Ludwig drums have announced new centennial maple drums, which are the first product being linked to the company’s 100th anniversary in 2009.

“The Ludwig Centennial Series fuses the need for reliable gear with the desire for perfect drum tone in one exceptional package. Expandable to fit the needs of any playing style, Centennial Series Drums are Ludwig’s answer to the battle-cry of the mobile percussionist.”

“The Centennial Series Drums start with 6-ply (toms and floor toms) and 8-ply (snare and bass drums) North American Maple shells. Augmented with Ludwig’s new Classic Micro-Lug, Vibra-band mounting system on toms, and 2.3mm drum hoops, Centennial Series presents the road-worthy player with new ways to expand their spectrum of tone. Centennial’s three “Core” shell packs each come standard with a bass drum (20″, 22″, or 24″, each with a 20″ depth for added low and punch), a 12″ rack tom, 16″ floor tom, and snare drum.”

The kit (pictured above), looks absolutely beautiful to play and I’m curious to see what the reviews will be like. I’ve personally always loved Ludwig’s, as a 1967 Ludwig Blue Sparkle kit (with Supraphonic Snare) was the first I ever played on.

For more information go here.

Pearl Drums is introducing a new drum kit, with new maple shells.

“Our Masters Series MCX 6-ply Maple shell has set the standard for great sound and craftsmanship for years and can be heard on countless recordings by the world’s most legendary drummers.”

“NEW for 2008, MCX 4-piece shell packs can be purchased at an average street price of just $1,500 dollars ($2,499.00 List) in your choice of 5 NEW configurations.”

“The heart and soul of MCX is the 6-ply 7.5mm shell, made from hand-selected choice Maple using our Superior Shell Technology. This offers the smooth round tone you would expect from Maple with even highs and mid range frequencies, coupled with pronounced low-end punch. The 7.5mm shell thickness provides a super wide tuning range; increased resonance and projection all of which allows your sound to be felt as much as heard.”

This drum set looks like a great intermediary step between Pearl’s lower budget models and their higher-end professional kits.  It is great that matching Pearl MCX snare drums are available as well. The tuning range of this kit is also a major plus, in my opinion, for drummers who like to experiment and/or tune to specific pitches.

Source.

It’s Earth Day 2008! The day where we should all do something helpful for the planet, except its kinda hard to post about earth day on a drum blog.

Think about it…pretty much everything you use as a drummer; snare drums, your floor tom, your mounted toms, drumsticks, well pretty much the whole drum set…Besides the hardware and cymbals, is made of wood. I guess it’s not so bad considering that the majority of people who own drum sets aren’t ever going to just throw them away.

Anyway, I guess something drummers could do for earth day is be appreciative of the drums we have, and maybe try to volunteer around where you live or even just pick up a few pieces of trash, anything helps. We have to protect those trees! Or else no more drums!

Grover Pro Percussion Inc. has introduced two new models to its SilverFox drumstick product line, the “Boston Basher” and the “Sweet Pea” at the MESSE trade show in Germany.

Boston Basher
“The olive-shaped wood tip and short tapered shoulder achieve maximum projection from snare drums of any construction and bring out a full-bodied tone from toms. At 16″ long with a diameter of .620″, this durable hickory stick effortlessly achieves heavy volumes on the club scene or in arena venues without feeling heavy in your hands.”

Sweet Pea
“The Sweet Pea also enjoyed a successful debut at the MESSE show in Frankfurt, Germany. At 15-3/4″ long with a diameter of 0565″, this dynamic hickory stick features a small ball tip for fast response on cymbals while producing a warm sound on snare. Created in response to jazz artists’ requests for a stick with the feel of a 5A, yet capable of consistent cymbal articulation and projection, the Sweet Pea is the ideal choice for combo jazz in every setting.”

I think for me personally, I’d really like to try out the “Boston Basher”. While it is a pretty lame name for drum sticks, it sounds like it would be great for heavier/more aggressive playing. Also the length of this stick seems like it would be beneficial for a player like myself who is usually all over my drum kit and not always playing in the pocket. Although, the length of the “Basher” sticks would also help with playing the pocket as well.

Source.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Messugah recently. If you dont know, Messugah is a metal band but not in the traditional sense. They play an almost jazz-like form of metal. Tomas Haake is their drummer. Since the band plays in odd time signatures, many of the bands songs feature polyrhythms, tribal beats and intense and fast blast beats. Their last record even featured all programmed drumming.

Haake is also known for stacking various cymbals such as crashes, hi hats and chinas to create different sounds. He is definitely a master of odd time signatures as evidenced here, this is amazing…

Tomas Haake @ Drummer Live 2006

*(Photo courtesy of Arbiter UK - http://www.arbiter.co.uk/drums/)

Continuing on with the Nirvana theme. I found this video on youtube of Dave Grohl showing off his and the Foo Fighters 8000 sq ft warehouse headquarters. This place houses the amazing amount of platinum records Dave Grohl has accumulated over the years, hundreds of guitars and drums and one of the nicest recording studios in all of LA, which is saying a lot.

Check it out…

Foo Fighter’s Studio 606 Tour

Musical equipment manufacturer Alesis has confirmed the release of brass made electronic cymbals. They are made from a brass alloy that allows their playability to be just like that of normal cymbals.

Surge Electronic Cymbals - (Harmony-Central)

Since is the first post on the site, I’m going to just say a little about what you can expect here.

I’m going to be mainly writing about drums; everything from reviews of drum sets, drum gadgets, drum news and of course drummers.

Expect to see show reviews as well, there’s nothing better than seeing one of your favorite drummers live. Stay tuned…