Ken's Office

Ken's Drum Page 

Last updated.....8/23/2008

During High School, I played bass guitar in several rock and roll garage bands.  But my best friend was a drummer, and I enjoyed ponding away on his drum set when I got the chance.  

 

My First Drum Set – Ion Electronic Drum Set
In late 2005 or early 2006, I bought a Ion electronic drum set from Best Buy (about $250).  It had 5 “velocity” pads that I set up as:
* hi-hat
* crash cymbal
* snare
* high tom
* floor tom
* 2 foot switches: hi-hat and bass drum. 

I also bought the book, CD, and DVD combo of "Play Drums Today - Level 1" from a local music shop.  I soon discovered that I could ONLY play some of the basic drum beats and drum fills on the Ion drum set.  For example, It had no ride cymbal unless I wanted to program the crash cymbal as a ride cymbal.   

After 6 months (about June 2006), I was getting more serious and tired of the basic Ion drum set limitations, so I bought 4 more “velocity” pads (about $100) and a kick drum pedal from eBay (about $15).  The set was now a hi-hat with a foot switch, crash cymbal, ride cymbal, snare, high tom, medium tom, low tom, floor tom, and a bass drum with a pedal.  See below photo:

 This Ion electronic drum set also had its limitations.  For Example:
* I only had one crash cymbal.  I was limited, but it was not the end of the world.
* The ride cymbal only produced one sound, so how could I switch between the cymbal surface and cymbal bell.
* The hi-hat only produced one sound.  I had no way to instantly switch between a tightly closed hi-hat and a loose hi-hat.
* The “velocity” pads were not truly sensitive.  I found out that the only produced 3 sound levels when hit at various speeds: high, medium, and low.

Also at about the time, I also bought a chrome snare drum on eBay for about $60, shipping included :)  I also bought "A Fresh Approach to the Snare Drum" by Mark Wessels, a muisc stand, and a Korg metronome  With this snare drum and equipment, I was better able to learn and pratice the snare drum rudiments. 

 

My Second Drum Set – Blue OSP Drum Set

Talking to another drummer serval times about my drum set frustrations, he recommended that I buy an acoustic set.  He said there was no substitution for the real thing.  So I sold the Ion electronic drum set on eBay in late 2006 for $400; (luckily) getting back all the money I had put it.  I then searched eBay to see what $400 could buy me.  I settled on a blue 7-piece OSP drum set for a little over $400 with shipping.  It arrived in early January 2007, and it took me from 9:00 am to about 4:00 pm to put the drum set together, tune the drum heads, and set it up in my office.  Here are the before and after photos.      

 

 BEFORE: Can you believe a 7-piece Drum set with cymbals are in these 2 boxes?  The small box weighed about 30 lbs and the large one about 50 lbs.

 

AFTER: The OSP drum set after assembly, tuning, and set up.  I also added the drum and cymbal mutes. 

 

 Changes to the Original OSP Drum set:

Since the original OSP drum set, I have added and modified my set up several times:

1. January 2007: I originally bought a Vex double bass drum pedal (about $100).  I put the Vex double pedal in the closet and used only the single pedal.  I thought I should first learn to use a single pedal plus the double pedal did not set up well with the OSP three-legged hi-hat stand.

2. January 2007: I removed 2 toms: the 8" and 10".  I figured that I only needed a basic 5-piece drum set to play most songs.  I plan on adding them back in when the time is right.

3. About April 2007: I replaced the OSP cymbals with Sabian B8 cymbals: 14" rock hi-hats, 16" rock crash, and 20" rock ride.  If you plan on buying an OSP drum set, plan on replacing the cymbals.

4. About July 2007: I added 4 new Sabian B8 cymbals: 14" thin crash, 16" thin crash, 10" splash, and 18" China.

5. January 2008: I replaced the OSP hi-hat with a two-foot Tama Iron Cobra hi-hat stand.  I also replaced the drum throne with a blue Roc 'n Soc drum throne with back rest.  Personally, the back rest has made a huge difference.  In the past, my back started hurting after about 1/2 hour of pratice.  Now, no problems even after playing for 1-1/2 hours.  I also added the Vex double bass drum pedal back into the set up. 

 

 My Current Drum Set:  

 

Drums:
* 14" Snare (Blue)
* 14" Snare (Chrome). Usually tuned higher with snares off.
* 12" Tom
* 13" Tom
* 16'" Floor Tom
* 22" Bass Drum

Cymbals (Left to Right):
* 14" Sabian B8 Rock Hi-Hats
* 14" Sabian B8 Thin Crash
* Stacked: 10" Sabian B8 Splash & 16" Sabian B8 Thin Crash
* 16" Sabian B8 Rock Crash
* 20" Sabian B8 Rock Ride
* 18" Sabian B8 China

Hardware/Other:
* Drum Shells: Blue OSP from eBay
* Hi-Hat: Tama Iron Cobra
* Double Bass Pedals: Vex
* Cymbal Stands: OSP or Generic from eBay
* Drum Throne: Blue Roc 'n Soc with back rest
* Sticks: Vic Firth 5A or 5AN. 
* Heads: Aquarian, Remo, Mesh Heads (Percussion Plus). 

 

Books I Recommend for New Drummers:

  • Play Drums Today - Level 1
  • Play Drums Today - Level 2
  • Play Drums Today - Songbook
  • FastTrack Drum Method - Book 1
  • FastTrack Drum Method - Book 2
  • FastTrack Drum Songbook1 - Level 1
  • FastTrack Drum Songbook2 - Level 1
  • FastTrack Drum Songbook1 - Level 2
  • FastTrack Drum Songbook2 - Level 2  
  • "A Fresh Approach to the Snare Drum" by Mark Wessels

 

Rock and Roll Songs I Recommend for New Drummers:  

  • Gimme all your lovin' -- ZZ Top
  • Just What I needed -- The Cars
  • Let the Good Times Roll -- The Cars 
  • Photograph -- Def Leppard
  • Bringing on the Heartache -- Def Leppard
  • Fortunate Son -- CCR 
  • Helter Skelter -- The Beatles
  • Blitzkrieg Bop -- The Ramons  (Fast Tempo!)

Also Many Songs by: 

  • AC/DC
  • Bon Jovi
  • The Cars
  • Def Leppard

Most are easy beats, and the drum fills are from easy to intermediate.  If you can't get the beat or fill down, then simplify the beat or fill.  Trust me, only another drummer might notice the change. 

 

 

The Drummers Who Have Influenced Me: 

John Bonham - Led Zeppelin
Bill Ward - Black Sabbath
Neil Peart - Rush

Other Drummers I Like:
Ringo Starr - The Beatles
Mitch Mitchell - Jimi Hendrix
Stewart Copeland - The Police
Keith Moon - The Who
 

 Suggested Drum Links: