I'm going to start with the Bongos and Congas. I
remember a couple of years ago I was invited to play in a percussion
festival in Malaysia. It was an outdoor festival and I performed
at around 11pm. It was prior to my endorsement with Remo and I was
using standard calf heads. Quite a bizarre day indeed, ranging
from lethal heat in the soundcheck which tightened the skins up so much
that even when almost totally loosened, they still were on the verge of
splitting, to the total opposite at night. However much I
tightened the skins the drums still sounded well below the desired tone
because of the humidity. Frustrating indeed and we've all
experienced it even in packed sweaty clubs where you just cant tune the
drums high enough. At the time I was fairly closed minded on the
subject of plastic heads for percussion and didn't think there was an
alternative. However, a few weeks later at another gig the
percussionist in the support band had a pair of Remo bongos.
Naturally inquisitive I had to try them out and was amazed at the
clarity of tone, sharp cutting sound and they cranked up REALLY high!
There was a solution after all and there was the added benefit of not
having to tune up/down before and after the gig.
I had already long been a fan and user of Remo's frame
drums and Taiko etc but this moment truly converted me to their Latin
stuff as well. Another point not to be missed with these is the
tuning factor. This is especially important with the Congas where
you might have the tones of the drums tuned to a specific set of notes.
I like the fact that you can guarantee the tuning from night to night
and not spend ages in the sound check sorting it out, sometimes at odds
with the environment. As with all drums, you need to spend some time
with them and be sure the response and tone is what you are after.
I actually prefer the Poncho Sanchez model of congas which are warm in
tone for the studio but also very bright and cutting for live work. The
larger drums also have a fantastic wide belly shape which really adds to
the warmth of the drums. I have opted for the hard wearing black
finish (TUFF-E-NUFF) which appears to be indestructible, even in the
hands of the roadies! It adds a bit of weight to the drum
but looks great. I also have some of my Taiko drums in the same
finish.
My real baby of the moment is the in-line tuned, Paulo
Mattoli Djembe with a bronze finish which comes across as a hi-tec
classy metal finish. The great benefit of this drum is the
incredibly innovative tuning system which avoids any protruding tuning
lugs or housings on the shell. I actually find some djembe's with
conga style tuning systems very troublesome to strap around your waist
to play standing. Great dangers are posed for a certain part of
the male anatomy! No more wincing in agony for me in the middle of
a solo! Tone wise the instrument projects well live and has
subtleties in the studio. As with the bongos, you can crank it
nice and high and get a bright slap and earthy bass tone. The
skins are slightly thinner that the mondo variety on other Remo djembes
which I actually prefer.
Another interesting alternative to the Djembes are the
Ashikos and Klong Yaws. The Klong Yaws (traditional Thai drum) are very
long and look great on stage. In the studio if you mic it from the
bottom end you get a phenomenally low sub bass frequency. GREAT!!!
Ashiko and Klong Yaw
Next up are the range of small festival Djembes, kids
djembes and Doumbeks. I prefer to use all of these for middle
eastern style played played sitting down with the drum horizontal on the
lap with the left hand coming over the top holding the drum in place.
(See my darabouka tutorials
Festival Djembe, Tuneable Darabouka and pre-tuned
Darabouka
Developing the Arabic hand drumming theme, the massive
range of frame drums are amazing. Again, you have sets of pre-tuned or
tuneable drums. My favourites and most used are the John Bergamo
frame drums, Bendir, Layne Redmond Req and Glen Velez Tar's. Some
of these drums have subtle tuning mechanisms inside the shell so your
holding hand is not hampered by lugs and rims. This means that you
can then tune the drum to a desired pitch, although the drums do not
tune much further than a few semi tones from the root pitch. If
you get the opportunity to try a few drums out in the shop then you can
be sure to get a drum close to the pitch you desire. I also like
to take a nested set of frame drums in with my session gear. For
something that takes up so little space (they fit inside each other) you
can really set up a lot of multi toned grooves.
Nested Frame drum set
Lets get on to the Japanese drums. I have had a Remo
Hira-Daiko for the best part of seven years and have done hundreds of
gigs on it, including traditional Japanese drumming gigs where you
attack the drum with maximum force with broom handle sticks. I
thought at the time that it would last max 1 year so I bought two so I
would have one to fall back on. (See...I actually bought the gear before
I became an endorser!) As it turned out, I am still waiting
to see any visible signs of wear on the drum at all. If you have
been to one of my Taiko to Tabla gigs you will know what I mean when I
say attack with maximum force!
In action on the Hira-Daiko
Besides the Hira Remo have a whole range of Japanese and
far eastern drums. I would honestly recommend them all, but the
Shime-Daiko is in a class all of its own. A truly fantastic drum
which would also be an interesting addition to a drum set players set
up. Another great choice is the large Nagado Daiko, also known in
Japan as Miya Daiko. This comes as pre tuned or tuneable. I
prefer the tuneable version although this is not in any sense light to
carry up the stairs!
Shime Daiko and the powerful Nagado Daiko (Miya)
Hira Daiko and stand. I make a tall stand from
drum rack sections to stand and play.
Click to enlarge
We can't forget to look at some of the interesting sound
innovations Remo come up with as well, from their entertaining fruit
shakes to their spring drums, sound shapes, ocean drums, rattle stix,
pocket shakes, talking drums and loads of other stuff. I have a
whole case of this stuff for the studio and it always goes down a treat.
It can convert the most pretentious producer into a little kid with a
new box of toys in seconds!
Spring shape and Talking Drum
Sound shapes
Spring drum
Ocean drum
Rattle Stix
Pocket shakes
Then there's the stick based percussion instruments such
as Timbales and drum set etc. I use the Valencia timbales, 13" 14"
with renaissance heads. These are really cool to play and a lot
more responsive than the drums I used before. Importantly the
heads of the tuning bolts are not proud of the drum rim which makes a
big difference in how the drum feels. I don't understand why more
companies don't adopt this style.
Pete on the Remo kit
With Mr Remobelli in LA 2004
In LA 2004
At Remo Valencia LA in 2005
