LOUD brushes. How?

There are some brushes that will put little freckles on cymbals. I forget which ones they were though. The Regal and Vic ones i have now don't do that though. Thank goodness.
 
I use the wood tipped handle brushes that way I can use the wooden end on my cymbals and bell for train beats. I keep the wires straight by using a sleeve from a pair of sticks. The Vater ones are long enough to cover the wires in my bag. Slip it over the wood handle and up the wires.

My problem is I constantly get the wires caught between the rim and the head.

So the sleeves aren't helping there and my wires end up looking like Einstein's hair.
 
bermuda said:
True and true. When I needed a little more from brushes, but not quite the midrange whack of plastic ones, I got the Vic Firth Live Wires. They have a tiny but effective ball at the end of each wire that really gives more bite.

Hmm, new slogan: Vic Firth Live Wires bite! :)

Bermuda
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Live Wires have worked quite well for me- funny that many drummers I've shown them to like them right away but hadn't heard of them.
 
Push pull stroke said:
Didn’t Remo come out with a snare drum that had a hand-drum-type batter head, where the rim was lower than the level of the head?
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It’s the Remo Mondo snare drum. It looks like the only ones available are 12 inch drums, for some reason. Plus they have the Acousticon shell, which...no. But I like the idea.
 
How do Jazz drummers make a soft scraping sound that can be heard over a band? When I do that, it isn't even audible over an acoustic guitar. Are they relying on a microphone and amplification for volume?
 
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TMe said:
How do Jazz drummers make the a soft scraping sound that can be heard over a band? When I do that, it isn't even audible over an acoustic guitar. Are they relying on a microphone and amplification for volume?
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I use natural hide heads, which really helps. If you’re not using hide heads, then you need to use coated heads, which produce enough friction to give you enough volume.
 
I kinda settled on the Vic Firth nylon brushes with wood handles for most things.. and I also wrap a hair-tie elastic bands around them and slide it up and down to control how much bite I want to get. Although usually I just knock them back a bit..
I'm intrigued by the Vic Firth Live Wires.. sounds cool. Will have to check them out.
I've used lots of wire brushes - but
A - the collapsible wires always get bent or tangled then I throw them in aa pile with the other bent and tangled brushes..Even worse, one time a pair of Steve Gadd signature brushes blew apart on a gig and sprayed the stage with wires!
The nylon bristles seem to take a beating and last forever... they don't crimp!
B - the collapsible metal wire handles also just don't feel good in the hands like the solid wood handles do.

My next step up in turns of volume or snap is either a pair of wooden rods.. or sometimes one rod and one nylon brush.
Sometimes for small clubs I use rods in a train beat with a very very thin nylon sheet or fabric over the snare - this really fattens up the sound and makes the rods sound like loud snappy brushes. Otherwise rods tend to sound pingy on the snare. and those flying wood chips! Sheesh.

I used to use Blastix sometimes.. but just don't like them anymore.. just a blah sound. I try to get a great brush sound at either quiet or loud volumes as needed.

Also I love mixing it up - a nylon brush with a cross-stick or a one-shot shaker on one stick or a rod and a brush etc. depending on the tune..
 
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