John Bonham

[Crust]

I have the double DVD. Just wondering about the site. Thanks.

[2 Liter]

I really think Moby Dick is the greatest solo of all time, and Fool in the Rain is the greatest shuffle.

Does anyone know the exact setup that he used for the tours? Any one of them would work.

[pdp 9091]

http://www.griptoad.com/JBKITS.html

all his kits are on that page


he used ludwig obviously

mostly

26" bass
14" Snare
14" rack tom (sometimes 13 and sometimes 15)
16" floor tom
18" floor tom

(sometimes instead of the 16 and 18 floor toms he would use 18 and 20 inch floor toms...at least thats wut ive heard.)

[Bonham to the moon]

You are DEFINETLY right about that. John Bohnam had a signature sound and style that was unique, original, entertaining and a joy to listen to. It's why I , among MANY others (including yourselves) gravitate to him so much for rock drumming. I don't think I ever called into question his greatness. You shouldn't feel a need to defend him. Just because I said that Elvin and Buddy were harder to imitate doesn't mean that Bohnam isn't awesome too. For another example, Tony Williams, Dennis Chambers and Billy Cobham are easier to imitate than Elvin Jones or Buddy. Elvin for his time concept, Buddy for pure fire. You'll notice my favorite drummer in the whole wide world is Tony Williams. In other words, this is no strike against John Bohnam. In terms of style, look at the company that he's in, in terms of learning difficulty, right? Get what I'm saying?

yes, i do get what your saying. Its just your first few posts, they struck me like you were saying Bonham could be easily imitated. I am a big bonham fan, but i dont think of myself as a fan thats blind to reality, i know that Bonham didnt have the best licks of all time, and i do know that he will be upstaged, but hes my personal favorite because of his originality, and in his time he could lay down a groove harder than anybody, plus the guys he was playing with helped a bit too. Im not going to argue anymore about people sounding exactly like him, but to my knowledge i havent heard anyone do what he did.

[gr82bagn]

BTTM,

but to my knowledge I haven’t heard anyone do what he did.

I agree, the man had something special and to those who loved his playing he was definably the master of his rock and roll domain, second to none. JOHN BONHAM, JOHN HENRY BONHAM, MOBY DICK DICK DICK DICK, ta ta ta datdatdat tatdatdat ta dadadada
Sorry I got carried away.

[Wormsrock]

Two Words: Moby Dick. Bonham influenced many drummers throughout the ages and is a drum god, Bonham stands alone with onlythe likes of Keith Moon and Neil Peart.

[ewanlaing]

Originally Posted by Wormsrock

Two Words: Moby Dick. Bonham influenced many drummers throughout the ages and is a drum god, Bonham stands alone with onlythe likes of Keith Moon and Neil Peart.

the live version of moby dick is good (if far too long) but the cd version really seemed like a waste to me. the guitar riff is so good, and it seems like the drums had no structure, no rhythm and not very much feeling to it.
don't get me wrong, bonham is incredible in all zepplin songs, but i reall think that on the album, moby dick was his worst moment.
it's my style though. i prefer more musical solos, like ginger bakers toad at the (fairly) recent royal albert hall gigs, or keith carlock, or steve gadd. the solo on the videos page for moby dick is incredible, but again it's too long on the dvd and it feels repeated.

[pdp 9091]

Originally Posted by finnhiggins

I just think you kids are hyping him more relentlessly than there is any factual basis for.

i agree with this....kids that come onto here that idolize bonham and worship him as god have not seen any critizism towards him ever before (this probably being the first time) Theduke said a while back that these "worshippers" see that not 100% thinking upon bonham as a god is wrong. You can compare bonham to the beatles. Beatles were probably the biggest band (as is bonham one of the biggest drummers in rock)....the beatles werent nearly the most technical band at all (just like there are many many more drummers more technical and that have more chops than bonham) but both in their own respect have opened new doors for later musicians that have taken inspiration from them and created new heights in the music business. Yes im a bonham fan. But to utterly (i think wayy misspelled) put him up on a pedalstule (also misspelled) and worship him as a100% god material is just hurting yourself in drumming and here in the forum.
And in no way is theduke and finnhiggins "trolling". Not at all. Just because they critize bonham and look at bonham asless of a god rather than a 100% god (as theduke said before) doesnt mean theyre trolling. If we all came to this forum praising bonham for being a god this wouldnt be a "discussion forum" (as it says on the drummerworld banner)....it would more like be a admiring forum for a drummer that is great but alot of his skill level has been surpassed. but dont get me wrong....he will always be the grandfather of rock drumming because he opened so many new doors for rock drummers but dont come on here saying theduke and figghiggins are trolling because they are giving bonham critizism. Thats just rediculious

[Bonham to the moon]

alrite, i dont wanna get off subject here, but i cant not say something. Having good chops isnt about who is faster, but how fills are applied to the song. Sure people can play faster than Bonham, but IMO no one has touched Bonham in applying amazing fills to every song he plays. Sure someone can listen to Moby Dick and figure out how to play it, but it was him who created it in his mind and layed it down on the record. Lots of artists can paint Starry Night, or the Mona Lisa, but the fact is, is that Da Vinci and Van Gogh are the ones who created them originally, thats why their famous. It sounds like you guys are putting down bonham because his speed can be duplicated. The same goes with Hendrix. Please find me a guitarist that has surpassed him in creating amazing riffs and solos, come on man.

[theduke86]

Bonham to the moon- As I said before, you couldn't be more right. That's why despite Bonham's lack of sheer complete technical virtuosity he is one of my favorite drummers ever. I say this with guarded tone, because to give him credit he had very good and clean technique and chops- he had some cool fast patterns worked out that are actually pretty difficult to learn at first.
The reason that sets him apart is how good and original his part selection was. I don't think we're putting him down. Faster is NOT better.
I think maybe you're thinking about what we're saying too much- I know Finn and I have the same opinion on chops- they're not even important to the strength of a musician. They are amusical factors. Someone can play fast and loud and shred and be perfectly musical or play very sparse and quiet and be perfectly musical and awesome as well. Look at who some of my favorite drummers are- Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, Vinnie Colautia, Paul Motian, Ahmir Thompson and John Bonham. At least on recordings, the last three don't really play much chops. However, they're STILL some of my favorite drummers in the whole world. Those three drummers are all incredible mindblowing musicians because they have great musical ideas. Chops have NOTHING to do with it. Sometimes I like to listen to the "drum porn" like a fusion Vinnie or Weckl, but they're still both musical.
http://www.keithcronin.com/licks/dyer_maker.mp3
I frickin' love this drum fill. It's one of my favorite fills in history. Technically speaking, most drummers on this site could probably learn to play this fill fairly quickly. To play it like Bonzo? I don't know if there's many. Maybe like Joe Morris or Gary Husband or Billy Ward out of the dudes on here right off the top of my head. What a great fill. I love everything he's ever been a part of- great conviction and sound. I could care less about a person's technique. I like to work technique a lot, maybe too much, but it's not a musical thing.B Bonham clearly had enough technique to pull off whatever he wanted extremely well. Finn or I have never claimed that Bonham was anything less than a legendary drummer. I think you're reading into it because chops don't matter for me.

[Bonham to the moon]

Alrite Duke, i can deffinetly agree with that

Can we discuss things without ever using the words best or better?
Can we discuss things and people for what they are instead of always comparing it to something else as being better? Drum Sets, Players, Cymbals, Brands, anything?
Anyone?

So if someone brings up how apples are their favorite fruit, should we always have to respond the the orange is actually better? The orange has more vitamins, has a brighter color, and is right leaning politically? But we still like the apples, but the oranges are still better!

[MSTRKRFT]

Does anyone know what size this mounted tom is pictured here?



Please answer quick, I need to know! Thanks. (Please make sure you're 100% positive)

[MSTRKRFT]

i'm pretty sure it's either a 10x14, or a 12x14, but i'm not really sure. a 12x14 just kind of seems too big.

[moe.ron]

too big for bonham thats a good one! its almost definitely a 10x14 there's almost no way to be 100% sure but i think he usually used a 10x14

[MSTRKRFT]

^ No no, I ment too big for what was in the picture, lol. so you're pretty sure it's a 10x14?

[Bonham to the moon]

nah, thats a 15 incher, deffinetly

[jangus]

Wikipedia says:

Ludwig endorsement kit, Ludwig Thermo Gloss Natural Maple, 14"x26" Bass Drum, 2nd Bass Drum used for some U.S 69"tour, 16"x18" & 16"x16" Floor Toms, 12"x14" Rack Tom (Mounted on snare stand), 6.5"x14" Chrome Supraphonic Snare, Two 12" Ludwig Congas, Ludwig Gold Tone Cowbell.

[pdp 9091]

Originally Posted by jangus

Wikipedia says:

12"x14" Rack Tom (Mounted on snare stand).

ya but theres no snare stand....its mounted on the bass....im thinking its a 14X12.....bonham didnt use a 15 inch until later in the zeppelin days

[MSTRKRFT]

So whats the general thought? It's definatly not 10 deep and 14 wide, but could be 12 deep and 14 wide?

[k_50]

On that kit I'm pretty sure he used a 12x14 (it's not a 10x14 and I don't think he used a 12x15 before the stainless steel kit), which was mounted using both a Rogers Swivomatic bass drum mount and a snare stand.

[Class A Drummer]

12 x 15 i think. its huge. maybe bigger maybe smaller.

[harryconway]

Here is where history (as recorded) is a little vague. His clear maple kit, as listed by all those people who make lists, states that drum to be a 14x12. I don't quite know how that came to be. 14x10 is the standard. 15x12 is the standard. I own a 15x12, which is what I'm gonna use in my big size drum kit. It looks like a 15x12 to me. On a Rogers swivo. tom mount (usual mod. for back in the day). My favorite Bonzo kit, regardless of what size the tom is. Love natural wood.

[dothecrunge]

It's 12x15. The tom was first placed on a Ludwig Atlas snare stand but later he added a Roger's Swivo Matic tom-mount while still keeping the snare stand there for support.

Green sparkle was 10x14.
Amber Vista Lite was was 10x14.
Steel kit-back to 12x15.

[MSTRKRFT]

^ So It's a 12x 15 eh... I wonder why Ludwig is selling the Maple Classic in exactly the same size as his drums EXCEPT the 12x15 tom? (In the maple package it's 12x14)

[Bonham to the moon]

ya but theres no snare stand....its mounted on the bass....im thinking its a 14X12.....bonham didnt use a 15 inch until later in the zeppelin days

you can obviously see that its a 15 inch drum, it doesnt take knowledge of bonham to guess that.

So It's a 12x 15 eh... I wonder why Ludwig is selling the Maple Classic in exactly the same size as his drums EXCEPT the 12x15 tom? (In the maple package it's 12x14)

well becuase as you can see he had that same kit, but with a couple of different tom tom sizes, i wouldnt think that the 15 inch would be the most popular.

[Dannar]

The one pictured is a 14x12
The Green and Amber kits has 14x10
The Stainless steel kit had 15x12

I had heard this several times, but here is the only solid "proof" I have.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bonham#Gear

This kit is identical in sizes to Carmine Appice's drum set that he was using at the same time, and he has said it was 14 not a 15, that too is about as good as verification gets.

[harryconway]

So there you have it. It's obviously a 15x12, unless you believe the lists posted on the internet (and information posted on the internet is never wrong, right?), which then would make it obviously a 14x12. Glad that got cleared up. Here's a link to a picture of the new maple reissue. http://www.drumcentral.com/drum_sets_40.htm maybe someone can do computer scale voodoo to figure this out.

[MSTRKRFT]

^ The picture with Bonham looks so much shorter then the tom in that picture.

[harryconway]

Which leads me to believe that it is a 15x12. The debate over this tom has been going on for about 20 years.

[Bonham to the moon]

im telling your right now, dont go by whats posted on the internet. You can clearly see that that is not a 14 inch tom. Most of us, including me have a 14 inch tom, and clearly its not as big as that.

[franklinj]

A 15"x12"? Damn, thats a big mounted tom. I always thought his setup (tom-wise) was 13 16 18, but I guess I was wrong.

[pdp 9091]

once and for all.....i found a site with all of bonhams kits....every single one each with all the specs

now look closeley at the picture (the congas in the background)....the following info mentions the congas so this info is about this kit:::

Bonham's first Endorsement kit from Ludwig was in 1969. Carmine Appice got him a Ludwig Endorsement by personally ringing the Ludwig factory.

Ludwig, Finish-Thermo-Gloss Natural Maple
14"x26" x2 Bass Drums-model #-926L
Cymbal Mounts-model #-1372C
Bass drum spurs were 2 sets of Ludwig Disappearing spurs-model #-1303C on each drum.
12"x14" Tom-Custom Order**
16"x16" Floor Tom-model # 950L
16"x18" Floor Tom-model # 952L (this was added later on)
6.5"x14" Chrome Supra-Phonic Snare Drum-model # 402

He also used a pair of conga drums. (look in the picture...theres clearly congas)

**For years I thought his tom was a 12"x15" but Todd Trent from Ludwig told me it was 12"x14" not a 12"x15" (Thanks Todd!)

check it out for yourself

http://www.griptoad.com/JBKITS.html

[MSTRKRFT]

^ Not so sure, because this site is called " Lugwigdrummers", and they say this;

Bonham's first Endorsement kit he got from Ludwig was in 1969. Carmine Appice got him a Ludwig Endorsement by personally ringing the Ludwig factory. The sizes were as follows:

14"x26" Bass Drum x2 with Cymbal Mount
12"x15" Tom
16"x16" Floor Tom
16"x18" Floor Tom- he added this later on
6.5"x14" Chrome Supra-Phonic Snare Drum
Finish was Natural Maple Thermo-gloss

Originally Posted by Bonham to the moon

you can obviously see that its a 15 inch drum, it doesnt take knowledge of bonham to guess that.



well becuase as you can see he had that same kit, but with a couple of different tom tom sizes, i wouldnt think that the 15 inch would be the most popular.

Look at it in comparison to the first floor tom, it's a 14.

[pdp 9091]

Originally Posted by MSTRKRFT

^ Not so sure, because this site is called " Lugwigdrummers", and they say this;

Bonham's first Endorsement kit he got from Ludwig was in 1969. Carmine Appice got him a Ludwig Endorsement by personally ringing the Ludwig factory. The sizes were as follows:

14"x26" Bass Drum x2 with Cymbal Mount
12"x15" Tom
16"x16" Floor Tom
16"x18" Floor Tom- he added this later on
6.5"x14" Chrome Supra-Phonic Snare Drum
Finish was Natural Maple Thermo-gloss

well on the site i posted...the guy thought it was a 12X15 (kind of looks like one after i look at it more) but he contacted ludwig and comfirmed it was a 12X14 instead of a 12X15

[harryconway]

Originally Posted by Bonham to the moon

im telling your right now, dont go by whats posted on the internet. You can clearly see that that is not a 14 inch tom. Most of us, including me have a 14 inch tom, and clearly its not as big as that.

So what you're saying is it's smaller than a 14x12?

[Bonzo91]

12 x 14 That is what that tom is.

[Bonham to the moon]

beats the heck outta me, thing looks like 15 inches

[rendezvous_drummer]

that there is a cigarette in his mouth