i have read the ad yes if you look on one of the pages where advertisements are you will see they almost always have an advert like that
Hey everyone.
Well I was recently on an 8 hour flight back to Switzerland and I had taken several old Modern Drummer issues with me for a read.
(Its amazing how refreshing they can be when left alone for some weeks). Well I was reading some articles again from the November Issue with Thomas Lang on the cover. I then stumble across this add placed in the back, which I believe has been in there for a while now.
I was shocked...or actually amused. I wont type out the whole add, but heres some quotes:
"Amazing short-cut speed secrets that turned a poor, frustrated, and uncoordinated drummer into a monter player that giging bands compete to hire and crowds scream for"
"pro's inside secrets to playing your feet EXACTLY like your hands at any speed or time signature you desire"
"The real inside secrets to mind-numbing speed and coordination that pros keep hidden from you..."
"I'm now tasting the sweet life by making crazy amounts of money"
"A 3-week beginner from Boston set the world's fastest feet record by using just one secret talked about on this free CD."
Apparently this is all done with Gibraltar Intruder pedals. Now if this a legitimate add and has worked for several people I take back my criticism, but I cant believe this was posted.
Its disappointing how once again, speed with feet is glorified and is portrayed as the only thing that makes a drummer good.
Then they go on to stay that "any speed" can be reached almost effortlessly with "secrets that pros are keeping from us".
I had a hard time taking this add seriously, it just seems like one of those terrible infommercials on TV. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this add, if people have read it before. Better yet: Has anyone purchased the CD mentioned in the add?
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ December 20, 2004 06:03 AM: Message edited by: Suspiria ]</font>
i have read the ad yes if you look on one of the pages where advertisements are you will see they almost always have an advert like that
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Heh, thats a good one. What I dont understand is:Originally posted by moosetication:
It's the Ballistic Drumming thing, isn't it?
If you think that ad was full of wild claims, try this: http://www.ballisticdrums.com/
Can people pay for an ad and then post basically what they want, or does MD actually approve this message?
I've seen the vids... the funny thing is, the technique used is the double stroke technique that i used to use when i first started playing, but ditched it cause the technique is only good at higher speeds... no REAL control in my opinion. It feels like you aren't really playing the pedals... like you are slamming them to get a rebound, doesn't feel legit as in you lose too much contact with the pedals.
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Do you mean the technique demonstrated in the Jeff Porcaro Video?Originally posted by matricks:
I've seen the vids... the funny thing is, the technique used is the double stroke technique that i used to use when i first started playing, but ditched it cause the technique is only good at higher speeds... no REAL control in my opinion. It feels like you aren't really playing the pedals... like you are slamming them to get a rebound, doesn't feel legit as in you lose too much contact with the pedals.
It's the Ballistic Drumming thing, isn't it?
If you think that ad was full of wild claims, try this: http://www.ballisticdrums.com/
I've seen the video. He uses a heel/toe stroke much like what is obtained with the Sonor twin effect pedal. He does it on an Axis longboard, like Tim Waterson does also.
Brad
Not the Jeff technique... Jeff slides up the board. The one on the ballistic video is that is SIMILAR, but not the same, as the "rocking" bass drum motion, or yes, like the twin effect technique.
In the ballistic videos, it is as if you are slamming the board with your foot (heel hitting the pedal) and the downward, continued motion of your foot connects with the rebound of the pedal to achieve the second of the double stroke. It is like this: Try this on the floor first. If you slam your heel (just heel, keep the ball of the foot from hitting the floor)... if you slam your heel on the ground and then you at about 75% (just a guess on that percentage of course... approximation to give an idea of the fundamental. Since it is a follow through of a quick stroke, it won't be as fast BUT don't think of it as slowing down to 75%, just realize that the follow through will not be at "snappy" as the initial, primary movement)... as i said, once you slam the heel, you continue the motion of the rest of your foot toward the ground, as i said at about 75% the initial speed of the first "full stroke". The second part of the stroke is completed with the rest of the foot, arch, ball of foot, toes, touching the ground.
The basis of this is as follows:
You make an initial QUICK stroke... sending the foot board and the beater into motion. Only the heel is really providing the contact with the foot plate. Therefore the pedal goes into action. The rest of your foot, up from the heel, follows through and therefore once the beater makes contact with the head, the pedal recoils and the follow through of the initial foot stroke (being the arch, ball of foot, and toes) impact the recoiling footboard, and create a double stroke.
Now, the reason i say it is not a "control" stroke is because since you basically "slap" the pedal for the first stroke and the majority of the foot isn't on the pedal until the last part of the double stroke... therefore no true control exists. I have found at low volumes and slow tempos, it is an un-useful technique because sufficient velocity cannot be achieved to make the technique happen. Plus, the strokes are uneven due the inherent difference in mass that is in contact with the pedal, and the different velocity being used.
JoJo's technique IS the real deal. It is a TOTALLY DIFFERENT technique. That is a control technique. His whole foot is in contact with the pedal at all times, and therefore is working the pedal... the other technique is more like the pedal is working you. I have seen people use JoJo's rocking technique and not bury the beater, like JoJo does, and the difference is palpable. When you don't bury the beater, that is when the fun REALLY starts to happen... since it is a rebound technique, to get the full effect, it has to rebound, not stop at the head. I have seen people fly doing this... i can't even put it into words... plain scary. I should just record these guys sometime and post it... you have to see it to believe it [img]rolleyes.gif[/img]
Do i have this "ballistic" stroke in my bag of tricks... yeah, i worked it a little... however it is mainly just to have that down because i like to know all the things the pedal can do, and then go from there... knowing is half the battle [img]wink.gif[/img]
However, i do have a problem with the way these ads are deceptive. Anyone who has half a brain would see through it, HOWEVER, it doesn't mean that you can just go around saying "buyer beware, buyer beware" and pitch bogus ads at people. I think MD should do a review of his videos... I wanna see if their buck stops in the pages of their magazine, or in the finance department...
Back to MY review...
So really, if you want ballistic feet, work on JoJo's 1998 MD Fest technique and work on not burying the beater... forget the "ballistic" stuff in MD that Joe Stronsick is selling.
In response to Jojo's technique at the MD fest, is there a DVD of the whole festival or did they make a seperate one with his performance and perhaps and instructional part to it? That would be awesome. Anyone know?
The only available that i know of is where it is two DVD's/Vids... I think they capture most of JoJo's Q&A on that one. As far as him explaining his techniques, i think you can get enough from those clips to keep you shedding for a long while [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]
Plus he does it from slow to fast... it is really clear, the hard part is just trusting that you are doing it right and knowing that it takes not months, but years to build it to that level.
I used to mess with those alot, but then i would just frustrated cause i wasn't developing as fast as i wanted to. I gave up working on them all the time and just messed around with them from time to time. I have progressed farther by doing them maybe, 15min a day for years, than i did by doing it 1 hour a day for a year. Just have to build up the muscles... give them time to change to fast-twitch type, and keep reminding them that they need to get more efficient. The body will respond, but of course not as quickly as we would like (as always!) [img]wink.gif[/img]
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