Snare Re-Doins Pt. II

Project number 2 was just finished yesterday! I took my sweet ass time with this one. I've been lazy. It happens! It also doesnt help when I go to get heads, finally, and they are out of Hazys. What can you do?

This bad boy is a 14x7 steel Tama Rockstar snare. Rockstars usually arent the best thing on the market, but I really like this snare drum. It looks like a serious beast. Appears so much larger than my 14x7 yamaha birch. Its strange. 

BEFORE:

This is the kind of stuff I was dealing with! WHO DOES THIS!?

Again, I didnt really DO much. I just took everything off and then just used Brasso to just shine everything up. Nothing really all THAT special, but I think it came out pretty good, yet again. The finish could have come out a little bit better. It almost seems a bit scratchy or foggy? maybe? I dont know if its something I did. I used a green pad, it wasnt rough at all, but it had a little something to it. So maybe thats what did it. It had too much shit all over it and like, deposits? stuck all over the steel. Using an ordinary rag didnt seem like it would do anything for it. So I went with one of those green pads. No idea what its called, but it comes on the back of sponges to do dishes with, know what im saying?

Here is was it looks like now!

Now as for tuning. I went with the standard, using the dial of course. Bottom head 82, top 85. I think it sounds pretty good. Its a looser tuning than what I like but im not use to steel snares nor their tuning, but after I played around on it a little bit and heard it mixed with everything, its pretty good. Id like to re-do it again in the future with a tighter tuning, maybe 85 bottom, 90 top. I think thats what I use for my yamaha.

Then again, I assume steels are supposed to be tuned lower. Essentially im going for that Death Cab For Cutie sound with it. If you listen to "summer skin" off Plans or "grapevine Fires" off Narrow Stairs, youll know what I mean. Thats what I was going for. Something loose, little ringy, long sustain, give you lots of play for stick work.

Its loud as fuck when you really bang on it too, so overall I guess thats just its nature. Ill see what happens in a couple months. I would really like to re-do it and tune it differently.

MAYHEM FEST!

I had an excellent time last night, getting to go to the Rockstar Engery drink Mayhem Festival for not only one night,but last night was the 2nd time I got to go! August 5th was Mansfield MA, this date was in Hartford CT. Since i started this blog, i brought my camera to take some shots of some things.

None of the "shots" are that good,i dont take picutres! especially the Slipknot ones, i wasnt sure if one of their dudes on the crew said "no cameras" or "all cameras face forward" meaning like,no backline shots or whatever, so i was rather quick with anything i took,meaning BLURRY, but you get the idea, and its still awesome.

theres a lot i took,but heres just some. mainly of dustins C & C kit and the knot.

Dustins rig:

easily the MOST ridiculous kick drums i have ever heard. i got to play them for a hot moment and seriously...they sounded SO amazing. had a slight click to them, were loud as fuck,it sounded like they were miced already....you had to be there,i was screaming like a girl "THEY SOUND SOOOO GOOOODDD AAAHHHH!"

Dustins custom hand done finish came out awesome too:


CAST IRON SNARE!

this probably is the heaviest snare in existance. mainly because it was cut out of a piece of gigantic pipe that would be going in the earth to serve some sort of purpose for man kind. i think dustin said C & C got it from some iron company in like philly or something. all the lug holes were like laser cut and shit. it is also probably the loudest snare in existance. it surprisingly dosent sound too bad either.


aaron shredding during Underoath. im not too into the sound of his drums,since he went with the vintage thing,but they look hot.

now for the knot! At the Mansfield date,we got to watch from the sound board. THIS time I got to watch from the side of the stage. IT WAS AWESOME!

YEAH, JOEYS RIG LETS HIS DRUMS TILT TOTALLY FORWARD,THEN SPIN....OUT OF CONTROL!