The "Blue Beast"

Kage Konjou

Junior Member
So, I've played on various kits, none of which I owned outright, and finally had an opportunity to be in a band, thus I decided "I need to buy my own shit" *. That band never worked out, but it planted the seed for the money pit we all know and love. The following are the stages of progression leading to the present variation.

* Side-Note: Buying stuff for the potential of being in a new band (which almost never works out) seems to be the driving force behind many of my purchases.


Stage I
Here, we begin with the first facets of the kit, purchased from American Musical Supply and Zzounds on their "pay as you play" plans (which, I might add, are an amazing way to obtain anything expensive).

stage1.jpg


Drums
Ludwig Pinnacle series
- 22x18 Bass Drum
- 5.5x14 Snare
- 10x8 & 12x9 Rack Toms
- 16x14 Floor Tom

Cymbals
Sabian B8 series
- 14" Hi-Hat
- 10" Splash
- 16" Thin Crash
- 14" Thin Crash
- 18" Crash
- 20" Ride

Hardware
- Pearl T122W Double Pedals
- Random crap stands


Stage II
Fast-forward over a year later, and many things have changed, such as...

stage2.jpg


Drum Additions
- OSP 13" Rack Tom
- Evans Blue Hydraulic heads
- Evans Reverse-Dot Coated snare head

Cymbal Additions
- 8" Sabian B8 Splash
- What I call a "shik" cymbal (pictured between china and crash), which is a 12" Wuhan splash atop a 12" Wuhan china, using a Gibralter static hi-hat. It gives an instant on-off "SHIK" wet, dirty sound
- 18" Forgot-the-name china
- Note: The tape on the ride is holding down a piece of cloth, used to dampen some of the higher ringing
- Not Pictured: 16" and 14" Wuhan chinas

Hardware Additions
- Gibralter 1.5" Rack
- Roc-n-soc throne (with backrest)
- Custom Classic hi-hat stand
- Various connective hardware for the rack (ie. Sound Percussion and Gibralter mounts)


Stage III
Little has changed between Stages II and III, except that it is at this point that I'm beginning to hybridize my kit with electronics and triggers (not yet pictured).

stage3-1.jpg

stage3-2.jpg


Drum Addition
- No-name 14" metal-shell snare (tightened extremely high)

Cymbal Additions
- 14" Wuhan stacked atop the 18" forgot-the-name china
- Not Pictured: 7" Alu Bell, 16" Wuhan china

Hardware Additions
- Gock Block (attached under hi-hat)
- Cow Bell (attached to bass drum hoop)


Miscellaneous
- Alesis Trigger|iO module
- 2x Yamaha KP65 bass trigger pads
- 2x Cannon Twin Effect pedals (cheaper alternative to Sonor Giant Step Twin Effect)
- Soon-to-come: dDrum Red Shot snare and bass triggers; Two unknown single pedals supported by Hyper-Bass for hummingbird-speed bass (if you're wondering why, look up "Henker" on YouTube, or just check out their drummer's demo video)

Recording/Live Sound
- CAD mics for all drums, plus two overheads
- Custom-made Subkick
- Behringer XENYX 1002B mixer
 
Very nice. I have always liked the look of blue drums. But it's hard to see the finish with your photos. Maybe you could put up some ones with better light and focus?

Yeah, I had the option of red, blue, or black. Black is overplayed, and red is too tacky, in my opinion. Plus, the blue is really deep and darker, so I had to go with it. I'll get better pics some time soon.
 
Back
Top