The Kit has Landed

[Hyperplex]

Having moved in January, one of the last things I knew that I was going to be able to move over to the new house was my drum kit. Well, just a few minutes ago, I finished setting them up in my practice room (aka rather large laundry room). I plan on soundproofing the concrete wall behind me since it is the only shared wall we have. I've already priced out what I'm going to do for that.

It's a supremely cool feeling to have my kit over here at my house. It just makes the place that much more personal. Just thought I'd share.

And a pic for those who are interested (It's actually a grainier photo than I had hoped for, but the room is lit by a single, uncovered lightbulb and that is making for some lower quality pictures. But oh well, that doesn't diminish how it feels.):

 

[Cheyanne]

Nice!!

I envy all you folks who learned an instrument LOL i don't have the coordination to do that stuff

 

[Oogadee Boogadee]

dude. that's a fucking killer kit. awesome finish on those shells too.

what's the specs on that thing? is that a megabell ride?

 

[Hyperplex]

Thanks!

Tama Starclassic Maple with Marine Blue Fade finish.
toms: 8x10 10x10 10x12 12x14 14x16
kicks: 18x22
snare: 5.5x14, 5.5x14 foot snare

Gibraltar rack, Iron Cobra pedals, Lever Glide hi hat stand

Sabian cymbals except for Zildjian New Beat X-hats and a 16" Oriental China Trash

And yes, the ride is a 22" Hand Hammered Power Bell ride.

A shot from behind the kit:

 

[Oogadee Boogadee]

Cool!

What are you thoughts on the ride? I've always been interested in that one - because I used to really be into Vinnie Paul. I've always kept my eyes open for that one, but I've yet to see a Sabian Power Bell in a store. How does the bow work for you?

 

[Hyperplex]

The bow has a nice smooth sound, pretty good for riding on and the bell is just phenomenal.

If I have any complaints about it, it's that the overall sound is very warm. The bell cuts like a knife, but it's deep and warm where a lot of rides with smallers bells have a brighter, pingier sound. I don't have any reason to replace it, but in the future if my playing moves more into the forefront, I may look into something like a Rock Ride, if I can find a 22" version. The ping on that cymbal is quite nice.

 

[Oogadee Boogadee]

Ah... that's a good description.

i've heard people say that the bow is washy.... but i always wondered... 'well, is the wash a nice sound? is it washy b/c you want something dry? Does it bury the ping?' etc. Further, those getting a powerbell might be beating the shit out of it b/c metal dudes tend to look into those rides.... anything can be washy if you beat it hard enough!

So are you saying the bow has a nice and warm wash, but the ping on the bow isn't does cut through the nice wash that it creates?

 

[Hyperplex]

The ping I'm referring to is mainly the overall frequency of the cymbal: it's a rather warm, medium-depth cymbal, as opposed to a higher-pitched, piercing cymbal. The bow has a very mellow wash to it that I can't really put a negative spin on. It's equal parts soft, smooth, and explosive. The bell is mammoth and powerful, but again rather deep in pitch relative to other ride cymbals. The major plus side of the bell is, because of its diameter, you have a large variety of playing surfaces: with the neck of the stick across the bell, the tip right on the crown, and any surface in between. It offers you a great deal of voices to choose from.

You definitely can achieve a wide range of tones and sounds with this ride, but like I said it doesn't have the high frequency *PING* of brighter alloy cymbals. You will discover much more cut if you use nylon tipped sticks on this cymbal.

 

[Oogadee Boogadee]

i got my 21" Paiste Sig dry heavy at Chuck Levin's.

At one point, they had a million rides there and i side-by-sided nearly every one!

One of these days we'll have to set our rides up next to each other and compare them... Mine definitely has a 'metal' sound to it b/c of the dryness letting the big ping of the bow run totally unhidden. The bell is big and piercing too, but it doesn't have that cool earthy trashness that rides with smaller bells have. That's probably my only complaint with it. it seems the the bigger the bell a ride has, the more firebell-like it becomes, and less mysterious it becomes as well. but I love a huge target.

 

[Hyperplex]

Pretty standard physics: the bigger the bell, the lower the frequency, the deeper the sound.

 

[DW Dobbs]

whoa man, that's a great looking kit.