scouttimp Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Everyone is correct- '84 was the last ludwig year. A funny side note- in '88 Yamaha made drumline t-shirts for madison that had used a past picture of the snare line. Sure enough, they used a pic from '84- holes in the drums, matched grip, red sticks. after the shirts were sent it was pointed out that the drums depicted were ludwigs! they had a cow, and took the holes out! another side note- the timps I played until '90 had the serial #s 0001, 0002, 0003, and 0004. The springs were completely shot by then, so Yamaha sent us new bases- just the bottom circle. The instructions were completely useless, and translated poorly from Japanese to English. Lonsdale and I spent half of memorial day camp in whitewater '90 taking the dam* things apart and putting them back together (leaving a large pile of maybe-should-have-used parts leftover) but they worked! The 20" wasn't added until '87, but the bottom 4 were the first in the US. I think madison may still have the first marimba around somewhere... be cool, and GO SCOUTS!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmfootworks Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 OK - I don't know much about percussion. Can someone explain what the difference would be battery wise if their using Pearl or Yamaha? There is a big difference -- bigger than people may realize. Some years ago Pearl switched from birch to maple as the wood of which their drums are constructed. Yamaha remains birch. Drum shells are made of several plies bent and then glued together. Which wood is better? It's a matter of taste. The same theories and properties used to evaluate drum sounds in the world of drum sets apply to marching percussion. In general, maple is considered a slightly more premium grade of wood. It is harder than birch and yields more overtones and a wider range of dynamics. Birch is known for having far fewer overtones, less in the way of mid-range frequencies, and excellent projection. When Pearl switched to maple I was skeptical it could work on the field. I didn't think they would project as well and that it would be more difficult to control their sound. In some respects I think these situations do hold true when compared with birch. It's just a matter of learning how to work with them. The result is that, in general, when you listen to corps using Pearl, the sound will be a little on the rounder side and will resonate more (which on an open field doesn't matter a whole lot, but still affects the particular sound). By contrast the Yamaha birch shells will be a little flatter, wetter, and punchier. It's interesting: as a drummer I have long had a preference for birch toms because of their punchier, more controlled sound. But I prefer maple bass drums because that is where I want the rounder, more resonant sound. Yamaha has cleverly addressed the problem of the too-flat-sounding bass drum by creating a mixture of birch and mahogany plies on their bass drums. Brilliant thinking. Mahogany is more similar to maple in many respects, but darker. I hope Madison stays with Yamaha because it is the sound I prefer. But Pearl makes one mean bass drum with those maple shells -- just check out any corps using them. It would be something else to hear the Cavaliers do their walk beat on Pearl Drums (sorry Yamaha, still love ya). Lastly I would like to say that tonal differences between these two wood types can be lessened through various tuning, tensioning, and dampening techniques. But I personally believe the differences are significant enough that if I were marching, a corps' use of birch tenors would be an important factor to me in my search for a corps. In other words, I'd probably prefer a Yamaha corps. But that's just my own preference. Both companies are tops in quality as far as I'm concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmfootworks Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 A funny side note- in '88 Yamaha made drumline t-shirts for madison that had used a past picture of the snare line. Sure enough, they used a pic from '84- holes in the drums, matched grip, red sticks. after the shirts were sent it was pointed out that the drums depicted were ludwigs! they had a cow, and took the holes out!another side note- the timps I played until '90 had the serial #s 0001, 0002, 0003, and 0004. The springs were completely shot by then, so Yamaha sent us new bases- just the bottom circle. The instructions were completely useless, and translated poorly from Japanese to English. Lonsdale and I spent half of memorial day camp in whitewater '90 taking the dam* things apart and putting them back together (leaving a large pile of maybe-should-have-used parts leftover) but they worked! The 20" wasn't added until '87, but the bottom 4 were the first in the US. I think madison may still have the first marimba around somewhere... Great stories, thanks!!! It's always good to hear about these colorful, off-field things. Puts a human face on the activity. Are you playing the tymp in that great shot on the '88 video of the soloist -- he's first surrounded by the marching cymbals and then he does the final wail during the tympani roll at the end of Malaguena? Man, that stuff is to die for!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woogie Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 for whoever said the acoustalon is louder than pearl's synthetic...that wouldn't really apply in this situation...Mcnutt and Moyer use Rosewood on the field and rosewood sounds a million times better than synthetic no matter what the circumstances...but as for this year...i heard they're going with synthetic's for reheasal and rosewood for shows (just like the cavies do after midseason)...expect Colin's typical GIANT pit this summer as well...should be amazing...and about the cymbals...they've officially switched over to Zildjian from Paiste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britdrums Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 Everyone is correct- '84 was the last ludwig year.A funny side note- in '88 Yamaha made drumline t-shirts for madison that had used a past picture of the snare line. Sure enough, they used a pic from '84- holes in the drums, matched grip, red sticks. after the shirts were sent it was pointed out that the drums depicted were ludwigs! they had a cow, and took the holes out! another side note- the timps I played until '90 had the serial #s 0001, 0002, 0003, and 0004. The springs were completely shot by then, so Yamaha sent us new bases- just the bottom circle. The instructions were completely useless, and translated poorly from Japanese to English. Lonsdale and I spent half of memorial day camp in whitewater '90 taking the dam* things apart and putting them back together (leaving a large pile of maybe-should-have-used parts leftover) but they worked! The 20" wasn't added until '87, but the bottom 4 were the first in the US. I think madison may still have the first marimba around somewhere... be cool, and GO SCOUTS!!! Lonsdale and I spent half of memorial day camp in whitewater '90 taking the dam* things apart and putting them back together (leaving a large pile of maybe-should-have-used parts leftover) but they worked! Would that be Lonsdale as in a Brit or was he American? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmfootworks Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 ...and about the cymbals...they've officially switched over to Zildjian from Paiste. No big surprise. I am a huge fan of Paiste cymbals -- I think they're absolute tops in quality. But they're not the best cymbals for drum corps. Zildjian cymbals have that great midrange presence that blends in well with whatever is going on musically, whereas most of the Paistes tend to be more focused on a particular sound. I think Paistes work well for certain pit applications, but we all know that these days big time corps don't mix brands. Go Madison!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scouttimp Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 yeah that's me on the '88 vid. I played the first little concert snare lick in the intro of the opener, vibes the rest of the opener, and timps from the ballad to the end of the show. Looking back, we were all incredibly lucky to be a part of that show, and that tour- Europe, New Orleans... It was a great summer. How many scouts named Lonsdale could there be? If you know where the one and only Lonsdale G from Birmingham is please get him on this thread- I miss that guy! Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmfootworks Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 yeah that's me on the '88 vid. I played the first little concert snare lick in the intro of the opener, vibes the rest of the opener, and timps from the ballad to the end of the show. Looking back, we were all incredibly lucky to be a part of that show, and that tour- Europe, New Orleans... It was a great summer. :mmm: ^OO^ ^OO^ ^OO^ ^OO^ ^OO^ I don't think we'll ever see something quite like that again. Years later, it still produces the most amazing adrenaline rush!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scouttimp Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 you should have seen semis!!!! my memory is that the 2 best runs of that show were friday night and saturdays winners concert. there are a few clams in the finals show that were unexpected. I also get a better camera shot on the friday video, and they do a better job of catching the spin into the wedge. glad you liked it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britdrums Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 I haven't seen or heard from him for a while myself but have to say Lonsdale was one of the guys who set me on the right path to drum corps. We have a week long festival over here where kids get instruction on a morning from top instructors and back then Lons was one of those. A genuinely great guy who gave me a lot of inspiration for this activity! If I see him I'll remember you to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.