im the new age Artful Dodger, you cant keep up with me on any level.....try me, its amazing what some guts can do to someone.

 

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sometimes what is felt is more important than what is heard

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spud

:: 2010 23 March :: 10.17pm

just in case you were looking to buy some beginner drums:

i figure a 5 piece set (snare, bass, and three toms) is standard rock drums. 4 piece (only 2 toms) is more of a jazz thing. but if you get the 5, you can always just pull one off, and bam, 4 piece. so i'd recommend 5.

now that an arrangement is settled upon, there are only a few key factors that make one set different from (better than) another:
-shells (wood type, number of plies, construction methods)
-hardware (lugs, rims, pedals, stands, and mounting brackets)
-heads
-cymbals

as far as shells go, most starter kits are a mixture of birch and whatever else they have lying around in the factory. for your purposes, i doubt it will matter. but if you want something that will be durable, stay reasonably tuned, and sound good enough for a practice set, i would go with no less than 6-ply, regardless of what kind of wood it is. preferably 8 or more, especially on the bass and snare drums (unless it's a steel snare, which is fine too. wood sounds nicer, but steel is usually a little cheaper).

hardware. now, this one here is a bitch. because it's hard to tell online how sturdy or rattly or user-friendly the hardware is. as a general rule, you get what you pay for. which means, in the $400-500 range, it's probably gonna be pretty chinsy. there's pretty much no way around that, other than spending more money, which is obviously not an option. you're just gonna have to deal. my personal opinion: pearl, gretsch and ludwig are going to have the best hardware. i would stick to those. i don't have enough experience with ddrums to know for sure, but i'll give them the benefit of the doubt. they're probably right there with tama or pacific/PDP, which is also fine. but i would stick to the main brands. they are tried and true, and have enough experience to make decent drums on the cheap.

factory heads are always crap. i say let the boy beat the hell out of 'em until they are dead. at which point i can help you pick out some better quality replacements.

the story is similar on cymbals. if it's an entry-level set that includes cymbals in the package, it'll likely be near to banging on trash can lids. again, just beat 'em up, and when it comes time for new ones, i can help you shop around. the only problem is that some of these sets do not come with cymbals. i would almost prefer this, just so you could pick out something a little better from a company that does cymbals specifically (it's more art than science), but this will add on to the overall expense, as it is above and beyond the cost of the set itself.

here's what i found:
Ludwig Accent - http://www.zzounds.com/item--LUDLC125
this guy is pretty solid. the measurements are average: 22" bass, 14" snare, 12" 13" and 16" toms. sometimes they'll have a 14" instead of 13", but that's less common. i like that the stands are double-braced. the other hardware is decent. it doesn't tell you how thick the shells are, but i'm guessing 6 ply all around. all in all it's $400 for absolutely everything you need other than sticks and cymbals. and on the side they have a feature that says for $560 you can get some beginner zildjian cymbals to go along with it. yeah, it's $160 for a pair of hats and a crash/ride, but that's really not too bad, considering. paiste also makes some good cymbals at reasonable prices, but they won't be any better or cheaper than this package deal.

DDrums D2 - http://www.zzounds.com/item--DEPD2
this one will probably be the most attractive to you, as it is a self-contained setup, including cymbals, for $400. i don't have any personal experience with this brand, and can pretty much guarantee the cymbals are garbage, but hey. it's drums, it's cheap. i think it would serve your purposes plenty well enough, although i would consider it a step down from the ludwig. cymbals and heads can always be upgraded later, and this at least is a decent foundation to start from. Note: 9 ply mahogany is an interesting choice. definitely durable, maybe not as resonant. also, this has a 10-12-16 tom arrangement, instead of the 12-13-16 mentioned earlier. nothing wrong with that, just different. the more i look at this set, the more i like it.

Ludwig Pinnacle - http://www.zzounds.com/item--LUDP5K
this is another ludwig set. which means the hardware is exactly the same as the $400 set. why does it cost $450, then? because the shells are slightly beefier, and made out of a different kind of wood. and because this one includes some trashy cymbals. but, once again, it's a good foundation, and you've got the whole shabang, ready to rock for under five benjamins.

my feelings won't be hurt if you choose something else, but those were the strongest contenders i could find. and hopefully you feel comfortable enough now to know what sort of things you need to be looking for in order to find the right match for you.

by the same token, sticks are a very intimate part of the experience, and there's no right or wrong choice. you just have to go into a music store, get your hands dirty, and figure out what feels good to you. lately i've been coming back to the vic firth SD1s, which i hadn't used since i bought my first pair back in middle school. but they're a nice middle of the road stick, with a short taper and a ball tip. and it's what most classically trained drummers would have their students start out on. i like wood tips, as i feel they're less prone to breakage, but nylon tips sound much better on the cymbals. i just have this problem with nylon tips shattering and flying off, rendering an otherwise healthy stick useless, unless you have tomato plants or something to use them in. could just be me though.

Step on my dreams


spud

:: 2010 23 March :: 5.14am

iTunes library

over 5,000 songs; 25 gigs and counting.

this thing is getting out of control.

it's almost easier at this point to have something specific in mind to search for, as opposed to browsing it alphabetically. it's just too overwhelming.

but eventually it will be complete and fully up to date. at which point, i will be a happy boy.

: :

and then the drive will crash.

Step on my dreams


spud

:: 2010 12 March :: 10.41pm

it is a tenuous thread to which we cling.

that thread is the moment. that moment is life. we live in the present tense.

and yet, somehow, none of us is able to quite realize it at the time. you look back and say, "oh yeah, hey - look - we did a thing there just then!" that thing was a moment. a point in time at which you were doing that one thing with those one people. that was a good time. hell, even if it was a bad time, you still remember it. and it is something you share. memories have this unnerving propensity to decay over time. and that decay - that shelf life - is what gives those memories their value. valuable moreso for being unique to the individuals involved, and the lack of likelihood of their passing it on to a second party, and that party's then furthering the cause.

memories die over the ages. it seems sad that we only mourn them post-mortem.

that is why when i die there better be a fuckin' party. because i want the only thing people to be able to remember is that it was a hell of a good time. in homage to a life of good times.

2 Bastards stepped on my dreams | Step on my dreams


spud

:: 2010 10 March :: 2.34pm

why the fuck don't i have a job?

it might have something to do with the current recession.

or it could just be that i live in michigan, and it snows a lot. i didn't realize that our frequent snowstorms were part of the economic turbulence.

then again, if you follow THEIR snowstorms link, it takes you to a page that references monthly surveys of businesses and households. at which point all of the statistics and graphs and bullshit they can muster don't apply to me, simply because i've lived here for two years and not once have gotten asked by any survey whether or not i am gainfully employed.

i always hated stats. calculus just makes so much more sense.

Step on my dreams


spud

:: 2010 4 March :: 1.01am

so yeah. think i have a cold of some sort. that's pretty bitchin'. shan tomorrow, dad friday, kevie-poo early next week. weekend's pretty open, but the neighbors might be having a fire. that'd be fun. i like fire. and stars.

actually, i made a very important (personally) discovery tonight about the stars that i often look at. if you know the constellations cassiopeia and orion, then you can find what i'm talking about. because right in between them, there is this weird curvy group of stars. these are all visible to the naked eye on a clear night. when i first saw it, i was most struck by its resemblance to a parabolic curve. and ever since then i've wanted to figure out what constellation it is, and if i could find a mathematical equation for the curve that would best fit that group of stars (have them all be on or very near it). i'm lazy so it'll probably never happen. and i'm discouraged by the likelihood that someone else has already beat me to the punch. anyway, i discovered tonight (through the use of these programs) that the stars i was looking at belong primarily to the constellation perseus. obviously, there are some stars of perseus that i have omitted from "my" grouping, and may have stolen one or two from somewhere else, but it's still a cool pattern.

but now i'm pissed because the entire time i was trying to watch for perseid meteors, i had no idea where in the sky to look. i guess now i know for the next time. but it's frustrating that i would have been able to, had i known the name of the constellation i've been looking at for the past couple of years already. but now i do, so there.

5 Bastards stepped on my dreams | Step on my dreams


rayray

:: 2010 16 February :: 6.57pm
:: Music: Life After You - Daughtry

Life.. it happens whether we want it to or not..
I feel like I have hit a stand still in my life.
I don't feel like I am moving forward or backward.
I am completely happy with everything that has happened.
I love my life, just feel like it's too straight and narrow.
I hate my job; getting up at the same time, leaving at the same time, doing the same thing everyday, and seeing the same people.
I hate the repitition.
I understand that no matter what job I will end up doing, I will be doing the same thing over and over.
But after 2 years, I need a new scene. I need a different atmosphere.
I need to be able to go to work, and know that I'm not going to get into an argument with my boss over something petty.
I need a drastic change on the job front, like yesterday.
Something where I will see different people everyday.
I might be able to handle getting up at the same time, and leaving at the same time, if i had a different atmosphere to go to, and enjoy.

Having my nights to myself is lonely, and although I should be filling it with my homework, I don't.
I don't have the ambition to do my homework, because I am too caught up in being exhausted from work, and thinking about how I am just going to be going home to an empty, well almost empty house.

Ugh!..

1 Bastard | Step on my dreams


spud

:: 2010 29 January :: 10.20am

winter camp

is better than you.

high of like 20 all weekend up there. should be fun.

: P

2 Bastards stepped on my dreams | Step on my dreams


spud

:: 2010 27 January :: 1.01am

cable television
it's sad that this is what my life has become.

i'm watching a movie on flix. i hit info. this is what comes up.

Snake Island (2002) (a rating of one star is always a good sign):
creepy nonsense about killer reptiles terrorizing clueless tourists.

lmfao.

Step on my dreams


rayray

:: 2010 25 January :: 5.42pm

All the cool kids are doing it..
Has a hate list of her own today..

I hate that I have to be mean to get anywhere with morons that have better jobs than me.
I hate that I suck as a friend.
I hate that I don't realize that some things have boundaries, until its too late.
I hate that there isn't anything I can do in certain situations.
I hate that my boyfriend is back on second shift.
I hate that I have no ambition to do the ass load of homework that I have piled up on my desk.
I hate that I hate so many things.

Thought I had more to say, but I lost it..

4 Bastards stepped on my dreams | Step on my dreams


spud

:: 2010 24 January :: 4.40pm
:: Music: explosions in the sky - welcome ghosts (embedded)



2 Bastards stepped on my dreams | Step on my dreams


spud

:: 2010 20 January :: 7.55pm

vampirezombieraptor vs. robotcheney

discuss.

6 Bastards stepped on my dreams | Step on my dreams


spud

:: 2010 14 January :: 5.05pm

i just made a post on farmville that contained the phrase "asexually reproduce" and they censored the phrase thusly: "a***ually reproduce"

what the fuck?

edit:

i realized i forgot to mention that over the christmas holiday, i was offered a full time position drumming with the machines (that band i played with in grand haven on the 18th). as of yet, we have no gigs lined up, and are still working on compiling a set list. if you have any suggestions, please shout them out at the top of your lungs. or just post a comment, if that's easier for you. i think we're trying to stick in the oldies/rock/blues-type area, and we need stuff that's kinda danceable. not necessarily slow, but danceable. and easy, did i mention easy? i mean, i don't want this to be like actual work or something. ; ) just whatever you'd want to hear a band play while you're out at the bar. and the bar is full of "old" people.

Step on my dreams


spud

:: 2010 13 January :: 10.05pm

i have a subwoofer/amplifier combo that i need to sell, so i can get plates and insurance on my truck.

it's a JL Audio 12W3 woofer in a custom enclosure, matched with a 250/1 class D amplifier. they are awesome together, and i am very sad to see them go, but it's cargo i'm not currently using, and making money is hard without legal transpo. so there you have it.

i paid over $300 for this setup when i bought it, and have taken very good care of it. i mean, it gets pretty loud, but i've never abused it. just don't try and win any SPL competitions with it and you should be fine. it'll warm up the bottom end of your stock sound, and actually take some of the strain away from speakers that struggle to reproduce lower frequencies. and maybe even shake your mirrors a smidgen.

if you're interested, just let me know. offer whatever you feel is fair, and i'll see if i can make it work. amplifier comes with all original hardware and packaging, for your convenience.

here be some pictures of the goods:











3 Bastards stepped on my dreams | Step on my dreams


rayray

:: 2009 31 December :: 11.22am

I was trying to remember what I have done on New Years Eve for the past 10 years.. but there are some blank memories in there..

So, if you were involved, tell me memories you shared with me..

Step on my dreams


rayray

:: 2009 25 December :: 4.06pm

Had a rough couple of days.
They were more or less just extremely emotional and frustrating.
Had a hard time dealing with the 5 year anniversary of my grandma's death, and then this being the first christmas without my other grandma.
Argued 2 days in a row, with probably the most ignorant person in Ionia County.

I have felt a lot of unnecessary stress this week.
I think I am finally getting over it.
Thought I would have more Christmas spirit than I ended up with, but I guess shit happens.
Better luck next year.

1 Bastard | Step on my dreams

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