Milton Banana

A Diet Coke with some Cruzan Vanilla Rum. A nice twist on a "Vanilla Coke" that you won't find in stores!

Yeah, I've seen this before. Why does Portnoy always sound better in projects that are not DT? Anyhoo....

 

Obviously he's got Remo Ambassadors on his two standard size toms. If your toms are "power tom" size, you may not get exactly the same sound but basically get some Ambassadors or Emporers (slightly heavier than Ambassadors). Try tuning the top head to a low, yet full note, meaning don't go so low that it sounds untuned. But you can hear the toms there aren't bright or jazzy either. It's a lower note. Especially with only two toms, make sure that pitch separation is nice and wide. That floor tom is real low. If you've got many toms, you can kind of fill in the space accordingly.

 

Get the note you want from the top, and the on the bottom head tune it in tune with the other head so that it resonates as much as possible. Avoid that pitch bend sound some drums get where the sound sort of bends downward. You might even end up with the bottom head just a little tighter than the top. Hold the drum up to your ear and strike it (lightly! Don't blow out your ears!) Make it resonate as long as you can!

 

With the bass drum, I'm subjective. I hate muffling. I use an Evans EMAD on my batter head. It's pre-muffled, and I don't put anything inside the drum anymore. I recommend it.

 

The old style of bass drum muffling--like in Ringo's day--was to put a felt strip or two about 1" wide across the length of the head (usually an Ambassador again). A folded up bath towel can work too. Something light, yet not killing the tone of the drum. A pillow will make the bass all punch but little tone.

 

Hope some of this helps...

A very subjective question, Deadwing. The "best possible sound" for your drums depends on the sound YOU, as the drummer, want to hear.

Is it a jazzy open sound? A warm rounded tone? A deep thuddy sound?

With some forethought, some suggestions, and experimenting you can get a sound you like almost regardless of what type of drums you have.

 

Every drummer on this board will tell you what their head choices are and how they tune, but I suggest thinking about what sound you would like to go for first, and then go to your local drum shop and ask them for suggestions on head combinations. If they know what they are doing, it will help eliminate the expense of buying heads that you don't care for. If you have friends who are drummers whose sound you like, talk to them too.

 

Are you drawing inspiration from a sound you heard on a recording? Or a live band you heard? Those things factor in too. My drums sound different when mic'ed because my soundman knows my sound, and knows how to mix it properly into the sound of the band. Never trust the sound of recorded drums. They are often tweaked so much in production that one could never duplicate that sound on an unmic'ed set.

 

Let me know some more deatils on what your looking for in your sound. I'll try to help.

Great thread on a very serious topic. It's always good to know you're not alone in this... I have some questions for the posters here, but first, my background:

 

My parents both were alcoholics too. Mom was a classic case (passive-aggressive, hiding the drinks, lying to family, teaching me to lie to others, etc.) After years of counseling, meetings, rehab, you name it, she completely bottomed out 4 years ago and now resides in a nursing home at the age of 65 because she cannot take care of herself any longer. She's basically ruined the life the good Lawd gave her...

 

Dad was the alcoholic who used it to get away from life, a weekend warrior, if you will. He worked hard all week, but come Friday night his home was at the local bar. He'd come home for dinner, and then go back out again. This went on from when I was a baby until he left my mom (I was an adult by then) and remarried someone else, who set him straight. Painful shoulder problems a year ago drove him to drinking a lot of cheap Chianti ("Pain pills don't work", he said) but since shoulder surgery he has stopped all that, and his second wife has made sure of it.

 

I agree that alcoholism is a hereditary disease, and though I am not an alcoholic, I know I carry that gene in my blood. As a result I am reluctant to have kids of my own. If I ever passed down the gene that wrecked my mother's life, and nearly my father's too, I would never forgive myself. Obviously, this does not sit well with the missus. She wants kids, and thinks I am being incredibly selfish and using my parents as an excuse. As she puts it, "My parents don't belong in our marriage". I'd like kids too, really, but if the choice is having kids and risking that they may have addictive personalities, or not having them at all... well...

 

So how many of you who post here are parents? Have you had this conversation with yourself and/or with your significant other? What did they think? Do you believe this is a gene that can be passed thru generations? What do you tell your kids about alcohol or alcoholics?

 

Again, keep up the great posting...

Saw Styx last night at Billy Bob's in Ft. Worth. Great show!

 

Larry Gowan has Dennis De Young's voice down pat. Really stayed true to the melodies. Good showman too what with spinning his keyboard rig around on it's riser and even standing on top of the instrument. Oh yeah, he plays it real well too!

 

Song list covered all the hits: Blue Collar Man, Grand Illusion, Lady, Miss America, Snowblind, etc. They played a 15 minute medley in the middle of the set of a bunch of other tunes which I can't all name (the opening to Mr. Roboto drew big cheers though)

 

Chuck Pannozzo was introduced late in the show to come and play Fooling Yourself, Suite Madame Blue, and Come Sail Away. He played well, and looked pretty good despite his illness.

 

If they come around your way, go see them... a definite good time.

QUOTE (-D-RocK- @ Dec 17 2006, 05:48 PM)

"Dave's not here man"

Reality TV is the prophecy of Andy Warhol come to fruition:

 

"Everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes."

 

I used to watch The Osbournes; they were amusing. It made be realize you can live in Beverly Hills and still be trailer trash.

 

Gene Simmons show looks decent too, though his family is decidedly more normal. It looks more like an unscripted sitcom. For example, Shannon Tweed decided to hire a rabbi in an attempt to cajole Gene into a shotgun wedding at her birthday party. Gene almost left skid marks out of the room when the rabbi walked in.

QUOTE (sullysue @ Aug 7 2006, 09:53 PM)

The way seeing the Jesus fish on the back of the car of the woman who flipped me off on 183 and then cut me off is funny.

I try to look up at the audience or the band while playing. I hate seeing musicians play with their heads down like they don't care if you're there or not... also, then I can throw a wink at a pretty girl. Just because I'm sitting in the back doesn't mean I have to be invisible!

 

If you are a drummer, set the snare up with the throw off facing toward you (between your legs). It takes half a second to reach down and flip that switch and turn the snares off & on. It also leads to a better snare sound overall because you will always be playing above the snares themselves, especially during softer passages or a during a press roll.

QUOTE (dons01 @ Aug 1 2006, 05:33 PM)

Sullysue, I believe the 'hammer and nails law' was introduced to combat a wave of 'self crucifiction' sweeping the Bible Belt at the time. Fortunately the craze soon died out once people realized its impossible to hammer in the last nail!!!!! I'll get my coat.......

Texas is completely insane in the manner in which it deals with the sale of alcoholic beverages... I don't think there's another state quite like it.

 

For example, I played a gig in a bar in Lewisville this past Friday. The gig had to end at midnight because the bar could not sell alcohol past midnight on a Friday (it extends to 1 AM on Saturday, whoopee...). But I can go to a club in Euless, TX and stay until around 2 AM no problem.

 

I can buy all the beer and wine I want in my town (Watauga), but no liquor. I can go to a liquor store in Fort Worth, but if I go to a restaurant and buy a drink, I must present my license and sign a form, which allows me membership into their "club" which can then sell me liquor "privately". However, I cannot buy alcohol anywhere I know of before noon on a Sunday.

 

I swear I need a book or chart to tell me what I can get where and when. It's so damned confusing it could drive me to drink!

QUOTE (Der Trommler @ Jun 10 2006, 12:21 AM)

QUOTE (Milton Banana @ Jun 10 2006, 01:13 AM) I like the Evans EMAD head on my bass drum.  It controls the sound just enough that I don't have to put any muffling in my bass drum, which I always hated having to do.  Remo Ambassadors for all the toms and snares.  Diplomats for the bottom heads, if I can find them.  I always liked real open, jazzy drum sounds.  Let the drums have their natural voice; the soundman can gate it if he needs to. Makes sense.....How about tuning? The toms are about a fourth apart. I'm not going for definite pitches just the spatial relationship. I'll start from the highest tom and go down. The bottoms are slightly higher than the tops to increase resonance. Bass drum should sound full, not deadend; I don't muffle it with anything besides the EMAD head.   I actually will hold the drum straight up to my ear and strike it, looking for a full pitch (no bending up or down) and a long tone. A bad idea if I want to protect my hearing but...   I agonize over my snare drum. It's a Ludwig Supraphonic, but I'm always futzing with the snares. Heads are tight but I can't seem to find the medium between a wet jazzy sound and a choked sound. I'm told it sounds good out front, but from where I sit I'm never satisfied. Any suggestions?

I like the Evans EMAD head on my bass drum. It controls the sound just enough that I don't have to put any muffling in my bass drum, which I always hated having to do.

 

Remo Ambassadors for all the toms and snares. Diplomats for the bottom heads, if I can find them. I always liked real open, jazzy drum sounds. Let the drums have their natural voice; the soundman can gate it if he needs to.

QUOTE (Milton Banana @ May 24 2006, 11:47 PM)

Call me crazy, but check this out... Chris' girlfriend/wife says she's pregnant. But three weeks back when they were all having dinner at Tony's house with the stolen wine, didn't she have some and compliment how good it was? If you knew you were pregnant, would you be drinking alcohol? Remember, the Feds had used Adrianna for a while to keep tabs on Chris. He is not the sharpest tool in shed by any means. I think Chris' wife is a Fed. We've got a few more episodes to find out...

wife is out of town and I hate going to a bar/club/restaurant, etc. by myself. Gives me an awkward feeling.

Ladirush fan is right! The bottle of Smirnoff in my bar says "triple distilled". My bottle of water doesn't say that! Mix it with some DeKuyper Sour Apple Pucker (that's a fruit, right?) and I have quite a healthy snack!

Would you like a meent? Eet's only wafer thin...

What am I drinking tonight? I'll give you a hint:

 

Yeah, baby... I love 'em.

 

Shaken, not stirred, of course.

Call me crazy, but check this out...

 

Chris' girlfriend/wife says she's pregnant. But three weeks back when they were all having dinner at Tony's house with the stolen wine, didn't she have some and compliment how good it was? If you knew you were pregnant, would you be drinking alcohol?

 

Remember, the Feds had used Adrianna for a while to keep tabs on Chris. He is not the sharpest tool in shed by any means. I think Chris' wife is a Fed. We've got a few more episodes to find out...

For any musicians in the Dallas area, two things:

 

1-- Check out www.killdares.com. Phenomenal band from the Dallas area I saw in Grapevine this weekend! Gtr., bass, drums, fiddle, & bagpipes! Incredible musicianship. Drummer sings lead vocs., and sounds like Gord Downie from The Tragically Hip. You must see them to believe.

 

2-- Go see King's X at Ridglea Theatre in Ft. Worth on Friday 5/26. It's not often a band this good pulls into town this close. They thoroughly deserve every person they can get at their show.

You may be able to pick a up a set of Roland TD-7s used if you look hard enough. TD-7s are the deluxe kit that Roland offered before V-drums came out (with the mesh heads) so you might find them on the cheap. They are user friendly, the sounds are great, and custom sounds are easily made. Only difference is the rubber heads, so you must watch not to hit them like a regular acoustic drum or they will mess up your hands. Play off of them, not into them!

Drummer from Watauga here. Not playing with anyone now, but looking.

I read somewhere, probably in one of my wife's gossip rags, that Rachael is married to a guy who is a part time musician in some NYC band. So therefore I have to vote Rachael. However, the same article mentioned his band sucked! Rachael was apparently the only one dancing (which stirs the imagination up more).

I saw Spock's Beard Sunday nite in Fort Worth. They played a small theatre here, and did not have a great showing, but those who were there were treated to a great show, and the band played very enthusiastically.

 

Neal is no longer with the band, but Nick is no slouch on vocals, and their touring drummer, Jimmy Keegan is more than capable. It was the last night of their mini-tour, so they goofed around on stage a bit more and Nick kept sipping on Jack from a shotglass that was always being refilled, but the music as was solid as you would expect from The Beard. Seemed a mix of mainly mid-period and new Beard, though Beware Of Darkness was the opener. Nick and Jimmy played a double drum solo.

 

Ryo is to Beard what Alex is to Rush. Complete cut up on stage. He made a comment that when they play in Texas again, we should all bring lots of buttplugs because the airport screeners keep taking his away. Someone in the crowd offered up their water bottle, and Nick looked at it and laughed. Ryo then sang the word "buttpluuug" in place of a word he was supposed to sing in Thoughts, which made Nick crack up and blow his vocal cue. Alex and Ryo in a room together would be quite something.

 

Dave Meros, above all, is a cool dude. Not only did he book the arrangements for the whole tour, but he spoke to a bunch of us fans before and after the show. Very friendly and giving of his time. Makes me like the band even more. All in all a great night from a great band.