Whitney Penguin Set
Drummers interested in getting a fat, loud sound can flock to Whitney’s new Penguin series drums. Handcrafted from European birch and American maple, the drum shells increase interior volume while reducing the overall size and weight of the set. Internal 7/8-inch tom mounts and isolation hangers improve sustain and resonance. The kit sets up quickly as a result of the compact Egg Basket mounting system, and it tears down just as fast. The natural finish is pictured, but the drums also come in penguin colors: black and white. www.whitneydrums.com
Gretsch Custom Plus Snare
Long-time Gretsch endorser and one-time Frank Zappa drummer Vinnie Colaiuta recently asked Gretsch if they could make him a snare with a thicker wooden shell. That’s cool, Vinnie, but Gretsch is going to make them available to everybody, OK? The new Custom Plus snares are all handcrafted in the USA and feature a shell 25 percent thicker (a full 3/8-inch thick) than the standard Gretsch snare. Vinnie likes a 5-inch x 14-inch, 8-lug snare, but Gretsch makes them available in 4-inch, 5-inch, 6-inch and 8-inch depths as well. www.gretsch.com
Yamaha Peter Erskine Stick Bag
What makes this stick bag different is that it doesn’t hang on the side of a floor tom and muffle your sound. It stands upright, like us humans, and has plenty of room for your sticks, brushes, drum keys and personal items. A top flap on the nylon bag turns it into a small table good for immediate stick switching. The zip-around closure, carrying handle and shoulder strap make it easy to move around from gig to gig. www.yamahadrums.com
Evans Torque Key
Yes, drums need to be tuned. It is difficult, more so than tuning a guitar, but at least you’re not tuning a piano! Evans, makers of heads and other drum accessories, have the deepest sympathy for those who’ve spent hours tuning drums they could have been playing. Evans’ new Torque Key makes it all so easy: set the handle to a desired tension and turn. When the lug reaches the preset tension it releases. Voila! Even tensioning! Accurate tuning! www.evansdrumheads.com
Bag End TA5000 Loudspeaker
Whether used as a keyboard, guitar or bass amp, drum monitor or p.a., the Bag End TA5000 speaker system pushes big sound out of a relatively small enclosure. A trademarked, time-aligned, 15-inch speaker delivers clear sound with a smoother-than-usual midrange. The speaker comes available in two models, “C,” covered in black carpet and standard with a stand adapter. The “CF” is a black-carpeted floor monitor model.
SticksGrip
Drummers ask to be ridiculed: they hit things for fun. But watch out! The next time you make a wisecrack about seeing your drummer’s rump crack when he’s picking up the stick he just dropped, he may be fixing to whoop you up by busting open an 8-ounce can of SticksGrip. As you watch him spread the goop onto the end of the stick, you might as well say goodbye to Laughsville, wiseacre. Signature Musical Group also makes little green bottles of Picks Grip. Guitarists get butterfingers too. www.sticksgrip.com
Audix SCX-25 Condenser Microphone
When Diana Krall is on the road, her sound engineer puts two of these brass microphones in her piano and closes the top. From there, Diana’s licks are captured by the 25mm gold sputtered diaphragms and amplified for your listening pleasure. The SCX-25 fits inside a closed piano because its internal suspension system erases the need for a shockmount. Pianos are nice, but it’s also a great microphone for drums, vibes, vocals, guitars-pretty much anything that makes sound. www.audixusa.com
