DW has recently begun shipping its Collector’s Series® Private Reserve Exotics. Hand-crafted at the California Custom Shop, the exclusive range of exotic wood veneers is only available in limited supply which can be viewed here.
Monkey Pod
John Good, DW’s highly respected ‘wood-whisperer’ and drum designer, has once again traveled the world to hand-curate a stunning collection of select wood species that can be ordered as exotic finishes over available DW shell configurations. Included in the new 2020 collection is Tortoise Shell Pommele, Moabi, Horizontal Padouk, Vertical Padouk, Super Maple Curl, African Chechen and Monkey Pod. Each Exotic can be custom ordered in hand-sprayed polyester gloss lacquer or matte finish Hard Satin lacquer. In addition, these natural wonders can be combined with an almost limitless array of bursts, fades and transparent lacquers to create a one-of-a-kind visual statement.
Moabi
The origins of the collection are varied and storied: –
Tortoise Shell Pommele is a rare, semi-hard wood sourced from Ghana, Africa.
Good chose the Congolese Moabi for the startling consistency and striking beauty of its grain. The extreme quilting of this pinkish wood comes from environmental drought conditions.
One of the most colorful veneers in the assortment is Padouk. Ordinarily it is only available in a vertical configuration as the veneer usually comes in 6” strips. However Good found a unique log from which 25” strips could be cut enabling DW to offer a rare horizontal version.
Maple trees on the outer edges of forests in Michigan are exposed to extremes of the cold and stormy weather. This harsh climate causes stunning figures to form in the grain of the heartwood and produce Super Maple Curl.
African Chechen is generally a white wood with a straight, stripy grain. Good discovered an extraordinary log where the variegations and beauty of the grain is spectacular.
The dark, rich Monkey Pod wood from Hawaii with its golden hues usually has a less figured grain. Good has located an unusual piece of timber with a very expressive, tight grain pattern to perfectly compliment the Candy Black Burst.
Padouk
John Good comments, “Last year I found these logs on a very productive wood hunt. My wife Esther and I have the good fortune of traveling the world looking for woods that that are rarely used on musical instruments. And I have these relationships with wood purveyors that come in handy. They’ve become friends. They know what I like and they save things for me to see. These new Private Reserves are some of my very favorites.”
Super Maple Curl
Every Collector’s Series® kit is crafted using the latest technology including a host of available grain orientation lay-ups and patented manufacturing techniques such as Cool Tempered Shells™ and Timber Matching™.
Tortoise Shell Pommele
To find out more about the ultimate in dream set-ups please visit www.dwdrums.com/
Pearl says…“e/MERGE is about change, and change in the e-drum market has been way overdue. When we looked closely at every aspect of the current e-drumming experience with KORG, together we knew we could make a dramatic difference. And that difference begins with the all new e/MERGE module. Simple yet elegant in design, the e/MERGE MDL-1 module features a full library of hi definition, natural, organic and minimally processed acoustic Pearl drums. We then added the very best electronic, world, orchestral and specialty percussion sounds from KORG’s vast library of pristine quality samples. But the module is only part of the change.
Introducing WAVE TRIGGER TECHNOLOGY. This all new technology partially based upon KORG’s now legendary Wave Drum brings a realism, instantaneous response and dynamic range never before imagined possible. The sensitivity provided by WTT is simply amazing. Pearl’s all new PUREtouch Pad System completes the experience. PUREtouch has been painstakingly developed to create a true acoustic-like pad experience. No excessive unnatural bounce and no wrist shaking ultra-hard practice pad like feel, PUREtouch provides the sizes and feel every acoustic drummer has come to expect.”
For more completely impartial, HD video reviews, please subscribe to our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/drummersreview and click on the bell icon to be notified as soon as each new video is released. You can also follow us on our social media channels:
All of Drummer’s Review videos are recorded in a top quality studio with the finest equipment. To get the best from our reviews and really hear the instruments perform be sure to listen on good quality speakers or headphones!
Latest addition to LARK Distribution’s growing portfolio offers innovative must-haves for drummers…
Revolution are a passion-driven business producing highly innovative premium products that are generally small in size but big on value. For over a decade they have been producinghighly practical, useful and affordable accessories that have become the choice of such major players as Thomas Lang, Virgil Donati and Cora Coleman.
Their patentedFireFly drum keyhelps alleviate the agonies associated with drum tuning by utilizing a German made unidirectional bearing which allows exceptional, smooth, precise, ratcheting action without the annoying clicking and feel of a standard drum ratchet tuner. The FireFly also features a streamline, ergonomic handle for added comfort and knurled ends for lighting fast drumhead changes. Machine manufactured to be long lasting and durable it’s a must have in every drummers stick bag!
There are many gel style drum dampers on the market but Revolution’sTruTones™ premium headdampersare made from a proprietary material that is durable, residue-free,will improve tone and make your drums perform better. They come in a handy storage casethat contains 4 standard and 6 micro size dampers that will easily fit in your stick bag.
Their patented T-LOKS™tension rod lockingsystem is a simple and effectiveway to keep your drums in tune. Made of chrome plated solid brass,T-LOKS™are designed to solve the perpetual problem of tension rods coming loose byscrewing right onto the tension rods to create a locking effect directly under the hoop. Each pack contains 5 T-LOKS™ with 5 neoprene washers and are available to fit both standard and DW style tension rods.
For more information on these innovative products plusRevolution’s other ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ items please head over to https://revodrum.com
Revolution are the latest brand to join LARK Distributions’ growing catalogue of high demand products alongside SJC Custom Drums, Prologix Percussion practice products and Headhunters Drumsticks and Creations.
Revolution is available for immediate order. For more information and availability on the whole catalogue of products available from LARK Distribution please contact info@larkdistribution.co.uk
Drum Workshop Inc. (DW) have announced the addition of Steel Gray to its award-winning Design Series™ line-up. The boutique-inspired drums are versatile and value-priced, offering drummers pro-features and road-worthy build quality in DW’s most popular F.A.S.T. (Fundamentally Accurate SizedToms) sizes. Made from hand-picked North American Hard Rock Maple, the kits are well-suited for a wide variety of drumming styles and musical genres.
Design Series are offered in standard 5-piece configurations with three available add-ons including a 7” x 8” rack tom, 12” x 14” and 16” x 18’ floor toms. Incorporating HVLT™ (Vertical Low Timbre shell with a horizontal outer ply), Design Series™ shells are full, resonant, and responsive. Pro features include True-Pitch™ tuning, STM™ (Suspension Tom Mounts), MAG™ throw-off, Remo heads and more.
Steel Gray adds an additional highly durable, UV-cured lacquer color option to the pallet. Existing finish choices include Cherry Stain, Gloss White, Black Satin and Tobacco Burst. The new color was inspired by the automotive industry’s latest sports car designs and was approved by both DW artists and fans.
Global Vice President of Marketing, Scott Donnell, comments, “Design Series is our entry point into the world of DW Drums, and it’s a world just begging to be discovered. HVLT Shell Technology gives these drums a serious sonic edge, and with new finishes and specialty drums being added all of the time, you never know what surprises will come next!”
Here’s our review of a Mapex Saturn 2020 Shell Pack, featuring…
22″ x 18″ bass drum,
10″ x 7″ rack tom,
12″ x 8″ rack tom,
16″ x 14″ floor tom,
Hybrid 4-ply Maple / 2-ply Walnut shells,
Satin white finish,
Mapex SONIClear bearing edges,
SONIClear rack tom mounts,
Mapex SAS 90° floor tom legs with Sonic Saver pedestal feet,
Nodal line air flow venting system,
REMO heads fitted throughout.
SONIClear Rack Tom Mount
Nodal Line Air Flow Venting
SAS 90º Floor Tom Legs
Mapex says…“The New Mapex Nodal Line Air Flow Venting Scheme gives Saturn a superior feel and just the right amount of resonance. Whether tuning up high for jazz and fusion or down deep for rock-n-roll, the unique Maple and Walnut shell composition, complete with SONIClear™ bearing edges, results in clear and focused toms and a bass drum that sounds bigger than it should.”
For more completely impartial, HD video reviews, please subscribe to our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/drummersreview and click on the bell icon to be notified as soon as each new video is released. You can also follow us on our social media channels:
All of Drummer’s Review videos are recorded in a top quality studio with the finest equipment. To get the best from our reviews and really hear the instruments perform be sure to listen on good quality speakers or headphones!
On September 18, renowned virtuoso drummer, songwriter and singer Cindy Blackman Santana will release her astonishing new solo album, Give the Drummer Some. Three years in the making, the record is a rapturous testament to Blackman Santana’s unparalleled musicianship and compositional mastery, featuring 17 tracks (both instrumentals and vocal songs) that take listeners on an exuberant, compelling and beautifully sustained journey that will leave them breathless.
“If I had any kind of agenda at all, I wanted this album to be all-encompassing,” says Blackman Santana. “Pop, funk, rock, jazz – I embrace the creativity in all of it, and I feel so inspired when I play it. That’s what I wanted people to feel when they listen to the album – inspired.”
Working as her own producer as well as with multiple Grammy-winning hitmaker Narada Michael Walden (Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Mariah Carey, among others), Blackman Santana welcomed a brilliant array of musicians to her sessions, including an eye-popping host of guitar titan guest stars, such as Mahavishu Orchestra legend John McLaughlin, Living Colour’s Vernon Reid and Metallica’s Kirk Hammett. As one might expect, the drummer, who for the past decade been a mainstay in the band Santana, features the unmistakable artistry of her guitar icon husband, Carlos Santana, on eight remarkable cuts.
Heralded as one of the greatest drummers of her time, Blackman Santana turns in bravura playing throughout Give the Drummer Some – check out her dizzying jazz solo turn on “Mother Earth.” But this is also the album on which she distinguishes herself as a supreme vocalist, as evidenced on the record’s first single, an extraordinary rock-funk re-imagining of John Lennon’s classic “Imagine.” Having received a “thumbs up” from no less than Yoko Ono Lennon, the stomping track (which features a wicked guitar solo by Carlos), is already burning up radio and streaming playlists and is also the first track issued via SongAid, a new global initiative the Santanas have helped launch to benefit WhyHunger’s Rapid Response Fund.
Blackman Santana, who had logged over a decade in Lenny Kravitz’s touring band, recalled how he put a new groove to his hit version of “American Woman.” “Narada and I talked about that, and we decided to do something similar with ‘Imagine’ – thanks, Lenny!” she says. “It’s a profound song that we turned into a joyous celebration, one that really rocks.”
Blackman Santana’s sparkling vocals light up Give the Drummer Some’s next single, “She’s Got it Goin’ On’” – a doozy of a party jam but one with a distinct point of view. “It’s a fun, clubby, party song that celebrates the confidence that a strong woman has,” says Blackman Santana. “She’s dressed for success, she’s got her hair just right, she’s got a strut – she knows who she is. I wanted to celebrate confident women in a really cool way. And a celebration can be empowering.”
On the epic instrumental “We Came to Play,” Blackman Santana creates a gargantuan groove while engaging in a riveting musical conversation with John McLaughlin and bassist Matt Garrison; on top of which Neal Evans adds an amazing palate on organ providing warm, textured undertones. “This track kept building and building, and things got very fiery,” says Blackman Santana. The title sums up the vibe: ‘This is us, we’re playing, and if you don’t like it, go home!’”
Carlos Santana: Photo credit Roberto Finizio
“Everybody’s Dancin’” is a hook-filled, deliciously vibey treasure that features a mega-searing guitar solo by Carlos. As Blackman Santana explains, the song came about following a remark that producer Walden made about her hair: “Narada loves my Afro – he said it was electric,” she laughs. “That really sparked the idea for the song. We wanted something that united people, something fun and universal that would be a joy for them to sing. It certainly was for me.”
The musical journey expands with the aptly named, ultra-funky “Superbad” (which features a sublime guitar solo by John McLaughlin) and the slinky yet poignant ballad “You Don’t Wanna Breaka My Heart” (laced with Carlos’ soaring leads). For mind-altering art rock, there’s “Social Justice” (called by a spirited and uplifting rap by Santana vocalist Andy Vargas) and the daring, epic exploration of light and shade, “Twilight Mask,” on which Carlos unleashes torrents of sonic fury.
On the hard-charging rock-metal gem “Evolution Revolution,” Blackman Santana pairs Vernon Reid’s singular talents with those of Metallica’s Kirk Hammett – and the results are utterly spectacular. And as its title suggests, “Miles Away” is an unabashed tribute to jazz pioneer Miles Davis. The combination of Blackman Santana’s magnificent drumming and trumpeter Bill Ortiz’s exquisite soloing casts a magical spell.
During her illustrious career, Blackman Santana has performed with a prestigious and diverse group of artists (Lenny Kravitz, Ron Carter, Bill Laswell, Joss Stone, Wallace Roney, Buckethead, Angela Bofill, Vernon Reid, Jack Bruce, Jackie McLean, Don Pullen, Buster Williams, just to name a few), and she has released a string of critically and commercially hailed solo albums. In many ways, Give the Drummer Some represents a grand summation of Blackman Santana’s talents and history, but it’s also the start of an exciting new chapter in her musical life.
“It was a lot of fun to do so many vocal songs on this album,” she says. “I am, and always will be a drummer, but it’s also exciting to showcase the singer side of me. I want people to have a great time listening to it. I set out to make a record that was fun and uplifting, but more than that I wanted the messages to matter. If people come away from it feeling all that I put into it, then I’ve done my job.”
Here’s our review of a selection of Sabian AAX FREQ cymbals, featuring…
14″ Hats,
16″ Crash,
17″ Crash
21″ Ride,
dual-band lathing,
minimal hammering,
raw bell,
B20 Bronze construction.
Sabian says..“When you think AAX, think of a cymbal you can play all day long on modern or mainstream music – with a range as wide as Bruno Mars to Meshuggah. Definitely check out the brand new Thin and Medium crashes – they sound like HEAVEN.”
For more completely impartial, HD video reviews, please subscribe to our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/drummersreview and click on the bell icon to be notified as soon as each new video is released. You can also follow us on our social media channels:
All of Drummer’s Review videos are recorded in a top quality studio with the finest equipment. To get the best from our reviews and really hear the instruments perform be sure to listen on good quality speakers or headphones!
In what has already been a whirlwind year, the British Drum Co. are pleased to announce the latest addition to their artist family, Russell Piner, who joins as an independent marching artist.
Piner is a serving member in the Corps of Drums of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines. His extensive career has afforded him many opportunities to excel as a composer and as a drummer; writing multiple compositions and gaining his diploma in Snare Drum & Natural Trumpet in 2012. In 2017 Piner became Bugle Major Training at the Royal Marines School of Music and is responsible for the development of all Royal Marines drummers and buglers.
He has had the privilege of performing with some of the world’s best drum lines, including Top Secret Drum Corps, West Point ‘Hellcats’ Field Music Group and The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps. In 2016 Piner became a member of the United States National Association of Rudimental Drummers (NARD), and in 2018 he was appointed to the education committee for the Society of International Rudimental Drummers (SIRD). Piner is also the lead organiser for the 3rd International Rudimental Drummers’ Symposium taking place in Portsmouth, UK between the 18th and 20th June 2021.
The British Drum Company, which launched in September 2015, was founded by master drum maker Keith Keough; Kasabian drummer Ian Matthews; top-level marching specialist Stu Warmington; product designer Alan Kitching; and award winning comedian and drum enthusiast Al Murray, aka The Pub Landlord. The ranks expanded when in 2017 The Verve & Charlatans drummer, Pete Salisbury, joined the company.
Commenting on Piner’s appointment, Marching Division Manager Warmington said, “Having Russ come onboard brings a whole new style of drumming to our ever-growing family of marching artists. Russ plays in, arguably, the best military drum corps in the world and it’s a privilege that he’s chosen to join the British Drum Co. Russ will be using a variety of drums from our highly successfully Regimental Series.
Aston Microphones have announced their 3rd and final public test session for the all new Aston Element, the world’s first ‘People’s Microphone’.
As Aston enters the 3rd month of public voting to help create the final sound of their new mic, they are teasing us with yet more information in this stunning new product. Rumours have been circulating about accessories and we’re now able to give you a first look at the entire package.
Like all Aston mics, Element incorporates a huge amount of innovation. Everything from new capsule technology, the chassis design, the uber-cool magnetic pop filter and custom shock mount, and even the backlit-LED logo 48V phantom power indicator (or as Aston likes to call it, ‘the cool light!’) go way beyond the limits of products in this class.
Over 4000 customers from across the world have helped, so far, to define the sound of Element in peer-reviewed blind listening tests against the biggest brands in the business. During the course of this 3-month public testing series, Aston have developed the sound of the mic using data collected from these comparison tests, which have included major brand competitors such as Blue, Rode, AKG, Audio Technica and Neumann.
James Young, Aston CEO, comments “We chose to put Element up against the mics we consider to be the best in their class, so we could push the boundaries of performance. All these brands make superb products, but our goal was to make a mic which is able, in blind tests, to be consistently voted as the favourite. Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s the ‘best’ because mic choice is very subjective. However, what it does mean is that, in these public tests, the majority of people prefer the sound they get from Element compared with big brand competitors… and that means that at the very least, you can be absolutely confident that you’ll get superb results every time.”
Have Your Voice Heard
Session 3, the final round of public voting for Element, is now open. Aston still need your help to perfect the sound of what they are dubbing ‘The world’s first People’s Microphone’. To get involved in blind listening tests and have your say in the final sound of this stunning new mic, all you need to do is register to vote at https://www.astonmics.com/votingform.aspx, download the audio files, listen and then rank them in order of preference.
As well as playing a vital part in helping Aston to create the Aston Element, registered voters will also be given Aston Family Developer status, receive a certificate of participation, stickers, badges and the opportunity to pre-order a limited edition Aston Family Developer mic bundled with shock mount and pop shield at special introductory price.
About Aston Microphones
Aston Microphones has become a major player in the global microphone market in the 4 years since our launch in January of 2016. Our products were nominated 3 times in 4 years for a prestigious TEC Award winning Best in Show for ‘Starlight’ at NAMM 2016, and winning Best Microphone at the recent NAMM 2020 TEC Awards… a string of successes never before accomplished by ANY Pro Audio company in their first 4 years.
Now you’ve got Bonzo’s sticks, you need somewhere to store them!
Promuco Percussion are pleased to announce the release of the officially licensed John Bonham drumstick bag.
The compact stick holder is designed to hold 8 pairs of sticks in 2 primary internal compartments. It is made from woven nylon and is complete with grab handles, a shoulder strap and metal clasps for attaching to drum hardware.
Outside, the Promuco John Bonham Drumstick bag is adorned with the John Bonham name and the famous three ring symbol plus has embossed union flag zip-pulls.
This drumstick bag is the latest addition to the Promuco brand, which – on top of a range of quality regular sticks – has already re-issued the Bonham drumsticks: replicas of Bonzo’s original signature Promuco sticks from the 1970s.
With the Promuco brand now available across Europe, North America and Asia, drummers can get their hands on the sticks, the stick bag and even official Bonham T-Shirts through many retailers across the world.
Promuco John Bonham drumstick bags will have a recommended retail price in the UK of £15.95.
Their 
Their 
