Before buying a new or a used drum sets one should remember the points given:
1. Bass Drum: This instrument uses one head to be struck. The open side of the bass drum allows the user to place a “sound absorption” blanket to kill lengthy resonation.
2. Support Rods: Four of these metal rods keep the drum in place as it is hit by the mallet head on the end of the foot pedal.
3. Foot Pedal: This attaches to the floor side of the head-rim to allow the foot maximum flexibility of tempo and dynamics of soft and loud.
4. Snare Drum: This circular shell is 5 1/2″ deep and 14″ in diameter. It fits on a stand and sits between the knees of the seated player. It is encased by 2 skin or plastic heads secured by clamps and screw-bolt devices called “lugs”. The top head is struck with the drum sticks or brushes. The bottom head has a 1 1/2″ wide collection of adjustable parallel metal wires. These are the “snares” and can be loosened or tightened by a threaded bolt device called a “strainer”. These snares vibrate sympathetically when the top head is struck. They can be disabled using a “trigger switch” located on the side of the snare shell.
5. Sticks: Two round sticks 12 - 14″ in length each with a small and a large end. The “tip” is the small end. The “butt” is the large end. The tip is used to produce sound more often than the butt.
6. Brushes: Six to eight inches of “fan-shaped” wires extend from the end of a storage tube. These produce a very light weight sound when used on the snare drum or the cymbal.
7. Adjustable stool: The drummer uses this for seating comfort and height adjustment. It’s often called a “throne”.
8. Ride Cymbal: This can be as large as 19″ in diameter and $260 in cost.
9. Crash Cymbal: This can be a 10″ diameter cymbal and $160 in cost.
10. High Hat Cymbal: A floor-stand holds two horizontal cymbals that are brought together using a foot pedal.
11. Cymbal Stands: Most stands rest on the floor.
12. Toms: These are like a drum without snares. A floor tom can be 14″ in diameter and 14″ deep. Two smaller toms are often attached to the top of the hoop-rim of the bass drum. .
One must also take care of the following points before purchasing a drum:
1. Avoid getting carried away by visions of “soloistic flight.”
2. A fancy demonstration of percussion skill by a salesperson should not be the main reason for making a purchase.
3. Glitter, lacquer and external finish are the least important factors when purchasing a drum set.
4. Learn to listen well to the sounds that are produced.
For more more information about drums please visit http://www.tama-drum.com
Even with the abundance of software and hardware available to create your own recordings at home, there comes a time when you’re ready to take your music to the next level. Recording studios may seem intimidating to the musician who is taking the leap, but the reality is that there are high quality, low cost recording studios that can make the transition painless.
Once you’ve made the decision to book studio time, you need to find a studio that will give you the support you need to create great recordings. Word of mouth recommendations can be helpful, but they’re not always reliable. It’s worth your while to do the legwork and check out each facility to see what it has to offer. Here are some things to keep in mind while making your decision:
Acoustics: A music studio should have top of the line acoustics. This means that there should be an elevated soundstage and high ceilings, as well as several isolation rooms.
Engineering: A sound recording studio should provide highly skilled and trained professional engineers to help you achieve the optimum quality of your recordings. At the minimum, the engineer should be proficient in monitoring and metering, controlling signal paths, assigning tracks, and mixing.
Equipment: Equipment varies by recording studio. Some Southern CA recording studios, for example, offer at least two mixers, over a half dozen outboards, a wide variety of software, over a dozen different types of microphones, quality monitoring equipment, and a variety of amps. Although it may seem like a minor point, it’s important that the sound recording studio use high quality cables. If they don’t, it could have a detrimental effect on the recording.
Musicians and Instruments: Many state of the art recording studios have a variety of new and vintage keyboards, guitars, and percussion instruments available for use, as well as accessibility to professional musicians who can help you create the sounds you desire.
Cost: As a whole, musicians don’t have a lot of disposable income, so it’s important to find recording studios that have reasonable rates. Some Southern CA studios, for example, have low introductory rates of $40 an hour or less. In order to avoid unwanted surprises, be sure to ask about minimums, as well as extra equipment charges.
References: Every reputable sound recording studio should be able to provide you with a client list, as well as phone numbers for references. You should also ask to listen to samples of recordings from the studio. Try to find a sample that is comparable to what you are trying to achieve, and ask questions about what was involved in that recording process. It will give you a good idea of what to expect when you go in to record.
Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web.
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