Great pictures, and a few new additions!!

xopethx

Senior Member
Hey everybody!!! I've been swamped lately with work and life in general, but i've had enough time to take care of a few things :) I'm continually optimizing my setup and trying new things, and practicing of course, and last week i worked up the motivation to cut down two more cracked cymbals that i had lying around. I'm quite pleased with the results, seen below. I compacted the entire setup a little, it was taking up too much space in my room!

I used a different camera for these pics, a Canon 40D. There are 4 HDR images at the bottom of the pictures, also. (i'm no photo guru, and it was my first attempt messing around in PhotoMatix). Let me know what you think of the quality, and don't forget to check out the sound file!


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I got a new laptop not too long ago..a cheapie HP, but it does the job!


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this is my music/media player, a Creative Zen Vision W...awesome screen on it, and great battery life & sound quality.


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This is the first cymbal of the two, it used to be an 18" Zildjian Oriental China Trash, now it's about 12.5" across. Really unique sound, i posted a brief recording of it below. I still have some rounding/smoothing work to do on it.


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Here's the other new one, it was an 18" K medium-thin crash (badly cracked, of course). I purposely made this one smaller and encroached on the bell more, and it gave it a really cool high-pitched trashy sound! Much different than the other chimes i've made.

Here's the recording of the modified china (bad mixing and playing, please excuse!)

CLICKY




HDR PICS :

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and finally, i know some of you liked my old chair (the throne, as you called it!!), but i traded it in for something that didn't hurt to sit in :)

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I've been recording almost every week (myself, and friends), so i'm really starting to rack up some experience in that regard. I actually might want to develop it to the point where i could claim the "engineer" title. Although Producing is much more fun!

Also, i'm looking at moving soon, possibly to L.A., Boston, or NYC...i need a better paying job, and somewhere with a really competitive music scene.

Take care, guys, and thanks :)


And, specs for those who might ask!

-Kit Specs-

Sonor S-Class Pro maple (9 ply)
20x17 Kick (Powerstroke 3 w/Remo Falam)
8x8 Tom (Coated Amb)
10x9 Tom (Coated Amb)
12x10 Tom (Coated Emp)
14x14 Tom (Coated Emp)
14x5.25 S-Class Snare (Prosound Custom 12-strand wires w/Coated Amb)
Force 3005 maple 12x5 aux snare (Coated Amb)

-Cymbals-

3 mini-chimes (cut from larger crashes)
6" Zildjian A-Custom splash
8" Zildjian Avedis splash
9" Zildjian K-Custom Hybrid splash
12" Wuhan China
13" Zildjian K Hi-hats
16" Zildjian K-Custom fast crash
16" Wuhan China
17" Zildjian K Thin Dark crash
18" Zildjian A-Custom crash
20" Wuhan China
20" Zildjian K-Custom ride (brilliant)

-Recording Equipment-

6 x Shure SM57 (toms, undersnare, and aux snare)
4 x Rode NT5 condenser (overheads L and R, ride , and hi-hats)
1 x Audix i5 (snare top)
1 x Audix D6 (kick)
M-Audio Firewire 1814 (main interface)
M-Audio ProFire 2626 (using as a A/D converter)
Mackie 1604 VLZ Pro 16-channel mixer
 
You certainly are a photographer too, Chris.

These are stunning pix of a stunning kit! I don't think there's a better photographed kit on the forum ( and not too many better kits, either for that matter... )

How'd you cut the cymbals? I got a few lying around..
 
thanks fellas :)

As far as cutting the cymbals down, i started off marking the cymbal where i wanted to cut it - i used a sharpie, and spun the cymbal around on a stand, and used a piece of string to keep the marker in one place and mark a continuous circle all the way around.

Next, i used some tin snips -
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this part SUCKS, and make sure you wear gloves. It requires tremendous forearm strength (good thing we're drummers, huh?) to cut through the thicker cymbals (Z-Customs, rides, etc). Your lines don't have to be perfect, but make sure you don't go smaller than your intended diameter.

Once you've got it down to a rough size, you need to find a way to attach it to an electric drill. I found something suitable at my hardware store here. It's basically a bit that can clamp onto the cymbal (i'll take a picture of it).

Finally, you need to spin the cymbal against a bench grinder or something similar -i picked one up for under 50 dollars. WEAR EYE PROTECTION!!! a tiny bit of bronze, lodging itself in the back of your eye cavity, can cause unfathomable discomfort, not to mention future blindness. Make sure the cymbal is balanced on the drill, you don't want it wobbling against the grinding wheel. I just do this until the edges are perfectly round and smooth, and then finish it off with some 100-200 grit sandpaper. After that, while it's still on the drill, i get out the cymbal polish and clean 'er up!

hope that helps you guys.
 
That's such a nice kit you have there. And your photos do them great justice.

I take it you deliberately use emperors on the larger toms and ambassadors on the smaller toms and snares? Is there a marked difference in tone/sustain when you go from the 10" to the 12"?
 
Hey fella

That's a wicked set up you've got there. I'm jealous!

What are the sm57s like on the toms? Have you used the Betas on toms before and if so how do they compare?

The HDR pics are cool. You've kept them subtle which is a good thing. I've done a bit of HDR myself and it's a lot of fun.
 
That is an awesome set, and I love the bells cut from the cracked cymbals, I am going to have to start trying that, I had an old K constantanople crash cut down to 10.5" and the edges curled up into a prefect looking china cymbal, sounds ok though.

Couple questions on your recording, #1. Did you (Or your band) write the song? and #2. can I hear more of it?

I enjoyed what little bit I heard, it was very catchy, and almost a little haunting but stayed with me long after I heard it.
 
What an awesome set of drums, cymbals and recording equipment! These photos are stunning, too. Good perspectives and quality.

I like your set-up a lot, it looks like such a comfortable playground. Really an inspiring workplace! The china sounds quite nice, although I like darker ones with more body it`s just right for the kind of stuff you`re doing.

PS: You wanna move? That sounds promising...when you do, let us know! NYC....Boston....wow, I`m a bit of sad living in a small town here. :-D

Karl
 
Looks so good man...Great pictures, and great set as I already said in previous topics.

Oh, and when do we get a Windowpane Video? :)
 
Awesome set / setup man. Btw, how's that Creative holding up? I've got the Zen Vision: M. Had it for almost 3 years now. (I almost bought the same one you have)
 
That looks awesome. Definitley one of my favorite setups on the forum.
 
Your kit is my favorite setup on the forum. Im always completely interested in anything you post of it.

If you can get a free weekend sometime, you should really take your kit to a beautful outdoor place and take some pictures, minus the electronics. The middle of a field or a forrest perhaps. A few hundred pictures later and you'll be able to start a DrumPorn magazine. (don't worry, we'll read the articles.)
 
katman : Thanks! I definitely prefer having the ambassadors on the smaller toms - they're alittle harder to dial in just right, but they SING! The 12 and 14" toms have a very similar sound, and they don't have a problem sustaining. With the Emps, they're easier to tune, and they have more low-end resonance.


Westicle : thank you sir - the 57s are good on the toms, but I'm saving for Sennheiser MD421s in the future. The sound quality of the 57s suffer a bit, because the free-spinning caps rattle a bunch at certain frequencies. (even when they're attached to a free stand, and not on the rim of the drum). I do my best to glue them down every month or two, but it's really annoying (and messy!) I tried using a Beta52 on my 14" tom once, it sounded horrible :)


Drumsword : thanks man! That sound sample was myself, playing along to a song called "Windowpane" by Opeth. That particular version is from their live CD "The Roundhouse Tapes". If you like that style of music, get their album "Damnation". It's all moody prog-rock, and widely regarded as one of their best efforts. Be forewarned though, the rest of their material is a bit.....heavier


Drummer Karl : Thanks, i'm looking at most likely Boston...that seems to be where all the jobs are, and it doesn't hurt that Berklee is right there! I actually considered going to Berklee about a year ago, but decided not to (and i'm very glad!)


Tom Sawyer : Windowpane video coming soon :) i just need to get better!


Remoking : I love my Zen! I've had it for a year, and i've dropped it numerous times, even dunked it into a half-full cup of water by accident. Still running perfectly, except for the occasional lockup/re-indexing. The volume output could be higher, but i guess you sacrifice volume for sound quality


IronCobra : Thanks man, i'm definitely wanting to take some outdoor pictures, but i'll probably have to wait until Nobember or so . Here in central florida, we don't really have Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall....it's either unbearably humid, hot, and damp (the wet season, it rains almost every day) or it's a little colder, and extremely dry (during the months of October-February). It also doesn't help that there's a tropical storm above me at the moment :)

But yes! If it weren't for the fact that i'd worry about the humidity affecting the drums, i'd do it in a heartbeat.




thanks again everybody!
 
That looks amazing, and the sound clip of the custom china is good, it sounds really nice. Just a quick question, how is your recording gear set up? i was thinking of mabye getting a firepod for recording all different instruments (guitar, bass, vox etc) and possibly drums at a later stage. Would you recomend the maudio stuff? and what program do you use to record? sorry for all the questions, its just im not all that clued up on the recording side of things and its something id really want to get into. cheers

- ash
 
Dang I love how Sonors look! So futuristic. How much were they?
 
-Recording Equipment-

6 x Shure SM57 (toms, undersnare, and aux snare)
4 x Rode NT5 condenser (overheads L and R, ride , and hi-hats)
1 x Audix i5 (snare top)
1 x Audix D6 (kick)
M-Audio Firewire 1814 (main interface)
M-Audio ProFire 2626 (using as a A/D converter)
Mackie 1604 VLZ Pro 16-channel mixer

I have a thread here - http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=41772 about mics for overheads. Can you offer any opinions on the NT5s?

Thanks
 
Man you are my idol, as I always tell you. The tracks on Myspace are awsome, and your pictures are the true definition of drumporn, as ever. Keep up the great work, I am looking forward to more of your stuff.
 
Great kit, and quality post - awesome pics, specs and insight.

As a reward, please accept this JPEG of Glen Benton...
 

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Man you are my idol, as I always tell you. The tracks on Myspace are awsome, and your pictures are the true definition of drumporn, as ever. Keep up the great work, I am looking forward to more of your stuff.

Yeah I just had a quick listen to the tunes for the first time and they're sounding good.
 
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