Sweet practice setup

[antinucci]

I would like to share my practice setup for
playing along with MP3s. It is quite unique,
and in my opinion, great.

I use WinAmp on my PC to play MP3s out of
my CreativeLabs sound card. I run a cable
from the output of my sound card directly
into the mixer input of my TD-10. My PC is
about 20ft from my kit (Hart Giga Pro), so
getting up after every song and making
play list changes and other conrol would
be quite a pain.

To remedy this, my good friend Mike West
suggested using my Palm Pilot as a remote
control for WinAmp. He found a sweet Palm
application, that over a serial or IR link,
can remotely control WinAmp running on my
PC.

So, beside my TD-10, I mounted my PalmV
and cradle right on my rack. I can control
full graphic EQ, playlists, repeat, and
rewind/fast forward. It is very slick. One
thing that would be nice is for the Palm
app to provide looping capability. I am
sure it will come in time (provided we
get enough intrest in the feature).

The software:
1. NULLSOFT WinAmp v2.7 (free).
see www.winamp.com
2. PalmAmp v2.00 (shareware)
see http//www.ironcreek.net

Picture of my td-10 and PalmV on the cradle: http://www.systolic-usa.com/palm-td10.jpg

Picture of my Hart GigaPro set: http://www.systolic-usa.com/kit.jpg

[Steve Gardner]

Man..that is slick. Thanks for the pics. How do you like the Hart Cymbals? I have their pads for toms. I had an Accusnare but I dumped it. Do you get positional sensing with their cymbals? I know of a guy that has some for sale, thats why I ask. They look very cool....

[antinucci]

I love the whole Hart set (I just got it last week). The cymbals are FANTASTIC (the best part of the kit, in my opinon). These particular model are new for Hart (I think I have the first set they have sold). They have choke capabilities and look a lot better than their old ones (they truely look like metal cymbals). The HH and RIDE really are metal and, IMHO, give a much more natural feel than any pad ever could. As for positional sensing, I really havent played with it because it is not all that important to me. I bought the Yamaha PCY-10 bell cymbal because my Ride does not have a dual trigger (Hart is replacing my Ride with a new dual-trigger model in a few weeks when they are available for sale).

I am surprised you dumped the AcuSnare. Did you have the SeriesX heads (black vs. white)? The head fixed a lot of the PS problems in the past. I am getting full PS with mine.

I hope this thread/topic does not turn into another Hart vs. V-drum thread/topic, but I have to say, with the SeriesX heads, the art GigaPro kit plays as well as (or if not better) than the V-drum. The Hart hardware is incredible and is FAR better than Rolands. You can really feel the strength in the materials (ALL METAL) and I feel very comfortable knowing that I can bang as hard as I want - Harts LIFETIME WARRANTY on EVERYHING is beatiful. Hart's team is excellent also.

[Cyberjam]

I usually use my home PC (Soundblaster Live card) running Winamp connected to a 5 channel mixer, 2 peavey 212H cabinets, with my drums on one channel, voice on a second and computer on a third. I can run the output from the mixer to a Sony Hi8mm and get a pretty good mix.

It works quite well. Film at 11!

My site has no new photos yet but soon they will come. Some old video of me playing and singing. Check it out http://cyberjam.cjb.net/

[@oM]

I think your kit looks great!
How much sticknoise do those cymbals make? To what can you compare the sticknoise?

If Hart had a reseller here in Holland, I would buy some right away...

[antinucci]

Originally posted by @oM:
I think your kit looks great!
How much sticknoise do those cymbals make? To what can you compare the sticknoise?

If Hart had a reseller here in Holland, I would buy some right away...

The HH and RIDE are metal, so the best way to describe the sound is to take your stick to a normal HH or RIDE and hold your hand flat on the cymbal to dampen it - basically it sounds like a totally dampened normal cymbal - ting,ting,ting. The crashes and splash make very very little noise since they feel more like plastic and the spring clamps give the cymbal a little "give". I love banging on them the way I used to bang my acoustic cymbals! They feel so natural (unlike a pad that feels like you just hit a brick wall ... no "give" at all).

As for the buying a set of Harts, I myself did not even try them out before I bought them. I relied on word of mouth and speaking in detail to Brian Peet of Hart Dynamics. Great guy. IMHO, they are the best out there (I've played VDRUM, DDRUM, & YAMAHAA and I personally like my Harts the best). I ordered mine over the internet from musciansbuy.com (they carry the Hart sets). They are a great bunch of guys too. musciansbuy.com and Hart Dynamics seem to have very good relations with each other.

I'll say it again. I love these drums and recommend them to all!

[stick4Him]

Antinucci,

Thanks for posting on my query on ways to use my Handspring. While you have a very good setup that works, I'd like to share my (IMHO)convenient practice method. This is best especially if you are learning a new song. I use a portable mini-disc player/recorder that I place next to my TD-10 . The mini-disc output easily goes into the TD-10.

The beauty of the mini-disc is that you can record any song, and split that song track up in anyway that you choose. So for example , if there is a section of the song that you are having problems with, you just set up the start and end sections. And that new track, you can set up to repeat for your rehersing convenience. And of coarse you can paste it all back together at your convenience. This is also great if you are writing a part down. And if you can't read a note, this method can be even more effective. The only negative is that you have to take the time to record the song from your PC to mini-disc, and that ain't bad, considering the rehersal impact it has.

My mini disc was $250 and I spent another $100 on a mic to record my live playing.
I would say my mini-disc is one of the best practice tools I have ever used.

Back to the PDA... too bad there is not more music software out there to assist our needs. But if they organize our lives so well, hopefully the time saved can be used to practice more.