Tag Archives: drum kits

My Kits

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So as I have mentioned before, I am a drummer. A hobbyist really who has played for a number of years, but it is something I do for myself. Not in a band, don’t care to perform for others, and just love the instrument. I figured I would post my kits.

Kit #1

My first kit is an based on an Alesis DM10, but over the years many drums and cymbals have been added. Its not in its permanent home, so I need to permanently upgrade th cable snakes to the module (DM10) that feeds the laptop (Addictive Drums 2). This is old technology, but I have upgraded the heads to a measure and rubberized the striking surface, so they have a close to real drum feel. The problem is the multiple cable snakes it takes.

Alesis Kit – Cable Snakes

As you can see this is a lot of cables. Before, when it wasn’t in its permanent home, I just used standard length cables and fed the slack into the black range back (bottom left corner). That’s not longer acceptable, so I start soon on customizing the cables (wire cutter, stripper, and soldering iron) and individually adding each one, then programming each piece with the module and software. I did an all at once approach before, and that was a mistake. It needs to be on a piece by piece basis.

Here is the new setup.

Alesis Kit – Final Drum Positions

You’ll notice I raised on of my toms (upper left). I sometimes play traditional (think drummer’s left hand flipping you off), so I noticed while I was playing the original setup was not very ergonomic (my left hand kept hitting the hi-hat), so I adjusted for it. To note, if I could zoom in on the snare (drum with red and black) you’ll notice a take on the symbol from the kit that inspired me. Anyway, I start the custom cable snake / wiring harness for this kit soon. I can’t wait to play it again. It has been missed, and having hundreds if not thousands of kits at your disposal is a plus. Thanks Addictive Drums 2!

Kit #2

I actually don’t have any current pictures, but it is an old acoustic Borg kit I purchased on Reverb. I totally plan on stripping it down to wood, refinishing it, and converting it to electric. This will take a lot, but I am very much looking forward to it. This will help me accomplish my goal of becoming an expert in electronic drum technology. I’m going to pull and read all the patents, so I know how to properly build based in what is known in the art. I’m looking so forward to this project!

Kit #3

This is one I bought not too long ago, and honestly when i play it, it feels like a toy. This is my Roland.

Roland Kit

It just feels like it need to be bigger. It feels so small. I don’t known anyway else to put it. However, it is a true mesh head kit, and the feel and sound module is awesome. I love it for that. I try to play it daily, but have been slacking with a lot of things pulling me away from my hobbies – hence the lack of blog updates.

Anyway, a lot of what was distracting me is gone, so expect more content! Hope you enjoyed this post, and also, expect more on drums, drumming, my progress, and my progress on my kits!

For the Love of Drums

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Growing up it was very important to my grandmother (adopted mother) that I play a musical instrument. Now, it was her dream for me to play the guitar, seeing how she purchased me an acoustic one in fourth grade and signed me up for lessons that I didn’t really care about. It just didn’t grab me. I was done after a few months. Also, she supported my playing of the violin in elementary school, fifth and sixth grade, which was a good excuse to get out of an hour or so of classwork a day and perform, terribly, at the couple of parents concerts a year.

During all that, in the fifth grade, I discovered the drums. I don’t remember exactly how it went down, but I do remember being absolutely mesmerized by Eric Carr’s kit, the drummer from Kiss. A couple pics of his set-up are below.

Eric Carr – Kit Front
Eric Carr – Kit Back

Now being from Terre Haute, the home of the Kiss Army, I should be a bigger Kiss fan, but I’m just not. I do like some of their songs, and some are featured on Radio-N8, but I’m just not a huge Kiss guy. That being said I fell in love with that kit when I first saw it in the Kiss – Reason To Live video. A song I actually dig. The symbol on the drums is a Japanese symbol (Chikara) which stands for power. That symbol is now printed in the design of one of my e(lectronic)-snares as a homage to the kit that drew me in. You’ll see my kits in a subsequent post in the next few days.

For whatever reason I was just drawn to drums. In my household we got cable and MTV late as compared to my friends. A few years past everyone. However, one of my favorite memories is when my grandfather would let me commandeer the TV on the day they would do the top 100 videos of all time countdowns – think later ’80s versions of that countdown. A song that would always come up in the countdown was Simple Minds – Don’t You (Forget About Me), originally released in 1985, and forever aligned with the movie The Breakfast Club. I’ve embedded it below for ease of view.

I’ve never really figured it out, but something about this song made me want to be a drummer. I’m not sure why, but maybe its because the 16th note pattern or maybe there is some syncopation going on? I’ve never sat down to analyze or think about it. I just enjoy it for what it is, and every time it comes up on my playlist I have the same sense of reverie as when it first grabbed me. Sometimes the best analysis is just saying “this is it” and enjoying it.

In subsequent posts I’ll talk about drums, my kits, abilities, influences, etc… But for now just know the kit and the song that helped get me hooked.