Drummer community & drum marketplace
The first vintage & Custom Drum Magazine, since 1988
George Lawrence, Jim Pettit, Greg Morrow - three VERY not so modern drummers! (at Memphis Drum Shop)
-Arnie Lang passes
-New England Drum Show postponed
-Summer of Soul a must see
-We are selling back issues of Classic Drummer/Vintage Drummer magazine
Cympad Optimizers
So the fine folks at Cympad sent an assortment of their cymbal washers for me to review. Cympad washers are made from a cellular foam material and can be used in place of traditional felt washers. The Optimizer washers are pretty close to the same size as any typical felt washers for rides, crashes and hi hats, and effects cymbals. I felt that these would be a good starting place to do an A/B comparison with my felt washers. I used several different types of ride cymbals: My “holy grail” Bosphorus 21” Master Series ride/crash cymbal - extremely thin with a small bell, an old EAK Zildjian K 22” ride that is very low pitched and dark with a big bell , and an older 20” A Zildjian rock ride - pretty heavy and bright with a medium sized bell.
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Cympad Shark
Ding! Ding! Ding! Folks, we have a winner! This one tops my “George’s Picks” list. From Cympad’s Website: “The gated drum damper enhances the attack while keeping the tone of the drum. The Shark’s exclusive hinged design allows the device to float on the playing surface— subtly reducing the volume and resonance by reacting to the intensity of the stroke. Rugged, re-useable, with plastic carrying case included.”
Read moreThe July 2021 issue of Not So Modern Drummer has been delayed for a few days. We normally send it via email on the last day of each month but ran into a last minute issue with our subscriber email list. It needs to be cleaned to be in compliance with spam regulations, or else be barred from sending bulk email. This usually takes 24 to 48 hours so look for it within the first week of August. Sorry for the delay.
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Bill Ludwig III and George Lawrence at the 30th annual Chicago Drum Show, 2021
Tidbits and morsels from that rascal sage, prophet and soothsayer, George Lawrence
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See, play, and win the new Famous Drum Company “Celebrity” single ply snare drum at the Chicago Drum Show.
Read moreSticky Wicket rides again!
Read moreMe on drums and a whole lot of other folks of different stripes showing how the melting pot in Memphis gets along - through music.
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Monthly musings
Read moreThis month, I’m featuring a fairly new item on the market: No Nuts Cymbal Mounting System which consists of two components; the Cymbal Sleeve and the CymRing:
Read moreWelcome to new DrumSellers.com retailer and manufacturers - Explorer’s Percussion, Siers Practice Pad for Brushes, and No Nuts Cymbal Sleeves/Sizzle Nuts/Cymrings. Welcome to new writer, Jim Pettit of Memphis Drum Shop.
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It all started at George’s Drum Shop, my retail store in Jackson Mississippi from 1985 - 1987. Joe Partridge was my right hand man there, doing minor repair and refurbishing jobs like taking the old wrap off of drums and re-wrapping them (actually burning the wrap off of the old volatile pre-OSHA drums - the more sadistic customers wanted to be called when we did that so they could come watch!) Joe would also drill holes to put new hardware on some of the customers’ drums. We didn’t actually build any drums at that store, per se, just sold typical name brand drums and repaired then. Joe and I would start building drums separately in the years after that first shop .closed. But, I had some foil stickers made that looked like drum badges with the name of the store and a cool looking drum. So that was as far as we got with the drum building in those first years - badges!
Read moreThese steam bent single ply shells are built by Evan Thomas. They are used in our LaScala and other models. They are also for sale to drum builders as raw shells with or without drilling and cutting of edges, hardware holes and snare beds. They are built in the one ply tradition of Slingerland Radio Kings and other modern high end one ply brands like Craviotto, Noble & Cooley, etc. We keep a good supply of curly maple shells. Many other woods can be used. Call us for available woods.
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I teach at at Memphis Drum Shop and at my home in East Memphis. Lessons cost $30 per half hour, and $60 per hour. Grade school and college students usually take half hour lessons. Pros and working drummers usually take hour lessons. I teach remotely via skype, zoom, face time, etc.
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Vintage, classic and antique cars are classified by the states and by insurance companies. There are monetary and legal ramifications of a car's age; insurance rates, allowed usage, registration fees, etc. And, of course, resale value. Much of vintage drums' classification comes from the world of cars and antique furniture and art, not grapes or wine.
Read moreDo not!!! take your drums to a “UPS” STORE ” and let them pack and ship them unless you and your customer are aware of the high prices. They are not owned by UPS. They are just pick up points and make their money by doing the packing work you don’t want to do.
Read moreTried to Sell it, but i dont think anyone believes its Real ???....When i get confirmation from PEARL Headquarters, I'm hoping people believe its real !!. I bought it out of Delaware Ontario/Canada, with a load of antique/vintage drums/hardware/cymbals/accessories from the estate of an OLD Drummer !!..........Ken”
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My tribute to Neil Peart
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This will be a short review. Good and short because I really am impressed with these heads. I play at least three nights a week with a big rock and soul band named FreeWorld on Beale Street in Memphis and a good number of well-known drummers sit in on my drums. It’s a pretty hard-hitting gig and the guys that sit in don’t hold back. Though I prefer single ply heads on recording sessions and lighter gigs, I have used all sorts of two ply heads on my Gretsch drums over the years for the louder gigs. The two-ply heads last longer. They also all start denting up immediately and I’ll use each set as long as I can until they just won’t tune up anymore or are looking like the surface of the moon.
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