Gavin Harrison here!

Hi Gavin!

I remember that you used (maybe still do?) cut out rings in the inside of your floortoms sitting on top of the reso heads. Have you tried this idea with clear powerstroke3s as reso? If not, do you think it could work? 'Cause the head thickness would be the same as an ambassador, and the rings would be always where they should be. The only difference would be that the rings themselves would not be able to move as freely as a cut out ring. And if it sounds too dead, you could still cut those rings down to a smaller size to let the tom breathe a bit more.

Cheers,
Matthew
 
Hi Gavin,

Mirco from Italy here.
Can you give some hints about the tuning of your Protean snares? For example what is the difference in tuning bewteen the two? I guess the 12" will be some pitches higher than the 14".

Thanks.

Sorry if this question has been maybe already posted.

M.
 
Hey Gavin, I have a question about your riff in Bonnie the Cat. I know you say that it's in 4/4 time, and I cognitively understand how that's true, but I cannot help but feel it in (7+9)/8. My question is something to the effect of this: What makes it a syncopated 4/4 rhythm as opposed to a mixed meter? (And on a broader level, what is the underlying difference between syncopation and meter changes? To me, they are often indistinguishable because I can see both perspectives equally well.) Is it in 4/4 because you, as the composer/architect feel it in 4? Is it in 4/4 because you as the drummer feel it in 4? Or are both ways of viewing the rhythm equally valid and subject to the listeners' interpretations?

Simply put: In your opinion, who decides the meter: the writer, the performer, or the listener?
 

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Hi Anthony Amodeo

every year I ask my more advanced students pick a tune they find very challenging and have them transcribe it. one of them picked The Sound Of Muzak .....I think he did a fantastic job on it I would love for you to check it out if you were at all interested .....i could send you the PDF

It's nice to know that folks feel inspired to transcribe my drumming. Unfortunately I don't have time to check all the transcriptions properly and I'm sure your student spent some quite considerable time on it.

Hi funkmonster

The suggestion of getting snare-focused books is a really good one, though may I ask for some personal recommendations? I know of a few titles which I've been itching to get, like the Wilcoxon titles but they don't seem to come easily. My local music shop shelves are filled with "7 Greatest [insert popular band name here] Songs" books... I really want to avoid getting crap books as I'll be paying hefty shipping costs if buying through Amazon.

The Wilcoxon books are good and Fred Albright Contemporary Studies For Snare Drum is excellent (but quite hard). Stone's "Stick Control" is very good too. Anything that will getting you working on accurate articulation is the key.

Hi SantiBanks

The backing track for Beyond the A has mostly just a 16th note pulse without accents. Is this on purpose and do you actually think in the different time signatures or just in 4? Im struggeling a bit with the transition fill from the small bridge to the verses (between verse 1 and 2). I always forget a note or I add one extra.

You can divide it in your mind anyway you want. It does all add up to 4/4 but I think of the verses as 9+7 9+7 9+7 7+9. Coming out of that and playing fills - is not easy.

Also, there was a video from you playing something (I can't remember what it was, maybe the videos for AKG?), but you switched the 8" tom to the position of the 12" tom (so next to your ride). Marco Minneman plays with that setup a lot. Was there a particular reason to have the 8" tom there?

It's from my second DVD - I just moved it there to shake things up a bit and see if got me moving about the toms a little differently.

And last, I'm in the market for an additional monitor set. In the rehearsal clips for the GH05 tour, it seems like you have two extra monitors on the table (as opposed to the 5.1 NS10 set). Are those Genelec 1031's? How do you like them as opposed to the NS10's?

They are Mackie HR824s. I actually set off to buy the Genelec 1031s but when I compared them in the shop I thought they sounded too good. Possibly flattering the music in an untrue kind of way. The Mackies just sounded flat to me and therefore I thought they would be more useful as 'monitors'.

Hi szokematyi

I remember that you used (maybe still do?) cut out rings in the inside of your floortoms sitting on top of the reso heads. Have you tried this idea with clear powerstroke3s as reso? If not, do you think it could work?

Yes I still do that. They have to be independent from the skin otherwise it won't work as a 'floating gate'. Pieces of cotton or cloth will also work well in the same way - but it's a bit unpredictable where they might land on the bottom head after any particular hit. The rings always go back into the same place.

Hi dr_flam

Can you give some hints about the tuning of your Protean snares? For example what is the difference in tuning bewteen the two? I guess the 12" will be some pitches higher than the 14".

I tune them for whatever the song requires. I always follow this tuning method http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdma3m5LUzs and just try to find the right pitch that suits what I'm trying to play. Of course the 12" has a different character and has more 'pop' in it's attack. The 14" has more body to it so between the two of them I can usually find what I'm looking for. I usually have the reso head tighter than the top head.

Hi kerrek

Hey Gavin, I have a question about your riff in Bonnie the Cat. I know you say that it's in 4/4 time, and I cognitively understand how that's true, but I cannot help but feel it in (7+9)/8. My question is something to the effect of this: What makes it a syncopated 4/4 rhythm as opposed to a mixed meter? (And on a broader level, what is the underlying difference between syncopation and meter changes? To me, they are often indistinguishable because I can see both perspectives equally well.) Is it in 4/4 because you, as the composer/architect feel it in 4? Is it in 4/4 because you as the drummer feel it in 4? Or are both ways of viewing the rhythm equally valid and subject to the listeners' interpretations? Simply put: In your opinion, who decides the meter: the writer, the performer, or the listener?

Good question. When I composed the rhythm I thought of it in 4/4 - but that's not to say that you might prefer to hear it another way. Both are valid. You might hear a 'feel' difference in the way that you play it - when you think of it in another time signature. In my second book (Rhythmic Perspectives) I examine this in depth.
For instance when working with an orchestra - let's say we have a piece that has some 'funky' syncopation in it - they might struggle to make that sound good if you force them to read it in 4/4. So if you rewrite it in a way that the funky accents are more on the downbeats (by using a series of odd time bars and possibly even changing subdivisions) they may find it easier to play and be able to nail it in a more accurate sounding way.
I remember my Dad's (big band brass) generation not loving to read 16th notes - but when it was written out as 8th notes - and the tempo doubled - they breezed through it. Whatever is easiest on your eyes. I really don't like to read 32nds especially if there's dotted notes and rests in there.
To the listener it sounds exactly the same. So the time signatures are just there to help you perform it in the easiest way. Sometimes I have rewritten parts in a different way because (to my eyes) it made more sense than the way the composer had scored it out.

It's also true that once you hear it one way - it's hard to un-learn it - and hear it another way. That has caught me out a few times.

cheers
Gavin
 
Good question. When I composed the rhythm I thought of it in 4/4 - but that's not to say that you might prefer to hear it another way. Both are valid. You might hear a 'feel' difference in the way that you play it - when you think of it in another time signature. In my second book (Rhythmic Perspectives) I examine this in depth.
For instance when working with an orchestra - let's say we have a piece that has some 'funky' syncopation in it - they might struggle to make that sound good if you force them to read it in 4/4. So if you rewrite it in a way that the funky accents are more on the downbeats (by using a series of odd time bars and possibly even changing subdivisions) they may find it easier to play and be able to nail it in a more accurate sounding way.
I remember my Dad's (big band brass) generation not loving to read 16th notes - but when it was written out as 8th notes - and the tempo doubled - they breezed through it. Whatever is easiest on your eyes. I really don't like to read 32nds especially if there's dotted notes and rests in there.
To the listener it sounds exactly the same. So the time signatures are just there to help you perform it in the easiest way. Sometimes I have rewritten parts in a different way because (to my eyes) it made more sense than the way the composer had scored it out.

It's also true that once you hear it one way - it's hard to un-learn it - and hear it another way. That has caught me out a few times.

cheers
Gavin

This is a great perspective, thanks Mr Harrison!
 
Hi Gavin

First question: You (together with Porcupine Tree of course..) have plans to start a new album? I was waiting since i bought the Octane Twisted dvd last year...

Second question: What do you think about the 13x5 prolite snare drum with red tribal finish? I see about some months ago and i see you play the new prolite series and i like yery much of each drum but especially the snare drum and i was thinking in buy this and then
became an idea of question to you this....
And i see this video of you explain you odd groupings: this is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfKDG7rXEWM and i really like as well of this snare sound.. so if you remember please tell me which snare is that one; because the sound of your snare on this video is exactly which one i have in mind to a main snare drum, the another one is the 13x5 prolite snare, because have the most nearest (and if you remember of the snare in the video, tell me which finish this snare have)... so please if is possible to say those informations i need. i will be very thankful about this..


Thank You Very Much
Humberto
 
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Gavin what's up! I'm from Lebanon dude, i heard you're featured in one or more of Amadeus Awad's tracks! I was blown away when i found out xD
 
And i see this video of you explain you odd groupings: this is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfKDG7rXEWM and i really like as well of this snare sound.. so if you remember please tell me which snare is that one; because the sound of your snare on this video is exactly which one i have in mind to a main snare drum, the another one is the 13x5 prolite snare, because have the most nearest (and if you remember of the snare in the video, tell me which finish this snare have)... so please if is possible to say those informations i need. i will be very thankful about this..

Looks and sounds like his 12x5 designer snare..
 
Humberto:

You can find more information on the Sonor Gavin Harrison Protean snares (both 12" and 14" versions on Sonor's site. These have 6 ply, 6mm thick birch shells, hybrid bearing edges, "S" hoops on the batter side, interchangeable sanre wire sets, and other nice, useful details / features. I have the 12" model and it sounds and plays great!

I am sure you are aware that there are few drummers like Gavin who work continually to improve the recorded sounds of their sets and what you hear on his recordings is the sum of a gifted drummer playing a very well tuned and mic'ed set with solid production techniques. The sound you hear in this video only suggests what is attainable with this drum. That said, I am very pleased with the crack and pop from t his small snare and the response is phenomenal

Croc
 
Humberto:

You can find more information on the Sonor Gavin Harrison Protean snares (both 12" and 14" versions on Sonor's site. These have 6 ply, 6mm thick birch shells, hybrid bearing edges, "S" hoops on the batter side, interchangeable sanre wire sets, and other nice, useful details / features. I have the 12" model and it sounds and plays great!

I am sure you are aware that there are few drummers like Gavin who work continually to improve the recorded sounds of their sets and what you hear on his recordings is the sum of a gifted drummer playing a very well tuned and mic'ed set with solid production techniques. The sound you hear in this video only suggests what is attainable with this drum. That said, I am very pleased with the crack and pop from t his small snare and the response is phenomenal

Croc
thanks for you answer i will search more info about this
 
Hi Gavin!

I just saw your new Gibraltar rack on Facebook! Finally it's stylish, and new. (Never liked the box-like Iooking ICON-rack, but it's simply my taste in design, so not even important.) But I found two things that I could not understand.
First: why did you keep the excess bars on the front? Without them the rack would show a bit more drums. Plus the front weight would decrease as well (see: my second question) I would have cut them right from the front post. Are you planning to put something there?
Second: I could not figure out how it won't tumble forward... I mean forwardish, onto the bass drum. Would you post a few more pictures about it? Just one or two. I'm quite interested in the foot placement, so I could figure this out. I'm kind of a rack-junkie, I created mine from merging the Spider and the Stealth systems from Gibraltar - but I finished my design a bit before the Spider-rack came out... :p . So I created mine with a few tricks here and there! ;)

Cheers,
Matthew
 
Hi Matthew:

Thanks for asking this question because I too saw the photo and wondered if there is a crossbar joining across the rear of the kick drum to stabilize the two sides. You can see another joint low down on the legs on each side with what looks like a tube exiting at an angle and heading backwards.

Croc
 
Hi Matthew:

Thanks for asking this question because I too saw the photo and wondered if there is a crossbar joining across the rear of the kick drum to stabilize the two sides. You can see another joint low down on the legs on each side with what looks like a tube exiting at an angle and heading backwards.

Croc

Yes,something like that is probably the case. But seeing is believing! :) (Plus getting more pics from Gavin about his gorgeous kit NEVER EVER hurts! - So you just destroyed my devious plan to get more of those! THX a lot!!) :p
 
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Hi Matthew:

Thanks for asking this question because I too saw the photo and wondered if there is a crossbar joining across the rear of the kick drum to stabilize the two sides. You can see another joint low down on the legs on each side with what looks like a tube exiting at an angle and heading backwards.

Croc

More than likely not, IMO. Those are probably stabilizing feet extending to the rear, resting on the ground. Such a bar would have to cross behind the kick pedal. However, it looks as if the snare stand might be clamped to one of those legs, as no tripod is visible in the facebook pics.

Gavin... care to shed light on this minor controversy? Do you have a small antigravity unit installed somewhere on the new rig?
 
Sorry Matthew! Sure, I'll take all the photos Gavin is willing to share!

Al - Aw c'mon it is more fun to speculate! Seriously, I think you may be onto something here. I too was wondering if there was additional hardware tied to the side racks to support the snare basket. I also didn't see his customary side snare mounted in these photos.

Croc
 
Hey Gavin,

Quick question as I'm having a hard time finding an answer to this via search. What bass drum beaters are you using on the speed cobra's? Are they just the two way pearl beaters?

Thanks mucho!

Jesse
 
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