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.

MD: A sense of knowing your own limitations has helped you…what else?

Francis: Let me try to create a list of things…

I don’t consider there to be any “hard and fast rules” to drumming success. Everyone’s path will be different. These are merely some examples of what I have done, and ways of thinking, which have assisted me well with my drumming career. I‘m sure there are a few missing that are helpful, but here it goes:

• Practice.

It’s amazing how much more someone will listen to you if you are already doing what it is you are asking of them – and this is most certainly true for teachers. Whether we’re playing for a band, teaching or giving drum clinics, people will first take notice if we’ve put in the required time and effort. As a friend of mine used to say, “the proof is in the pudding.”

The level of consistency we put into practicing our craft is a reflection of its importance in our lives.

•  No matter what I needed to do for a “real job,” I’ve always had drumming as part of my life.

I’ve bumped into many people over the years who have said “I wish I could do (insert passion here), but I just don’t have the time.” They made many excuses for their inability to make their wish a priority. I never understood this way of thinking. While growing up as a young adult I held on to my dream of being a drummer and practiced, played and performed as much as I could around my work schedule.

We make time for the things that are really significant to us.

• Find out what is most important to you.

When it comes to drums there are so many areas of interest. Are you a novice seeking to increase your drumming abilities? Do you have a level of competency on your instrument and looking to develop a stronger presence in the community? What is it that you hope to accomplish with your musicianship? Answer these questions and you will begin to understand what it is that you want to accomplish.

Knowing who you are – and what is most important to you – will help you to reach your goals.

• Do not let anyone else (including me) dictate the terms of what is most important to you.

There are so many distractions out there! People trying to tell us what’s most important. Others trying to sell you things or concepts which are truly not necessary for what it is that you see as most valuable. Knowing yourself and feeling confident about what it is you are doing will aid in your ability to distinguish what is beneficial from what is a drain to your efforts.

Be your own drummer!

• Stay focused on your goals – but be willing to look around.

Once you get a feel for who you are as a drummer, and what you wish to accomplish, it’s always a great idea to look around at what other successful people are doing in the areas which are most important to you. I like to be inspired by those around me who are great at what they do – and this includes my students. Some of the very best ideas and influences may very well come from unexpected sources.

Take the “blinders” off and be sure to learn from others.

• Just because something is good to do doesn’t mean it’s beneficial.

I can’t begin to tell you the number of missed opportunities I’m glad that I missed! We’ve had shows fall into our lap (last minute) – huge media events on big stages with lots of free media coverage – where it practically killed me to decline. When not prepared, it’s far better to miss a great opportunity than to seize that same opportunity only to gain an unfavorable impression in the community.

Making a strong first impression is always the best thing.

• A good name is better than being “right.”

There have been a few situations where people neglected to pay for services I have provided. In the past I sought to collect on these past due amounts only to walk away with the money and the potential for a not-so-flattering story to be told. I’ve learned that I actually make more money by not worrying about a few small payments.

It doesn’t feel good to lose money, but gaining a great reputation is worth much more than any amount of money.

• Be confident with your ability to fulfill what you promise.

Ask yourself: “Is what I say I can do actually what I am capable of providing?” I try to balance my advertising to accurately match what it is that I’m able to accomplish. There is something to be said about doing what you said you can do. People respect that and will highly recommend you to others.

People are always going to gossip – give them something great to gossip about!

• Always have something nice to say, or say nothing at all (at least keep it constructive).

Be careful what you say. People are connected now more that ever before. Our relationships with others may very well be the bridge that allows us to capitalize on future business. And – to be honest – it’s just common courtesy to be nice to others.

If your heart and mouth are in alignment with your passion – and you care about the people you are working for – the money will eventually follow.

• Care about what you are doing and who you are doing it for.

People are smart. They know if you are invested in them or not. Get to know your band-mates, students (their parents), club owners, music store owners, (etc…), and truly seek to add value through what you do with your drumming. It’s about relationships not money.

Investing yourself into the lives of others is investing into yourself.

• Whatever you do – give it your ALL.

Whenever performing (a small daycare facility with only 20 little kids or a huge stadium filled with 5,000 adults) I put my heart and soul into that moment of performance. This is also true for any projects connected to my drum business. Remember, what you do in that brief moment may be the one thing where people base their entire opinion of who you are and your abilities. Always provide your very best at everything you do.

No matter how big or small give it your all.

MD: We always enjoy a chance to hear from you. Would you like to add anything else?

Francis: Thank you for providing this platform. I think what Makedrums.com is doing for the drumming community is great. And a HUGE thank you to all my family, friends and students who have helped to make my drumming career a reality.

MD: We look forward to hearing from you again.

You may find out more about Ed Francis and Round Rock Drums at: www.roundrockdrums.com

P.S. – Check out this awesome drum solo from ED!!!

 What are some of your drumming goals for the year 2012? What do you think of Ed’s solo?  Leave a comment here!

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.”

For those of you who are bewildered that my choice for 20th century musical moment did not include the British Invasion or Mr. Presley’s verbotten gyrations, please allow me to explain. The mid-’30’s found America unwell – stuck in the doldrums of a lingering depression, and on the verge of a second world war. The great swing orchestras that rocked the world from 1935-46 – Chick Webb, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, the Dorsey Brothers et. al. – these mighty juggernauts gave the average joe a bit of respite.Their energetic, infectiously danceable arrangments provided weary Americans a thrilling form of escape. In fact, the fervor surrounding swing proved great enough to generate for the first time the sort of hysteria that we now associate with rock’n’roll. It was also one of the few times in history where virtuosity and popularity actually intersected. Under these circumstances did Mr. Goodman organize his little party at Carnegie.

The concert was important for a number of reasons. First, it was an arrival of sorts for the swingin’ cats, a recognition that their music had achieved the sort of credibility demanded for admittance into Carnegie’s hallowed halls. Let us not forget that Goodman, with his multi-racial ensemble (the first of its kind), wildly exhibitionisitic stage act and fanatical youth following, had begun as quite a controversial figure within mainstream American culture (think Alice Cooper or Marilyn Manson, literally).

Which brings us to the lineup. By ‘38, Goodman had succeeded in making a star not only of himself, but of the key men in his band – Gene Krupa on drums, Teddy Wilson on piano, Lionel Hampton on vibes, and Harry James on lead trumpet. Each would go on to legendhood as a solo artist, but here they were, all under one roof -  young, in top form and ready to take the world by storm. The concert also featured a host of stars from Ellington’s ensemble. They participated in a jam subtitled “Twenty Years of Jazz”, a medley of tunes that celebrated the genre’s first legion of heroes – Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, the great Duke himself. As if that weren’t enough, John Hammond, the critic-entrepenour who brought us a range of artists from Billie Holiday to Bruce Springsteen, managed to work one of his up and coming discoveries onto the bill – a certain band leader from Kansas City called William Basie. It is the Count’s slammin’ horn section that provides the punch for the incredible second half of the concert. The material chosen that night lingers indelibly, and included “One O’Clock Jump” (Basie’s theme), “Stompin’ at theSavoy” (Chick Webb’s theme and the biggest hit from the concert), and of course, Louis Prima’s “Sing,Sing,Sing”, which by this point in Goodman’s career had morphed into a 12 minute showstopper (take THAT, Peter Frampton).

Amazingly, the entire proceedings were captured by just ONE suspended microphone, the action then relayed via telephone cable two blocks to the CBS studios, where it was “carved” onto master acetates. Primitive indeed, but the incredible accoustics of the hall give this recording a higher fidelity than most of its studio-produced contemporaries. For the first time, drums are audible, revealing every crisp Krupa fill and tomtom flurry (typically, due to frequency and volume issues, drums were kept at a considerable distance from microphones in a studio, the result often sounding more like a pillowfight than an instrument). Each dynamic interplay of soloist, ensemble and audience is delivered with delicious clarity, from Jess Stacy’s five spine tingling choruses on “Sing, Sing, Sing” to Hampton’s grunts on “I Got Rhythm.”

Unfortunately, “Live at Carnegie Hall” also marked the zenith of an era about ready to  fall victim to its own success – only one month after the landmark event, Goodman’s great orchestra split up (the first of several times) due to conflicting egos. Within three years, the mounting expense of a World War would put most of the big bands out of business, and by 1945 swing was out of style altogether. Goodman would play on into the 1970’s, but never again to reach the dizzying heights of stardom acheived on that chilly night in ‘38. As for the recordings, they were finally released twelve years later as one of the first commercially produced LP records, proving that undoubtedly, good things are worth waiting for. And boy, does this one stand the test of time!!

In my opinion, “Carnegie Hall” deserves not only the title of first “live album”, but also the honor as one the best. Do yourself a favor and check it out. Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert Featuring Gene Krupa on Drums

About The Author – Daniel Glass

Daniel is an accomplished drummer, writer, historian, and film maker. He tours regularly, and is a drum clinician. I encourage you to check him out when you can! Check out his tour schedule at www.danielglass.com!

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.

This small SKB case fits my kick pedal, 3 boom cymbal stands, hi-hat stand, snare stand and 2 tom L-rod brackets.

Mark the base of your cymbal stand with a sharpie when you have it set up exactly to your specifications. (I used a fine tip sharpie to keep it looking clean, but you can use any sharpie.)

Mark the angle of your cymbal boom arm by making a straight line across the angle adjustment piece. Line the marks up for your perfect angle!

Use the same method for marking any angle you might deal with when adjusting your cymbal stand.

Do you have a drum tip? Leave a comment below and tell us about it!

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?

Francis: (laughs) Just one?

MD: My fingers can only handle so much typing…

Francis: Ha! Well, if I had to pick “just one” thing I guess I’d like to talk about the benefits of spiking your drums on  your carpet.

MD: What do you mean?

Francis: One of my pet peeves is to set up my drums only to discover that some of the angles – like the position of my pedals or floor toms relative to the rest of the kit, for example – don’t feel right. And when setting up for a live performance – weather it be for a regular band gig, drum clinic or a special presentation – we drummers have time restraints and getting things “correct” isn‘t always easy.

MD: Are you saying drummers aren’t given enough time?

Francis: If you’re referring to the amount of solo time, then…

MD: I see where you’re going with this.

Francis: Da da, da …ting! But really, We have all this equipment and it usually needs to be set up quickly. In my history of needing to set up quickly has sometimes created a placement problem and left me in the uncomfortable position of needing to make adjustments to how I approach my playing. And thinking too much about the adjustment can take away from your performance.

MD: How did you remedy this “placement problem”?

Francis: I began to pre-mark the placement of my drums with tape on my carpet. I learned this technique while doing a drum-tech gig for John Blackwell (drummer for Prince, Justin Timberlake), Chris Coleman (“Chaka Kahn”, Rachelle Ferrell), and other Gospel drummers, where I was tasked with using the same carpet piece for multiple sets of drums with different drummers. Once each drummer finished their performance we removed the previous kit then placed another on top of areas taped in differing locations. We also used various colors of tape to help us know who’s kit went where.

MD: How did all of that go?

Francis: It went really well. The most challenging part became knowing where to place everything relationally to one another – and these cats depended on us to get it right, and quickly. Once it was set up, the drummers got on the stage, and Bam! Showtime. No excuses.

MD: And how has this experience influenced your personal setting up procedure?

Francis: I’ve got a really goofy-looking carpet! It has several colors and each color has a specific meaning for me. It makes my set up time not only quicker, but also much more accurate and enjoyable, too.

MD: Does all of this preparation aid with your performance?

Francis: Absolutely. When I have all the time in the world to set up my drums it becomes a Zen-like process. Making little adjustments to my kit makes all the difference in my playing and teaching. It helps me to feel more relaxed, and I’m more able to bring something special as I attempt to make more musical moments.

MD: And these “musical moments” can be affected by proper percussion placement?

Francis: I would say that knowing that my drums have a place pre-marked on the carpeting helps to create the same Zen-like feel, even when I’m up against the clock which requires me to execute a quick set up.

MD: Is there anything else you would like to add?

Francis: Have fun with what you do and don’t take yourself too seriously.

You may find more information on Drum Coach Ed Francis on the Round Rock Drums website: www.roundrockdrums.com

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.

4. Molecules Drums – At first glance these drums don’t look like they would sound good, but go check out the audio at their website and make your own opinion! I would love to own a set of these drums! I have never seen anything like this. True innovation.

5. Truth Custom Drums – Great looking drums, Hybrid drum sets blow my mind.

6. Risen Custom Drums – They have some pretty sweet drums, and a LIFETIME warrenty on their drums. Their Glo Kit is one of my favorites.

7. Phattie Custom Drums – I’m blown away by what these guys are doing in Ashville. Great looking unique drums.

8. P.Ellis Drums – Ok. I admit that this is a shameless plug for my own drum company…but seriously, I had to plug myself, because if it wasn’t for P.Ellis Drums, there would be no MakeDrums.com! I started building custom drums over 6 years ago due to the extremely high prices of custom drums. We now have our drum shop in Austin, TX, the “Live Music Capitol of the World!”

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.

I was extremely happy with the way these came out, and you know what the coolest part about this drum set is? The only tool that I owned at the time was a drill! No fancy routers, buffers, spray guns, table saws. Nothing but a good old fashioned hand drill. The company that I bought the shells and hardware from offered to cut the bearing edges, and mark the layout of all the hardware for a little extra cash. All I did to “build” this kit was stain and clear coat the shells, and then drill the holes for hardware that were already marked for me. Doing it this way was well worth it to me because I got to see exactly how they cut the bearing edge profile and then use that as a guide for the second kit I built. It also gave me the confidence that I needed to step up and try some of the more difficult woodworking that goes with making custom drums.

For the second kit that I built I did the exact same thing. And it turned out even better.

Yes that is me, a picture from college, when I was younger, skinny, and more stylish. (I mean you see that I’m wearing Crocs right?) The funny thing about this house, which is now condemned, was that it had an indoor pool that was haunted, and was a great multipurpose room since the water was kept drained.

Both of these kits have a special place in my heart. The top kit is now painted black with red stripes and resides in New Orleans. The second kit toured the U.S. with a band from Dallas for a while, and now I think they are in Kansas.

Skip ahead 6 years and here I am today; still building drums, and still learning from every drum that I make. In fact today I met a huge drum-building goal for myself. I cut and installed my first re-enforcement rings in a snare and a kick drum (with 2 tools that only cost about $10 total!) I plan on adding a new section on the book for re-enforcement ring installation soon!

Last week I completed another drum-building goal of mine; learn how to and perfect wrapping a drum set with stripes. (Wrapping drums with 3 or more pieces of wrap on 1 drum.) I have honestly wanted to build a drum set like this for a long time, but I never knew exactly how to do it, nor did I have the confidence to go down an unknown road. I’m extremely glad I did, because this is the beautiful drum set that came from it;

I think this may be my favorite drum set that I have ever built.

I’m showing all of these pictures not to brag on myself…well ok maybe just a little, but I’m also showing you these pictures to show you how far I’ve come. I went from buying a drum set that was practically an “assemble yourself” package, to learning how to do some of the most difficult and most protected drum building secrets out there. I hope that this will encourage you to act upon your dream. I love getting emails from drummers around the world telling me that they took a chance and built their own custom drum set. I love it when I get these amazing pictures of drums built by drummers who didn’t know that buiding their own drum set was even a possibility. You can do it! May this New Year be the year that you set goals and won’t settle for anything less than climbing that mountain to reach your goal!

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!

Interview with Drum Building Ryan Voight

Philip: I’m here with Ryan Voight, who has recently built some pretty amazing snare drums and I’ve actually covered some of his progress on the blog, if you read down below you can see a couple of the posts and check out the drums he’s built. How’re you doing today, Ryan?

Ryan: I’m good, man. I’m happy to be talking about this stuff. I love building, I love working with my hands and this opportunity to build snare drums and use the book has been really awesome, it’s been excellent. I’m glad to share it with everybody.

Philip: Thanks, man. Well, I just wanted to ask you a couple questions, kinda give our Make Drums readers some insight into who you are and how you got started in the drum building. So, how long have you been a drummer or how long have you been interested in drums?

Ryan: I’ve been playing the drums since 1997, so, that’s what, 13 years I’ve been playing. You know, it’s kind of funny cause it started out, I’m a preacher’s son and it just so happened that we had moved to this little town in Kentucky. Our youth group needed a drummer and at that time I had taken about four years of piano, but the drums just seemed like, especially to an 11-year-old kid, seemed way cooler than the piano. So I just kind of went for it and man, never looked back. Ever since then I’ve loved playing the drums. I played in church, played for our metal band, the hardcore band, and more recently and preferably, played for some more, I guess, pop rock kind of stuff. Of course I’ve done worship, been doing that for about 13 years.

Philip: What made you want to get into drum building? How did you find out about making your own snare drums?

Ryan: Actually, it was from you. When I was playing with Day, we played with you guys I think in Pampa, Texas.

Philip: Yeah, I remember that.

Ryan: I know we played with you guys when you were with the Rocketboys, or I guess then it was Homer Hiccolm and the Rocketboys, but I actually know we had met before then. But anyway, I met you and I’d seen that first kit you built that was stained blue, I think.

Philip: Uh-huh, yeah.

Ryan: You know, it looked cool and sounded even better, you know and so, I had just talked to you about it and ever since then, that had been a few years ago, I just – it was always in my head that that’s the way to go instead of buying some big mass-produced-every-drummer-has-one kind of kit. The next time I was ready for something new, I was just going to build my own and I finally got the opportunity earlier this year.

Philip: Awesome, man. Well, can you tell us a little bit about the drums you’ve built? Have you only built those two snare drums that are on the blog?

Ryan: Yes, those are the only two I’ve built so far. Right now it’s still kind of in the hobby phase, especially with all the other stuff I’ve got going on. I also have a 7-month-old son so he’s keeping me busy. But yeah, just built those two snare drums so far and I’m the kind of person, I find myself being obsessive so I’ve actually probably got about 10 or 15 Word documents on my computer of different kit designs I want to buy or that I want to buy the parts for and stuff like that. I’ve got tons of ideas bouncing around in my head, but so far yeah, I’ve just built two snares.

Philip: That’s great, dude, that’s the exact same way I got started building my drums. I built the first drum set and then I just got really addicted to it, I guess you could say. I just wanted to keep building different types of drums and pushing the limits and find out everything there was to making custom drums. It’s contagious, man, once you build that first drum, it’s like Pringles, once you pop, you can’t stop.

Ryan: Man, it is. And you know, there’s a fine line between being proud of what you’ve done and obsessed with what you’ve done. And I’ve found myself just sitting on the couch looking at my snare drum, looking at it like, “Wow!” I’m not gonna brag, but I’m pretty impressed with myself.

Philip: I’m very impressed. The pictures you took look amazing, the snare drum looks amazing. Can you tell us a little bit about the process of building those drums? What were some of the obstacles that you had to overcome when building that, and what were some drawbacks to getting started?

Ryan: Yeah, definitely. Before I’d even started, the biggest drawback was just, even though paying for the parts to build your own drum is cheaper than something pre-made, my biggest obstacle was just having to save up for the money. The first snare drum I built was just a natural wood with a satin finish and then I used regular tube lugs with all chrome hardware. I wanted to do something simple and standard because I figured, if I get halfway into this and hate it, I don’t want to be halfway into something that’s just huge and complex. So with that one, definitely the biggest obstacle for me was cutting the snare bed. I definitely understood the concept of the snare beds, but I hadn’t thought through every detail. What I ended up doing was I cut the snare beds too deep and too wide the first time around. And so I didn’t realize they were too deep or too wide and I remember, the first Sunday that I had the snare drum ready to go, tuned up, and by the time we were finished with just practice, two of the lugs on the bottom head had just fallen out right by the snare bed. And it was because the shell swooped in too far out and so those tension rods just weren’t getting any tension. So it took me a while to figure out what I had done and so, actually they had to take the shell and sand the bottom all the way flat again and recut the edges of the snare bed. It was work, but just like you said in your book, you’re thankful for all the mistakes you’ve made because you know now not to make them. And now you know how to do it more efficiently.  And so I think that was probably one of the biggest obstacles with that snare drum. But once I got that figured out and re-cut the beds, that snare stays consistently in tune all the time. If anyone’s listening and they’ve got maybe an older kit like I do, my toms, I have to re-tune them fairly regularly just because they’re older equipment, but with this new snare, it’s always in tune and it always sounds great.  And then the second snare drum I built – I stained it black, put a flat satin finish on the wood and then it’s got two stripes of pearl inlay.

Philip: Nice. That’s my favorite.

Ryan: Yeah, it came out nice, I’m proud of that one and that pearl inlay. I’m not going to lie, obviously I got the color scheme idea from that kit that you made. But I actually built that for this really cool kid I met when I was doing worship for a youth camp in New Mexico. He really liked my snare and we had kind of gone back and forth on ideas. The biggest obstacle I had with that one was with my inlay strips – I actually ordered the wrong sizes. I needed a half inch and an inch and a half, but for some reason I ordered one-inch and two-inch strips – so I actually had to hand-cut those strips and that’s just hard to do.  I did it, and there were a couple places on those strips where I put them into the groove I’d cut on the shell, they looked a little jagged and so I just actually spent a lot of time on those strips, sanding the edges to make it look like they were perfectly flat. It actually ended up working out. I just burned a lot of time doing that. If I had just ordered the strips in the right sizes, then I could have just taken them out of the box and put them on the shell. But again, I’m glad I learned from those mistakes.

Philip: Yeah, that’s one of the things – whenever I do any kind of inlay, I’ve actually just cut all the inlays out by hand and yeah, it does take forever because you have that jagged edge and you want it to be perfectly flat, you want it to be perfectly flush. I guess one of the things I haven’t been able to find, at least not for the right price, is just some kind of cutting table to where I can actually cut perfectly straight lines through that thick wrap and it actually be the correct size and everything. But that’s definitely one of my obstacles as well, trying to get those flush and perfectly trimmed.

Ryan: Right, and it seems like there’s got to be something out there – I’m thinking just a big industrial paper cutter, because I’ve used paper cutters before where it’s almost like a pizza cutter on the top, so you put the paper in there and you just roll this pizza cutter type thing on a track. That would be cool – I tried using scissors and that just bends the wrap in towards the scissors and then you lose your straight line. I actually did it all with a razor blade, that was the way I cut them.

Philip: Awesome. Well, what are some of your favorite drum companies out there, maybe some of the mass-produced drums, but also some of the custom drum companies – what are your favorites and why?

Ryan: I would have to say that as far as modern companies go, DW has always had my attention.  I’ve never personally owned a DW kit, but I’ve had the opportunity recording in studios and just playing different places with different drummers, I’ve gotten to mess around with DW kits and those seem to be one of the best bridges between fully custom and mass-produced kind of kits. In my personal opinion, some of the bigger mass-produced companies, they seem to not really be too concerned with the individual drummer.  It’s just about getting their product and getting as many kits out there as possible. Unless you’re willing to spend 7, 8, 9, 10 thousand dollars for a pearl masters custom kit.

Philip: Which is not going to happen, at least for most musicians, because musicians don’t really make money.

Ryan: Yeah – DW is probably definitely my favorite big, modern company. Their products are always consistently sounding good. I’ve watched video and read up on how they select shells and stuff for customer kits and stuff like that. It’s really interesting. There’s always the human element from beginning to end with DW, and that’s what I appreciate. Personally, I’m a vintage kind of guy – I play a 1967 Ludwig downbeat kit, it’s just a little jazz set from the 60s. The thing looks pretty rough and beat-up, but sounds phenomenal. I get on Ebay all the time and look at vintage Ludwig stuff, even though I can’t buy it, just to see what people have and what people are selling.

Philip: I do the same thing, I just got done reading that autobiography of William F. Ludwig, who’s the son of the guy who started Ludwig Drum Company and he’s kind of taken over the company and it’s been really, really interesting just reading up on the history of Ludwig and about just the different artists, and to hear it from the perspective of a guy who is in the middle of the whole business of drum making.

Ryan: Yeah, man, he grew up with that. What is the name of that book? I’ve actually seen you tweet excerpts from it and comment on it and stuff, I’ve been meaning to ask you, what’s the name of that book?

Philip: The Making of a Drum Company: The Autobiography of William F. Ludwig

Ryan: OK, awesome.

Philip: I was going to ask you, where did you order your supplies from?

Ryan: I actually went to a few different ones, a few different vendors so I could get the best price so that I could give Ryan, ironically that’s the name of the guy I built the other snare for, I wanted to give him the best price and I also wanted to save the most money.  I used Drum Foundry and Drum Factory Direct – they were the two I got the most stuff from.

Philip: How long did all your parts actually take to arrive to you? I know in the drum-making business, national back-orders are kind of a problem, at least they have been for me when I’ve tried to order different parts or whatever to complete a drum set, I’ll get an e-mail back from one of the suppliers and they’ll say, “Hey, we’re waiting for a shipment to come in on a ship from Taiwan, it’s going to be another month before we get them.” And so I’ve always been just frustrated and I’m wondering if I’m the only one that that happens to.

Ryan: Man, you’re not. Believe it or not, I’m actually still waiting on some black chrome tension rods that I ordered from Drum Foundry back in July. I still haven’t got them. And I actually ended up just contacting Drum Factory Direct and saying, “Hey, you know, Drum Foundry has still not sent me anything and I need these because I’m selling this snare drum to a guy and I need to get it built.” And they were actually really cool, they rushed me an order. Obviously, I paid for them, but they rushed me the order with standard shipping just to be cool to help me out so that maybe hopefully they’ll get more of my business. But honestly there were some things I ordered and I got the order processed and I got it in a week, and there were some things that took a little bit longer. I actually got the shell from Drum Foundry also, and when I ordered it they sent me the wrong size shell. Not to – I don’t want to badmouth any companies on your website, so if you need to edit this out, feel free, but they actually made that right because they sent me a 13-inch shell and I called them and they said, “You know what, just keep the 13-inch shell. We’ll send you a 14-inch.”

Philip: No way. So you got to keep both of them?

Ryan: Yeah, so I have a 13-inch shell still so I’m trying to figure out which of my many designs I want to apply to that one so I can make an unusual 13-inch shell. But it’s just like purchasing from any online company – they all have their pros and cons.

Philip: Yeah, and the fact of a tension rod being out of stock – it’s really not their problem, at least it doesn’t look like it to me to be their problem. Stuff like that happens and honestly, it’s going to happen to all drum companies at some point, no matter where you get your stuff from. I’ve tried switching different suppliers and that’s happened with every single different supplier I’ve tried to get stuff from.  At some point in our relationship, it’ll happen to where they just run out of stock and it takes a month or two to get something in. But that’s great about Drum Foundry giving you a shell for free, I’d say that definitely makes it right.

Ryan: Yeah, definitely. Drummaker.com was the other site; I got a throw-off from them. But yeah, they were really cool about it. I’m still waiting for the tension rods, which are probably on some container in the South Pacific, making its way slowly to the States, but they’re definitely all great companies.

Philip: Definitely. So where did all the actual drum building and customizing your drums take place? Did you do it in a garage or a building or what?

Ryan: The first snare I made, the natural maple one, I actually did – I went to a friend’s house to cut the bearing edges. But everything else – my wife and I were living in an apartment at the time and I did it up on the balcony at our apartment, just kind of sitting out there and I had some stuff stacked up to keep the wind out because it was in February when I was building it. But I did almost everything just sitting on our balcony or in the living room sitting on a blanket trying not to get wood shavings all over the place.

Philip: That’s awesome.

Ryan: The second drum – I built myself a router table and I just got an extra piece of melamine to set on top. I would pull the router down so that wasn’t sticking up out of the hole and I would put a piece of melamine on top of that and I had a 2×4 kind of mounted onto the side of it so I could actually use that as a work table and then also kind of hang the shell on that 2×4 for doing work like the inlay work and stuff like that. And that was in my garage in the house that we live in now, so definitely a lot more space and resources at that time.

Philip: Yeah all that stuff sounds familiar to me from when I built my first drum set in college. I lived in a house with seven guys and I just took over the living room for about a week to stain my drums and to do all that work on there. It was fun because it was a pretty trashy house to begin with so nobody really cared.

Ryan: I actually remember seeing a picture of one of the shells hanging on a mic stand to dry, and I thought, “Hey, you got to use whatever resources are available.”

Philip: Well, is there anything else that you’d like to share? Maybe a little piece of wisdom or a quick tip or a recommendation of a tool of any kind that might help anyone else build drums?

Ryan: Man, all I would say is that you’re going to mess something up. There’s going to be something where you didn’t measure perfectly or you have to back up and re-draw everything, you know. But the small frustrations that come throughout the building process – they don’t in any way compare to the joy of knowing that you built something that looks good and is actually usable. To be able to build something that you can take and however often you play the drums, you can play that thing that you made by hand – the pride that comes from that far outweighs any frustrations or speed bumps that any of the listeners right now might come in contact with.

Philip: I definitely agree with that statement because it’s true – you’re going to mess up, and then you’ll get really mad and you may blow through some money by wasting a shell or something, but hopefully it’s not that drastic to where you have to scrap a whole shell, but it’s happened to me and it’s not fun. But yeah, definitely when you’re done with something that you play on and it looks amazing and it sounds amazing, it far outweighs the frustrations that you had, definitely.

Ryan: It absolutely does.

Philip: Well Ryan, thanks for being on this call, man. I wish you luck in all the drum building and photography stuff you’ve got going on.

Ryan: Well thanks man, I really appreciate it. I enjoyed talking to you.

Just got some amazing pictures of a new custom snare drum that Ryan from Lubbock built! Aside from being a great drum builder, Ryan is also a great photographer! Check out his work at www.rvoightphotography.com

I look forward to seeing more drum from you Ryan! Great job!

I just received another email from Bart with drum audio recordings of the custom drum sets that he recently finished building. Bart specifically designed these drums to sound great for Jazz. If you would like to hear how some custom drums that I have built to play for Rock N' Roll sound then check out this older blog post.

Bart's Custom Drum Set Audio Track 03

All recordings  flat EQ’s without  mix.

Track 3: Turquoise/Azure shellset (pictured to the right)
Specs: 4.5mm tom and floor tom (with coated ambassadors-top/clear ambassadors-bottom)
6mm bass drum (Remo power stroke 3 fiberskyn-batter/powerstroke 3 smooth white-resonant)
9mm snare drum (coated Remo ambassador X-batter/hazy ambassador-resonant)

Bart's Custom Drum Set Audio Track 08
Track 8: Satin Walnut shellset
Specs: 9mm tom and floor tom (Remo fiberskyn amb.-top/clear ambassadors-bottom)
9mm bass drum (fiberskyn-batter/powerstroke 3 smooth white-resonant)
9mm snare drum (coated ambassador -batter/hazy ambassador-resonant)

Great work Bart. They look and sound incredible. The fact that they are the very first two kits that you have ever built speak volumes about your determination to build great drums. This is why I wrote "How to Make Custom Drums", to inspire drummers to build their own custom drums and then in turn so they can inspire other drummers who may have never even known that they could build something that would look and sound this good. Thanks Bart for inspiring us all!