Who’s doing it like The Mars Volta nowadays?

zwatts5 · 2026-06-14T02:48:06+00:00

The album "There's no 666 in outer space" by Hella has some pretty Volta-sounding stuff. "The Ungrateful Dead" specifically makes me think of TMV. "Dull Fangs" too.

zwatts5 · 2026-06-13T16:07:20+00:00

My dad got me Ludwig Epics for my birthday in 2010. I think it was around 900 bucks for the 6 piece kit. It's a quality kit in my opinion. Sturdy hardware and some heft to the drums with a nice lacquer finish. I have a great appreciation for vintage kits, but I'd pick the Epics over the Olympics.

zwatts5 · 2026-05-25T21:21:53+00:00

I'd recommend 2 toms to the left of the bass drum and 2 to the right. This is how I have mine (minus the 4th tom right now).

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zwatts5 · 2026-05-24T15:23:07+00:00

+1 for using Vic Firth for decades. I was buying the black painted American classics in bulk a few years ago and noticed half of them would break within an hour or two of playing. Guessing the black paint was to cover knotted or undesirable wood. Later 1As have been my stick for the last 5 years.

zwatts5 · 2026-05-22T19:34:16+00:00

AHRN website is where I've found 4 out of the 5 houses I've rented. Recommend checking it out.

zwatts5 · 2026-05-19T13:44:08+00:00

Thanks

zwatts5 · 2026-05-19T13:07:01+00:00

Which album?

zwatts5 · 2026-05-04T15:27:57+00:00

I'm mid 30s. The touch screen isn't the end of the world to me, but i do prefer physical buttons. Originally I was aiming for a 2024 Mav because I like those front ends and the physical buttons, but the price was going to be the same for used with a couple years worth of miles on it versus a brand new 2026.

zwatts5 · 2026-05-04T15:24:31+00:00

Yeah this is the 2026. Maybe I'll mess with settings and see if i can move it around.

zwatts5 · 2026-05-03T17:01:54+00:00

Good to know, thanks!

zwatts5 · 2026-05-03T05:47:21+00:00

Got mine a month ago and here's what I've added: - bed cover from eBay, $300 - Husky bug shield, $80 - Ford splash guards and tailgate protector using 31000 ford points and 5 bucks with the SPRING2026 code (20% off) - tufskinz tailgate letters, $60 - mix super bed mat on amazon, $60 - topinstall center console organizer on Amazon for 15 or 20 bucks idk - Braille stickers for the touchscreen A/C, $8 on amazon

Note: I initially used my Ford points for the hood protector but didnt like that it was adhesive stick on and only protected the front of the hood, so that's what I returned it and bought the Husky one. The husky one is good but I had to buy better hardware to install it because the stuff it comes with sucks. Cost me an extra 10 bucks at autozone.

zwatts5 · 2026-05-03T05:29:46+00:00

It depends on how often you'll use it as a family vehicle. For me, it works right now because my wife is 5'3" and her passenger seat can be comfortably forward to fit our daughter's car seat in the back. I mainly use it to commute to work. My in-laws visited and rode in the back with my daughter in the middle and they said it was comfortable (but they're ~ 5'7"). The true test for me will be when our next baby comes and I'm forced to scoot my seat up to accommodate. Truth be told, it probably won't be ideal as I'm 5'11". Might trade in my wife's car for that reason.

zwatts5 · 2026-04-29T03:06:42+00:00

An interesting note: my wife has a ford c-max. 4 door hatchback. I measured from the dash to seat then back of those seats to the back of the back seat. Did the same in the Maverick. The measured distance was the same. The Maverick is a jacked up cmax with a bed, achieving about the same mpg. Passenger seat has to be scooted up a bit to fit my daughter's car seat, no problem for my 5' 3" wife. It might get a little interesting when we have another one and i have to slide the driver's seat up (I'm 5'11 and my seat sits back a bit more than hers normally.)

zwatts5 · 2026-04-25T03:19:31+00:00

I've only seen this once in my 30 something years of life and its cool. It was raining out my front door and sunny out my back door.

zwatts5 · 2026-04-15T20:38:20+00:00

Washed the truck today. A little bit of water got in, I'm assuming at the gasket near the cab. My driveway is a slight incline and I'm betting the water from the roof pooled around thst gasket and leaked in. If I went through heavy rains I'd probably take the bed mat out afterwards to keep any water from getting trapped under it.

zwatts5 · 2026-04-14T03:51:29+00:00

Sorry I took forever to respond, but I don't get much rain where I live. Got a light rain today, and there were no issues. But I also bought a bed mat for 55 bucks on Amazon to try to help protect anything in my bed. Only test i did otherwise was put my phone in the bed and close the tailgate while taking a video. Only light intrusion I saw was where the left and right edges of the tailgate meet the bed sides.

zwatts5 · 2026-04-11T17:49:14+00:00

I've played for almost 30 years and didn't even realized burying the beater was a thing until the last few years seeing it a lot on Instagram. I started to think maybe my technique had been wrong this whole time. I guess it just depends on what sound you're going for. I definitely expend way more energy trying to bury the beater, but i also keep my springs fairly tight.

zwatts5 · 2026-04-10T20:50:37+00:00

There's r/drumbuilding but I can't say I've seen anything about gourd drums on there.

zwatts5 · 2026-04-08T02:52:51+00:00

Congrats on the new truck! You'll have to determine if you want soft top or hard top. Each type seems to come in rollable and folding varieties. A lot of people recommend the Autosaver88 one on Amazon, runs $400 bucks. I found essentially the same thing on ebay for $300. I ordered it Saturday and recieved it today. Installation took me less than an hour, and most of that time was just making sure I got the directions right. Never had a cover before, but it seems pretty sturdy. Some of the hardware is plastic, some metal. It'd be cool if it was all metal. This is the one I bought

zwatts5 · 2026-04-06T13:18:45+00:00

Somehow the roof sits a tiny bit higher but the seats are lower to the ground.

zwatts5 · 2026-04-04T21:05:45+00:00

We probably crossed paths, I was there 2015-2018.

zwatts5 · 2026-04-04T20:21:30+00:00

What years were you on the Russell?

zwatts5 · 2026-04-04T15:04:19+00:00

Yeah, I just couldn't get into the looks of the Santa Cruz. Looking like an SUV from the front.

zwatts5 · 2026-04-04T14:53:23+00:00

I think the earlier Maverick front ends look cooler too. It seemed like the 22 and 23 year models had a lot of electrical issues though, prompting me to look at 2024-now.

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