What is your endorsment dream?

[Lorenzini]

I am interested to know what you guys would dream of if you could pick and choose your own endorsements!
I am currently playing Gretsch drums, yamaha hardware, Ziljdian cymbals and sticks... If I was able to get endorsed by all of those companies, I would be one happy man! The only other endorsement that I would want is Remo heads.

[mja61]

This is a fun topic! Zildjian is number one in my book, but I think Sabian has come a long way in the last few years, so either a Sabian or Zildjian endorsement would be cool.

For drums, it would be neat to endorse one of those obscure companies that specialize in making high-quality shells and drums. The Bison Drum Company is an example. (His shop is close to where I live.) The buzz around town is he makes some killer drums, though I?ve never had a chance to play them. They were featured in Modern Drummer not too long ago and got a glowing review. I was in his shop once, and there was a guy in there that made a special trip from New York just to check out his drums and possibly buy a kit...that?s quite a reputation! I always thought DW's were cool...they have a reputation for good craftsmanship and they match up the shells so all the toms sound consistent. With other manufacturers, you can get one tom that sounds "dead" or out of place, especially if you're not using RIMS.

For heads, I suppose I'd be happy with Evans, Attack or Aquarian heads. I'm not that crazy about Remo these days, although I'd suffer with them if they offered me a free lifetime supply. Evans seem to be the most durable, and give me the most consistent sound from drum to drum. I can't find a stick that I'm 100% happy with, but I find Vic Firth and Vater to have the best quality (especially with their pair matching methods), with Zildjian sticks being a close third. I guess it would be kinda funny to play Zildjian sticks and Sabian cymbals, eh? The Gibraltar rack is pretty cool, but I?m not 100% satisfied with the standard configurations?can?t quite get everything where I want it. It would be cool to build a customized rack...kind of like a Lego set for grown-ups!!

I have a DW double pedal from about 1995 that I?d like to replace. I bought it because everybody raved about how good it was, but it?s not the right one for me. The new Pearl and Tama Iron Cobra pedals are pretty nice. I?d definitely want to endorse the authentic Gauger RIMS system for that huge tom sound.

One last comment about endorsements. Apparently Terry Bozzio has severed his ties with Sabian. I'm not sure if this means they're going to discontinue the Radia series. I guess he has some kind of lucrative deal with "a company to be named later." I saw him in a clinic last summer, and he was saying all these really nice things about Sabian: how it was always his dream to develop his own line of cymbals, and how Sabian was such a great company to work with and represent, yadda yadda yadda. Then he jumps ship only a few months later. Artists should play whatever they want for whatever reason (even if it's money), but players damage their credibility by changing their tune too often. As a consumer, sometimes it?s hard to differentiate BS endorsement rhetoric from a genuine ?I play it because I like it? endorsement. I give Vinnie a lot of credit ditching Yamaha for Gretsch. I can?t say one product or company is better than the other, but if Vinnie feels that strongly, I admire his resolve to follow through on it. Same for Dave switching from Zildjian to Sabian.

Sorry to be long winded. In addition to being a Vinnie freak and a Dave freak, I'm also an equipment freak!!!

[beats]

i remember this question being posted a few months back. i own a very rare Dunnet drumset-a 4 piece.since Ronn and myself live in vancouver i would seek that 4 an endorsement.Ronn outfitted my toms w. gibralter suspension system,so i would take that.i use a dixon rack which is similar gibralters so again gibralter,oh ya my throne is gibralter also. 4 cymbals, i used to be a sabian freak,but my ears have changed;and ive found zildians to suit my ears presently.im looking for odd "effects" cymbals cos im replicating electronic beats in my own project-thus i would be partial,if offered,endorsements w. zildian,meinl,bosphorus,and select sabian cymbals,or ufip would be awesome.thses companies r trying new progressions in cymbal making. 4 hardware either yamaha or dw.these companies offer lotsa options for mounting. ive bought the pearl power shifter eliminator dbl. pedal.best pedal goin today,id even take the hi hat version too.id take a drumrug endorsement. i use 3 snare drums,aside from my dunnet snare(1 of 3) i own a dixon 13x4 piccolo,and a pearl 14x4 brass piccolo.i would get ronn to construct the dunnet version of these snares. i use zildian tony williams,vinnie colaiuta signature sticks.and i use vaters 'fusion' stick.id love to have my own stick that is a hybrid of those 3 sticks.seperatley they are fantastic 4 traditional grip users like myself.since u have to be a stinkin rich godlike legend to snag a zildjian stick endorsement,i would relish the opportunity to work with vater.id talk to vic firth about how much i love there retractible wire brushes,or there version of 'blassticks'.i use roland electronics,so being pictured w. a set of roland v-drums would be coo'. i use a dope sequencing program called "live" by abelton,based outta germany,so that would be nice.and i would take a mackie mixer/in ear monitor system.so thats it. ill letu all know when my dreams come true!!.......much respect....beats.......oh ya evans heads and protector cases.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 05, 2002 10:55 PM: Message edited by: beats ]</font>

[Pewit]

Zildjian for cymbals (because I love the K/Z Dyno beat HH so much!) and KUMU for drums.
Kumu is an interesting hand-made drumbrand from Finland. I really love the opportunity
to customize your setup... this company (or one guy, actually!) makes ALL his parts
(including hardware and drumshells, etc.) by himself. 100% custom quality... sweet!

Look at me, I'm a walking advertisment! [img]redface.gif[/img]