I have for a few years

Neither option was attractive.

Finally,  there’s another alternative: the Zoom Q3 HD, a pocket video camera that combines both HD video quality and high quality audio that follows in Zoom’s line of pocket audio recorders. It’s the next generation of the blue Zoom Q3, which did not offer HD video.

This device, so far, seems to provide the answer to doing the videos that I like to do: drum samples, lessons, etc.

Here are a few videos — click below for the next page — where I took all my (current) Ludwig snares, each with similar head combinations. Please let me know what you think. I’m posting them all at once, all under the same conditions (room, temperature, mood, lighting, etc.) so you can hear for yourself what each Ludwig snare sounds like.

Editing was a breeze. I literally shot the videos, plugged the Zoom directly into my computer, placed the files in my cheap video editing software, changed out the titles and then processed the files for Youtube. The worst part of the process was the time it took to upload the files to Youtube.

What do you think? Keep in mind, my drum room is very dry, with a lot of sound absorption, so what you are getting is the true, honest sound of the drums and cymbals with little to no room sound or reverb.

Your comments are welcome below!

A great show last night at the Bartley Ranch Hawkins Ampitheater in Reno. Opening band Crooked Fingers were a little loose, especially for a band that claimed to have been around for 17 years. The drummer, however, had a great groove, played most of the time with mallets and had a unique style that probably only drummers would appreciate. His snare was tuned loooow. A 5-incher tuned so low that it didn’t cut very well in my ears.

Neko Case was hilarious, providing a nice contrast to her sad, sad songs. Onstage banter was very funny. Lots of jokes about Reno/Nevada culture (i.e., the pole dancing culture of Vegas). Surprisingly, the band appeared a little loose, lack of set lists may be to blame, but it seemed they were at the beginning of a tour, perhaps. Backing vocals by Kelley Hogan were astounding. She could easily have been fronting.

Case’s drummer was very solid with a great sounding four-piece, white-marble wrapped kit. The kit was booming and present but well mixed. No hole on the res. head (an internal mic?). He played primarily with brushes, mostly with a ballad, swing (or 6/8) feel and grooved exceedingly well with the stand-up bassist, who was also solid as a rock. Excellent left-foot work on the hi-hat pedal augmenting the swing rhythms. (I need to work more on that.) A+ for the drummer.

Overall, it was a great show. Definitely a sit-down-and-relax event–mostly older folks in attendance–but well worth the money and time (~2.5 hours total, in bed by 11 p.m.). It was my first show at Bartley Ranch (also where my wife and I got married) and look forward to seeing more in the future, provided the acts coming are of interest, which mostly they have not been over the years.

I’ll be listening to the New Pornographers today to wake up.

PS Case quote of the night: “I’m such a dick.”

Just saw the police last night outside Sacramento. Stewart Copeland was fantastic–all that could be expected. The band as a whole didn’t appear to psychologically gel, even though they were tight musically. Nevertheless, Stewart played great, his kit sounded amazing. It was true to his sound, yet modern. His snare popped nicely, though lower volume hits didn’t seem to cut through the mix as well. I noticed he was actually playing his blue signature cymbal–it sounded great, especially the bell sound.

I got to see Stewart with Stanley Clark and Animal Logic in ’89. Horrible band, excellent musicians. I was standing about 10 ft. away from the side of the stage in a way-too packed club. My jaw was on the floor while watching, especially when they did a drum and bass solo.

I highly recommend checking out The Police on this tour if you haven’t already. Don’t expect the same edge of their younger years, but you are guaranteed great, updated versions of classic songs with, of course, superb drumming and a couple doses of tasty percussion (the video image of Stewart shot from below and through his gong bass comes to mind).

I receive my Saluda cymbals this week.The set is a complete replacement of all of my current cymbals: three crashes, a ride, two spashes, two sets of hihats and a China. They’re everything I expected. I’ve been a solid A-Zildjian player for 20 years (with the exception of a Paiste ride) and Saludas definitely rank up there with the best.

Don’t get me wrong. Saludas sound particular, and they probably will sound different from what players used to. This goes for all cymbal manufacturers, though, even among cymbal types like A Zildjians versus Zs, etc. What’s cool about Saludas is that they are custom made to the buyer’s specifications. If you want a Saluda to sound like an A Zildjian, Saluda will work with you over the phone, in person or by email to try to achieve a particular sound you are looking for. I’m not sure of the logic of trying to match Saludas to other cymbal brands, because I was hoping for something different and unique. And I got it. 

The crashes (the Mist X series) have a brilliant finish and a brilliant sounding sustain. The Mist-X ride, with a raw bell, also sustains nicely and projects a nice pingsound when struck. The bell sound is every bit as good as my trusty Z ride, but not as loud as my old Paiste. (See the pic. from Saluda’s Web site. This may even be my ride.). The ride’s sustain is more prominent than I’m used to, but is musical and not at all distracting. For variety’s sake, I’d like to check out another Saluda ride in the future.

Saluda’s Earthworks series are amazing to view. I know nothing of the manufacturing process, but it looks like they’ve been dripped with some chemical to reveal stunning metallic, rust patterns (see the picture). A work of art is created in this series. I almost want to buy one just to have it framed and put in my living room. The Earthworks China I received is a beauty, and has a great trashy sound with a good sustain. I also ordered a set of Earthworks hihats (14-inch) which, though heavier than my Mist X hats, have a slightly lighter chick sound, but can be opened up nicely for rock or lighter applications. A set of 13″ hats is in my future for sure.

To round out my selection is a pair of Ion splashes, unfinished and raw-looking accent cymbals. Saluda describes the Ion series like this: “Ions are dark, full toned, semi-trashy (more gritty sounding), mostly thin models and a little dry. These tend to have a vintage type sound.” For splashes, this aesthetic works well. I’m curious how this translates to Ion rides and crashes, but the splashes–which to me are inherently subjective-sounding cymbals, regardless of brand or type–satisfy their role nicely. Again, I would like to try another series’ splashes for comparison.

What Saluda ultimately offers is a fantastic deal. These are high quality, pro-level cymbals at an amazing price. Simply visit Saluda’s retail site and check out the price list for each of their cymbal lines. An A-Zildjian 18-inch crash is $194.99 new from Guitar Center. Saluda’s Mist-X 18-inch crash is $114.99. I actually think they should be charging more for their cymbals, but that’s just me.

An added bonus: The personal touch by Saluda makes the buying experience that much better. Owner Jamie will work with you on whatever sound you want. Each cymbal is hand-crafted, and the amount of experimenting going on at Saluda is also a plus. They are constantly putting up prototypes on Ebay so you can see what may be coming up in the future for new cymbal types.

At the end of the day, with Saluda, you simply cannot get the same level of quality and service from the other big cymbal manufacturers. 

Two days ago I returned from my second lesson with Alan Schechner. I hope that anyone who has seen his DVD,  Coordination and Groove, was as inspired as I was. It would make me feel better if I knew that they they struggled as much as I did to get my head around what he was talking about in this amazing DVD. Being a perpetual newb drummer, I seek rhythmic concepts that do NOT delve into the obvious: jazz mastery, odd-time wizardry, double-bass speed demons and the like.

Schechner’s DVD present a remarkably simple idea about how to tranform common beats into mind-bending independence puzzlers. Alan explains his transformations thoroughly. The problem is that those who translate explanations will literally and quickly deduce Alan’s rhythmic transformations as, “You must do it exactly like I do.”  Not so. This is actually what Alan does NOT recommend. He explicity says, for example, if you don’t have a cowbell for your left heel (your other half of your foot plays your hi-hat pedal), then don’t play the cowbell.

In my lesson, he boiled down the transformations concept even further: Simply, think of your limbs as creators of rhythms and melodies. To start, he had me play my two favorite beats back to back . Alan then transcribed and combined the beats to put one beat’s kick on the right foot as we would normally play; the other beat’s kick was moved to the left foot. Modifications were made for musicality–delete a sixteenth, or eighth, note here or there.

The end result: Back home, my right foot is playing a Roland pedal dialed in as a tabla, my left foot is on my kick drum’s left-foot double pedal. Or vice versa: My left foot is playing a cowbell, my right foot is on the kick. The beats individually are not complex. Together they create a radical transformation and a whole new level of musicality for the drumset. Alan further suggests playing my hand rhythms with varying patterns (think: The New Breed).

In short, Schechner’s DVD is a critical component for the evolution of drumming on the drumset. While many will focus on foot techniques as the next step in double-bass drumming (i.e., moving your feet around pedals assigned to different instruments), Alan presents a means for taking interdependence to the next level. For this, “Coordination and Groove” is a revolutionary, and mandatory, DVD for drummers serious about approaching playing with a truly new view.