Recent content by boomstick

That's really cool. I've heard of directors quietly attending screenings of their movies to see how a real audience reacts. Never thought about top musicians getting feedback from audience members, but it makes a lot of sense.

I'm being far more critical of my former self. After putting in many hours to correct these flaws, I'm in a place where I feel much more confident, I feel good about my playing, and I have so much more fun. But I've also stopped being complacent, and I keep pushing myself to improve. I think I'm...

Ha! The first time I did that was probably my first rude awakening. It was kind of horrifying. "All that practice, and this is what I sound like?" BTW, I did finally remember getting some critical feedback early on. I was auditioning for bands, and for one of them, I did a pre-audition with...

That's a great suggestion. Thanks.

Yes, I think I need to do this.

Maybe. But I think back to my first band. They complimented my playing, but we actually recorded ten tracks together, and it's kind of embarrassing to listen to now. Actually, now that I've worked on these things, I am much more confident in my playing. I used to get nervous and worry about...

Over the years, I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback on my playing from listeners, from bandmates, from teachers. Can’t think of any negative criticism that I have received. It’s nice to hear that I’m a “good” or an “awesome” drummer, but in hindsight, I realize I was none of those things. I...

The 12" doesn't click with me either. I don't know what it is. I finally swapped mine with an orphan 13" that I found. I like it so much better, which is weird, because I see a lot of people who are down on 13s. Eh, good thing we're not all the same.

I've had a 20 for about 15 years now. I loved the sound of this drum right out of the box. With just a Superkick I, standard single ply reso, and nothing inside the shell, it sounded wonderful to me. I happily used it without a riser for about 10 years. But more recently, I've been trying to...

Given its prevalence as a TV/movie sound effect, I am puzzled by the widespread misuse of the word "punchy" when describing the sound a drum produces. Here is the classic punch sound effect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp7sDYEq5vI Basically a very short sound with no sustain, but I've seen...

I've installed a lift on my kick drum. Now I need to make a cut in the hoop (as pictured) to make room for the pedal action. What would be the best way to make this cut? I'm thinking of drawing a guide line using a flexible plastic lid (like from a can of peanuts) as a stencil, then making the...

Behold, all two of them! And budget snares at that. Nevertheless, I love them, especially since I modified them heavily to make them somewhat unique. First is my primary snare, a nickel-over-brass Worldmax Black Dawg 5x14. I've always wanted a Black Beauty, but could never justify the price. I...

Ever since I started drumming at age 12, I've been a cross-stick player. But now in my 40s, I think I am transitioning into open-handed playing, which was rather unintentional. That probably doesn't sound possible, since I consciously chose to start practicing open-handed a few years back. But...

Now that I've completed some upgrades and additions, I figured my practice/micro-gig kit deserved its own thread. It's very nice to have a cheap kit to practice on and take to rehearsals and gigs. It's also compact, which makes it very portable and solves a space issue at home and on small...

That's one thing I learned from this interesting article "The scientific mystery of why humans love music." The main thrust of the article is that scientific study has not yet determined why humans like music so much, given that our survival is not dependent upon it. I like how the current...