Drum FAQ's

[suicidalsid]

how do you make that clicky drum sound that's heard on countless eddie cochran records?

it's a shuffled 8th note thing that takes place kinda like hihats and sonds like takka-takka (to me anyway)

[Hometown Zero]

i'v always thought that to be the sound of the double bass with the strings hitting the neck...

[GaryM]

OK, here's one that's got me stumped - where can I get hold of a good electronic drum kit for recording? I only need it for a day or two so I don't want to buy one or rent one long-term.

[ArchFlameTera]

Originally Posted by GaryM

OK, here's one that's got me stumped - where can I get hold of a good electronic drum kit for recording? I only need it for a day or two so I don't want to buy one or rent one long-term.

hmmmmmm tough one there.

i know seagate have a good one, but apart from that

[GaryM]

Originally Posted by ArchFlameTera

hmmmmmm tough one there.

i know seagate have a good one, but apart from that

Yeah? I suppose I could record the drums there... Cheers.

[SAbbott]

Originally Posted by BREK

What bass drum technique are people using for greater than 200 bpm's with 16th notes?
I'm Heel Toeing, but going much faster than 200bpm (800strikes per min) and it starts getting inconsistent and turning into a shuffle feel.

Anyone got any tips for cleaning it up?

I read that one of the death metal drummers uses Swivel technique at 250bpm..... Maybe one day.

And...

Blast beats... How do you do yours?
I've been practicing Gravity blasts (rocking the stick on the rim) but it tends not to produce much power.
And wrist flicking and finger control for the double just doesn't get as much speed. I'm maybe 200bpm 8th notes (400 strikes per min)

So basically, any tips on how to play faster?

I do double bass with my heels up.
My double pedal used to be very inconsistant when i speeded up.
But when i got around to building up my stamina at fast speeds, Id tighten up the springs on the double pedal so that you have to give it some force to make it accurate.
Once i had got it to a decent speed that i was comfortable with, i just slackened them off again and it improved my stamina and accuracy.
I found it a lot easier than just trying to sort out accuracy at a fast speed.
Might be worth trying.

As for blasting..
I started off using my wrists as most drummers do, But i eventually got around to using my fingers.
Ive got it up to a pretty good speed now, Though my left hand does get tired after a few minuites of full speed blasting.
Thankfully I dont play in a death metal band

I just sat for about 20 minuites a day, along with a click track that gradualy ascended in tempo, doing 8 finger singles on the right, then 8 on the left.

Then on to gravity blasting.
Noticing that one of you said something about triggering your snare drum.
(Im strongly against triggering anything, I find it horrible.)
You shouldnt have to, Its just like everything else.
If you practise it enough then your speed, accuracy and power will all be even.
Though muscles do come into play when it comes into volume.

But knowing how to gravity blast properly does help getting it to a nice speed and volume. (I hazard saying that but its working for me so im assuming its the right way to do it.)

When I learned this, I got a pretty good description of what to do so ill try and describe it the best I can.
You see lots of people hitting the rim of the snare thinking thats how you do it, or they just kind of "flop" their hand which is completely wrong.
What I got told to do is...
Make sure you have a good grip of the stick inbetween your index finger and thumb.
Make sure that you strike the snare and the rim.
(I cant explain that bit very well, but what I mean is the stick should hit the snare flat, if that helps any :S)
Follow through with the butt end of the stick when you do your down stroke.
(As in your hand goes past the rim.)
Then lift the stick up to rim level again for the up stroke.
The stick should not leave the rim.
Imagine your shaking hands with someone when your doing it at a medium pace.
Thats the motion you should keep in mind.
Thats what I got to to think of and it did help me.

It is a really easy technique though.
Its became very popular with these new drummers that just recently are into Metalcore, Deathcore etc.
(I would say kids because it gives you an idea of what I mean better, But some of them are older than me so... Lol.)
Mainly because they think it makes them appear to be "good" because they can go really fast with one hand. :P
We have bands like Bring Me The Horizon to blame for all these sloppy drummers (Never mind drummers, Bands in general.) that are going about these days.


This is my first time trying to explain stuff by typing, which you can probably tell :P
So hopefully some of you can make something out of it, haha!


Im sorry if theres loads of mistakes in that, But it took me long enough to write never mind checking spelling and puncuation.

[SAbbott]

Oh and i missed out one of the most important bits about gravity blasting.
Its VERY important to keep keep your wrist straight!!!
My bad
Haha.

[Keerin]

Blasting - Motion once told me the best way he found of building up endurance is to play reign in blood all the way through with blastbeats at every avaliable opportunity.

and the gravity blast bit you wrote is pretty much spot on. I hold the stick the same as I would normally but turn my hand parallel to the snare and let go with my thumb, holding it with 4 fingers, it seems more comfortable to do it that way at speed, the way you described is perfectly adequate too though.

[Vostok]

Sorry if this is a bit of a repetition, but I haven't got time to trwal through all the pages just not.

I've been playing double pedal for a good few years now, but never really got much faster than around 150 bpm. I find it hard to describe how I play, but its a mixture between flat foot and from the ankle.

More recently I have started playing purely from the ankle, and can play around 200 bpm fairly consistently, but ONLY when playing single pedal. When I try to play double pedal my thighs involuntarily start to tighten up. I don't know why this is, as I can play both feet on their own comfortably, but not when combining them. Maybe just more practice is needed, but thought I would check to see if anyone else has similar problems.

NB. I find If I slant my stool backwards and therefore completely remove the ability to use my thighs, the problem is removed. This is obviously a bit of a problem as stools are not designed this way.

[Keerin]

I've done that with the stools before as well. lol

have you thought that (as well as needing practice) your stool may be at the wrong height?

My performance shot up when I changed the height I sit at!

[Vostok]

Yeah, I have thought that. I find that If I hieghten my stool the ankle technique improves, but the flat foot technique ends up pretty bad. Might just be a case of trying a few hieghts and sticking with it for a while.

Tried out thee Ol' gravity blast technique someone mentioned easier. Suprisingly easy! Although, I reckon you would be hard pushed to generate a sufficient volume without triggering your snare.

[Keerin]

not at all, I can generate enough volume without triggers! It isn't hard, just requires practice to be able to hit your snare harder from that position.

[Vostok]

Interesting, will keep it on the backburner!