My Project Mapex

Hey guys. I just got done editing some photos from after my last show. Hope you like my kit. I'll post specs later. *Note* This is a project kit, which I will be adding on to for quite some time. I'll post the specs of the future plans later as well. Enjoy!

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Whadya think?
 
Super sweet! I've recently become a Mapex owner myself. Great kits.
 
I think this is a work of art, having it on the stage makes it even better. Did you pick those heads for the sound or the look?
 
I think this is a work of art, having it on the stage makes it even better. Did you pick those heads for the sound or the look?
Absolutely 100% for sound. They just happen to look cool. I have Aquarian Studio-X top and bottom on all the toms. Snare has one on top with a classic clear underneath, and the bass drum has the superkick II and regulator front. I'll post pics of the future setup and specs later tonight when I get home from work. Thanks for the kind words!!!
 
My kit is arranged and tuned to specific pitches and intervals for a couple reasons. My teacher really turned me onto the whole ostinato based melodic drumming concept. In order to play melodically without becoming or sounding repetitive, you need a bigger kit. A bigger kit means more "notes" to play, such as a pianist using all 88 keys during a performance. If that pianist stayed in one octave and played the same chord progression over and over, it would become stale to the ears after a short amount of time. That's why I've been working on this kit over the last couple of years. Now please note, it's not even close to being finished yet, and you'll see why when I post the list and concept pictures of the future kit.
Back to melodic drumming: Terry Bozzio, Grant Collins, and Chad Wackerman are three of my favorite drummers because of their innovation in utilizing the entire kit and creating complex solos all based over an ostinato. For those of you who don't know, an ostinato is a repetitive pattern played with either the hands or the feet. It can be one hand or foot, one hand and one foot, both feet, both hands, you get the idea. The ostinato is used as an underlying theme in which the remaining limbs of the body solo overtop of. So, the feet could be playing a samba between the bass drum and the hi-hat, leaving the hands free to create melodic and rhythmic expressions on the drums, cymbals, and percussive accessories. The three drummers listed above have pushed this concept of drumming for years, and I'm quite sure that none of them receive all the credit they should be getting. I know a couple years ago, I used to bash Bozzio with the rest of them, but once my teacher showed me his stuff and had me analyze his hand and foot patterns, I realized that he was really playing some complex, intricate, mind boggling stuff. That's when I fell in love. I have nothing against a 4 piece kit, but it's just not for me. Personally, I just don't feel that I can express myself unless I have a wide range of instruments to use. I feel like I'm writing a book, so I'm going to write in another post to make it seem easier to read all this. Stay tuned!

[Edit] Oh yeah, I forgot. I love playing with bands also. My favorite stuff to play is Tool, since Danny Carey is an innovative genius at the drums. I also like playing most other forms of rock, funk, latin, afro-cuban, etc...
 
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Now that you know where my approach to my playing style is, I'll explain my setup (and my future setup). Basically, you can see that the toms are spaced very close together and flow into each other. This is to promote natural arm movement around the arc of the kit. Basically my arms can stay in one spot, and when I rotate my upper body around, the heads of the sticks are in the center of all the toms (except the piccolos on the upper row). Less arm movement = less stress/tension = less fatigue = more power/endurance. Now, granted, I don't just do runs up and down the toms just by moving my upper body. It's just nice to be able to play around the kit without having to unnaturally reach in or out for a drum or cymbal.
Here are my current specs:
22x18 bass drum
14x5.5 snare
16x13 tom
14x11 tom
12x9 tom
10x8 tom
8x8 tom
10x3.5 piccolo tom
10x3.5 piccolo tom
6x7 piccolo tom

Cymbals:
14" Zildjian K Mastersound Hi-Hats
22" Zildjian K Ride
8" Avedis Zildjian Splash
14" Avedis Zildjian Thin Crash (I use it as a low pitched splash)
18" Zildjian K Dark Crash Medium Thin
18" Zildjian K Dark Crash Thin
Custom made 16" Wuhan China Stack

Hardware:
Pearl Eliminator Belt Drive
Pearl Eliminator Hi-Hat Stand
Pearl ICON Curved Front Rack
Various other Pearl and Mapex stands

Accessories:
Toca Players Series Cowbell (on the left foot)

I feel like posting pictures now, so I'll explain my tunings later.

Here's my concept drawing of the future kit. The only cymbals in this are the hi hats, because I had to get my tom layout worked out in that area.
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Here is my pedal layout. I'm not sure in what order the accessories will be, but all that's listed will be there for sure.
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This post has got to be long, so I'll post the future specs here in a bit.
Stay tuned!
 
Here are the future specs:

Drums:
22x18 Bass Drum (main bass drum w/ double pedal
18x16 Bass Drum (to the right of 22x18, played with right foot)
16x13 Tom
14x11 Tom
12x9 Tom
10x8 Tom
8x8 Tom
10x2.5 Piccolo Tom
10x2.5 Piccolo Tom
10x2.5 Piccolo Tom
10x2.5 Piccolo Tom
8x2.5 Piccolo Tom
8x2.5 Piccolo Tom
8x2.5 Piccolo Tom
8x2.5 Piccolo Tom
6x7 Piccolo Tom
6x7 Piccolo Tom
12" Djembe
11" Conga
10" Conga
8" Bongo
7" Bongo
14x6.5 Black Panther Phosphor Bronze Hand Hammered Snare
10x5 Black Panther Maple Snare (on left foot)

Cymbals:
14" Zildjian K Mastersound Hats
8" Avedis Zildjian Splash
6" Zildjian K Splash
14" Avedis Zildjian Thin Crash
14" Zildjian K Dark Crash Thin
16" Zildjian K Dark Crash Thin
16" Zildjian K Dark Crash Medium Thin
18" Zildjian K Dark Crash Thin
18" Zildjian K Dark Crash Medium Thin
22" Zildjian K Ride
18" Zildjian Oriental China Trash
16" Custom Made Wuhan China Stack
6" Zil Bell
9" Zil Bell
#1 Paiste Cup Chime
#2 Paiste Cup Chime
#4 Paiste Cup Chime
#6 Paiste Cup Chime
#7 Paiste Cup Chime

Accessories:
LP Granite Blocks
LP Red Jam Block
LP Ridge Rider Cowbell Low
LP Ridge Rider Cowbell Medium
LP Ridge Rider Cowbell High
LP Salsa Cowbell Cha-Cha Low
LP Cyclops Tambourine (played with left foot)
LP Bongo Cowbell (played with left foot)
LP Red Jam Block (played with left foot)

Hardware:
Pearl Eliminators
Pearl ICON 3 sided curved rack (3 curved front racks for extra side length)
Various Pearl and Mapex stands/mounting adapters

Questions? Comments? Feel free...
 
Wow, really great to see someone so dedicated to their art. I look forward to seeing the progressions on the kit, looks like it's going to be quite a monster when you're done.

The addition of those Paiste cup chimes will be interesting, have you thought about going all out with a set of crotales?
 
Haha I am most certainly not loaded with cash. I'm going to college this fall, so it's quite the opposite. Let's put it this way: ebay is my friend.

^^^ I have though about crotales many times, and I may incorporate them down the road. My friend has the cup chimes and I love them, so they come first. Crotales would definitely add a new melodic demension to the sound though, since they are tuned chromatically.
 
You must be loaded with cash my friend

Yeah, especially when it comes time to buy mics for the whole kit!
Seriously, looks good so far. I really dig the "floor" cowbell. That would make for some cool ostinatos from the feet... and I'd really like to hear that China!
 
Thats dedication, a college kid looking for a Terry Bozzio kit. I myself would not do this because I view my form of drumming as about feel and rythem not about melodies but I still totally dig what you are doing man. Plus I love your cymbals, and I have never heard of ostinatos but they do sound very interesting.
 
That kit looks wonderful! I like the set-up idea and it looks like it's quite comfortable to play. The crack in the top (whole) china is a shame though (or isn't that a crack?).
Good luck acquiring the rest of the stuff!
 
I can't wait to see this kit, going to be massive. Totally different from my kit, go for as little as possible.
 
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