Drum fads: Past, present...and future?

Interior paint, as you all well know Gretsch has been doing this for years so even though it may not make much difference to the sound it doesn't qualify as a fad.

As a Gretsch owner, I really dislike the 'silver sealer'. It smells terrible (smacks you in the face when you reskin your drums) and like a black car every smudge, fingerprint, and light scratch shines bright for everyone to see.
 
I wish an 11" tom would become a fad.

I wish marching bands would just be done already with those sky high tunings and the toneless ugly kevlar heads.

Makes me want to shove an ice pick in each ear, simultaneously.

Dipped in hot sauce of course.
 
@DrumEatDrum

Yes, I understand the parallels with how the grunge vs. Hair band genres played out over their life spans. You had the trendsetters followed by the copycats who continually watered it down until it just plain sucked.
My point was that there is a significant difference in the actual music....it wasn't as simple as changing your clothes/hair and playing in drop d suddenly turned you from a hair band into a grunge band. The music was very different. (It was to me anyways)
 
Geez, I forgot about piccolo snares. My least favorite part of the '90s. Oh the anguish!

nah man. they did get overused to hell in the mid to late 90s. But they could be quite nice when they were miked up for tight and dry vs shell resonance and compression for days.
 
I wish an 11" tom would become a fad.

I've wanted a kit with an 11" tom for as long as I can remember. My 10" always feels a little small, and the 12" seems too big. I know Tama used to sell them, but I've never seen a kit for sale that had one. It must also be hard to get heads.
 
I wish marching bands would just be done already with those sky high tunings and the toneless ugly kevlar heads.

Yes, yes, yes! Those awful things sound more like formica kitchen counter tops than snare drums. I hate that sound, sounds nothing like a drum. I loved drum corps and marching in the '70's, they were wonderfully fun and creative, and sounded like drums. I won't even listen now.
 
Yes, yes, yes! Those awful things sound more like formica kitchen counter tops than snare drums. I hate that sound, sounds nothing like a drum. I loved drum corps and marching in the '70's, they were wonderfully fun and creative, and sounded like drums. I won't even listen now.

Yea, they really annoy me. It takes better technique to play on a normally tensioned drum, plus it sounds better. Honestly, I don't know what the hell these people are thinking.

I've heard, "Oh it's so the fast passages can cut through and the judges can hear them". I call BS. The same thing can happen with a normally tuned drum too.
 
nah man. they did get overused to hell in the mid to late 90s. But they could be quite nice when they were miked up for tight and dry vs shell resonance and compression for days.
Agreed, with the right player and approach they can be great. Somehow, Dave Weckl and Vinnie managed a very nice sound by really listening and pulling a sound out that wasn't so harsh. In the '90s, hard hitters were relentlessly pounding out rimshot backbeats with them that were just painful. Banging out hard rock on one was a terrible idea, IMO.
 
I've wanted a kit with an 11" tom for as long as I can remember. My 10" always feels a little small, and the 12" seems too big. I know Tama used to sell them, but I've never seen a kit for sale that had one. It must also be hard to get heads.

They are possible, but you have to get your drum making chops together. Keller makes 11" dia. tubes for the shell and hoops exist from time to time at drum factory direct. The heads are limited but, I believe in "being your own drumshop" when it comes to difficult items, especially things like heads that can be broken, wear out, etc...

I think any "out" drum size (23" bass anyone?) you should always order a few heads at a time, and pack a set of spares in the truck for gigs so you're not caught short if you break one at a show.
 
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