Circuit-33 (The Band)Not to be confused with circuits of any other variety

Cymbals (and other ‘Metal Stuff’ to Hit)

Take a stroll through the  drums section of today’s modern music superstore, and as you peruse the variety of cymbals you will no doubt conclude “These are not my grandfather’s cymbals.”  The striking variations in the shapes, sizes, and colors of available cymbals is truly profound!

Of course the most popular seem to be the more traditional round perimeter, brass, sloping, with the hemispherical bell, type of cymbal.  These include the typical, heavy, 22″ Ride Cymbals formed from a heavier gauge piece of brass.   But this general description can also be used describe crash and hi-hat cymbals.

These are usually left unfinished with a very shiny brass look just like they did after being ‘turned’ on the lathe.  Some manufacturers finish theirs with a protective ‘clear coat’, preventing (or at least delaying) the need for actual cymbal polishing, a chore few drummers relish the thought of.

In recent years some manufacturers have created a colorful variation of the clear coat; a protective color coating.

They even come in beautiful black finishes.

I love the look of this black beauty!

Some have left areas of the cymbal dull and unfinished, and other areas shiny, creating a look with striking contrasts.

Then there are ones with a pattern of large holes that vary in hole size, placement, and quantity.

Some are hammered and contain holes.  (Not sure that’s proper English.   Can “holes” actually be “contained”?)

Others have been stamped out into strange shapes, some with holes, even slots too!

Some consist of two or more layers of brass stacked on top of each other, making for a unique, metalic ‘clack’ with a quick decay.

Some have been made flat and have attached “jingles” or “zils” similar to a tamborine.

Then there is the matter of flatness:  Whereas most are sloped to some degree, others are intentionally made completely flat, no bell intended.

Then there is the “china” variety, with its distinctive curled outer edge.

Some “Chinas” also have a unique conically shaped bell.

And of course, I would be remiss if I left out the “Gong” family of brass bangables!

And just when you thought there could not possibly be a further variation in the family of ‘suspended pieces of metal to hit’, here comes the . . .  whatchamacallits!

Yes, there continue to be no rules even when it comes to cymbals.  (After seeing some of those last ones, I don’t think a couple of rules would be too restrictive.  Do you?)

As mentioned before, the actual laminating is such an irreversible and permanent application that each step had to be carefully planned out in advance.  Fortunately for me, I was working with Erik, an expert in the field of laminating.

We carefully cut the laminate into pieces wide enough for each drum shell and long enough to wrap around each one with just enough to overlap.  Then they were laid out and spray adhesive was applied.

The first time we laminated drum shells, there was a slight misalignment at the seam where the laminate wrapped around and butted up against the starting point.  Despite the best of care taken to exactly align the starting angle, it will never be perfect.  This misalignment  is not visual with the drum heads on anyway, so it was not a big deal.  But it would be a real problem if the laminate wandered so much that it obstructed the shell area where the drum head  contacted the shell.  And the larger the diameter shell, (a bass drum for instance), the more critical this wandering problem would be magnified.  To ensure that this problem would not ruin the project, we devised a way to allow the laminate edge to be trimmed and excess removed, even after the laminate had been applied.

The photos below show a half-inch margin of duct tape being applied to mask the spray adhesive so that excess could be trimmed and removed after the fact.  Note: This was only done to the sides of drum shells where heads would be used.  (I have sometimes heard of single-headed drums being called “Melodic” drums, or “Concert Toms”, I believe.)

Alignment lines were made to mark where on the drum the laminate seam would be and to aid in starting it at a 90 degree angle.  When the seam is located inline with the attached drum hardware it helps in preventing the laminate from pulling loose.

Now came the time to spray the shells with adhesive.

Then the masking (duct tape) was removed.

Using the alignment marks, the laminate was carefully lined up at the starting point.

Then it was carefully rolled by hand using much pressure to ensure adhesion.

Another concern that had to be addressed was accurately cutting the seam-edge of the laminate.  In order to get a good measurement without completely gluing the entire sheet to the shell, a piece of poly sheeting was used to cover the final area of  adhesive, allowing the drum to be rolled, and trimming marks to be scribed.

This cut is somewhat critical:  Unlike the typical original drum fabric that most manufacturers use that wraps around the shell and overlaps, this must be is a butt-joint, and this seam will show!  The better the job, the better it will look.

Erik used a cutting tool he had that was not actually made for laminate, but it worked quite well.

To further touch up the seam, we used a fine file on the cut line.  Once the laminate wrapped around the shell and fit together well, the poly sheeting was removed, and a slight mist of spray adhesive was added.  Then the last of the rolling was completed, leaving a tight seam.

The side of the drum shell not needing a head, (for those drums with a head on only one side), we used a router to trim the laminate to the shell.

For the drum head side of the shells, we used the router as above, but then used a table saw with the fence set to allow only 1/2″ of laminate to be trimmed off the edge of the shell.  (Of course the blade was set to barely cut through the thickness of the laminate as the shell was turned.)

Because the shell edge had been masked when the adhesive was applied, the trimmed pieces were easily removed.

After all the laminating was complete, the edges were cleaned of any adhesive residue.  Then the hardware holes were carefully drilled from the inside out, using my angle drill motor, using the original shell holes as a template.  Then the hardware was re-installed, and the drum kit was reassembled.  The operation was a success!!!

(Continued from No Rules Pt-1)

Timbales

Timbales also make a nice addition to the conventional drum set, enabling the drummer to throw in the occasional, more metallic sounding, ‘Latin flavored’ fill.

Typically Timbales  are found in the arsenal of a percussionist, along with Congas, Bongos, Cowbells, Tamborines, Woodblocks, Claves, Windchimes, etc.   They are almost always found in pairs, but again, there are “No Rules”, remember?

Timbales are available in a variety of sizes and depths too.

No Rules for Drum Sets means you’re free to build your Percussive Playground however you want.  The designer of this drum kit (shown below) has utilized Octabons, Timbales, Rototoms, Windchimes, a Tamborine, and no doubt other percussion instruments into his kit:

The flexibility in customization of the modern drum kit is only limited by your imagination, (and your budget of course).

Rush’s Neil Peart (on one of his smaller drum sets)

A kit more typical of what Neil Peart uses (Below)

And so far we have only discussed the acoustic percussive building blocks that can be used!

No Rules means you’re free to create your own hybrid drum set, a mixture of acoustic and electronic drum sounds, as Neil Peart has done with this Hybrid drum kit (Below).

No Rules = No Limits

Additionally, electronic drums can be played by hitting the drum ‘pads’, or alternatively they can be played, or ‘triggered’, by installing small piezoelectric triggers to your acoustic drums!  And since the electronic drums can be programmed to playback virtually any recorded sound, where does it all end?

That’s the point to all of this:  It Doesn’t End.

NO RULES means NO LIMITS!

Unlike Other Instruments

Even though the modern day electronic musical keyboard is arguably the most flexible and versatile instrument ever created, and although it would probably not be considered a restriction, I have never seen one with anything except the standard octave key spacing format.  Likewise when it comes to ordering woodwinds, the saxophone player is not asked how he wants his new baritone sax ‘keyed’, or what geometric shape he prefers.   Likewise, professional basketball players have little worry that the courts they will be playing on will be consistent in their dimensions.

Drum and Percussion Sets are Kind of Like Golf Courses

On the other hand, no two golf courses are identical.  Despite being made up of certain general elements that they all have  in common, each one is different, but can be uniquely designed and laid out according to the needs of the players, (golfers & drummers).   Drums as a musical instrument are comprised of many individual things that make different sounds when struck.  There seem to be no cardinal rules, (or even city ordinances for that matter), that are broken when it comes to customizing drum sets to the need and preference of the modern drummer.

Back in the Day

Traditionally a ‘trap set’ consisted of a Bass Drum with a Tom mounted to it, a Floor Tom, a Snare Drum, Hi-Hat Cymbals, and typically a Ride Cymbal, and possibly a Crash Cymbal.  As simplistic as that might sound, it is incredible just how much sound a good drummer could derive from it.

But today it is not uncommon to find sets with multiple Bass Drums, multiple Floor Toms, multiple Snare Drums, and a virtual constellation of Mounted Toms in varying styles and sizes.

Octabons

Groupings of small diameter single-headed drums of varying depths (notably Tama “Octabons”) are often included in some of the larger drum kits. 

Drummer Stuart Copeland (of “The Police”) made extensive use of them in his performances.

Rototoms

Remo “Rototoms” continue to make an interesting addition to many drum kits.  Besides taking up precious little ‘percussion playground’ space because of their having no actual shell, they are unique in that they are tuned simply by hand rotation.  Drummer Danny Seraphine (of “Chicago” fame) was known to have an onstage assistant turn his Rototoms during his solos that featured them. Some drummers use Rototoms almost exclusively for their drum kit.  (You can’t ask for a much easier way to tune them!)

I also ran across this variation:  Rototom mounted (acoustically open) on top of same sized drum shell.

The most unusual use of the Rototom I’ve seen is by Drummer Terry Bozzio, who uses two of the Rototom frames without the drum heads:  He has them attached to a Hi-Hat stand in place of the cymbals! (No Rules, remember?)

(Continued on No Rules for Drum Sets – Pt-2)

Influences:

Sometimes I’m asked about who has most influenced the way I play guitar.  There have been many great guitarists that I’ve listened to and learned something from, so it’s not an easy question to answer.  But if I had to narrow it down to just a few that I feel have shaped my playing style, I would have to say:  U2′s ‘The Edge’, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Jimmy Page, and Andy Summers (of The Police).

Styles & Tunings:

I enjoy music from a wide variety of styles, but my preference is for Hard Rock, New Wave, and the Blues.  I’m not much into exotic guitar tunings.  I pretty much stick to standard.

Guitars:

I have several guitars that I occasionally play with, but the ones I find myself always going back to are my Fender Stratocaster, and my Epiphone Casino.