— Daily Journal Entry 017 —
First let me say, that I’m not a “real” drummer. i.e., I can play the drums to some degree. I can keep a simple beat and maybe even throw a few clever fills on occasion. To top it off, if you needed an extreme emergency fill-in, on-the-spot drummer, I could make it seem real for the first few measures of the song (hopefully). But I couldn’t be called a drummer by no means.
Then again, I could kind of say the same thing when it comes to guitar playing, or recording music in a DAW, but at least, I can talk (a little) more intelligently about those subjects and know my around (kind of) the fretboard, and Logic’s interface, etc. But drums… Eeeeh… Not so much… I know what a bass drum, floor tom, toms, and drumsticks are…
But I’ve always had the greatest respect for folks that could keep a good, constant beat (like my brother, Brooks) on an acoustic set of drums. Fancy is cool, but the real talent is maintaining the rhythm for an extended period taking in the other elements of the song that you hear all around you.
Now, electronic drum sets… I remember thinking that I would NEVER embrace electronic drums. They just don’t have that real sound and feel. No way could an electronic drum set ever replace the real deal in my opinion. Or, at least, that’s what I used to think.
Now, I’m a changed man, so to speak. These types of kits have come a long way. They certainly come in various shapes and sizes, some 100% resembling the look and feel of REAL acoustic sets. But all have some incredible advantages over acoustic sets.
For one, you can completely change the sounds that each element of the drums produces by simply dialing up a kit. You can also create custom kits that are a combination of various kits that come with the unit you purchased.
They are also volume adjustable. You can play in quite spaces and large venues all the same. No more microphone placement issues when playing live or in the studio.
Now, I will say that it takes some adjusting to get used to playing the lower end models, but not as much as you might think. And if you are going to be playing them on a regular basis, the adjustments would come quicker and seem more normal sooner than later.
Check ‘em out…
Until Next Time,
Featured Image: My brother playing his Tama acoustic drum set. He was actually helping me out with a “showing speed test” for a photography class I was attending remotely from NYIP (New York Institute of Photography), that I, of course, never finished. Showing how the effects of a low shutter speed – first few attempts. Horrible lighting, didn’t (and still don’t) know anything about filters, white balance, etc. View on Flikr. I asked Gemini to make it larger and level out the saturation and contrast. The NYIP instructor advised me to buy a particular type of filter to make up for the indoor lighting. I don’t remember which filter…
Note: These “Daily Journal Entries” are part of a mini blog within the main blog where I make every effort to publish a 250+ word post per day on top of the regular, longer posts. The idea is to just create a daily habit of publishing written content. And also, to try and become a better overall writer… We’ll see…
