"Appropriate Finishes"

As much as I like flamboyant finishes, I think that an even bigger part of your image is...well, you... I mean, the guy's kit in that one viral video where they're playing ZZ Top looks appropriate enough for the gig, but when he starts playing like he's in Megadeth or something, that's when things got hilarious...

fickpack said:

As much as I like flamboyant finishes, I think that an even bigger part of your image is...well, you... I mean, the guy's kit in that one viral video where they're playing ZZ Top looks appropriate enough for the gig, but when he starts playing like he's in Megadeth or something, that's when things got hilarious...

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Are you referring to the spinner? Constant stick twirls and other nonsense in an otherwise sedate groove?

Bo Eder said:

Are you referring to the spinner? Constant stick twirls and other nonsense in an otherwise sedate groove?

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Haha, yeah, that's the one.

Sometimes people won't care about your instrument's finish, they'll accept that it's your instrument.

However, If I'm going to be spending money on something that's going to possibly make a good chunk of change, I will err on the side of professionalism. I play all sorts of gigs, so I went with a gold sparkle lacquer



If I play a church or restaurant gig, it's classy. If I play a contemporary club gig, it's "bling." If I play a blues/50-60s gig, it's oldschool. It's a bitchin' finish that works for everything!

Now if all you're planning on playing is garage nights with the buds or club nights with the metal band, go with whatever finish you want. Just don't complain about getting snarky looks and no call backs if you show up at a wedding gig with your playing cards and hookers finished kit!

A natural wood every time for me. Who could possibly get upset with something designed by mother nature?

keep it simple said:

A natural wood every time for me. Who could possibly get upset with something designed by mother nature?

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Well, yeah, that’s what I used to think too. Then I got Rick Latham’s video, and I was appalled at how bad his kit looks in it. I mean, the guy’s a great player who’s written excellent books (which I recommend), but man that kit’s ugly on camera!

Then at one point we get a shot of the kit in non-stage lighting, and it looks great! Really nice exotic woodgrain finish. At that point I realized that it’s the lights! The professional lighting setup done specifically for a drum educational video made the drums look horrid! Who’s in charge here?

That was a bit of an eye-opener for me, as previously I’d always thought that with woodgrain you can do no wrong. Not true, it turns out. Which is why for my next kit I’m much more likely to go with e.g. a silver sparkle.

The shot below doesn't quite show the ugliness that's pervasive in the video, but it's far from a beauty.

Bo Eder said:

And I had that Ludwig 1975 catalog that displayed the JellyBean vistalite kit and I remember being 8 or 9 dreaming about having those....

I had black, white marine, sparkles, white, red, black oyster, zebra...they all seemed to work. But the woods, never got into them as much either. Under lighting they look funny, although I appreciate others who have exotic woods, I don't know if I could ever do those anymore. Unless I get a furry front reso head

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My first post in this forum. Just getting back into drumming after a long hiatus. I had the 1975 Blue Vistalites in the monster setup with an additional fllor tom but one bass. Loved that set but the hardware was crappy. Just bought a used Mapex with the black finish. I was considering a white set to make lighting easy but really picked the set based on the sound. Oh and the blue vistas were a pain to light. Strange hues from different lights. And when the lights went low it was sometimes hard to see the inside versus outside of the drums. That is why when I replace my heads I will get the coated heads instead of clear.

noahJT said:

Sometimes people won't care about your instrument's finish, they'll accept that it's your instrument.

However, If I'm going to be spending money on something that's going to possibly make a good chunk of change, I will err on the side of professionalism. I play all sorts of gigs, so I went with a gold sparkle lacquer

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WOW. That is a fantastic kit.
Have fun with it!!

I think I own very "appropiate finished" kits.

One natural:



One black:




And my favourite..

The "tuxedo look":




LOL. Cheers.