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Custom Drum Builder Profile: Justin Kochenberger

April 30, 2012 in General Updates, Inspiration, Reader's Drum Pictures with 0 Comments

Name: Justin

Where do you live? Philadelphia, Pa

What are the sizes of the drums you built? Snare Drum – 14×8, Bass Drum – 26×16, Floor Tom – 16×16, Rack Tom – 13×8

What type of shells did you use? All shells are 8 ply Keller VSS Maple with reinforcement rings on the snare drum.

What type of drum hardware did you use? All of my hardware is from drummaker.com. I used classic pearl style drum lugs along with the classic style bass drum claws to get a 70s style looking kit.

What type of finish/wrap did you put on your drums? The Wrap is a silver glass glitter.

What was your favorite part of building your drums? My favorite part in building process was putting on the wrap and beginning to see what the drums were actually going to look like.

What was the hardest part of building your drums? The hardest part for me was making sure all my measurements were exact and all the holes were drilled right. I was always nervous before drilling any holes into the drums.

How long did it take you to build your drums? It took me about 6 months to finish my set.

How much money did it cost you to build your drums? I want to say around $1500-1600. I didn’t buy everything at once so I forget exactly how much the total cost was.

How did you learn about building custom drums? I did research online, watching YouTube videos and read your eBook.

What is one tip you could share with someone who wants to build their own custom drums? Do your research and read the eBook before you begin to build your custom drums. It’s an exciting process to be building your own custom drums, just be patient with it.

How to Get My “How to Make Custom Drums” eBook for FREE

February 13, 2012 in Drum Tips, General Updates, Product Review with 0 Comments

With Valentines day around the corner, I thought it would be nice to give away my eBook for free!

How to get my drum building eBook for free:

From February 14-17, anyone who buys  The Cobus Method (affiliate link) or Mike Michalkow’s Drumming System (affiliate link) by clicking through either of my affiliate links will also get a FREE copy of How to Make Custom Drums!

After this promotion is over I will verify that you purchased one of those products by using my affiliate link and I will send the latest edition of “How to Make Custom Drums” and it’s bonus material to the email address associated with your purchase!

Also – Get 40% off Mike Michalkow’s Drumming System and a signed card from Mike if you buy it during this promotion!

Why I am giving away my eBook for free:

To keep it short, I own and believe in both of these products and I think that any drummer would benefit greatly by studying and practicing the methods and systems laid out in the DVDs. You can see my full video reviews of each product by checking out these older blog posts:

One of the other reasons is that I may receive a small commission if you purchase using my affiliate link.

I was able to meet Mike Michalkow at NAMM this year and learned that not only is he a great teacher, but he is nice enough to let a stranger take a picture with him! He was very friendly, and in the music business that goes a long way. That only made me want to promote his products even more!

Although I didn’t get to meet Cobus, I still believe in his method. Just watch any of his YouTube videos and you may realize that you would benefit from letting Cobus teach you how to play the drums by ear!

Remember this promotion is from February 14-17. Make this Valentines Day doubly special by getting 2 great resources for the price of 1!

Brian Frasier-Moore Playing with Madonna at the Super Bowl!

February 5, 2012 in Drums, General Updates, Inspiration with 1 Comment

Don’t forget to watch Brian Frasier-Moore at the Super Bowl performing with Madonna! I was able to check out Brian’s kit at NAMM this year, and it is a beast of a drum set. It features a custom rack design by Chris Achzet. Chris has been Brian’s primary drum tech for the past 9 years. Brian was endorsed by TAMA drums for over 10 years but was recently recruited by DrumCraft – A German based drum company. Check out the press release from DrumCraft’s website:

We’re very proud to announce that Brian Frasier Moore has joined the DrumCraft family! Brian resides in Los Angeles and has recorded and/or toured with such artists as Janet Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Usher, Aaliyah, Madonna and many more…

Brian will perform with Madonna at the half time show of the Superbowl on Sunday, Feb. 5th in Indianapolis.

We are honored to have Brian on board as a new DrumCraft artist and look forward to a long-term relationship and are excited to watch his career further develop using DrumCraft products.

I’m excited to see him play today. Make sure to friend him on facebook and/or follow him on Twitter @BrianFrasierM. I’m sure he’ll be posting some behind the scenes updates!

german drum set

11 Ways to Achieve Your Personal Drumming Goals in 2012

December 30, 2011 in Drum Tips, Drummer resources, Drums, General Updates with 34 Comments

I recently had a chance to talk with Ed Francis aka “The Drummer on the Round Rock” to ask him to share some of his drumming wisdom with the community here at Makedrums. Ed shared some really incredible insights on attaining your goals as a drummer, but don’t be fooled! These tips can help you achieve goals in all areas of your life – not just drumming!

MD: Could you share specific examples – some “drum nuggets” of wisdom – that you have held on to, and have seen as instrumental in helping you achieve your personal drumming goals?

Francis: Humility is always a good place to start. When I first began playing [the drums] I knew that I didn’t know it all and I wanted to learn as much as I could about drumming. And I continue to remind myself of that way of thinking – that I still don’t know it all. Continue Reading....

Benny Goodman – Live at Carnegie Hall – Review

November 6, 2011 in Drums History, General Updates with 0 Comments

For some inexplicable reason, columns devoted to musicians and their lifestyle always seem to lead in the same direction – directly toward a gutter. Perhaps editors are convinced that the public yearns to know of carnal exploits rather than creative triumphs, that Iggy Pop’s latest bloodletting, for example would be better suited for public exposee than his latest single. The editors are undoubtedly right, but let me assure you, dear reader, that my type is capable of serious discourse, too. And there are a bevy of “legit” musical topics on which to expound.

That much said, I have decided to devote the next several hundred words (that’s pretty substantial, isn’t it?) to one of the greatest musical triumphs in history. To properly dig, you must transport yourself back to another era: the year 1938 and a place called New York City.  On the evening of January 16, a young bandleader called Benny Goodman assembled one of the greatest musical lineups of all time for a little hoedown at a class joint known as Carnegie Hall. We are most fortunate that the resultant events were recorded, for the fellas that night created a stunning musical document, a testament to the glory of swing and jazz: “Live at Carnegie Hall.”

Continue Reading....

Drum Tip: Mark Hardware Angles and Height On Your Cymbal and Hardware Stands

August 22, 2011 in Drum Tips, Drummer resources, Drums, General Updates with 3 Comments

A couple of days ago Ed Francis shared a tip about spiking your drum set hardware layout with tape to make sure that you set your drums up exactly the same every time, which leads to a more efficient set up and comfort when playing. His post reminded me of another important aspect of setting your drums up: consistency when setting the height and angles of your cymbal stands and hardware stands.

One of the main ways to consistently set your drum hardware up the same for every show is by using memory locks. Memory locks are basically small metal pipe clamps that you attach to your hardware stands to mark and stop at a certain height/angle that you like to have your stands at. These memory locks are moved up and down the stand by tightening or loosening the lock with a drum key.

Memory locks are great, but I have a very small SKB hardware case that doesn’t have enough room for me to completely disassemble a cymbal stand, which is basically what I would have to do if I used memory locks on my stands since you wouldn’t want to move the memory lock every time you put it back in the case. In order to fix this problem I just started marking my heights and angles with a fine tipped Sharpie! This completely eliminates the need for memory locks, and allows me to collapse my hardware inside itself enough to fit everything in my hardware case.

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Ed Francis on The Importance of “Spiking” Your Drum Kit Set-Up

August 18, 2011 in Drum Tips, Drummer resources, Drums, General Updates with 2 Comments

The Drum Coach from Round Rock Drums, Ed Francis (AKA: The Drummer on the Round Rock), combines his love of life, music and people with a HUGE and generous heart. At no cost to the recipients, Francis tours Round Rock and surrounding areas to share his passion for the arts and drumming. He donates countless hours to elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, juvenile detention facilities, music stores, drum studios, community centers, YMCA’s, daycare centers, and other outlets. He does this with one thing in mind – to spread his passion for music and drumming. I have had the privilege to become his friend over the past year and recently had a chance catch up and ask him to share a drum tip with the readers here at Makedrums.

MD: I know your a busy man, so I’ll make this quick. Can you share just one drum tidbit with our readers that has been helpful to you during your 33 years of playing?

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8 Custom Drum Companies That You Should Know About

June 6, 2011 in Drums, General Updates with 4 Comments

1. C&C Custom Drums – Bill Cardwell is a custom drum building legend. He and his son Jake create some of the most classy looking custom drums on the market. Bill started making drums in a 6×12″ room in the back of his drum and guitar retail store about 20 years ago. Their journey has been long and difficult, but they are now one of the most trusted and revered names in the drum industry.

2. Koenig Custom Drum Company – These guys developed the Corian-Granite snare drum. I have never heard a granite snare, but I have to give them props for doing something completely different than most “custom” drum companies.

3. SJC Custom Drums – One of the most innovative custom drum companies out there. Known for their “Butcher Hoops”. Owned by two brothers that are 25 and 23 years old.

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Drum Building Encouragement for 2011

January 12, 2011 in Drummer resources, Drums, General Updates, Reader's Drum Pictures with 0 Comments

You Really Can Build a Professional Custom Drum Set

Building a professional custom drum set is something that is achievable by everyone, from the experienced wood worker, to the low budget garage band musician. I remember before I started building my own drums I would always wonder what it would be like to have an endorsement deal with a major drum company, preferably Yamaha. I would day dream about the different configurations that I would be able to have and how I would entertain an entire music venue full of wild screaming fans all listening to pounding beats emanating from my drums… I think most drummers have this fantasy at least once in their career, only to eventually settle for a second best “out of the box” assembly line drum set.

Drum Building Encouragement for the Year 2011

I just wanted to remind and encourage all you drummers out there not to give up on this dream. You can and will achieve it if you don’t give up. I feel like this is a post that needs to be written about once a year, and since it’s the beginning of a new year it just felt right to talk about your dreams. 2010 may have been a year where you met lots of your personal and professional goals, or you may have failed miserably. Don’t let your failure bring you down. More specifically don’t let your inability to play the drums well enough to receive a full sponsorship keep you from having the drum set of your dreams. You don’t have to wait for someone to respond to one of your hundreds of emails that you’ve sent to custom drum companies asking and begging for a free drum set. Yes I’m talking about you, you, and you. I’ve gotten all of your emails asking for an artist endorsement deal, and I’m sorry I haven’t responded, but I (and most custom drum builders) just can’t give away free drums. I do, however, have another option for you.

This is your year to learn how to build that custom drum kit in your dreams. I may not be able to help you achieve your dream of playing sold out stadium shows, but there is no reason for you to go another day thinking that you don’t have what it takes to build a custom drum set. I’m not going to give you my sales pitch, but I did want you take a look at what I have been able to do since I started building drums in 2006.

A History Lesson: A Few of My Major Drum Building Milestones

In 2006 my friend Kevin showed me the very basics of building my first drum set. At that time I was able to order all of the shells, parts and finishing materials for under $1000. With no drum building experience at all I was able to crank this baby out.

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What do you want more of?

November 1, 2010 in General Updates with 6 Comments

Lately I've been asking a lot of my twitter followers what they think of this website. I have gotten some great feedback and I plan on making a couple of changes to this site in the near future. I've gotten lots of feedback from the new drum building podcast. That will definitely stay and I'll be adding more episodes in the future. I strive to offer the best drum building information and content for the blog, and I wanted to ask for your feedback. The question is simple; What do you want to see and hear more of on the blog? Who would you like to hear interviewed for the podcast? Any idea that you could offer would be greatly appreciated! This blog is for you. Just leave a comment below and tell me what you want more of!

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