um... wow. Incredible kit Tommyp. I've always loved the WMP wrap, even when I was a young rock-n-roller.

To chime in on the ol' HiHat mix and match sub-thread here, I was lucky enough to have recently picked up an orphaned 14" Sabian Vault HH top cymbal for a mere $45.00 (think the pairs sell for $350.00 and up).

I've paired it up with my other hats, both tops and bottoms, and none of the pairings sound bad IMHO. Current favorite is the Vault on top with a Paiste PST 5 top, on the bottom. The Vault is the thinnest of all my hats and when matched with a thin bottom (New beat top, Paiste top, etc...) the sound is very smooth and glassy (think 50's to early 60's A Zil, but a tad brighter).

I played the Vault/Paiste combo at a blues gig last weekend and the sound was just so nice... I found myself ignoring the ride!!

big daddy!...

Thanks for the view and the very nice words on the Rogers!

Regarding hi-hat cymbal "matching/mixing" : Yeah!... I know exactly of what you speak! Having been playing the Sabian HH series for the past 22 years!, it's interesting to me that I haven't really been that knocked out with Sabians factory matching/pairing within the HH line... not that they're bad of course... just not the "sound" that I was looking for. So... when I paired the Paiste SE bottom with ANY of my Sabian tops, wow... there it was! The cool thing is I can change out the top Sabian for weight and/or style of music, and they ALL sound great with the Paiste SE bottom. You know,

I did a Smooth Jazz concert back in June opening for Bob Baldwin... ( his band and drummer were FABULOUS by the way! ) ... and backline was supplied, and it was EXCELLENT backline which is always a treat! Anyway, the cartage company had THREE different cymbal vaults of just Sabian cymblas!!... and I ended up going with the HH/HHX line that Dave Weckl helped design. Well... the HH/HHX hi-hats blew me away!!!! I was incredibly impressed with those, well, at least within the Smooth Jazz genre of music anyway. I guess the main point of this ramble is that for the first time, I liked the Sabian pairing of top/bottom!

Tommyp

Hey guys!...

I have received more than a few emails asking about the bass drum mike on this kit, and also whether or not the bass drum has a "port". So...

Personally, I don't like "ported" front bass drum heads, and that's just my personal preference of course! But having said that, I have learned over the years that when working with a lot of different sound companies, and especially for the majority of the outdoor venues, sound guys WANT to see a port in that front head! They just don't seem to know what to do with the bass drum mike otherwise... kind of comical in a way... but! ... we WANT the sound tech happy, as that will ensure a killer drum mix. So...

I use an AKG D112 ( the football! ) mike on my bass drums ALL THE TIME. I bring my own to every gig/venue, and suggest that the sound tech use my mike... because ... I have ported all my bass drums to accept this particular microphone, plus the AKG D112 ALWAYS delivers in any enviroment! Because this mike has a very small "nose"... ( football! ) ... the bass drum port is a mere 2" round, which enables the mike to be placed INSIDE the bass drum a tad, and also makes it appear that there is no port. All one really needs is a port just large enough to accomodate sticking the mike right up to it, or just inside. GAPING ports let out a lot of air/back-pressure and impede the resonant heads function, as well as change the "feel" of the bass drum while playing. HOWEVER!... if one has their bass drum set up with a lot of muffling to start with, a much larger port isn't going to make much difference in the "feel" of the drum at all, which is of course a plus for the drummer that has their bass drum set up in that particular way.

So there you have it! I have to thank you guys for all the interest and questions on my 1965 Rogers BR kit, miking, and the gigs that I play in general. Always a pleasure to be part of the BEST drum forum on the net!!

Tommyp