{"id":5963,"date":"2022-07-06T15:15:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-06T15:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=5963"},"modified":"2024-02-08T09:50:08","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T09:50:08","slug":"oh-yes-new-drum-kit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=5963","title":{"rendered":"MUSiC\/WORK: Oh Yes! New Drum Kit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Ain\u2019t she a beauty!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Wahoo!!! Today one of my schools surprised me in the nicest way possible. Head of Music & Performing Arts, Jenny W, told me, on my arrival, \u2018There are some boxes you might want to see\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I knew what this meant. We had a Drumathon fundraiser event s while back. Actually it was what feels like ages ago now. So far back I can\u2019t remember exactly when! A big thanks to all the staff, pupils and parents who helped us with that, as that\u2019s what\u2019s lead to this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The former drum kit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve included pictures of both the former or \u2018before\u2019 kit, as well as the present or \u2018after\u2019 state of affairs. If I was a savvy YouTuber I might\u2019ve made an \u2018unboxing\u2019 video. I suppose this a \u2018slow\u2019 version of that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The old school drum kit – actually there are several; but this is the one I teach on – has more than done it\u2019s duty. The current incarnation, which was preceded by a slightly better mostly Pearl Export kit, is mainly not so great CB drums, with the old Export snare, a Leedy floor tom, plus an assortment of cymbals and hardware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Mostly CB, with a a few other odds and ends.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The schools\u2019 several drum kits, all partial and all none too hot, share one thing in common; they sport plain monochrome wraps. The new Tama Imperialstar , by contrast, has a gorgeous and rich Coffee Teak veneer, in a lovely high gloss finish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The school\u2019s tired old kits all have ancient and very weathered drum heads. Whilst the new Tama kit has shiny new heads, it has to be admitted they aren\u2019t the best feature of the kit. Hopefully we\u2019ll re-skin this kit with coated ambassadors, and maybe get a CS-dot on the snare? (The kick is fine as is.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ye olde mixed bag of cymbals (and stands).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The ancient Frankenstein kits that the school\u2019s soldiered on with have certainly served the school well. But now they\u2019re all way too tired, and long past the point of simply being sad and decrepit, belonging, frankly, to \u2018useless scrap\u2019 territory! This shiny new Imperialstar should add a bit of bling and zing to proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This old kit has done its share of duty.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So anyway, I moved the boxes from the office to the current \u2018drum room\u2019 (also the school\u2019s music tech suite), and started the unboxing and assembly process. Some of the kids, who were off on a school music trip today, helped me un-box everything before the left. Shame I didn\u2019t get any pics of that. But schools are funny about teachers photographing students nowadays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What treasures do these boxes contain?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Opening boxes of new stuff is always fun! I can totally see why unboxing videos have become a thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ooh\u2026 what fun!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The drum sizes are as follows: 22\u201d x 16\u201d kick; 14\u201d x 5\u201d snare; 10\u201d x 7\u201d and 12\u201d x 8\u201d rack toms, and a 16\u201d x 15\u201d floor tom. The cymbals are HCS Bronze: 14\u201d hi-hats, 16\u201d crash and 20\u201d ride. They\u2019re not top end cymbals. But they both look and sound better than anything we had previously. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shiny new Meinl cymbals.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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What a lovely looking kit!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Although the music trip kids left after the unboxing, I still managed to get a decent chunk assembled before my first pupil, Dan, showed up for his lesson. Fortunately he was happy to spend that lesson helping me finish putting the kit together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Interesting smaller tom sizes!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The snare and rack toms arrived assembled. The kick and floor tom needed putting together. Once everything was assembled – with a pillow in the bass drum giving instant satisfaction – it was time to start tweaking the tuning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Everything is shiny and new. There\u2019s even a stool and a drum key.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m really chuffed the school went with the brand\/line and finish I suggested. I\u2019m wondering did I also suggest these specific sizes? The kit consists of rather fusion-esque smaller tom sizes, which, with the supplied heads, give a pretty high pitched sound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Love this wooden veneer!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Whenever one has a new kit, it takes a while to tweak it, and get it bedded in. Today that took the form of some tom tuning, tightening up the snare, and getting the toms properly aligned relative to each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gorgeous!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I think the aesthetics of this kit, it\u2019s physical allure, are actually very important. A sexy kit makes friends easily. People want to play it, and that makes teaching a little more fun, and quite a bit easier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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An aerial view; the cymbals look lush!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Viewed more or less from the cockpit.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I just adore the finish!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, all in all, how totally terrific! Aren\u2019t we lucky to have such a lovely new kit?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wahoo!!! Today one of my schools surprised me in the nicest way possible. Head of Music & Performing Arts, Jenny W, told me, on my arrival, \u2018There are some boxes you might want to see\u2019. I knew what this meant. We had a Drumathon fundraiser event s while back. Actually it was what feels like … <\/p>\n

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