Recent content by Bonzo_CR

Thank you kind sir :)

I have gigged with a Breakbeats kit and it sounded great. To be fair it is not the best build quality on the market but I bought it for its sound and portability, plus low cost. It has been great. Remember this kit costs less than a single pro ride cymbal! The kick sound is surprisingly...

This is a fair point. Everyone has a different balance of what to do. I think of the balance as the yin/yang of practice. On one hand (the yin) there is the learning of new stuff, exploring it, getting it down smooth and flowing, absorbing it into your vocabulary etc On the other (the yang)...

I practice all kinds of stuff without knowing if I can use it on a gig, because (1) it's fun, and (2) I like to have a wide range of styles/phrases etc I can draw on whenever I feel like it. I think it allows me to better express myself (on a gig or otherwise). I also like the idea above about...

Interesting. I have played Zildjian 5A for about 25 years, and it has been different from the VF 5A. It was a little lighter and has a teardrop tip, larger than the VF 5A. So a different weight, and a different sound on cymbals. I wanted to choose a mainstream model that would always be...

The Meinl Classics Custom Trash Stack (16) sounds good and is very reasonable - it's a purpose-built stack for about the price of a single 16 A Zildjian.

I have the 14, I like it a lot. When set tight it sounds a bit like a handclap or a trashy closed hat. when set looser it sounds like hits of trashy white noise. Pretty usable, if that's what you're looking for. I listened to the other sizes too when choosing. I preferred the pitch of the...

I feel like that has become available already, in the last 10 years! (for drums at least)

Rather than using sales as a definition, what would your answers be if by 'leader' we say the company that is innovating most? On that basis my personal choices would be: Drums: DW just for the range of woods, plies, ranges etc (but I still don't own any!) Cymbals: Zildjian (only due to...

Maybe a thick shell would be less likely to choke. I have heard Jojo Mayer talk about tuning a snare head so high that the shell begins to deform! He was using a 25-ply snare at the time...

Sorry to hear that. Sending good vibes... Hang in there Alain

To avoid plasticky overtones on toms, you can choose coated heads which will soften the attack a little so they sound more 'rounded'. A few general thoughts about tuning for your kit: 1. Based on your description I think your Stage Custom is the current model, a birch kit. I have the same...

Agree. The K Sweet ride is a favourite of mine, and the crashes are great too. I would personally prefer 14" hats, but as a set this is very hard to beat!

5A all the way for me, 27 years and counting. Zildjian or Promark are my favourites - they have a pretty similar feel and both feel just a tad lighter than VF et al. The Promark Active grip is nice too, it works well. Now and again I try other sizes or models but so far I have always...

I once bought a pair of 'vintage' Zildjian hats on eBay. They weighed 715g top and 755g bottom. (14 inch) I personally found them too light to function as HiHats. There was hardly any definition at all. I sold them within a month. YMMV