You know you're a drummer if...

[chris perra]

how did alex van halen get his snare sound?

[blake1]

You know you're a drummer when you buy a pair of shoes based on how they feel on the pedals.

Yeah! How did Alex Van Halen get his snare sound?

[benrand]

I believe he got it through what is the rage at hardware stores across the US...duct tape, lots of it. And a Ludwig, 6 1/4" metal snare.

[blake1]

You know you're a drummer when you sleep with a pair of sticks and a practice pad.
If you sleep with brushes ya got a problem. hehe

[chris perra]

duct tape eh?

you're sure you're not an engineer?


just kidding...


yup,


you're a drummer....

[benrand]

Well, I am an engineer, and a drummer...I should have typed "gaffer's tape" in a nod to Steve Smith. An interview with him is the first time I heard that phrase.

If you look at old VH videos, AVH has his entire snare covered with a layer of "gaffer's" tape, like those old Duraline kevlar heads. I tried it once and got a sound similar to his.

You know your a drummer when you know what "Duraline kevlar heads" are. And those ridiculous lighted sticks. Those were godawful.

[PocketPlayer]

...every girlfriend you've ever had comments she taps now when driving!

...you search for that killer "ping" sound on them white shelves in the frozen food section when shopping at the market.

...when you had to stay after school for tapping on your desk, once again, searching for that piccolo sound in the upper corner (4th, 6th, & 9th grade thank you kindly!)

...when you tap at night on your mattress, same with the desk thing, looking for that killer sound, moving your head on the mattress in searching for the best audio quality....and then staying up for hours groovin'

...when your computer keyboard is all dinged up with fingernail marks next to the "Caps Lock" and "+" keys.

Not to harp on the AVHalen snare sound, but it is as signature as his bros. axe sound. If he had all that gaffer's tape on his head, knowing that he laid down a solid backbeat, what about his SD response? Do you think it affected his fills, or lack of double-stroke rolls or use of rudiments?
I have the Ludwig poster of Alex Live and he seems to be playing a Remo coated Black Dot with little tape on. His kit is smaller--it came out about '98. I've also seen shot where his snare had the gaffer tape place on the outside of the head in a quad shape.
For all those guys playing in classic rock cover bands, do you also find it difficult to play an AC/DC tune w/o trying add a little Dave or Vinnie in?

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 17, 2003 06:52 PM: Message edited by: PocketPlayer ]</font>

[helpmate]

...you take the long way home so you can hear that killer drum finale. : )

[drum4fun]

You know you are a drummer if ....

you can correctly pronounce and spell "Colaiuta".

[PocketPlayer]

Well, no thanks to youse guys, I duct taped my entire snare head today(Aquarium Hi Energy), cranked both heads up, and...well...it does sound pretty cool. The response is excellent. I love the Boxy POP sound, so AVH's snare always appealed to me. It's still not excellent however...back to the blackboard.

And, drum4fun, I agree 100%...nothing worse seeing Vinnie Coleauta in large letters on the marquee at the Baked Potato! Spelling Vinnie's last name should be on every drummer's spelling test.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 18, 2003 04:37 AM: Message edited by: PocketPlayer ]</font>