SO Much to show and tell! Starclassics and Drum Dial tuning, PDP Flame on, and oh yeah--Rat Rod stage II

[Yamaha Rider]

your urine, or animal? I can imagine the acidic properties in it would be right for that...I would not want to smell heated urine for any length of time though

Alkaline, I think.

 

[Yamaha Rider]

I like it too, but I'm wondering if it's going to need some kind of protective coating on it.

First off, I'll reiterate, I'm horrible at taking pics. Just not a photographer.

I picked up the Starclassic 12/14/20 Walnut/birch kit about 5 or 6 weeks ago. I knew right away that I was changing the heads. The cheap resos came off, the G2 clear tops went to the reso side, and I slapped on new clear Ambs atop the the toms. A PS4 clear replaced the OG bass batter as well. I picked up a Drum Dial in the last 12 to 18 months, never used it. I didn't know if it was working properly--bought used--and I was liking the tuning my hands and ears were getting. But, when I tried tuning these Starclassics, I couldn't get them to sound like anything other than cardboard boxes. I was TRULY disappointed at first. Then I watched a few D.Dial vids. I ended up with a 75 top & 70 bottom tuning on the toms with the afore mentioned head setup. NOW, they sound fantastic! Also, I could NOT pass these up. The finish seems unique and bright, I get lost in this pearl finish. It's unbelievable. My photos do NOT do them justice. Fabulous.

https://imgur.com/JwlYUQb

https://imgur.com/DavAcgc

https://imgur.com/Sc7wAjQ

https://imgur.com/6fRVNUl

I've become so comfortable with the Drum Dial, I break it out all the time now. My natural 2-handed technique already had tension betwee 72-75 usually. So I was close. But getting the batter to work well with the 2 ply reso, I think that's what was a little different?

If you look closely at the snare. . .That USED to be a PDP black nickel plated 13 x 6.5 steelie. Well, it still is, but the black nickel plating was horrible. The shop sold it to me pretty cheap. I purchased this snare over 2 years ago and always had intentions of doing, Exactly what I did to it. I used a propane torch and gave that steel some color. I've Googled for ANYTHING similar. I can't find a single snare that someone has torched and added this type of color. It did NOT change it sonically as far as I can tell. I will add pics in the next post. There is NOTHING perfect about it. I cooked in some fingerprints, the color is very random. AND, I had to change torch heads in the middle of the job because the first one was plastic and crapped out on me. You can see one side (TOP vs BOTTOM) is considerably darker and less uniform. Then I got the new head and the heat was much more concentrated, but I didn't need to heat the drum as much to see color change.

I also picked up a B-stock Supraphonic recently. Nothing spectacular, but I'm glad to have one. It looks fantastic, being brand new basically.

And Finally, I will post pics of the RAT ROD. I haven't done much honestly. I don't want to over-do-it. The wood hoops I've added are Wahlberg & Auge hoops supposedly. Around 95 years old? If you look at them closely, I think you'd agree, they are certainly weathered! There was no documentation with these, got them for $65 on eBay.

Great photography, beautiful pearl, stunning patination.

 

[Old Dog new Cans]

No need to get defensive. When you do something that's essentially the polar opposite of what's considered the norm, you're going to get questions.

I'm just curious if it's actually possible to get a good sound with a clear single-ply batter over a double-ply reso. Since I use a double-ply batter over a single-ply reso (i.e. the "norm"), if I strike the underside of my tom, that's essentially the same head combo as what you're hitting. And to me it sounds like absolute crap. But admittedly, I don't have mine tuned specifically for that scenario, so perhaps it could sound better with different tuning. That's why I was asking about the moongel. I don't use any on my rack toms, and my 16" floor tom only gets a 1/2 piece. So when I see 2 large pieces on the floor tom, that looks like a LOT of moongel to me. Hence my question. My toms don't ring for days (because I don't want them to), and with my head choice + tuning ability, I don't need any more than a 1/2 piece of moongel to achieve that.

Also, I watched that Sounds Like a Drum video, and he's using a 2-ply coated batter over 2-ply clear. I can see that working for a shorter decay, since his batter is the same thickness as his reso, not thinner. Actually, the batter in that video is slightly thicker than the reso since it's a coated batter, and the coating adds mass. That's why it works in his video. But a thinner batter/thicker reso results in a very boingy sound (in my experience) since it's harder to get the reso moving, so most of the air/sound waves bounce back to excite the thinner batter head. Again, hence my moongel question.

Perhaps your method sounds great, and you're onto something. Or maybe you have magic drums that miraculously sound better using that combo. Since I can't hear your kit, there's no way for me to know. It's just that my experience says that head combo is, shall we say, less than ideal.

But as long as you're happy with your sound, that's all that matters. Don't let me tell you otherwise.

I was in a craptastic mood yesterday man. It's not on you.

Yeah, I didn't completely copy the video. And the reason is, I knew I could make adjustments, hopefully--if this setup didn't work and use the Ambs and the stock G1s.

But it works.

 

[TK-421]

I was in a craptastic mood yesterday man. It's not on you.

Yeah, I didn't completely copy the video. And the reason is, I knew I could make adjustments, hopefully--if this setup didn't work and use the Ambs and the stock G1s.

But it works.

No worries, and I’m glad it’s working for you. Maybe one of these days I’ll flip over one of my toms (so the 1-ply is my batter and the 2-ply is the reso) and try to tune it to sound good. Should be an interesting experiment if nothing else, but I’ll make sure to have some moongels handy just in case.

 

[Old Dog new Cans]

No worries, and I’m glad it’s working for you. Maybe one of these days I’ll flip over one of my toms (so the 1-ply is my batter and the 2-ply is the reso) and try to tune it to sound good. Should be an interesting experiment if nothing else, but I’ll make sure to have some moongels handy just in case.

So, is it natural to be a smart a$$ or are you trying? It's obvious you're saying the only reason I got my $1800 drums to sound good is because of $1.68 in cheap moongels.
You're like a dog with a bone aren't you? Wow. You know what's funny, whey I just removed the moongels and checked my tone, it sounded the like the same tuning. ONLY LESS MUFFLED. Which is what I described above. No wonder I was in a bad mood yesterday.

 

[timmdrum]

I've heard, in person, a kit with pinstripes top and bottom on all 3 toms, and it resonated magnificently, maybe too long to be practical. It was a bit of an odd tone, with both heads not producing any high-end overtones, but still: 2-ply resos don't kill resonance.

 

[JimmyM]

I've heard, in person, a kit with pinstripes top and bottom on all 3 toms, and it resonated magnificently, maybe too long to be practical. It was a bit of an odd tone, with both heads not producing any high-end overtones, but still: 2-ply resos don't kill resonance.

Not entirely but they can reduce it. I bought my Ddrum Diablos with Ec2/Pinstripes, except for one tom that had a single ply reso, and when I replaced it with a Pinstripe, it definitely cut resonance down. Went Ambassador crazy when I got my Ludwig Classic set last month, though, and I prefer them, but won’t ever poop on the idea of a 2 ply reso.

 

[TK-421]

I even didn't think it was anime but just a normal point to get ready with moon gel as it a what he has on his Toms....But whoooaaa, his reaction, too much agressive I think.

Actually it wasn’t even a joke, I’m not sure why I said that. I think I was a bit shocked by his reaction and wasn’t sure what to say.

If I someday decide to try and replicate his head selection and tuning, I think moongels are in order since he’s clearly using them. What, is he the only one who’s allowed to use moongels on a 1-ply over 2-ply setup?

I was truly stunned by his reaction. But I’m over it. And I’m sure that head combo sounds like shit anyway, so there’s no way I’ll bother trying it.

 

[timmdrum]

Not entirely but they can reduce it. I bought my Ddrum Diablos with Ec2/Pinstripes, except for one tom that had a single ply reso, and when I replaced it with a Pinstripe, it definitely cut resonance down. Went Ambassador crazy when I got my Ludwig Classic set last month, though, and I prefer them, but won’t ever poop on the idea of a 2 ply reso.

Of course they can, as can any head, when tuned to do so. If you'd tuned yours differently, resonance would have increased (unless it was an old head), or decreased further. The mere presence of a 2 ply reso does not decrease resonance. The drums I heard/played with pinstripes top & bottom resonated so weirdly long that they almost sounded electronically generated.

 

[Trigger]

So, is it natural to be a smart a$$ or are you trying? It's obvious you're saying the only reason I got my $1800 drums to sound good is because of $1.68 in cheap moongels.
You're like a dog with a bone aren't you? Wow. You know what's funny, whey I just removed the moongels and checked my tone, it sounded the like the same tuning. ONLY LESS MUFFLED. Which is what I described above. No wonder I was in a bad mood yesterday.

Dude. You have issues.