Buying a drum kit for my young son, advice please.

raz0rr · 21 Aug 2008 at 02:26

Neoni said:
yeah sure i hit like a girl.... dont think so.

i know how to the play drums im not stupid, and just whacking them as hard as you can is bad techniques, its all about dynamics whats the point in hitting it as hard as you can, you then have no headroom to change your dynamics within songs.

as for sticks i have Vic Firth Extreme 7a's, slightly longer stick than usual. I use to be heavily into playing with Vater but have moved on now.

It was tongue in cheek.

And if you're NOT hitting hard, you're limiting the other end of your dynamic spectrum. I'm not trying to say playing softly is wrong, it sounds great. But if you're playing loud music, why not play loudly?

I see the quote in your sig. Chad Smith hits harder than most, would you say he's got bad technique? ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwiYs-h2rBs )

7As? A proper rimshot would snap one of those clean in half. There's a reason the Vic Firth site recommends them for 'light jazz and combo'

Red Porsche · 21 Aug 2008 at 04:04

dmpoole said:
This is my 7 year old nephews drum kit 1 year ago - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HquPm1_ftKU
You ought to hear him now.

Lmao:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXAcs1XQLHg&feature=related

It was a related video to the one you linked. I hope that isnt your nephew in a good few years time

SexyGreyFox · 21 Aug 2008 at 08:03

redporshe said:
Lmao:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXAcs1XQLHg&feature=related

It was a related video to the one you linked. I hope that isnt your nephew in a good few years time

You've linked to my 6 year old nephew again :confused:

Now where is that little Russian lad who plays the drums.
At about 4 he was amazing and there were posters on here saying things like "He's not as good as Neil Peart"

Dave · 21 Aug 2008 at 08:29

Neoni said:
at lozza, my kit is very expensive to build up to what it is, its got bumps scrapes the lot, it comes with the job i suppose! but its only me who uses it, so its just wear and tear from touring all over and getting packed and unpacked with hardcases all the time.

Do you not hate the bumps and scratches? Everytime I scrape my kit even lightly on anything I cringe and think "oh no."

raz0rr said:
I see the quote in your sig. Chad Smith hits harder than most, would you say he's got bad technique? ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwiYs-h2rBs )

7As? A proper rimshot would snap one of those clean in half. There's a reason the Vic Firth site recommends them for 'light jazz and combo'

7A is awesome! I use 8D sticks, which are 7A diameter with 5A length. I prefer a lighter stick - irony is you have a greater dynamic range with that stick - you can hit a lot lighter but you can still hit hard if you use your wrist rather than your fingers to play

One of the hard hitters is Travis Barker though, and he has godawful technique

Everytime I see him play I actually fear for his cymbals!

lozza23_uk · 21 Aug 2008 at 12:05

Dave said:
Do you not hate the bumps and scratches? Everytime I scrape my kit even lightly on anything I cringe and think "oh no."

7A is awesome! I use 8D sticks, which are 7A diameter with 5A length. I prefer a lighter stick - irony is you have a greater dynamic range with that stick - you can hit a lot lighter but you can still hit hard if you use your wrist rather than your fingers to play

One of the hard hitters is Travis Barker though, and he has godawful technique Everytime I see him play I actually fear for his cymbals!

nah the kit is old, it serves me well. it has plenty of life left in it

give it a good kicking I say!
stands and cymbals though...thats another matter. stands eventually fail. cymbals are rarely cracked but never say never. have cracked a few.

promark 5a oak. sounds great. last a while. feel good to play. love them.

i dont think travis worries about it. just gets a couple of sets to take on tour with him. and more shipped out if he cracks them.

raz0rr · 21 Aug 2008 at 13:21

Dave said:
7A is awesome! I use 8D sticks, which are 7A diameter with 5A length. I prefer a lighter stick - irony is you have a greater dynamic range with that stick - you can hit a lot lighter but you can still hit hard if you use your wrist rather than your fingers to play

7As make for a lighter sound, which sounds a lot better if you're playing at low volumes.
I find that when you're really laying into a backbeat, though, they just can't give me that beefy sound you get with a 2B-size stick.

Personally I feel like I have more control with a bigger stick, but my hands are pretty big, so that might have something to do with it.

Neoni · 21 Aug 2008 at 14:01

raz0rr said:
7As make for a lighter sound, which sounds a lot better if you're playing at low volumes.
I find that when you're really laying into a backbeat, though, they just can't give me that beefy sound you get with a 2B-size stick.

Personally I feel like I have more control with a bigger stick, but my hands are pretty big, so that might have something to do with it.

are you sure you know what you are talking about i'd break my sticks with a proper rim shot? you must be joking....7a extremes give me more control. and dont feel like huge lumps of wood in my hand... and i can hit the skins and rims as hard as i want with little worry of breaking a stick

raz0rr · 21 Aug 2008 at 15:48

Neoni said:
are you sure you know what you are talking about i'd break my sticks with a proper rim shot? you must be joking....7a extremes give me more control. and dont feel like huge lumps of wood in my hand... and i can hit the skins and rims as hard as i want with little worry of breaking a stick

Vic Firth don't even make 7a extremes :confused:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw3FTiWRXF8
That is what hitting hard looks/sounds like. There's no way you could get that sound with a 7A. It'd sound weaker, plus the sticks would take a beating

Neoni · 21 Aug 2008 at 16:02

raz0rr said:
Vic Firth don't even make 7a extremes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw3FTiWRXF8
That is what hitting hard looks/sounds like. There's no way you could get that sound with a 7A. It'd sound weaker, plus the sticks would take a beating

I convinced myself they were 7a, there infact 5a's i use to play Vater 7a's thats why, and why u showing me how hitting hard looks like? ive been playing since i was 6, and have played in folk bands, through to classic rock, through to full on hardcore

raz0rr · 21 Aug 2008 at 16:12

Neoni said:
I convinced myself they were 7a, there infact 5a's and why u showing me how hitting hard looks like? ive been playing since i was 14, and have played in folk bands, through to classic rock, through to full on hardcore

Because if you're playing with 7As you can't be hitting that hard

5As are a different story though

Neoni · 21 Aug 2008 at 17:03

raz0rr said:
Because if you're playing with 7As you can't be hitting that hard

5As are a different story though

yes my 7a's were ok, but they didnt seem to be long enough, only reason im on extremes is because there a slightly longer stick.

Dave · 21 Aug 2008 at 17:27

raz0rr said:
I find that when you're really laying into a backbeat, though, they just can't give me that beefy sound you get with a 2B-size stick.

When I lay into a backbeat I do the old trick of flipping my right hand stick, so I'm playing snare drum with the base of the stick. Big sound then!

SexyGreyFox · 21 Aug 2008 at 18:33

Dave said:
One of the hard hitters is Travis Barker though, and he has godawful technique Everytime I see him play I actually fear for his cymbals!

One of the hardest hitters I've witnessed is an ex drummer of ours called Ivan.
After every gig there would be wood shavings covering the floor.
In our studio were at least 10 cymbals all broken by the power of his hitting and he didn't buy cheap cymbals either.
He was loaded and didn't worry about spending another £200+ on a cymbal or £20 a gig on sticks.
I remember at one gig a drummer invited him up and he nearly destroyed his kit.
He's one of the best rock drummers I've ever played with but also the one with the worst technique obviously.

Dave · 21 Aug 2008 at 19:24

You don't break cymbals based on hitting them hard (although it helps) - you break them through not striking correctly, or hitting "through" the cymbal. When you strike a cymbal you should do it either in an arc (with the peak of the ark when you strike it) or hit it and pull away straight away. It's when you hit "through" a cymbal you cause the most stress on it by a long way - we usually think hard hitters break cymbals because they are smashing the hell out of the cymbals, it's actually because they've got no control over their technique!

If I broke even one of my crash cymbals I'd be in an inconsolable heap for months

Neoni · 21 Aug 2008 at 20:19

Dave said:
You don't break cymbals based on hitting them hard (although it helps) - you break them through not striking correctly, or hitting "through" the cymbal. When you strike a cymbal you should do it either in an arc (with the peak of the ark when you strike it) or hit it and pull away straight away. It's when you hit "through" a cymbal you cause the most stress on it by a long way - we usually think hard hitters break cymbals because they are smashing the hell out of the cymbals, it's actually because they've got no control over their technique!

If I broke even one of my crash cymbals I'd be in an inconsolable heap for months

i broke a crash of mine, it cost 180 at the time, i sent it off and said it just shattered, so they sent me a new one haha! bad boy i am.

was worth a try though! that was from hitting through the cymbal, instead of across, silly mistake.