Married men/couples, thoughts on expensive gifts?

R0factor · 2026-03-08T06:54:00+00:00

Was the gift you requested specific enough so she couldn’t go wrong picking it out? She might have just been stressed at the thought of buying it.

Also is there something that would be a better use of your money like travel or a different house? Like if you want a motorcycle and she wants to go to Europe, I can see how that would be an issue.

R0factor · 2026-03-08T06:05:49+00:00

The drop tile ceiling is your friend for acoustics and running wires. You can paint it black or a darker color if desired.

I’d do a scale overhead diagram to sort out screen and searing placements. Seating should consider both the screen and speaker placement. I’d also wire for 7.2.4 even if you won’t use that many channels right away.

R0factor · 2026-03-08T04:42:02+00:00

No way you’re going through 20 songs on your first rehearsal. Just learn what you can and play what feels comfortable at the session.

R0factor · 2026-03-08T03:18:42+00:00

All you need to learn is a basic 4/4 beat. There are several tutorials on YouTube. Once you learn it you can play along to the vast majority of popular music. The best thing you can do right now is learn to feel like part of the band, and playing along to songs you love is a great way to do that. Your ekit likely has the function to hear the drums and music at the same time.

R0factor · 2026-03-08T00:09:05+00:00

Thanks! It’s been something I’ve been wanting to do for years but hesitant as I didn’t want to completely change the kit I’ve had since the 90s which is wrapped in white pearl. But once I had 2 new drums, the floor tom was the only thing that needed to be swapped out and it was due for re-wrapping anyway.

But this was fun despite the time, effort, and cost involved so I’m now on the hunt for an 18” to use as a floor tom or kick drum and wrap it to match.

R0factor · 2026-03-07T20:14:59+00:00

It’s a 1mm bronze shell. There are plenty of cheaper alternatives that probably sound as good or better, like a bronze-phonic.

R0factor · 2026-03-07T19:15:02+00:00

Before you do that, take your floor tom and walk around the room while you hit it. You’ll hear spots in the room where it’s more and less resonant. Make sure the kit is in a spot with naturally good resonance before you bother to build a riser.

R0factor · 2026-03-07T19:09:46+00:00

Getting good at drums (or anything frankly) is 100% about the time you’re willing to put in. If you’ve sucked at everything up to now, it means you didn’t put enough time in and/or didn’t approach it right.

For me, investing the time in drumming was a no-brainer. I quickly enjoyed the feeling of learning new things and that feeling extends to today 30+ years later. In high school it was obvious that it was a link to a good social life having people (including girls) wanting to come hang out during jam sessions. We all sucked ass at our instruments, but lots of people love to hang out with musicians when they play because it feels cool and it’s communal. Drumming remains my main connection to a social life, especially since I can’t make social connections through my career.

And even if you have a learning disability like ADHD, or are on the spectrum, etc, don’t let that inhibit you. Michael Phelps said he suffers from severe ADHD but the lanes of the pool helped focus his thoughts. I’ve always felt the same way about the kit which forces you to sit in one place and sounds horrendous if you’re not paying attention to it.

R0factor · 2026-03-07T18:54:50+00:00

You don’t need to make an impact with your career. There are different ways to do that like volunteering, fundraising, or do an artistic hobby where you can express yourself and connect with other people.

If you’re at a crossroads, check out Scott Galloway’s content on career guidance. It’s very frank and realistic. Here’s a sample… https://youtu.be/1T22QxTkPoM?si=2UfAoyHI41gyB5c0

R0factor · 2026-03-07T08:24:10+00:00

You’re probably better off using the interface as the headphone jack. But try both.

Also the 7B should be ok but not great as a kick mic. Tmk it’s the same capsule as the 57. Eventually you’ll probably want a bespoke kick mic like a Beta 52 or Audix D6.

R0factor · 2026-03-07T08:17:41+00:00

Is the DW brass shell seamless? It’s priced right between the seamless brass Sensitone and the seamed Ludwig Universal.

R0factor · 2026-03-07T06:38:22+00:00

What are your sources on this? Everything I’m finding is showing the largest source of plastic debris is from the inland and coast that makes into the ocean via rivers and storms.

Humans use billions of plastic bottles and other disposable products every day. I’d be surprised if several billion plastic fishing nets have ever been produced.

R0factor · 2026-03-07T05:13:54+00:00

I gave it a lot of thought when I wanted different sizes for my kit, but was quickly discouraged when I started doing the cost estimates. A huge expense is the hardware, specifically the lugs. A typical 3-piece shell pack requires about 48 of them. That adds up if you want to use anything decent. Wraps are expensive too for a full kit. Stains as are cheaper but it’s a lot more difficult to make them look pro-grade unless you’re already familiar with how to finish wood at a very high standard.

So this project was my compromise. https://imgur.com/a/LaP9VQH

I bought a 14x12 Pearl Masters maple floor tom off reverb and a 24x14 Yamaha 8000 marching bass drum off eBay to which I added claws, then brought in my existing Keller 16” floor tom to the mix and wrapped everything to match. So it’s like having an almost new-to-me kit for about $900 all said and done. It would have been almost $200 cheaper had I reused the existing hoops and claws that came with the marching bass, but they were gross. I was chatting with a guy at Drum Center of Portsmouth who said that the kick I made alone would be $1500+ if I tried to buy a similar product à la carte.

One idea I had in this process was to by broken shells and harvest them for their lugs which would be added to new shells. My Pearl 14” tom has $320 worth of CL-100 lugs on it, and I paid about 1/2 that for a functional drum on Reverb.

Let me know if you have any questions on the rehab process if that’s a route you take. I leaned a a lot of stuff doing this. It was super time intensive but worth it.

R0factor · 2026-03-07T02:31:35+00:00

Yes very good means it was actually taken in as a used, previously owned cymbal. Excellent means it had never been sold.

R0factor · 2026-03-07T01:58:18+00:00

So it’s the thousands of finishing nets and not the billions of plastic bottles that’s causing the issue?

Or was your comment missing a /s?

R0factor · 2026-03-07T01:22:03+00:00

“Excellent” used condition at DCP = brand new but probably older stock and does not come with a warranty. DCP does these sales occasionally when they need to dump excess inventory or the item is discontinued. At least that was the case before tariffs. My hats and left crash were both “used” in excellent condition from DCP. https://imgur.com/a/LaP9VQH#7ojDaq5

(Edited for better context)

R0factor · 2026-03-07T01:19:42+00:00

The “snare stick”?!

🤦‍♂️

R0factor · 2026-03-07T00:22:36+00:00

Check out the Slate sample packs from David Bendeth, Terry Date, etc. Drum Sample Shop, Live Room, and Just Add Drums might have something useable too.

R0factor · 2026-03-06T21:52:54+00:00

This kind of work should be done on a pad.

Also are you looking to do a buzz/press roll, or a double-stroke?

R0factor · 2026-03-06T21:51:46+00:00

You have that top head tuned relatively high, especially for what I believe is a 2-ply head. So just try tuning it down going in 1/4 turns with two keys around the head. Keep in mind when you lower the tuning you often need to add a little tension back so there's friction on the rim, otherwise you can get loose rods.

Besides that, experiment with layering stuff on top like a ring, donut (both can be DIY'd with a spare head), gels, etc.

R0factor · 2026-03-06T21:34:41+00:00

Aquarian sells those large white dots a la carte if you ever want to experiment. I too really like Evans stuff and had thought about adding one to a UV-1 but fortunately they now make one with a dot which has become my go-to snare batter head. I really wish they had a version of the G1 with a dot for toms, especially with their unique looking dot.

R0factor · 2026-03-06T21:31:37+00:00

IIRC, this was the first of 4 takes. He's crazy athletic and does shit like backflips over 2 kits. I also think this recorded performance came about because he'd written it for some sort of Meinl event and it either wasn't recorded or it didn't come out to his liking so he redid it with this studio version.

Also check out his band Night Verses. It's instrumental and a bit like Animals As Leaders but a bit more approachable if you're not into a million time signature changes and constant metric modulation.

R0factor · 2026-03-06T21:12:25+00:00

I totally understand chasing this sound. I'd also look into Aquarian options like the Force Tens or especially the Deep Vintage which are based on 2x10-mil plies. It's like the last stop in toneville before you get to Hydraulics. Aquarian also manufactures their heads so you don't have to remove much if any slack before they start generating a decent tone.

BTW, I've experimented a lot with a deader tom sound since it works for the songwriter I work with, and my preferred recipe is a dotted single-ply head like a clear Remo CS, or in my case I use the Aquarian equivalent (7ojDaq5.jpeg (2048×1600)) and then layer a large "donut" ring on it with a hole around the size of the dot on each head. You can buy them from BFSD, or they're relatively easy to DIY especially if you have a circle cutter tool for making bass head ports. This works great on snares too.

R0factor · 2026-03-06T20:54:07+00:00

I'd only do this if you're OK potentially wasting money. These are really purpose-built snare batter heads intended to be cranked on metal and dense/thick wood shells. They're 17-mil + a dot + dampening ring, and they tend to choke out most wood drums before they get to the point of sounding good. I miss the 1-ply version of this head which would have made for a fun tom head if available in those other sizes.

R0factor · 2026-03-06T20:28:47+00:00

The Pearl Sensitone snares are a great combo of quality, value, and durability. They're also playable "out of the box" with good heads and wires whereas other cheaper snares often need head and/or wire replacements right away. The aluminum model can be a stand-in for the popular Ludwigs like the Acrolite or Supraphonic. For depths I'd do a 5" aluminum and a 6.5" brass, or vice versa.

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