The journey begins...

[John.b]

Did your kick drum float or sink. ie front head on or off.

I always used Premier apart from my first full kit, Pearl, which got mullered in a fight at a gig back in 1967ish. Yea a gig we got down the south coast, a blues club in a wine cellar under a hotel. We borrowed a van and drove down the night before, set-up and played the following evening. Well all was going swimmingly until a group of about 30 leather clad bikers turned up, closely followed by a BBC film crew, and consequently, a fight ensued. A set-up by the BBC we think, anyway as we were set up on the floor, no stage, we all got involved. To cut a long story short, nearly all our gear got rubbished. I got away with my cymbals and kick pedal. That was it for me. The other guys got their guitars out and a keyboard. We never got paid any money and we never used that agent again

[Drumsarecool]

Deal of the century? https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...2-be4ab84b7007

These were posted for just 2 minutes when I texted the seller last night and asked him what the catch was... he said, "no catch". I told them I'd buy them, but couldn't make it down until Saturday (I'm 2.5 hours away) because of work and that I was sure they would sell within 24 hrs. He texted me this morning and told me they were sold, lol.

[Drumsarecool]

I had the unfair advantage of living in Boston in the 70s and 80s, back when Jacks Drum Shop was still on Boylston. I was playing some pretty heavy music with a cheap kit, and started killing shells. Jack's had a great selection of one-off drums (pieces that buyers didn't want, or special orders that never got picked up).

So when I'd kill something, I wander into Jack's, and play replacements until I found a sound I liked. Id' then replace the dead shell with that. The result of that was my jellybean kit: no two drums are the same color, or from the same manufacturer.

I loved that kit, and played it until it was destroyed in our house fire. So I'm now very slowly starting the process of building a new jellybean A-kit, but it's gonna take a long, long time...

skodkit_sm.jpg

Oh boy, my OCD would not tolerate that! I don't even like looking at that picture

[skod]

Just goes to show that one size is never gonna fit all, dunnit? Mismatched and weird has always been a big part of my personal brand as a musician, so this is right down my alley: I have never been a matching-polyester-leisure-suit kinda guy (;-). But your mileage is most certainly going to vary.

And, John.b, it was the floor tom that went over the side. It was single-headed at the time, but trapped enough air that it didn't sink, so I was eventually able to retrieve it with a boat hook. I kinda wish that it had sunk, though. That beautiful inner-harbor water penetrated between the layers of the plywood shell, the wood swelled and delaminated, and the thing *literally* smelled like sh*t until I finally dispatched it into a dumpster. Didn't even trash it onstage, which might have been a hoot- but probably would have led to more general mayhem.

That gig of yours sounds oddly familiar- figures that the Beeb would be there. If it bleeds, it leads...

On edit: as a direct result of that booze cruise gig, I bought some mil-surplus hard cases for my gear. And yes, they float.

Here are some of them, pictured in front of our big dumpster when we were pulling stuff out of what was left of the house after the fire. They made it through pretty well, largely because they were out in the garage. If I'd left my kit in them instead of setting it up in the basement, I'd still have it... Oh, well. After a good cleaning they fit my new E-kit just fine, with new dividers and padding.

cases.jpg

[John.b]

Deal of the century? https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1578012372675920/?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type =post&tracking=browse_serp%3Afd9cceec-14f4-4779-93f2-be4ab84b7007

These were posted for just 2 minutes when I texted the seller last night and asked him what the catch was... he said, "no catch". I told them I'd buy them, but couldn't make it down until Saturday (I'm 2.5 hours away) because of work and that I was sure they would sell within 24 hrs. He texted me this morning and told me they were sold, lol.

Don't bother buying a lottery ticket this week mate

Gutted for you

[John.b]

[QUOTE=skod;n1280590
That gig of yours sounds oddly familiar- figures that the Beeb would be there. If it bleeds, it leads...

Yea evidently the BBC were filming a documentary on these hooligans activities over a bank holiday weekend. (The Mods and Rockers era here)

The only time we ever got on the TV lol, well it turned out to be more of a sound track really, until it all kicked off and we had to go into defence mode

[rungeflash]

I was in a similar boat last summer….and started doing research on intermediate kits. The kit that kept coming up time after time was the Gretsch RN2 Renown. I went by a guitarcenter and played a used a set and was impressed. So, I started seriously looking at a purchase.

I was browsing Sweetwater and they had a Renown kit in a unique configuration…..1 up 2 down and a 22x14 virgin kick. It was in this fabulous (to me) looking burnt orange sparkle lacquer….not a wrap. A real paint job. I decided that’s it and pulled the trigger. I ended up adding the 10” rack tom and a 14x6.5 matching snare.

It arrived, I assembled it and I have been in love with it ever since! It sounds and plays amazing. I have since added some more touches…..swapped out the factory clear emperors for vintage clear emperors, clear ambassadors as the reso heads….and I finally sprung for die cast on the batter side of the toms. Absolutely beautiful sounding and looking kit. The color is a real hue shifter and will look more cinnamon in low light…..or brilliant orange in day light.

No regrets….I will keep this kit for a loooong time.

[John.b]

Yep nice looking finish to the kit mate.

[rungeflash]

Yep nice looking finish to the kit mate.

Thanks mate

I went back and forth going die cast on this kit…..some cautioned me it could possibly choke the shell off too much, since these were originally designed for “stick chopper” double flanged 302 hoops….well, I now have die cast batter and reso side on the 16x16 and 14x14 floors…..I like the die cast hoops very much. It is not choked at all….still sings out plenty long just a bit more focused on the overtones. Sounds a lot like a USA Custom kit now.

[Dizbuster]

rungeflash Beautiful! I like the stand for the rototoms. Natural wood?

[rungeflash]

Thanks Diz!

Regarding the rotos….that is an optical illusion. They are mounted on a metal tripod. What you are seeing is the wood table that I use as a laptop stand.

[John.b]

I had diecast steel rims on my old 70's Premier kit which I got on with ok. Well once I got use to hitting the rim shots, as these rims were low profile, which meant that I could hit the heads a lot flatter.