Custom Conaway Drums, Quasi-Symmetrical Setup, Abstract Drumhead Art

That's a really really really nice kit!!!!!
I like your rack system, it's the same idea as the Gibraltar Stealth hardware, isn't it?
And then that finish........ lovely!!
But what is that thing in your bassdrum in the first picture??

You say you play all kinds of music, also math metal. Is that the Dream Theater stuff with odd time signatures?

Bram

Thanks! I wasn't really that familiar with Gibralter's Stealth stuff but I just looked into it and I guess it is a similar idea. I don't have the snare on its own separate stand, although that would be nice. Basically, I'm just trying to get the rack to have the smallest footprint and most economical setup possible. For quite some time I had a bar spanning across the centre and mounted the toms and some cymbals off of that but that was bulky looking and took up more space than I would like. This summer I had the idea that I could put my setup together using two separate racks on each side. It involved cutting down some rack tubes and doing some tricky things with stands and angles but I eventually got it done. It really allows the drums and cymbals to be seen and, most importantly, it allows me much easier access to my bass drum when I take it out for gigs. I don't have to worry about maneuvering around a centre rack bar or clams when I'm taking the bass in and out.

And the thing in my bass drum is just a little stuffed snake from a fair or something. It guards my bass drum from mice, rats (well, not rats since Alberta is "rat free"), and other rodent pests:p.

I do like playing Dream Theater kind of stuff but I'd say that's more along the lines of prog metal. Math metal is more like Dillinger Escape Plan and Meshuggah and other similar "angular" approaches to metal. It can sound frantic, choppy, disjointed, mind-numbing, and just all around crazy. Basically, these bands are taking tension and dissonance to the edge by employing rhythmic tools to their fullest. This can be odd time signatures, extremely long phrases, extremely short and choppy phrases, and all kinds of stuff like that. DEP sounds very frantic with times and phrases changing constantly and making huge dynamic changes on a dime. Meshuggah has more of a minimalist approach where they'll play a melodic figure or time signature that repeats every, say, 23 beats or something like that, between only two or three notes. There's a lot of layering that goes into this kind of stuff with lots of extreme tension and release. A few friends of mine muck around with this kind of stuff and I write things here and there on the computer but it's really difficult to write or find players that can pull it off together so I mostly just play along with records and stuff like that.
 
When I read the thread title, I thought, "Well, this sounds interesting." I was right.

Cool videos too. It really helps to see the kit in action. What I like about it is there are a lot of components to it, but the way you have it set up makes it quite compact. In fact, I noticed you don't twist your torso at all to play anything out to the left or right. I also like how you are maximizing the use of every limb. Anyway, very cool stuff.

Thank you so much! I really appreciate you taking a look and hearing what you think. A goal of mine is to be able to play anything I want with any limb. Why does your right hand have to always be better than your left, or your right foot better than your left, or your hand better than your foot, for that matter? I don't know if it'll ever be possible to have all the limbs on the same page but it certainly can't hurt to try!
 
Thats another one of the standout kits I've seen here. Gorgeous drums and your artwork is tasteful, it could so easily have detracted from the beauty of the shells.

I love the symmetry idea, its great to see people working on it.

Just out of curiosity, do you play open handed all the time? Or do you cross your hands on the left sided hi hat to play the standard way at all?

Thanks for posting the pics


Sean

I usually try to play open handed as much as I can. My jazz independence isn't as up to snuff with my left hand riding so on gigs I'll usually cross my right hand over when playing the hi-hat. Here and there I'll cross my left hand over to the right side hi-hat and play the traditional way I lefty would, just to muck with it. The open handed approach really is what I prefer for everything if I can execute what my ears want me to play that way. It just feels so less constricted and ergonomic to me.
 
Hey Matt, thanks for taking the time to explain everything. One thing I don't get is how the artwork goes under the head. Do you 'paint' it on the bottom or do you put a piece of paper (or whatever) and 'glue' that to the drumhead?
With the first option you would be able to recycle the artwork instead of having to make new ones every time your heads need to be changed. The second option will affect the sound I'm afraid.
But anyways, you have inspired me a lot. I might do something to a clear head I've got around here somewhere maybe soon...

Basically, what I do is just flip the drumhead over and draw all the designs on the underside of the head. I use markers mostly, not a thick material like paint, so the ink doesn't really affect the sound that much, if at all. I certainly haven't noticed any differences between the sound and tuning qualities of a head with my artwork on it versus a blank one.
 
Basically, what I do is just flip the drumhead over and draw all the designs on the underside of the head. I use markers mostly, not a thick material like paint, so the ink doesn't really affect the sound that much, if at all. I certainly haven't noticed any differences between the sound and tuning qualities of a head with my artwork on it versus a blank one.

But if you buy new heads, you'll have to start over??
And how did you do the snare head, since it is a coated one?

Bram
 
But if you buy new heads, you'll have to start over??
And how did you do the snare head, since it is a coated one?

Bram

All of the heads on my set are coated. The underside of drumheads are all the same mylar surface so the coating doesn't make any difference to the application of my work. And getting new heads is part of the process. I don't want to have the same designs for all of eternity. Art is a very "here and now" sort of thing, just like music; the context the art was created in is just as important as the work itself. It's not like the designs are destroyed after I change heads either; I still have all of the work I've done in the past preserved in pristine condition since the art never gets touched by a drumstick.
 
Hey man,
fantastic set up you've got there.
as has been said previously in this thread i've personnally never been a fan of the bronze hardware but it really looks great on your shells!

jusy out of interest, whats the book thats open on your music stand in the second set of pictures? haha!
 
Hey man,
fantastic set up you've got there.
as has been said previously in this thread i've personnally never been a fan of the bronze hardware but it really looks great on your shells!

jusy out of interest, whats the book thats open on your music stand in the second set of pictures? haha!

That book is pretty much the centre piece to my 'drumming canon'. It's Gary Chester's "New Breed." I don't even know what my life would be like without having been introduced that that book. It, along with the playing of Terry Bozzio, completely changed the way I think about drumming, music, and general approaches to practicing and developing any sort of skill. A couple of the other main books in my 'canon' are "New Breed II" (of course), and Marco Minnemann's "Extreme Interdependence." If anyone hasn't checked out these amazing books, you definitely should! Their uses are absolutely endless.



Thank you all so much again for all of your generous comments and questions! I really appreciate it!! :D
 
Really tasteful and gorgeous set. The fade on the bass drum is unexpected and goes well with the rest of the set. I especially like the gold hardware and how even the pedal strap and foot percussion block match the rest of the blue on the finish. The custom heads put it over the top. Clearly, a lot of thought and care have gone into this set.
 
Really tasteful and gorgeous set. The fade on the bass drum is unexpected and goes well with the rest of the set. I especially like the gold hardware and how even the pedal strap and foot percussion block match the rest of the blue on the finish. The custom heads put it over the top. Clearly, a lot of thought and care have gone into this set.

Thank, you! Haha, I hadn't even thought about the blue cams and straps on my pedals matching it, too! I just happen to prefer the feel of the blue cams and belts (instead of chains) on my pedals. The blue colour of the percussion block and artwork was a conscious decision to match the drums, though.
 
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