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Finally, An Australian Custom Drum Building Parts Supplier

Posted by John Dutra | July 8th, 2010 | Comments (7)

Total Post Read Time: 1-minute

I wanted to write a quick post on how excited I am that Australia finally has a custom drum building parts supplier. The day is long overdue, and we’re proud to announce that Drum Parts Online has stepped up to the plate with some high quality custom drum parts. Kudos to them!

But what’s even more exciting is that our DIY custom drum making virus is spreading across the globe, and our Australian drum makers now have a high quality resource to tap into (alright guys… we expect some pictures of your drum building projects. No excuses now!)

Enough of the chit chat…. check out Australia’s Custom Drum Parts Supplier:
www.drumpartsonline.com.au

As always, please feel free to leave any comments below (for example: “finally!” or “hell yeah!” or “for god’s sake, it’s about time!”, etc..)

20 (Quick) Questions With Benny Greb

Posted by John Dutra | April 21st, 2010 | Comments (4)

Benny Greb from "The Language of Drumming"

Benny Greb is one of the best drummers of our age.

He’s got natural deep pocket groove, technicality and style. Benny’s DVD, “The Language of Drumming” has been awarded as one of the best drum instructional DVD’s around. And frankly, as far as I’m concerned, it walks the walk. Can’t wait till he makes another DVD.

I got a chance to fire 20 questions at Benny, and he fired back. Total read time? One Minute.

1) Maple or Birch:
Beech Wood! Best of both worlds: attack and bass.

2) Drum Finish:
White pearl

3) Favorite Snare size:
13“x6.5“

4) Bearing Edge Style:
The sonor style!

5) Best Bass drum depth:
17.5“ or 17“ depth by 22“ diameter

6) Best Snare Drum “Tuning Tip”:
Tune it evenly, but a bit higher than you would like it to sound. Then, loosen the tension rod facing you by one or one half turn.
And keep the resonance side head very tight!

7) Die cast hoops or triple flanged:
Triple flanged. I am dynamicly used to it so much that now, when i play a die cast hoop, it “feels” too much.

Paradiddle or Paradiddle-diddle:
Why pick when you can have both?

9) High seat placement or low:
Quite high – it´s better for balance and footwork

10) Pillow in the bass drum or wide open?
Really depends on the room and style of music

11) Favorite rack tom size:
10“. I don´t like 12“ at all.

12) 10 Lugs per side on a bass drum or 8 per side:
Uh..not shure ..I think 10.

13) Rack tom placement.. angled at you or flat?
Totally flat!

14) Best album:
Beatles “Revolver” maybe?

15) Favorite shoes to play in:
I don´t care as long as they are not ski boots.

16) Ear plugs or none:
Practicing yes – recording / performing no.

17) Reinforcement rings in the shells?:
Yes, when the shells are very thin.

18) Chrome hardware, brass or black:
Chrome

19) Snare beds or none:
Usually none

20) Next drum set:
The same again …I´m happy with my sonor sq2!

Ok, now it’s your turn.

What is your favorite answer from above?
Care to share one question you’d ask Benny Greb?

Please share your thoughts via comments below. Thanks very much!

WIN A DRUM CLOCK! It's the easiest contest you've ever entered….

Posted by John Dutra | December 13th, 2009 | Comments (0)

Decorate your drum room with a custom drum clock. You know you want to!

Ok… here’s the skinny:

Contest: Send us pictures of the drum set or snare drum you made (or both) from Guerrilla Drum Making techniques. If you re-vamped an old kit, re-wrapped old shells, painted an old set, or are even STILL IN THE PROCESS of working on your drum making project….STILL SEND US PICTURES!!!!
Days: The contest lasts until January 1st, 2010.
Winner: It’s a three step process: ALL participants are put into a raffle. We’ll draw your name. You win. It’s as easy as that.
The Prize: A 12″ Wall Drum Clock. Real shell, real hardware, and it really works!

With that being said, lets get down to the four contest rules.
#1) Send us Three pictures: One pic of your set, snare, or project. One pic at a different camera angle. And one pic of YOU with your project. If you really really don’t want to be in the pic… we’ll let it slide. Just send us the other two pics.

#2) Good Pics: Any digital camera will work fine. Please… no blurry photos or camera phone pics.

#3) You Must Be A Guerrilla Drum Making Customer: When you e-mail us your THREE pictures, put the first number of the bar code (back of the DVD case) in the subject line of the e-mail. “But wait” you say, “which number is the first one?”
GDM_code

#4) Tell us your info: In the e-mail that you’re sending us your pics in, tell us your NAME and LOCATION.

And that about wraps it up. See… isn’t that the easiest contest you’ve ever entered? Let me recap the contest in one single sentence. Enter to win a cool wall drum clock by e-mailing us three good quality pictures of your drum set, snare or drum making project by January 1st.

Remember to include the first number of the bar code in the subject line of the e-mail, and send us your Name and Location.

Please send your e-mail to John@guerrilladrummaking.com

Good luck and please comment below with anything!

HELP: Need Your Thoughts on A Virtual Drum Set Maker…

Posted by John Dutra | September 25th, 2009 | Comments (51)

Would A Virtual Drum Set Help You Out?

One thing I’ve been thinking about lately for the Guerrilla Drum Making homepage is a virtual drum set maker. I get constant e-mails about “how can the Guerrilla Drum Making DVD help me? What finishes does the DVD show?”

Well I had an idea… not an original one, that would put those questions and concerns to rest. And hopefully this solution will also give people some ideas for their custom drum sets, as well as help them visualize what the DVD can really do for them.

What if Guerrilladrummaking.com had an option to “Virtually Build Your Drum Set” ?

Anyone could click options to change the following:

1) Drum type (tom drum, snare, floor tom, bass drum)

2) Finish types from the DVD as well as “cross finish” ideas (such as a veneered drum shell with an abalone drum wrap stripe in the middle (chapter 4 and chapter 6), or a sunburst color fade over an exotic veneer (chapter 5 and chapter 4), etc etc.)

3) Lug type and lug offset or layout type (in line lugs, 50% offset, 5/8″ offset, etc.)
?????? ????? ????
4) Tension Rod Length (option to use “Standard Length” or “Alternate Length”

The whole point of the “Virtual Drum Set Maker” would offer a visual solution to what the Guerrilla Drum Making DVD can offer. Combined with the drum making articles, drum making cost spreadsheets, I think this vould be very useful in helping people step into drum making and visualize their custom kit.

What are your thoughts?

I need your help… please comment below and tell me what you think.
?????? ????? ????
#####
Cheers.

Guerrilla Drum Making Interview With DRUM! Magazine

Posted by John Dutra | September 22nd, 2009 | Comments (0)

The holy grail, to me, is to spend less time making a drum set and more time behind the drum kit playing it.-From The Drum! Magazine Online Interview

?????? ????? ????
?????? ????? ???? The quote above is from a recent interview I did with DRUM! Magazine Online for their Custom Drum Builder Week showcase. Below you’ll find a small snippet of the story but you can read the full interview here.

DRUM!: What’s the biggest obstabcle to making your own instrument?

?????? ????? ????

Dutra: I think the biggest challenge for first time drum makers is information overload and confidence. Finding drum making information is like googling “Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes.” Everyone uses this technique or that technique, this product but not that product, and if you use this without that you’ll totally screw up the whole project, and blah blah blah!! There’s absolutely no room for imagination or experimenting and this kills confidence… there’s nothing more discouraging than reading 1,000 opinions on how to stain a drum shell.

DRUM!: What was your goal in making the DVD?

Dutra: My goal with Guerrilla Drum Making was to eliminate these obstacles and road blocks by introducing basic ideas that produce professional results. No over thinking. No over measuring. No crazy tools. This builds confidence in people and leaves room for them to get creative and add on to it. It leaves them in the garage instead of at the computer staring at forum posts.

DRUM!: Are you happy with the response??
?????? ????? ???? ?????? ????? ????
Dutra: The response to the DVD has been great; far better than I ever imagined. And I think the cool thing about people’s response is that they watch it over and over and pick up new tricks every time. The DVD is basic enough to build confidence, but there’s some complexity involved that poses a challenge for those who want to get more creative.

Read The Full Guerrilla Drum Making Interview With DRUM! Magazine

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Finally, An Australian Custom Drum Building Parts Supplier

20 (Quick) Questions With Benny Greb

WIN A DRUM CLOCK! It's the easiest contest you've ever entered….

HELP: Need Your Thoughts on A Virtual Drum Set Maker…

Guerrilla Drum Making Interview With DRUM! Magazine