Drummer Talk 255 – Drum Kit Makeover Part 4: Veneers

06/11/15 • 92 min

Drummer Talk

We wrap up our multi-part series on drum kit makeovers today by talking about veneers!

Opening Detritus

It’s the mid-season finale. We’ll be revisiting website features like reviews and transcriptions during the summer!

Drummer Talk Mailbag

From Sebastian

I’m listening to your podcast over here in Germany. You guys really make my day on the way to work every morning. Thanks for keeping me inspired.
When you said you were spending the whole weekend on improving your mixing and mastering skills I thought: Holy Cow! One weekend for mixing AND mastering is like trying to repaint the Empire State Building AND the Rockefeller Center in two days... with a toothbrush.

So apart from drumming I’m also into recording, mixing and well, maybe a bit of mastering. I’m not a professional but I know how frustrating all that DAW-business (compressors, reverbs, headroom, panning, EQing aso) can be.

I discovered another great podcast that covers a lot of your problems with recording, mixing, producing, composing and mastering. It was very useful for me and I believe it might also be helpful for you. So I would like to share Kenal Osborne’s Recording Lounge Podcast for those interested in the topics mentioned above.

Here is the link to the podcasts on Itunes. It is free.

Kendal has done several shows that could be interesting for drummers. I recommend Episodes: 13,14 ,22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 46, 49, 50 and 51

I absolutely love the idea of making a drummertalk show about composing, producing, mixing and mastering. Maybe you could even contact Kendal and make an interview with him, because I think he has some great knowledge on this subject.

Enjoy your summer break!

PS @Dave: I also have a Tama Starclassic Performer Set.

From Dan

OK, I promise this will be my last comment (rant) on the Ludwig P-85 strainer.

Last week when you read my comment you kinda deviated from the its core message. I, like many, don’t feel that Ludwig needs to deviate from the core look/feel of their strainer. If they would only make it drum key operable instead of phillips screwdriver they would alleviate a major pet peeve. By all means, they can keep the classic look and feel but give us drummers (who shell out a premium for their great sounding shells) a small bit of modernity.

Keep up the great work guys – your podcasts are “must listens”.

Cheers, Dan

News

Topic Notes – Veneers

Places To buy Materials

We wrap up our multi-part series on drum kit makeovers today by talking about veneers!

Opening Detritus

It’s the mid-season finale. We’ll be revisiting website features like reviews and transcriptions during the summer!

Drummer Talk Mailbag

From Sebastian

Here is the link to the podcasts on Itunes. It is free.

Kendal has done several shows that could be interesting for drummers. I recommend Episodes: 13,14 ,22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 46, 49, 50 and 51

Enjoy your summer break!

PS @Dave: I also have a Tama Starclassic Performer Set.

From Dan

OK, I promise this will be my last comment (rant) on the Ludwig P-85 strainer.

Keep up the great work guys – your podcasts are “must listens”.

Cheers, Dan

News

Topic Notes – Veneers

Places To buy Materials

Previous Episode

Drummer Talk 254 – Drum Kit Makeover Part 3: Refinishing

We dive into refinishing on part 3 of our series on drum kit makeovers!!

Opening Detritus

Dave’s Soundcloud Page

Drummer Talk Mailbag

From Rich:

Thank you Dave and Troy!

I’m totally geeking out on the refinishing series. I’ve been contemplating building an exotic wood kit from Keller shells so can’t wait for the show on veneering. Recovering my current (cheap Guitar Center Sound Percussion) kit, however, may be more realistic. I’ve replaced everything but the hardware, tung oiled the interior, and cleaned up the bearing edges. While not as punchy as I would like, my drum teacher is amazed at the sound quality. Dave jokes about Wal-mart contact paper, but before these shows I actually considered putting 3M carbon fiber automotive vinyl over the existing wrap. After listening to the re-wrapping show, I found that Bum Wrap Drum Company has some beautiful exotic wood wraps. Re-wrapping my current kit would certainly be easier than veneering new shells, but I don’t think I could ever get over the psychological hurdle of knowing that I’m playing crappy shells. I’d love your thoughts.

Rich

From Chris:

Dave and Troy, I love the podcast. It helps get me through the work week. In the past, Troy has mentioned music companies are always looking for technology specialists. Can you touch on ways to seek out these opportunities and maybe list off top music companies that are out there? From what I have seen, many companies are held by larger organizations and jobs may be posted under a different company than expected. I’d love to do something involving music, but have not been able to find anything in the Missouri area. Any ideas? Thanks! Chris

From Dan:

Greetings gentlemen. First off, if this podcast ever went off the air there’d be a void in my life that would, sadly, remain unfulfilled. So, do me (and drummers worldwide) the favour of keeping on doing what you’re doing! OK, enough butt-kissing... I just finished listening to and thoroughly enjoying episode 252. One thing that made me go “what the heck...” was the comment about how Ludwig replacement parts are so ubiquitous. This may be true with the exception of the P-85 strainer. I’ve called/emailed every drum part company I can find and no one makes a 2.5′′ hole spaced aftermarket strainer. All of the P-85 style options won’t fit Ludwig’s spacing. I have an LM402 and an Acrolite and it drives me nuts that it’s not drum key operable. When you said they’ve been using this design for 60 years I believe it. If they would only get with the program every other drum company figured out 30+ years ago I (and many others) quit b****ing about it. I love Ludwig snares, but for the price they charge it’s frankly idiotic that they continue to use Phillips head screws instead of drum key screws. Rant over, thanks for reading.

News

B.B. King’s Drummer Remembers The Legend

Topic Notes

Places To buy Materials

220 and 320 grit sand paper
Flexible Sanding Sponge or –3M Stikit 6′′ Disc Hand Pad
Transtint Dyes
Cheap Sponge Applicator
Water or Denatured Alcohol
3M Blue Painters Tape LOW ADHESIVE
#0000 Steel Wool
Tung Oil

Next Episode

Drummer Talk 256 – Drum Programming 101

We’re back from Summer break with a fresh show talking about why we drummers should look at learning to program drums.

Opening Detritus

What have we been up to all Summer long??
We have a huge queue of transcriptions!

Drummer Talk Mailbag

From Jonas:Hi, i’m a finnish guy and i just discovered your podcast and now it is all i listen to at work. Anyway, i am using a birch kit which i heard Dave also uses. Could you give me some tips on how to remove the ringing around the kit? Thanks:)

From NicoleHi Dave and Troy, Longtime listener and fan of the podcast – first time writer. While you are on your 2015 summer hiatus, I thought I would take a moment to suggest a future topic for the show. I would really enjoy a podcast dedicated to female drummers or women in percussion. Your show has mentioned and sometimes featured female voices (i.e. February 2015 interview with Staff Sergeant Jackie Jones), but there are definitely more male voices heard on the podcast.

This comes as no a surprise, turn on the TV and drummers in mainstream popular music are overwhelmingly male. Previous generations of girls and women were explicitly told they could not play drums because “it was an instrument for boys.” Thankfully, today more girls and women are picking up drum sticks than ever before AND organizations exist to help encourage women and girls to explore drumming. If as male hosts you feel apprehensive to tackle this topic, perhaps hosting a panel discussion that includes women with knowledge about female drummers can shed light on the exciting initiatives to “raise awareness about women percussionists” and “inspire women and girls of all ages to drum.” I am a female percussionist and have been teaching drum set for 13 years. I currently teach at the Women’s Drum Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. My experience at the Women’s Drum Center has demonstrated that after being told drumming is not for them — girls and women are thankful for a safe space to explore their dream of drumming. My suggestion for this topic is not meant to divide the drumming community by gender, but simply to shine a brief spotlight on female drummers. Such insight might help the drumming community think about ways to be inclusive to all of it’s members...or at least see things from other drummers’ perspectives. Thanks for your all of your hard work on the podcast. It’s a tremendous resource that covers such a wide range of topics. I will continue to be an avid listener.

News

Topic Notes

Why bother learning drum programming?
- This is the future (present?) of modern music production (especially if it’s not 100% rock oriented)
- Drummers make the best programmers because we know what real drum patterns should sound like
- There is more work to have out there!
Difference between the DAWs
- Logic Pro X – $199
  - Best all-around tool and best bang for your buck. Huge stock library complete with patches, samples, and loops. Great MIDI editor. Mac only
- ProTools – $599
  - The industry standard for audio recording and editing with broad plugin support. Most widely-supported in studios. AVID is known for spotty customer service and the MIDI editor is lacking
- Ableton Live – $449/$749
  - Best tool for audio manipulation, especially time-stretching and remixing. The interface is unique and colorful, but many of the parameters all look alike. Its unique workflow can make for a steep learning curve if you already know Logic or ProTools
  - We record DT in Ableton Live!
- Reason – $399
  - 2nd best bang for your buck! Solid and extremely stable (due to its enclosed architecture) with great customer support. It’s siloed nature is also its greatest weakness: no outside plugin/library support (although they do have a proprietary plugin called rack extensions)! This really keeps it from being fully embraced by the professional community and keeps it feeling more like a consumer tool.
- FL Studio – $737
MIDI vs Recorded Drums
- Strengths
  - Infinite editability
  - Infinite sound tweakability
- Weaknesses
  - Live drum parts can have a lot more energy, n...