While writing this, I realised that its been nearly ten years since I last reviewed some acrylic drums. On that occasion, it was a few snare drums from another manufacturer. But now, its a full Pearl kit in front of me. Acrylic drum kits have enjoying a resurgence for some years now and are, or
70 Strong - Steve Gadd Band Named in honour of the man himself who has just entered his 7th decade on earth and has influenced almost every drummer to have walked on the surface of the planet, this is a fine jazz record. There really isn’t much that needs to be said regarding the calibre
Van Kleef (or VK) Custom Drums are something you may have heard of if you live in the UK. You may also have started to hear of them in the US too. Van Kleef Custom Drums is a small company based in the north of England which makes metal and wood drums. Pretty much all
The Family Silver – Electric Blend Featuring the drumming of British icon Steve White this release is a solid album from The Family Silver which also includes Matt Deighton on vocals/guitar and Damon Minchella on bass guitar, both of whom have also served in Paul Weller’s solo band. Opening with the breathy, guitar and groove
Ok, so this is the second of two drums made from the aforementioned 1962 VW Type 2 Van panel. You can read my thoughts on the first drum here - http://www.mikedolbear.co.uk/story.asp?StoryID=4132 As I’ve already gone over the background to these drums, I’ll not repeat myself, so I’ll go straight to the drum itself. It’s a
Hardware isn’t the most exciting thing in the world. Apart from being [mostly] shiny, and not much else, you don’t really come across people talking about their stands etc in the same manner as their kits or snares. That said though, hardware is a very important part of the kit, particularly if you’re a gigging
New from Alpine are a pair of earmuffs designed specifically with the drummer in mind, boasting a SNR-value of 25 dB. The two models I’ve received are the standard Alpine Earmuff and the kids edition called the Muffy. After doing a bit of research, it seems the only difference between the two models is marketing.
By some complete coincidence, just as I received the Florian Alexandrou-Zorn brush DVD in the post, I was handed this new brush practise pad from Bill Sanders to review. The pad itself is thinner than the equivalent rubber stick pad, but has the same chromed rim finish and rubber underside. The playing surface itself is
Vater drum sticks have a recently released a bunch of new sticks, which I’ve been putting through their paces recently in rehearsal, teaching and gig environments. 5A Stretch Featuring an extra bit of length for more reach around the kit, an acorn tip and the same diameter as a standard 5A, these are comfortable sticks
Ok, so this is the second of two drums made from the aforementioned 1962 VW Type 2 Van panel. You can read my thoughts on the first drum here - http://www.mikedolbear.co.uk/story.asp?StoryID=4132 As I’ve already gone over the background to these drums, I’ll not repeat myself, so I’ll go straight to the drum itself. It’s a
