Blindfolded Buying

Well you obviously can't tell the difference in sound. That is why you are Tama and Paiste. :p You just lucked out on the Roland one. :)
 
Unfortunately Davo I hear myself drum way more than anyone else does. Especially now that I am not going to church anymore, and playing worship every week. (Thank Goodness).
The drums I picked, I picked because I liked the sound of them because I will be the one hearing them the majority of the time. :)
 
Davo-London said:
So, you'll have to forgive me as I know this is heresy but as long as the drums are well tuned will anyone (other than hard-core drummers) notice any difference between the kits?
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To paraphrase a wise man of the forum:

"The punters may or may not have been aware that there were some drums on stage"

I think it pretty much sums it up from a non-drummers perspective. They neither know, nor care. I know more non-drummers than I do drummers, haven't found one yet that gives a toss as to the 'ins and outs' of our caper......they just wanna hear us play.
 
Ok fair dos. Pick a sound that you like of course, you have to live with the hours of practice. I didn't mean that we should buy something we don't like! But I do find, for example, the endless talk about snares sounds a bit puzzling. But then I've only been playing 7 years. If I had 20 years under my belt, i'll be talking about the pros and cons of cleaning the bearing edge and what cleaning materials I should use ...

Davo
 
Blindfolded aural comparisons...I don't need a blindfold. I am so not influenced by looks or brand, sound is king. I use a Sabian XS 20 as a bottom HH because I like it. I play DW's but was gushing over Ludwig's Accent toms, how superior the tone was, from the drivers seat at least. Accent toms sound better than DW toms to me. Would I buy Accents? No way! I'll go CM's or Legacy though lol. I think it's more that I prefer the Ludwig tone over the DW tone.

I get MattA's angle though, and I follow it. I buy with my ears.
 
8Mile said:
Testing equipment period, let alone blind, is a great idea. The problem is, how do you accomplish this?.
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I play catch and release. Fortunately, I have the money to kick around (not THAT much, but you'd be surprised at some of the amazing deals in the used market...). I also have opportunities to play drums and cymbals in working situations (gigs, recording sessions, etc...). I like to tinker and experiment, and playing new pieces of gear every time and again is a great way to break up the monotony of using the same gear all the time. Plus, I get a first-hand experience with said gear, and can honestly recommend (or not) certain gear to different people for their situations. Plus, I can always get my money back when I buy used, so it's not costing me anything, unless I keep a particularly appealing piece.

I would never purchase blindfolded. I have to know make/model/year in order to determine if the asking price is too high or not. Plus, playing a drum or cymbal in one room is going to be vastly different in another room. I have to spend some time exploring the sonic capabilities of a piece of drum gear before I decide if it's for me or not.
 
keep it simple said:
Must admit, never understood the un-boxing video thing. Surely the only one who gets the buzz in the recipient?
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I watched some electronics unboxing vids and thought, why not memorialize my drum kit unboxing? I realize 22,000 + hits isn't phenomenal, but I am surprised at how many views it has garnered so far.
 
I'd love to go on a blindfold test....have a kit set up to my specs from each manufacturer, with me in a blindfold being dragged around from kit to kit, playing "Name That Kit" and "Price Is Right"...
 
Way back when, I worked in drum shops that had a really good selection of cymbals.

Also, at the time, there are not as many brands, and not as many variations from each brand, so having almost one of everything was much more possible than it is now. And the idea of buying/hearing cymbals online wasn't there yet.

And the majority of people did buy with their ears to an extent. People would come in with few preconceived notions. But once someone heard something they liked, they did get into the label.

Compared to now, there are so many more choices in cymbals, and with the economy, few shops can afford to really carry a wide selection anymore. So I think it's no surprise people come to forums like this asking for advice.

Back in 92, UFIP made a huge push into the US market. We had a huge UFIP cymbal tree, and put it right up in front.

UFIP's marketing strategy was that people should not buy on the label, people should buy with their ears. So UFIP only had vague descriptions on the bottom of their cymbal, so the average buyer had no idea what was a thin crash, what was a rock crash, etc.

This concept failed miserably. People would stare at the display and ask "how do I tell what is what?" Even people who were opened minded enough to give the brand a try would eventually give up and go back to the cymbal room where they could read a label.

Blind is good, when you need one or two cymbals and are faced with a few hundred choices, most people want at least the choices narrowed down to the cymbals that at least fit the basic criteria of what they are looking.
 
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