all the logos have gotten on music instruments over the years either. Back in the 70s, my Zildjian cymbals had pretty small logos (with just the outline of the word) and my Slingerland drums had tiny badges (albeit a big logo on the bass drum).

Was it The Beatles and Ringo that set off the logo madness?