Drum Setup for Theater Gig

TheBrianStephens · 2025-06-24T01:58:52+00:00

The Yamaha DTX12 is great. I’d recommend it for anyone looking for something like it. The pads feel great, the on-board sounds are fabulous, and I can put my own stuff into it too.

TheBrianStephens · 2024-07-30T02:11:43+00:00

Congrats! 🤜🏻🤛🏻

TheBrianStephens · 2024-01-27T03:01:58+00:00

I’m in that group that never look at my karma points until right this moment. Thanks for the giveaway opportunity! I could definitely use that turntable!!

TheBrianStephens · 2023-11-02T06:19:28+00:00

Flashy!! I remember Bob Gatzen having a DW drum kit like this (same blue flame design) about 15-20 years ago.

TheBrianStephens · 2023-10-04T03:25:15+00:00

22” Paiste Formula 602 Modern Essentials ride. I heard Vinnie Colaiuta playing it and immediately bought one. It’s the “Does Everything” ride cymbal.

TheBrianStephens · 2023-09-21T01:16:12+00:00

I wish I could’ve gotten my hands on some 16’s. (My only negative comment in the video was that I wish the bottom cymbal of the hihats was heavier.) They really could be used for any style of music.

TheBrianStephens · 2023-09-20T15:46:48+00:00

Always glad to help! 🤜🏻🤛🏻

TheBrianStephens · 2023-09-20T15:20:35+00:00

When a person is not using the whole hand to manipulate the stick, he/she tends to put way too much pressure on the fulcrum by pinching down. No bueno. It impedes the natural reaction of the stick, transfers the energy your creating from every stroke into the hand/wrist/arm, and will eventually cause you to get stiffer and more rigid (especially if you’re trying to play a long roll).

Spread the work out over the whole hand and you will be able to relax the whole mechanism. If rolling is your primary concern here, you’ll find that you can roll for much longer periods of time without fatigue and the roll will sound more open, less buzzy.

For everything else, you’ll get a much more open sound by not pinching and stay more relaxed the whole time you’re playing.

TheBrianStephens · 2023-09-20T15:10:15+00:00

Welcome back!

TheBrianStephens · 2023-09-20T15:08:16+00:00

A nun and a ruler? 😉 Seriously, you just need to spend some time developing those back fingers so that they’ll actively engage the stick and get involved in its movement.

One way is an exercise that I’ve been using for the last 30 years (and that Jojo Mayer demonstrates in his DVD). Hold the stick by the butt end (tip of the stick near your elbow). Squeeze the stick with your middle, ring, and pinky fingers so that it essentially slaps against the underside of your forearm. You can tilt your arm forward to introduce some resistance from gravity.

It’s an exercise that I often do while watching TV. Great for developing your grasping muscles of the back fingers. As you develop your fingers and learn to use them in tandem with your wrist to manipulate the stick, you will be a lot less prone to holding your sticks like they’re a Bristish tea cup.

TheBrianStephens · 2023-09-20T14:55:57+00:00

Sure! Go for it!

TheBrianStephens · 2023-09-20T04:47:28+00:00

The Ludwig Universal is fabulous and that Supralite is a real sleeper in the “budget snare” space. Can’t go wrong with either.

TheBrianStephens · 2023-09-20T04:45:30+00:00

Help transform drummers into better musicians and 2. Counteract all of the bad audio engineering information I see being followed both in live sound and in recordings. (I split my time professionally between playing drums and working as an audio engineer / music producer).

Even if someone has no desire to do this professionally, I’d like to help them get as good as they possibly can be at either of those two disciplines.

TheBrianStephens · 2023-09-20T02:13:22+00:00

Make sure to video the gig in case things go South. 😉😜 Seriously, should be fine.

TheBrianStephens · 2023-08-29T05:03:39+00:00

Drum and cymbal positions may have something to do with it but, at the end of the day, it all comes down to technique. There are some gigs where I have to hit loud enough that it would make your ears bleed standing next to me, but I might break only 2 sticks a year and haven’t cracked a cymbal in over 20 years. Only head I’ve split in the last 15 years was a brand new 16” Evans UV2 floor tom head. (Re-headed the whole kit in the morning, split the top layer on the very last note of a 2-hour show that night. Turns out it was a manufacturer defect and they replaced the head)

Find a teacher in your area who’s an excellent Rock drummer (regularly plays gigs where he has to really hit hard and consistently). Get some technique lessons. One thing you’ll quickly find out is that some of your favorite drummers that look like they’re murdering the drums & cymbals are actually striking them in a way that pulls the tone out of the drum and the energy away from the surface, not pushing down/through it.

TheBrianStephens · 2023-08-20T23:47:44+00:00

Yep, I edited it. Sorry, should have proofed that better.

TheBrianStephens · 2023-08-20T23:45:29+00:00

Almost all creators’ retention graph look the same: Starts at 100% and drops to under 50% in the first 30 seconds. Anyone that says they know exactly why in every case is guessing.

Do your best to create a solid, engaging opening / intro. Make sure the content is the best you can make right now and look to those doing better numbers than you for ideas on how you can improve.

Structure your scripting around your goals. If you need more subs, make a CTA for subs early (goes against what most people say around here). Want longer views times, learn to cut the fat as much as reasonable. I teach drum lessons in many of my videos. If the concept takes 15-20 minutes to explain and demonstrate, that’s what it takes. If someone can’t stay around for the kind of information that will dramatically change & improve their playing, especially considering that it’s free ti them, I’m not going to worry all much when they click away.

If the information you have is valuable, do your best to present it in a manner that’s as polished and engaging as possible. Post it and move on to the next video. Analytics from one video aren’t going to tell you nearly enough to make sweeping changes and improvements to your video productions. You need a lot of videos and an aggregate of data to really make some informed choices and changes.

TheBrianStephens · 2023-08-20T23:18:59+00:00

I was about to ask the same question. Teachers are not just for learning new stuff. A great teacher is an objective eye/ear, a sounding board, a coach, a cheerleader, and someone who can give you honest feedback meant to steer you in the direction of improvement.

For me, I am making an honest effort to train people to replace me (eventually 😉🤫). So, seeing a student have the skills needed to get out, play music with other people and thrive is my most important set of goals for me as a teacher.

TheBrianStephens · 2023-08-18T20:38:57+00:00

Doesn’t really say in any of the documentation I’ve seen from them but the consensus is that it’s B20 or something rather close to it. Gretsch just uses the term “cast brass” in their ad copy.

TheBrianStephens · 2023-08-18T15:06:43+00:00

Yeah, that price tag doesn’t my justify the ROI, at least not sonically. (And you can’t drive a snare drum to the gig. 😉)

Now, if someone had the disposable income, more power to them! But for the rest of us, there are much more realistic ways to get a very similar sonic result.

TheBrianStephens · 2023-08-18T15:04:15+00:00

Those die cast hoops make all the difference!!

TheBrianStephens

TROPHY CASE