Blog By James

I’ve been proud of myself for keeping my GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) under control for quite some time now. Last week however, during the #snomfg storm, I fell off the wagon…

The only metal snare drum I own is a 1991 5×14 steel Tama Artstar that I purchased new 19 years ago. It’s a drum that I can confidently say will stay with me until I’m no longer around. Truth is, I would sell all of my other gear before I would sell that drum. The only other professional metal snare that I’ve owned up to this point was a Stewart Copeland Signature. Sadly, I sold it to pay the rent back in 2001 and since then I’ve longed for another brass drum to replace it. I considered buying another SC145, but when I saw the advancements Tama made with their new Starphonic line, I was sold.

The drum arrived today and it’s absolutely gorgeous. The build quality is astounding and I’m feeling really good about the purchase. One of the nifty new awesome bits is what Tama calls the “Freedom Lug & Claw Hook”. It allows you to change heads without removing the lug screws. Brilliant! (See last two pics below.) I’ve done a quick tuning job and my first impressions are very good so far. And as I’d hoped, it sounds considerably different than the old Artstar. It comes standard with an Evans G1 coated on top and a Hazy 300 snare side. I’ve yet to play it with my full kit but when I do, I’m surely in for a treat.

It has been quite some time since I posted my thoughts on recent listenings so I’ve got a few albums to talk about. I’ll start with this one…

I bought Benny Greb’s “The Language of Drumming” and was absolutely floored by the entire package. In one of the performances on the DVD, he plays a song called “Grebfruit” which is just brilliant. (The YouTube clip below is from the DVD) So I made my way to his site hoping there was a CD with that song and more like it. Sure enough, I found Benny’s first solo album from 2005, also entitled “Grebfruit”, and bought a copy straight away.

If you’ll notice in the video above, the music Benny is playing with was created entirely with vocals. In other words, with the exception of the guitar solo, everything you hear is just Benny’s drumming and singing. The “Grebfruit” album is mostly that as well, with a few musicians sitting in for guitar solos and other misc parts like Sousaphone, etc. This album is extremely musical, made up entirely of great songs and is far from the usual wankfest you’d expect from a drummer’s solo outing. If you like what you hear in the video, you’ll definitely like the record.

So I sold the fretless 5 string and I still await a buyer for the POD. Seriously, all I want to do is sell every single bit of bass gear I have and buy a Status Graphite KingBass Standard:

The gentleman that bought the bass from me had a Modulus bass with a graphite neck. He let me hold it and after about 10 seconds and playing about three notes, I was completely and totally sold on graphite. Of all the basses I’ve picked up in my entire life, not one neck has felt better.

The Status Graphite KingBass was already my #1 dream bass. But after feeling first hand (pun intended) the benefits of graphite (aka carbon fiber), everything else will pale in comparison.

(Edit: And to torture myself further, I just sent Rob Green at Status an email asking the price. I am very afraid.)

(Edit: Afraid? Rightly so. That bass you see pictured up there would cost me $4650. Reality has officially set in.)