Mike Mangini

I've seen him in clinic twice, the man has a virtuoistic command of what he's playing, he's also really personable and has a fantastic sense of humor. My favorite clinician thus far.... I don't like the style that he plays, no denying the guy is incredible though. I got to sit down and play his set too... pretty interesting. Things aren't where they are supposed to be.
Also, I saw El Negro at the clinic, it was a double bill. That was terrific as well. Great clinic.
 
I heard that he has swapped over his remote hi hats ...in other words that the left pedal controls the hats on the right, and the right pedal controls the hats on the left. Can anyone justify this? It sounds like a Mangini thing to do. Is this what you meant when you said things aren't where they're supposed to be??
 
I saw him perform a duet with Horacio 'El Negro' Hernandez last summer at the Berklee Percussion Festival. It was short and Mike was not the main feature. i do think it's cool that he can do all the strokes in one minute, but i really like him for his drum sound (i've only heard him on three records (mullmuzzler by james labrie(of dream theater)). unfortunately, i can't say i'm ready to listen to everything mike is on for i'm not right now interested in annihilator or extreme. he is a good musician, but i respect him for his drumming sound, not his speed. he is just an exception to a good fast drummer. you never know, there can be a drummer who can play a million strokes under a minute yet cannot play music. drums are just like every other instrument, set up to entertain people musically. speed does not always imply to music. I wish some people would recognize mike mangini for his musical talent, not his world record speed. but hey, that's just me.
 
Anyone know anything about Mike Mangini's fulcrum, or what technique he uses? Especially for the WFD.

In his book, he just talks about the commonly used first finger fulcrum. But then you see him play and it looks like he's doing something else as far as how he grips / manipulates the stick...
 
Does this guy have any groove anymore ? the only videos I've seen him in he bashes his drums and speeds up like hell. I find his playing very linear.
 
Crazy said:
Does this guy have any groove anymore ? the only videos I've seen him in he bashes his drums and speeds up like hell. I find his playing very linear.
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He doesnt bash the drums, he plays them. He generally gets alot of cool grooves going and he uses a lot of independence in his solos as well.
And he uses his fast chops to make the solo more concentrated and more appealing.
I think he's an amazing musician in my opinion.
 
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Does anyone know if he is planning on putting out an instructional DVD? I would be very interested to see some of the ideas he would talk about. Same goes for Virgil Donati he needs to put out a new DVD as well.
 
I have both volumes of his book. I have been to a clinic of his. and the best sticks i have used in 15 years of drumming are his.

Weird?
 
mike mangini

i did not see a thread on him here so i thought i would start one.
does anyone know what foot techniques he uses for fast,slow and medium double bass playing? what technique does he use for his hands? whenever i have seen him he has been in the german position.
does he have a drum fourm (i have not been able to find one) where we can take a look at his techniques? there really is not that many vids on line of him playing where you can reall see what he is doing, especially his feet.
i know he teaches at berklee,does anyone know if he does privet lessons?
anyway, the guy is a great drummer that just blows me away and im looking very forward to seeing his 06 MD fest performance.
 
There is some footage of Mike demonstrating some of his techniques here:

http://www.drumheadmag.com/web/page.php?id=10

His fulcrum leaves an open hole between the thumb and the hand and the stick is held out at the first joint of the index finger.

And yes his hi hats are set up on the opposite sides of the kit with the use of cable hats. So when he plays the bass drum with his right foot and closes the hi hat with his left he will be playing the hi hat on his right side. and vice versa.

Mike's clinics are great. He is full of energy and very detail oriented.
 
Awesome! I've never attended a drum clinic. I first heard about him from a guy I met at the 2005 Rush Convention in Toronto, Ont. He said Mike drummed for an incredible rush tribute and I should check him out. I've seen his work on youtube and I heard him on the Rush tribute mike portnoy put together in 1995. An excellent player!
 
I thought I'd revive an old thread...............I have been loving watching Mangini on YouTube. I have read that some people don't think he's musically inclined.........just fast. I have to dis-agree..............he does some amazing things..........I especially love his polyrythms. I thought I'd post some recent videos. The first is from the Discovery Channel...........every drummer should watch it........it's about physics....not just Mangini. The second video is his solo at WFD...............I can't get enough of it. Trashy.......polyrythmic..... and incredibly fast at times........truely amazing. He has a 'Hot for teacher' video that was just put out too.........I'll post it also.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8Gxut0odyc (discovery channel)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hyaFL24Zu8c (wfd solo)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-_IqTbqsrM (hot 4 teacher)
 
Congratulations to Mike Mangini for getting the drum chair in Dream Theater as announced today! Maybe it won't be 2 years before another post in his thread? :)

I'll never forget the first time I saw him live with Vai - incredible drum solo, but then performing the one-handed buzz roll - while eating a marshmallow with the other hand... too funny!

Anyway, I've been a fan for years and am glad to see him get a big gig such as this; can't wait to hear what the new Dream Theater disc will be like!
 
I studied with Mike for a semester at Berklee. Amazing guy, amazing musician. It's funny seeing people scrutinize him here based on his WFD record or some solo they saw.

Chill out, friends.

Mike has more than earned his stripes as a musician, and I'm excited that he has a platform with Dream Theater to put all these unqualified criticisms to rest.
 
This is one of the drummers I would surely love to meet. He seems like a pretty down to earth guy. The type you can hang out that the bar(east coast accent) and have a beer and talk about sports with. He just seems like the type of person you can just chill with. Would really love to see him here in Chicago on a clinic. Amazing drummer and amazing guy!!!
 
Crazy said:
Does this guy have any groove anymore ? the only videos I've seen him in he bashes his drums and speeds up like hell. I find his playing very linear.
Click to expand...

Really ?
Hmmmmmmmm...............Berklee faculty............Vai............Dream Theater.
Yeah, you're probably right -- no groove.
 
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