Lately

Went to one of the alternative brat fests on Sunday. Drank when I said I wouldn't and talked too much and probably hurt myself in both cases, but it was fun while it lasted anyway. Had long deep discussions with people who's names I don't even know.

Monday I moped around and felt useless. I'm just not in a mood to practice lately and I don't know why. Perhaps because there's no pending due dates on the horizon. No gigs to speak of and no new tunes to learn really (or at least I've got the new ones in hand as well as they need to be in hand at the moment).

People keep telling me that my drumming is getting better. I'm not good at taking compliments and I keep thinking

1. I'm not practicing, so there's no reason I should be getting better
2. Was I that bad BEFORE...bad enough that you NOTICED slight improvement?

I know that this is the wrong way to look at things...but that's me. I don't know if I'm getting better or not. I'm getting better at some things and worse at others. Overall I've got to be better than I was in the past...but it's really hard to judge. I'm stagnating a little bit. I think I'm at that place where the low-hanging fruit has all been picked and there's really no progress to be made without conserted effort now.

On the bass front...I pulled out a playalong bass book and was pleasantly surprised. I remember having trouble with the songs included a year or so ago. My sight reading is marginal...but now there's nothing there that could not be learned with a little practice (Crazy Little Thing Called Love * Crocodile Rock * Maneater * Message in a Bottle * My Life * No Reply at All * Peg * Suffragette City). Was surprised at how awesome the bass line for this song is:

Pro Gear

I've always been of a mind that cheap musical instruments are okay so long as they are set up correctly. To that end, I am the happy owner of two totally shitty electric basses (a Yamaha and a Lotus) and have great action and decent sound. I also own two Pulse drum kits...with good quality heads and some hardware updates.

But there comes a time to upgrade. I had decided that I ought to look into buying a "real" set of drums...and that I would make that purchase in spring 2013 with my tax refund. Which gave me plenty of time to research.

But research has a way of leading you places.

Brand
Somewhat randomly I've narrowed my interest to Sonor drums. I borrowed a Sonor kit from a friend for about a year and really liked it. And I've heard good things about the brand. That's about the extent of my reasoning.

Wood
Similiarly, I've decided that I'd like an all maple kit. I'm willing to settle for birch...but basswood and poplar are out for me.

Sizes
I am not a fan of 8" and 10" rack toms...what's the point really? I do like the portability and punch of a 20" bass drum though. So my ideal configuration is 20/12/13/16...but no one makes that set up off the shelf...so I guess I'm stuck looking for a 22/12/13/16. Best case scenario the rack toms would be short in depth to allow for more adjustments. On that topic I've learned the following:

• A pair of standard depth rack toms are 12x8 and 13x9. This "classic" configuration was popular from the 1950s, and has made a comeback.
• Power toms are one inch deeper than standard, so a standard pair is 12x9 and 13x10. This depth overtook the classic setup in polularity during the 1980s, and remains popular despite the comeback of the classic depth.
• Cannon depth toms are an inch deeper than power toms, so 12x10 and 13x11. Once seen as a logical extension of the power tom setup, this depth never gained popularity.

So I guess when I say shorter is better...I'd ideally want 12x8 and 13x9...but in a pinch would settle for 12x9 and 13x10.

It is worth saying that I already own a maple snare drum that I'm pretty happy with...so I don't feel the need to buy a kit that includes a snare. I also plan to one day buy a brass snare (like a Black Beauty of knock off of same)...so I feel like the snare isn't a deal breaker on a shell pack purchase. If I can exclude the snare to save money I'm all for that.

Price
I'm a cheap skate. I just am. But upgrading has an implied cost.  So I guess I'm looking to drop between $500 and $1,200 but would lean towards the lower end. This puts me in the used market. Drums in this price range aren't going to be top of the line (even used) but I can get a decent "pro-quality" or pro-ENOUGH quality kit for sure. Many, many steps above what I am playing currently for sure. Respectable. Perhaps even a kit to last me a lifetime or at least until I make more money (if that ever happens).

Finish
Finish isn't a deal breaker, but I'm partial to a natural or clear finish. So the drums look like wood.

Models
So settling all the issues above actually gives one a pretty good guideline on how to proceed.

Leaning towards modern era drums, I'd be looking for

• Force 3005 or Force 3007 or Select Force (these are all maple models)
• Force 2005 or Force 2007 or Force 3000 or Essential Force (these are all birch models)
• Stage 1 configuration (22/12/13/16) or similiar. The depth varies a bit by year.  The rack toms in this configuration seem to be 12x10 and 13x11 a few years ago and more like 12x9 and 13x10 now.

So...what should I find today on craigslist but a Force 3005 maple in natural clear finish in 22/12/13/16 with no snare for $500 and within driving distance. The rack toms are the deeper ones...but still. I sent the guy an email. I hate to be an impulse buyer and throw out the playbook about waiting until next spring...but DAMN.

Here's the very kit in question in all of its beautiful and tempting glory.

UPDATE 5/29/2012: I emailed the guy about coming to look at these last weekend and he didn't respond so I figured that it was all for the best. But then I saw that he'd reposted the set with a reduced price...so I tried again. He never got my first email. So if these haven't sold I'm gonna go grab them next Saturday on my way to SB unless there's something obviously wrong with them.

Tribute

Yeah...so I'm thinking about it.  Not until Halloween 2013 though. Probably a bad idea...but that's me all over. Anyway, it's a long time away and I'm sure I'll have forgotten about it by then. That said...I had these same fleeting thoughts about Blondie once upon a time.

These guys kick ass though.

Somebody's Watching You

I've been blogging since about 2002 and have always had a love-hate relationship with the fact of other people reading my blog. In fact, my first blog had "big mistake" in the title...because I just knew it would be. And though it took over five years for it to be a mistake...it was in the end. Well...not a mistake...but a problem. Something I posted pissed someone off and there was a spiral of doom that led to me making that blog private.  Unable to contain myself, though, I went off and started two other blogs in which I did my damnest to

1. be anonymous
2. not post anything that could possible upset anyone
3. not promote the blog

I figured that if people happened upon them that was fine...but they'd usually be people I'd never met and I felt best about that.  I realize that the internet is a scary-connected place though...and all that's here there and everywhere will eventually end up here there and everywhere. But I try to play dumb for now.

Anyway, blogger did this remodel a month or so ago and in general I don't like it...but part of what they added was lots of stats (I've largely ignored my Sitemeter) and just some more organization. I happened across comments today. COMMENTS! I had no idea that anyone had commented on anything ever. I don't get an email notice when it happens. Anyway...it is weird to know people are reading this...random people. People who have lots to say about what bass Kim Deal plays and all kinds of other things. Strange.

The Box

Last night I sat down and taught myself the one octave "box" for major and minor scales on the bass. And then I promptly figured out the fancy line in Blue Letter without even trying.

The whole world has changed.

A hot tip on m4a files

Memo to myself...

 

When you record something on your iphone and send it, the file is "*.m4a" format. This is an Apple only format. So any Apple device can read it...but not non-Apple programs and devices. However there is a fix, which is to download itunes to your computer, import the file into itunes, right click on the file, and select "create mp3". Then you can highlight the new mp3 file, go to file menu and hit "show in windows explorer" and it will show where the new mp3 file lives and then you can import it into any mp3 player or play with any other software.

Rhiannon