What does drum dial have to do with even torque on every lug?

Haven't posted here in sometime so here's my 2 cents, from my own experience so others might beg to differ:

On the snare heads, I dunno what the discussion was but my advice: just stick to Evans, I like the popular EC Snare/Hazy 300 combo but others are good too. Attack is far too expensive and hence poor value for money, Aquarian is a gamble quality-wise (from my bad experience), and while Remo is good, the stuff they sell here seems dodgy (they don't even come in proper boxes!). I have 2 sets of Remo Emperor X Coated/Emperor Hazy combo that I got from US and these came in proper boxes; I don't think Bentley sells these. But as usual if your snare/tuning is crap, even the good heads will sound like crap. I remember playing one very ringy metal snare that has an Evans ST Dry batter... it sure's hell didn't sound "dry" at all!

On the inverted cymbal, just bend it back, it'll be fine. Someone mentioned stepping on it, and that sounds about right.

On the patch for the bass drum, just get the proper one, don't use duct tape etc. It's a compulsory item (at least to me). I'd recommend the Evans one from JS Music, made from fabric, not the other clear plastic one. Clear plastic one is not durable at all.

Oolala. Where's do I submit my application to rape your kit?

We've been saying that Stagg's are great since this drummer's thread was in its earlier versions - I kid you not, you can check back

I would say that the DH and the other higher-end lines are worth buying, but it was cheaper way back then. If you find it affordable now, go for it.

Though, these cymbals are pro-level, which means to say that they sound overkill in a bare room.

Do any of you use any smartphone apps for practice or jamming, not just for drums but in general as well? So far i've only purchased an essential one - a metronome app Just wondering what other useful apps are out there.

This post has been edited by Party2DMax: Apr 1 2012, 06:43 PM

Tried a few free ones and they're crap. Reminds me of those free ones for PC as well, not enough features and poor accuracy... due to not making use of the PC's in-built MIDI chip for timing or something. Off topic a bit

Hmmm a tuner could be useful. Can tune drums to pitch eh...

I have one and it makes tuning a lot easier. The purists would scorn on using such a tool, instead preaching the traditional way of tuning by ear and a pitch tuner haha. For me, I think it's a great tool to have.

I don't think it's available as an app, though

Nice pedal, I really like the folding feature. About the stuff about the strokes, I still like Axis' because the feedback with direct-drive designs is instant, unlike the chain and belt drives which feels laggy. It doesn't really matter to me that the stroke is not linear like what Jojo prefers.

I'm not sure what these pedals are made of, but from personal experience I prefer pedals that have better materials and build. Stuff that doesn't rust like titanium or aluminum is great, especially when machined and not cast

Always thought that the pedal and almost all hardware is from Indo. Does it say MIJ anywhere?

I wouldn't bet the house on that

It's not made in USA either (I'm assuming yours is the higher end ones, 5000 series and above), at least not entirely. It's assembled in USA, and some critical parts are made in USA, but where the rest of the parts come from I didn't manage to read anything concrete on that.

I was doing reading up on the net and checking out pedals a few years back when I wanted to replace my Tama ICs. So this is from my understanding back then. Nothing wrong with being made in China, just don't let the marketing make a fool of ya.

This post has been edited by Party2DMax: Apr 26 2012, 08:20 AM

Yeap. Well, the best is if you can practice on both. Here one example of a difference.
Let's say you practice a single-stroke roll.
On real drums, the skin actually ripples after each stroke, meaning that the surface is not flat. This makes the rebound a tad wild, so your strokes will have to be more precise and controlled.
On a practice pad, the surface is flat no matter how hard to hit it. The rebound is very predictable and it's easier to control your strokes, making it easier to work on specific things.

Haha, that Gavin Harrison Speed Cobra ad has the exact same words on his old Axis ad. It doesn't matter who's using what la. There are many good pedals out there. Though, Axis and Trick are just better made, with better materials and construction methods.

My take on the Axis: the feel is light, but it doesn't lack punch. Quite the opposite, it has a lot of it. I'm using a Gibraltar bass practice pad that I had to bolt down because each stroke caused the pad to recoil. Just adding weights to the pad didn't really help. Also, bits of rubber were coming off when I practised, so I had stick on Evans reinforcement patches. Mine's an AL model with the 'feel' thingy set halfway.

Anyway, I was happy enough with the pedals to buy the HH stand with the upgraded clutch as well. I'm really satisfied

Nice nice nice
There're many drum makers offering Keller shells and customised paint jobs/hardware etc. I'm not too informative, and they all seem the same to me. Mind if I ask, what made you choose SJC over the others?

So all in all, a nice experience la. You must be really satisfied
Would you buy a kit from them?

Find a friend with a jeep or pickup truck. Or you can also rent a lorry/van.

I don't think there's a better kit for that price. SJC used to be really expensive but after checking their website just now, the prices have become very competitive. And since they layan you, halfway across the globe, it all sounds really positive Not even a so called Five Star drum shop layan me.

Another value for money brand that I've heard of is Epiarch. Other than that, if you're not fussy about the looks, one option is to order cut and drilled shells, and hardware and accessories and assemble it at home. The shells would be unfinished, but it sounds like more fun doing it this way.

You can buy almost completed shells, i.e. with bearing edges cut and hardware holes drilled, from suppliers like Precision Drum Company and Amdrumparts. Only thing is the finishing, which you can go to those who offer guitar painting services. Or maybe just buy some wax to seal the outer pores.

Why do you need your cymbals to shine? Any cleaning is generally bad for the cymbal. And should only clean very rarely. One popular method would be to use a weak acid to clean, like cutting a lime in half and rubbing that over your cymbal. Abrasives are strictly no-no.

If i doubt, always go for the classic choice. 10-ply maple in 14" x 6.5" if i had to choose.

Always ask yourself this: why do you need to clean your cymbals? First, cleaning a cymbal may do more harm than good 'coz the chemical used might affect your cymbal and secondly, removing the dirt isn't going to be give much benefits other than aesthetics. So if the downside risk is high and the benefit is minimal, why clean your cymbal?

Plus, your A Custom is a just a splash right, a small cymbal... nobody's gonna look at it with a torch light. I never clean my cymbals - I have a 7-piece HHX set (mostly large sizes) and there's fingerprints and stuff and it's probably really dirty by your standards. But I'm cool with that and I clean my room and gear every week and ensure that it's dust-free.

What I'm trying to say is, if it ain't broke, better not touch it.

Never ever use abrasives on cymbals.

Well, it's still to the benefit of all the forumers to share about who to/not to deal with. Definitely useful info for me.
But wow, twice already. That's quite a history.

This thread doesn't exist for to serve only you, y'know
It's not like you've introduced a fresh topic either, but here're my answers.
#1 Less than an hour, and not very regularly haha.
#2 Single strokes (alternate and unison) and paradiddles, leading with left and right, foot and hand. Sometimes with weight on wrists. For foot I try to do heel up and heel down. And most of the times I practice to a metronome.
#3 Usually none. I only practice songs if I have some friends to jam with, but even with guitar pro it's still quite time consuming to learn anything, for me la

I happened to pass by Yamaha's KJ place this morning and saw their banner for a sale from this Fri - Sun. No idea what's on sale, how much of discounts, or if other branches have sale. But if you're looking for something, no harm giving 'em a call.