Dixon Drums Blog

Editor’s Note: This post was Written by Tim Kane.

I played a recent outdoor gig where the sound engineer placed the drum riser behind a pop-up shade tent and positioned all the amps and monitors out in front of my kit. I also had the distinct honor of playing without any floor or in-ear monitors.

What resulted from this poor stage sound arrangement was audio quality I can only describe as mush, and an inability for me to relate musically to any other musician.

I usually set-up before any other band mate and leave plenty of room on stage for other amplifiers. Unfortunately, a muffled stage sound is more the norm for me than the exception. Let us assume for a moment that you are like most drummers reading this blog: you are the weekend warrior-type musician playing live gigs at smaller indoor and outdoor venues with low pay and free beer (maybe). These types of gigs are not always conducive to running direct feed or line-in with all instruments going through a PA system. You often neither have the time, money, personnel, nor equipment for that integrated of a stage sound investment.

If I am lucky, the sound engineer will mic my kick drum and perhaps the snare at gigs. Because most venues I play at are space limited, guitar and keyboard amps are rarely sent direct through the portable sound system, and thus do not create a nice balanced on-stage sound by using EQ’d monitors in the overall mix. More often than not, I do not even have a monitor of my own. And even if I did, the most I can hear through it is vocals as I don’t need my own drums in the monitor. I need bass and guitar, which is only possible to achieve with a direct line-in amplifier send through the PA system.

So I have decided to take stage sound control into my own hands and ears. There are some simple strategies you can advocate for as a drummer to ensure you enjoy listening to the music you help produce as much as the fellow musicians in front of you.

What I advise is for drummers to encourage your bandmates to not stack their amps directly in front of your kick drum, snare, or floor toms. Be courteous to them as well. Arrive early and do not arrange your drum set in a way where there is no room beside your kit for amps and guitar stands to be comfortably placed. Talk to the sound person before he or she sets-up.

Moreover, try to have the “gig set-up” discussion at your next rehearsal. Express your inner feelings. In fact, use your next practice session as a true dress rehearsal. Set up exactly how you would live with an audience out front. Know how large your upcoming gig’s stage playing area will be. Garages work fine for this test, minus your car and lawnmower, of course – and a very forgiving spouse or roommate.
Another “back wall” stage set-up involves bassists and guitarists tilting their amps up towards the sky or roof and pivoting amps at a 45-degree angle toward center stage and you. That way, you catch some of their playing volume, but not all of it.

Running all instruments through the PA system and mixed into monitors is obviously the best option. With the overall stage volume down, the sound engineer can give you what you want to hear without killing the audience’s ears.

My own experimental solution at the next “monitor-less” gig will involve separately sending all amps and vocals through my laptop’s 8-channel audio interface device and wearing ear buds. That way, I can record the music and hear everyone at the same time.
The key is to take the necessary time before a gig to strategize stage set-up, run a few tunes as sound check, and be willing to readjust the position of certain speakers.

- Tim Kane, a professional writer, editor and drummer for more than 20 years, writes weekly blogs for Dixon Drums.

Photo by Niels Heidenreich

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Call it an identity crisis of sorts, but my bag was chock full of odd-sized drum sticks to the point where I just had to purge them the other day.
I used to prefer playing the skinnier, lighter and shorter 5A nylon tips, which were invented by Joe Calato, by the way. Then, dear wife gave me custom drum sticks with 5B wood tips for Christmas with my website address laser written onto them. Sweet! They just sounded better on cymbal bells, produced stronger shell resonance, and created more bounce while playing buzz rolls on the snare.

By simplifying what I own for models, however, I am slowly rediscovering the best types of drum sticks in terms of weight, length, finish, taper, durability, color, and tip in order to match my particular needs.

Like highhats, drum sticks are one of the most important elements of your drum set. Take the time to experiment with various types, though one challenge you’ll encounter is a growing number of local music stores don’t carry a great diversity of brands these days.

What should you look for? In my opinion, the top five drum stick manufacturers in the world include Vic Firth, Zildjian, Pro-Mark, Vater and Regal Tip. If you get the chance to test drive some pairs, roll the sticks on a flat surface before using or purchasing them. Like 2X4s at the lumber store, drum sticks are not all cut perfectly straight. The more warped they are, the less efficient they perform around your drum set.

There are specific wood types and outer coatings to consider as well. The most common drums sticks are made from Maple, Hickory, and Oak – Maple being the most apt to break and Hickory drum sticks being the most popular. I have never liked synthetic sticks such as aluminum. Drums are meant to be played with real wood.
Varnished or lacquered sticks are important considerations as well. If you sweat a lot, you will want to avoid slippery coatings, or sand them down after purchase. There are a growing number of sticks with tacky surfaces embedded over the butt ends now. You can even buy sure grip wraps for them. I stay away from painted sticks, as they tend to taint my heads with that particular color.

As for drum stick tips, I still prefer wood, though nylon is the standard today. The problem I have with nylon is they tend to sound too pinging and brilliant on certain cymbals where wood produces much warmer tones. There are actually four types of tip designs and tonal qualities to consider, including: rounded (focused for cymbals), pointed (triangular shaped for medium tones), teardrop shaped (diverse sounds), and barrel (larger area for bashing). I have found the most success in playing distinct patterns with teardrops.

Size and taper wise, traditionalists will tell you that 5Bs and 2Bs are intended for hard rock drummers while 5As and 7As are best suited for jazz and funk. Though originally designed for such uses, I use 5Bs during practice to build my endurance for live gigs employing 5As. I have even used a 5B in my left hand for more punch on the snare while playing a lighter 5A on the ride and vice versa.

Choose the drum stick best fit for your hands and drum set positions, not just the musical style you are playing. Stick selection is an often-overlooked process to being the complete drummer, and is actually a critical ingredient.

Written by Tim Kane
Tim Kane is a professional writer, editor and drummer of 30-plus years residing in Massachusetts. Read and comment on his blog at www.dixondrums.net.

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This blog posting is intended for drummers who have tried not to cross their hands while playing high-hat and snare drum patterns, and for those who aspire to experiment with the technique.

First, I am not ambidextrous and do not play open stick position all the time versus crossed. If right-hand dominant drummers have ever tried to set up their drums in a left-handed drumming position (right to left like Phil Collins), then they understand how the brain finally works – it’s great practice, but also very humbling.

Tour drummers such as Carter Beauford and Billy Cobham come to mind as musicians who are darn close to the freedom and agility of using both hands without a weaker side. That’s pretty impressive stuff to watch. But their expertise does not mean non-ambidextrous drummers can’t experiment with the new found freedoms open playing position provides.

Check out the audio tab attached here

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to this blog of a spur-of-moment raw drum pattern I recently played to warm-up before a band rehearsal. The majority of my snare strikes were with the right hand while I carried most high-hat, crash and higher tom accents pretty much with the weaker left hand.

What I have found is that by playing open position at times during a song or solo, it provides me with a whole new world of off-beat accents and patterns to explore – some actually in reverse of how one would normally play that phrasing in a traditional crossed stick position. Open playing also gives me more “mobile” right-hand expressions on the right side of the drum kit – usually reserved for floor toms and rides.

Instead of playing snare on the normal 2 and 4 beats, open playing stresses the 1 and 3 a lot more in one measure, simply because your right hand is more attuned to accenting 1 and 3 heavy while playing crossed stick position in a standard 4/4 time signature.

By mixing and reserving stick and hand dominance more during songs, new styles and sequences suddenly begin to appear. If you set up a ride or crash ride on your left side, open playing also works great in situations where you desire a steady ride or bell pattern, but want more control and strength in accenting on the toms.

I also have set-up a tom-tom to the left of my snare and high-hat for years and found it has helped my left-side weakness improve.

Please take a listen to the attached track and share your own open playing experiences.

Tim Kane is a professionally-trained drummer with about 30 years performance experience.

Written by Tim Kane

Blending diverse rhythmic styles into the mainstream scene with good taste has been Tim Kane’s forte as a musician for more than 30 years.

Professional musicians define him as “intuitive” and a “songwriter’s drummer.” Kane considers those kind words both gracious compliments and reality. His humble approach to the drumset has always been about complementing the music, and more importantly, keeping solid time while laying down a cool groove.

Today, he feels lucky to have a diverse range of experiences to draw from as a working professional drummer.

Read Tim’s full bio

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Rudiments may seem like a simple thing to a beginning drummer and a waste of time to a seasoned one, but practicing rudiments is like a workout for an Olympic athlete—the more you do it the better your competitive edge will be.

Drummers from Gene Krupa to Neil Peart have not only used drum rudiments for warm ups and to keep up their chops, but integrate them into their playing, as well.

Drum rudiments, which are basic drum patterns, are the best ways to practice stick control and wrist movement. Invented over 500 years ago by the Swiss for their fife and drum corps, rudiments first came to America with English regiments back in the 16th century. The first fife and drum book in America to list 26 drum rudiments was written in 1812.

Though many drum books and websites still list 26 basic rudiments, there are actually 40, counting all the variations, which are categorized into five rudimental “families,” including single-stroke roll rudiments, double-stroke roll rudiments, diddle rudiments, flam rudiments, and drag rudiments.

The single-stroke rudiments include the single-stroke four and single-stroke seven rolls; the double-stroke rudiments include the five, six, seven, nine, 13, 15 and 17-stroke rolls. Diddle rudiments are also known as paradiddles and include four different variations while the flam rudiments have 11 and the drag rudiments have 10.

Great use of the paradiddle by drummer Tim Pederson of Musician’s Institute.

The rudiments can be played with pretty much any of the three basic drumstick gripping techniques (matched grip, traditional grip or French grip), and are usually practiced mainly on the snare drum or on a practice pad. Some drum websites also suggest practicing rudiments with brushes as well as drumsticks.

Drum instructors also suggest that rudiments be practiced more so than drum sets for the simple fact that it forces you to keep your chops up by playing the basics. That isn’t to say the drum set isn’t important, however. There should be a balance there—going back to the basics and working on your speed and versatility will also help keep you up to par on the drum kit.
Listen to your favorite band, tune your ear to the drummer and you are likely to hear at least a couple of flams, lots of single and double-stroke rolls and maybe even a paradiddle or two. Just as the English language is based on the alphabet, the language of drumming is based on rudiments and you will only be helping yourself by working them into your routine.

Written by Toby Tate

Toby Tate is a performing musician, songwriter and studio engineer from northeastern North Carolina. Currently a freelance writer, Toby was a reporter and graphic designer for The Daily Advance newspaper for five years and has had stories and articles published in regional and national magazines and on the Internet. His first novel, DIABLERO, a supernatural thriller, will be released worldwide in October by Nightbird Publishing.

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