Midwest Percussion...

[GrooovePig]

TheDrumPad looks like a cool store Vdrummer. Too bad the site doesnt have any e-commerce functionality. Will that be forthcoming?

[Groovemeister]

Hey guys,

If "The Drum Pad" opened an online shop, I'd buy from them. It sounds like they bust their backsides to put on good clinics for drummers all year round. The least I'd do is show my support...

I bought a DW pedal from musicians friend ages ago. Great service, the cheapest I could find anywhere and fast delivery. I phoned them some months later for something else and was told they stopped doing international transactions as too many things were going wrong... [img]frown.gif[/img]

MP

[Vdrummer]

I don't know Midwest, but if you're buying cymbals, sticks, heads - the Drum Pad is 50% off all the time. We have a huge inventory and kits, snares, electronics are usually below Musician's Friend/GC prices. Unlike most of the others, we usually stock your item. 100 kits, 1000 cymbals, 3000 heads, and over 500 models of sticks - all the time.

www.thedrumpad.com
847-934-8768

[Vdrummer]

I hope we'll be doing e-commerce in the future. We do a lot of price quotes via email and fax. We're computerizing the inventory, but its taken a long time, probably because we have 7500 sq. ft full of gear! The website photo's are 4-5 years old. We have much more stuff now!

[jonthibault]

Well, I finally got through to somebody on the phone today, and they guy I spoke to said they didn't have any in stock, even though it says so on the website (no surprise, there), and I should be getting it the end of next week.

I'll let you know if it's cracked, warped, or the wrong product.

Since it states unequivically that items are shipped 24-48 hours after orders are received, they really need to do something about this.

[likedachuch]

i remember i had a gig out in lincolnwood, illinois like over a decade ago. we were lookin all over illinois directory and found 'the drumpad'. at the time, it was a very small store with great gear though. i don't remember who i worked with over there but after driving by cornfields and rolling hills for what seemed like hours i got there to palatine. they weren't used to doing rentals but obliged to rent me a used tama rockstar kit with hardware and a hand hammered ludwig brass snare drum on the fly!

yeah, i still remember them. nice people. it's cool to hear that they've grown into a warehouse that huge. congrats!!

i'm reminded how lucky we are in so. cal. we have so many choices of music stores, it's ridiculous.

[likedachuch]

btw, (this is ironic considering my so. cal. statement)eric at peeler drum center (ohio)(www.peelerdrumcenter.com) is really cool. they also go out of their way. i remember buying a close out item drum from yamaha. this guy drives to michigan and picks the drum up at yamaha's michigan warehouse and ships it to me the drum to ca the next day!! kudos...

[Rhythmatist]

I've been shopping at Midwest forever and I also know many of the staff personally. I do admit, having visited their site, they are slow on updates. It's a relatively small operation and they are very busy. I never go in during peak phone time as you will wait for a while before someone can take care of you. They are very good to their walk in customers and generally have a huge selection on hand in store. Their stockroom and warehouse, when I've seen it, are always full. I'm sure if sales are brisk they probably do have to drop ship.

The Drumpad, another great place to shop drums in the Chicago area. They also have a drummer friendly, knowledgable staff. And they sponsor some fabulous drumming clinics and events. I keep saying we are in gearhead heaven here in Chicago (and throw in 3 GC locations for good measure). It sure beats the old days when you had to deal with going downtown to get to Frank's Drum Shop. Oh, I almost forgot, there's also the Drum Center in Wheeling. The guy there builds Bison snare drums. I hope I didn't say too much; we'll be getting all kinds of drummers moving here just to be able to get great gear at good prices sucking up all the gigs.

By the way, just curious. Who buys cymbals mail order without listening to them first? I can understand if you don't have a store in your vicinity you almost have to mail order, try it out and send back if you don't like it but I have never purchased a cymbal without first trying out many to get what I hear in my head. I might mail order hardware and accessories but drums, cymbals even sticks are just too personal to me to buy "sight unseen." Yeah, I know you hear the "we make these cymbals so that every 16 inch thin crash sounds exactly the same as the next." I'll never swallow that line. I've done the side by side comparisons and have never found two of any make or model that sounds identical, and this goes for all the brand P's and the Weckl Evolutions that boast this claim. There are always pitch and timbre variations that make every cymbal unique. They might sound similar but not identical.

[jonthibault]

That's true, but every K Custom Dry ride (or Dry Light ride, for that matter) I've ever heard sounds great, and I'll be shocked if for some reason the one I ordered sounds horrible. If it sounds really bad, it will be due to a manufacturer defect, and I'll just send it back to Zildjian.

[Rhythmist]

I prefer the Drum Pad. Jim is a great guy, I've known him for about 14 years, and enjoy the selection the store has to offer. Tim and Meg are always helpful on getting the sounds I need.

I'm a cymbal freak and I just bought the Zildjian Duo Ride; it sounds GREAT!! It has really helped my sound "pallet".