Pretty much finished building my kit....

JohnnySomersett

Senior Member
So, after about 6 months I finally have together a setup and kit I'm happy with. It's taken a whole shed-load of research and hunting and spending a good deal of money but I'm pretty much there.

Here's some snaps I took at rehearsals yesterday:

8d3832a4.jpg
54824df3.jpg

63acdad0.jpg
fd8b9edf.jpg


The whole lot consists of:

Drums:

Gretsch Catalina 22"x14" kick drum (cut down from an 18")
Gretsch Catalina 16"x16" floor tom
Mapex 13"x5" Snare

Cymbals:

Istanbul Sultan 14" hats
Istanbul Sultan 20" ride
Istanbul Traditional 20" Sizzle ride
Istanbul Alchemy 18" Medium Crash

Gibraltar flush based hardware except the snare which is on a Big Dog.
Kick pedal is currently a 50's Premier Speedmaster

There is a 14x5 Black Beauty snare currently in UK customs that will replace the relatively nasty Mapex one and a I have an order for 3 splashes with my regular shop for me to pick my favorite out of and send the others back. Then, I think I'm done for now!!
 
That's a cool looking kit, other than the cymbal heights, it looks quite comfortable to me!

I'm curious about how you cut down your bass drum? Did you do it yourself or did you have someone else do it for you?

Love the finish too!

-Jonathan
 
That's a cool looking kit, other than the cymbal heights, it looks quite comfortable to me!

I'm curious about how you cut down your bass drum? Did you do it yourself or did you have someone else do it for you?

Love the finish too!

-Jonathan


Do you have your cymbals higher then? I like my rides nice and low for easier articulation and it forces me to hit them more with glancing blows for crashes. The crash is at about my chin height (sat down obviously).

The kick I had a local drum builder cut down for me, only took him a day and cost me £50. It's closer to 13" than 14" in reality. Nice neat job too.

I'm real happy overall. The only thing thats distracting me now is those new Ludwig Club Date sets... Trying real hard to resist the 22x14 set in olive green!
 
Do you have your cymbals higher then? I like my rides nice and low for easier articulation and it forces me to hit them more with glancing blows for crashes. The crash is at about my chin height (sat down obviously).

The kick I had a local drum builder cut down for me, only took him a day and cost me £50. It's closer to 13" than 14" in reality. Nice neat job too.

I'm real happy overall. The only thing thats distracting me now is those new Ludwig Club Date sets... Trying real hard to resist the 22x14 set in olive green!

Nope, lower. Waaaay lower. My ride is probably just a bit lower than yours with my crashes only being 3-4 inches above.

That's cool, what type of bearing edge did he put on it? And I wonder how many local drum builders are in Edmonton.....

You should be proud, you have such a beautiful kit!

-Jonathan
 
I'm digging the three piece! I've been running that setup for a few months now, and I love it.
 
Nope, lower. Waaaay lower. My ride is probably just a bit lower than yours with my crashes only being 3-4 inches above.

That's cool, what type of bearing edge did he put on it? And I wonder how many local drum builders are in Edmonton.....

You should be proud, you have such a beautiful kit!

-Jonathan

I had everything real low for a while but I just ended up making my back hurt!

The bearing edge he just did a traditional 30deg I think. I kinda left it up to him as he'd been doing drum building for about 35 years and I dont honestly buy into the massive difference people think bearing edges make...by the time its muffled and mic'd I dont think theres much difference hahaha

I'm digging the three piece! I've been running that setup for a few months now, and I love it.

It's definitely a cool way to play, forces you into trying interesting stickings rather than relying on having a lot to choose from. I only recently added in the floor tom! Back when I was young I had MASSIVE kits but found I could do pretty much the same on a lot less.


On a good note, I just heard my Black Beauty should arrive tomorrow - and with a strangely small customs charge on it :D !!! Cant wait!
 
Great looking kit! I'd love to hear some sound clips, especially of that kick drum. Don't forget to post a few pictures of that BB when it arrives too.

I'm absolutely enamored with the concept of cutting down deeper kick drums. My own Stage Custom in its new 14" depth is supposed to be ready today and I can't wait to see it.

I'm curious as to what muscal styles you play. You really could play anything on that setup but the addition of the sizzle ride (which is at a perfectly acceptable height John) makes me think "Jazz".
 
Nice rig. Don't see too many people playing a three piece kit! I like it a lot. I like how you cut down the bass drum shell as well - I do that from time to time when someone gives me shells to experiment with. Sweet set-up! Congrats!
 
Hmm... have you ever heard of Irepress?

Just went and had a dig around for them... I'm impressed. Nice varied stuff going on there, certainly appeals to my nature.

You might appreciate this UK band then:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dopZtKGdlFE&feature=relmfu

They're called Alright The Captain and its worth having a listen to a few off of their 'SNIB' album (they're all on youtube). Lots of fuzz'd out slap bass and weird timings.
 
Back
Top