S. Pearson Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Now, with all that said, there have been some different tenor configurations over the years, and different isn't necessarily wrong. The Madison Scouts' unconventional setup in 1990 is one example of a different layout. If you're going to try something different, I'd advise only doing so if you've got plenty of experience under your belt and specific reasoning for the change. Thanks Skydog for the props! Actually the configuration was developed & manufactured by Steve Weekes and myself the year earlier. The idea we were going for a more uniform look with the snareline as snare players were centered with their drum, instead of always playing off to one side or the other in the typical quad design. (Spock exception) The other reason we went with this was that my favorite sounding tenor drum was the 8" drum! It is powerful and carries farther than the 6" and doesn't disappear into the snare sound like the 10" frequency usually does. Note: we dropped the 10" tenor in that formation design. :) Steve and I spent one Saturday afternoon at his machine shop designing the prototype hardware. A week or so later, we used shop assembly tables that were near perfect in layout to drill & assemble the drums (rims removed). We made sure that the angles were as close to perfect from set to set and from drum to drum the rim heights were near-perfect too, which makes it easier to move from drum to drum at higher speeds. We were not trying to change the world with our design that year, we were changing things up a little give everyone in the line a chance to do something a little different. Lesson: if you're going to design your own tenor layout, be sure to have a machinist friend! My 2 cents on Quad design- try to keep the front 2 drums in quad-style formation not too far forward (shallower arch). Observe your own arm movements - keep your arms down with your hands out in front of you as you would play. Note how the forearms pivot off the elbows, you can see how much adjustment the arms have to do (forward/back) as you rotate from side to side (right to left). The flatter the design, the less adjustment each elbow must make to complete the arch. As tempo increases, it becomes more difficult to keep arm perspective while making adjustments the deeper the arch. (Clue: you'll hear more rim clicks or ping sounds as perspective is lost) Side note: I don't post here very often-not my thing lately and time seems so short, but this topic was fun! Well done Kansan... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyboy Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Now I am curious, what was the Scouts drum layout in 1990? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sday88 Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Now I am curious, what was the Scouts drum layout in 1990? Yes, pictures please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S. Pearson Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Yes, pictures please. I don't have access to actual photos at this point, but here is a quick doodle from my memory & Photoshop for those interested. The orange line is estimated playing zone. Note the flatter the line, the faster and more efficient the playing. Using the 8 along with the 12-13-14, you can simulate quad type parts when or if desired. 'The black line was approximately where the harness mounting occurred. One other thing, our spacers and all mounts were made at the time out of stainless steel, not plastic and aluminum as they are today. (More durable, but also more weight) There were some nice improvements on materials since back then! :) Hope this helps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GGarrett Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Pearsony! A Scott Pearson sighting! All around good guy and mild mannered tenor drummer extraordinaire... I'd buy you a beer if I was coming up this weekend. But alas... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S. Pearson Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Pearsony! A Scott Pearson sighting! All around good guy and mild mannered tenor drummer extraordinaire... I'd buy you a beer if I was coming up this weekend. But alas... No worries, I won't be there either... My last available sister-in-law is getting married, so I must sacrifice as my better half did for the entire project year... (Weekend for a year... I know not an equal trade-off) Sorry folks... back to the magnificent topic at hand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sday88 Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 I don't have access to actual photos at this point, but here is a quick doodle from my memory & Photoshop for those interested. The orange line is estimated playing zone. Note the flatter the line, the faster and more efficient the playing. Using the 8 along with the 12-13-14, you can simulate quad type parts when or if desired. 'The black line was approximately where the harness mounting occurred. One other thing, our spacers and all mounts were made at the time out of stainless steel, not plastic and aluminum as they are today. (More durable, but also more weight) There were some nice improvements on materials since back then! :) Hope this helps... Interesting. Is this similar to something the Glassmen had back in the day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearlsnaredrummer77 Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 Interesting. Is this similar to something the Glassmen had back in the day? The Madisen set-up appears similar to what the Ohio Brass Factory was using back in the 80s except reverse the position of the 6/8 drum. You can vaguely see it in action here: http://ohiobrassfactory.org/alumni.html I think that system worked well for people who had been triples players and wanted spocks for effect rather than real integrated playing. I hacked on a set of those trip/with spocks and much preferred the standard Ludwig quints we used in GBV-even though I had started on triples in HS. (Note: the silver dot heads came with the drums and were never used in competition-also the spock is lower b/c of the way they are jacked up with the carrier) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S. Pearson Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 The Madisen set-up appears similar to what the Ohio Brass Factory was using back in the 80s except reverse the position of the 6/8 drum. You can vaguely see it in action here:http://ohiobrassfactory.org/alumni.html Actually, I based our 1989 design on our 1979/1980 style, but with a flatter arrangement. The sets above were very heavy (60lbs vs BD North tenor sets in 76' were rumored to be about 55lbs), which at mid-season we cut the fronts of the shells off to reduce weight and send more sound forward fortunately! The 6" and 8" drums were arranged this way for two reasons: When doing a single tap run up the drums, you could do it when starting with the left hand. If the drums were reversed, would have been near-impossible The side to side weight ratio was more equal, because the 6" was on the left with the 14", while the 8" was paired with the 13" on the right. (Note: the deeper shells & scoops in those days) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Other Mike Posted September 24, 2008 Share Posted September 24, 2008 All the more reason to march 14 / 16 / 18 tim toms..................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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