Vinnie Colaiuta

Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

Every since Armand passed away in 2002, and Lemmy Demuzio stepped down, endorsers have been leaving, no longer feeling the same loyalty without the key people in place.

But given Vinnie did stick around for another 10 years, it does make one wonder what the final straw was.

I heard that Lenny was run out of Zildjian by Craigie. This upset Neil Peart and when Bob Zildjian took in Lenny at Sabian, Neil followed.
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

I heard that Lenny was run out of Zildjian by Craigie. This upset Neil Peart and when Bob Zildjian took in Lenny at Sabian, Neil followed.

As did Dave Weckl and many others.

Other big names followed Lenny out the door, but whatever reason went to Paiste instead of Sabian.
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

So glad I don't have to care about those politics. I can still choose with my ears and not my connections/loyalties/emotions.
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

Since when did he move to Ludwig?

He hasn't......at least not officially. Merely speculation.

But it has been touted on the same forum that spilled the move to Paiste, a couple of weeks before the fact.
He was apparently sighted at the Ludwig after party at NAMM (just checking out the new stands according to our illustrious moderator!?!?!?)
And the coy involvement of both Bermuda and Pat Petrillo (both Ludwig artists) on another 'Vinnie to Ludwig' related thread didn't go unnoticed either.
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

He hasn't......at least not officially. Merely speculation.

But it has been touted on the same forum that spilled the move to Paiste, a couple of weeks before the fact.
He was apparently sighted at the Ludwig after party at NAMM (just checking out the new stands according to our illustrious moderator!?!?!?)
And the coy involvement of both Bermuda and Pat Petrillo (both Ludwig artists) on another 'Vinnie to Ludwig' related thread didn't go unnoticed either.

Aaaah... well, this is interesting... Paiste and Ludwig ARE the ultimate combination after all :D

Maybe Ludwig will start offering black hardware....
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

So glad I don't have to care about those politics. I can still choose with my ears and not my connections/loyalties/emotions.

I don't know. I might trade some politics for a set of free cymbals.
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

I don't know. I might trade some politics for a set of free cymbals.
But would you if the free ones weren't your favorite cymbals in terms of sound?

I dunno, it's possible to like both Zildjian and Sabian equally, but they make different sounding cymbals so it doesn't seem likely that Weckl, Peart, et al all liked Sabian as much as Zildjian, or better. And if they did, why didn't they move before any dust ups? They were, by various accounts, following "their guy" and not happy with who was left standing at Zildjian - but it didn't seem to have anything to do with the actual cymbals, which were presumably their favorites up to that point.

For the record, I think Sabian has a waaaaay better business model and spirit of innovation than Zildjian, but for whatever reason, I still like the way the Zildjian bronze feels under my stick and the sound character that hits my ears better than Sabian.

I can't imagine that anyone at Zildjian could piss me off enough to not play them anymore. Or, maybe I can imagine it, but I'm glad that isn't happening because I don't know anyone who works there and I like my Zildjians.

And lastly, I'd play Meinl before Sabian. Hell, I might even take them over Zildjian if I get up enough dough!

Now that I think about it, maybe that's all Vinnie was thinking when the 602s came out... that he just liked them better than any of his Zildjians. Pretty weird that once you get to his level that you can't just go play anything you want without it becoming this huge "thing" (forum fodder, mfr website scrambles, etc).
 
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Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

At the end of day sooner or later. We all go back to our roots...isn't it?

Now that Vinnie has made the move to a Luddy/Paiste combo. Is he going to suddenly start sounding like Bonzo or early Ian Paice?
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

But would you if the free ones weren't your favorite cymbals in terms of sound?
If they were crap, no.
Among the big 3, over the past 10-20 years, we've seen each brand attempt to make something that cashes in on a successful line of another brand. The differences exist, but it's getting smaller compared to where it used to be. (notice JR Robinson switched to Paiste, but plays their Twenty line, which were developed to sound like Zildjians...haha)

And, over time, what sound pleases my ear has changed as well.

They were, by various accounts, following "their guy" and not happy with who was left standing at Zildjian - but it didn't seem to have anything to do with the actual cymbals, which were presumably their favorites up to that point.
I see your point, and agree to a large extent.

But Lenny wasn't just a guy who worked there, he was the guy who hand picks cymbals, and helped develop the sounds the companies put out. So, to an extent, following him does have to do with the cymbals, because of his behind the scenes work into getting the cymbals made. Notice Peart doesn't play standard Sabians either, and numerous things have been custom made for Weckl as well.


For the record, I think Sabian has a waaaaay better business model and spirit of innovation than Zildjian,
And for the guys who make their living in the music BUSINESS that can be considered an important factor to some.

I can't imagine that anyone at Zildjian could piss me off enough to not play them anymore. Or, maybe I can imagine it, but I'm glad that isn't happening because I don't even know a single Zildjian employee
.
I know people at both. Not as many I used to though.

Now that I think about it, maybe that's all Vinnie was thinking when the 602s came out... that he just liked them better than his A Customs..
If you sit back and think about it for a minute, what did Vinny say when he was developing the A-custom line? He wanted some thing thin, that speaks quickly, vintage sounding, but brighter than K.... which essentially describes the 602 line as well.
Does kind of make one go "hummm......"

Back when I was much younger, I was a devoted Zildjian guy, but I played a (then discontinued) 602 Ride at school, and it was an amazing cymbal. So get how someone who really loves Zildjian could fall in love with the 602 sound.
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

But Lenny wasn't just a guy who worked there, he was the guy who hand picks cymbals, and helped develop the sounds the companies put out. So, to an extent, following him does have to do with the cymbals, because of his behind the scenes work into getting the cymbals made. Notice Peart doesn't play standard Sabians either, and numerous things have been custom made for Weckl as well.
Yeah, that's an important consideration for sure. That would a valuable service to anyone.

But what Lenny doesn't have control over is the recipe. All cymbals from Sabian start life the same way: the ingredients are added, cooked up, poured, and rolled into until they look like a pizza. Zildjian has a similar process for getting to their pizzas, but the recipe for it is different. That's why you can hear the difference between Zildjian and Sabian regardless of whether their AA, Paragon, HHX, K Custom, A Series, etc...

Anyway, it's Zildjian's recipe for getting to the plain 'ole undefined pizza stage that I like better, and that alone would make me not want to switch.
If you sit back and think about it for a minute, what did Vinny say when he was developing the A-custom line? He wanted some thing thin, that speaks quickly, vintage sounding, but brighter than K.... which essentially describes the 602 line as well.
Does kind of make one go "hummm......"
Yeah, I get that. You're right - 602s doing vintage Zildjian better than Zildjian!
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

Regardless of who's stuff he's playing, I'll bet he'll still sound like Vinnie.

But how can that be? It flies in the face of everything I've seen from manufacturers promotional material and adverts in drum magazines......not to mention what I read on drum forums.

Nup, it just can't be true. He's gonna sound like Bonzo or Paicey, for sure. Those Vinnie-isms will cave to double strokes and thundering triplets....mark my words.
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

From Drummagazine.com:

Apparently the legendary Los Angeles session and touring ace has decided to drop all of his endorsements and simply play whatever instruments he feels like at any given time.

Full article here: http://www.drummagazine.com/news

Interesting.

Maybe those Ludwig stands weren't enough to get him over the line in the end??
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

Apparently the legendary Los Angeles session and touring ace has decided to drop all of his endorsements and simply play whatever instruments he feels like at any given time.
I think that the coolest thing I've ever seen! (well... pretty dang cool, anyway)
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

From Drummagazine.com:

Apparently the legendary Los Angeles session and touring ace has decided to drop all of his endorsements and simply play whatever instruments he feels like at any given time.

Full article here: http://www.drummagazine.com/news

Interesting.

Maybe those Ludwig stands weren't enough to get him over the line in the end??

That's very cool! I feel the same way. I don't know if I could say 'yes' to just one company, and I probably never will (not that anybody's asking me to endorse or anything....).
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

From Drummagazine.com:

Apparently the legendary Los Angeles session and touring ace has decided to drop all of his endorsements and simply play whatever instruments he feels like at any given time.

Full article here: http://www.drummagazine.com/news

Interesting.

Maybe those Ludwig stands weren't enough to get him over the line in the end??

Interesting in that he will no longer have the one thing most endorsers want:

Tour support!

But I suppose he has enough drum kits all now it's not a major concern.

So, now, where those 602s in the video, or where they A Customs with the logos removed?
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

Interesting in that he will no longer have the one thing most endorsers want:

Tour support!
But he has an army of crew to lug all his stuff around so you'd think it wouldn't be a big deal to bring some extra sticks, heads, and cymbals along. He probably has a kit in storage over in Europe and when he tours Asia, it wouldn't be hard to rent whatever he needed. I mean, he does play the most common kit configuration on the planet, it couldn't be that hard to have something to play on every night, right? Maybe I'm missing something, but for a guy like him that probably doesn't break much, how much tour support does he really need?
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

Interesting in that he will no longer have the one thing most endorsers want:

Tour support!

But I suppose he has enough drum kits all now it's not a major concern.

So, now, where those 602s in the video, or where they A Customs with the logos removed?

I wondered exactly the same thing.....and came to pretty much the same conclusion. I reckon he'd have stashed a number of kits away over the years. Poor drum tech might have to do a little more leg work to get them. But then again, I imagine being Vinnie's drum tech would be much like being Tiger Woods' caddy.....he's probably making more money than most of us anyway......what's another storage facility on his already vast travel schedule? :)

Still don't think they're AC's. I'll roll with the Cymbalholic boffins.....some of those guys have amazing eyes for detail. If they're calling 602's, it'd be a brave man that bets against them.
 
Re: Vinnie Colaiuta goes to PAISTE

He has an army of crew to lug all his stuff around so you'd think it wouldn't be a big deal to bring some extra sticks, heads, and cymbals along. He probably has a kit in storage over in Europe and when he tours Asia, it wouldn't be hard to rent whatever he needed. I mean, he does play the most common kit configuration on the planet, it couldn't be that hard to have something to play on every night, right?

True.

But when you play with guys like Sting, you're bound to do a lot of one-off shows, and jumping around in ways where carrying your own kit with out isn't always practical. Top guys generally like having an company handle that all for them.

But given the big name brands often go through cartage companies to supply endorsers with kits for special event, and Vinny already uses the same cartage companies for his session work, it's probably not much sweat off his back at this point. And as you said, his set up is pretty common.
 
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