X8 Drums Blog
Go Global: Adding World Percussion to a Drum Set
Drummers all have one thing in common: we love exploring the
sound of percussion. That’s why we always want more drums, cymbals and why we
love accent percussion. We covet our case full of drum sticks, mallets and brushes,
and we cannot wait each year for the latest bass pedal release. We are always
evolving our skills, our “sound” and the next iteration our ultimate drum set.Drum sets, for some, can be limiting. Sure, there are
thousands of different snare drums, bass drums and all of the
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25th Mar 2015
Posture and Pain: a Drummer’s Biggest Challenge?
There’s nothing worse than a shooting pain in your lower
back or shoulder in the middle of playing your drum set. You’re in the groove,
doin’ your thing and ZOW! You’re in agony! Plenty of drummers experience the
natural aches and pains of drumming, like sore muscles, blisters on the fingers
or hands or blurred vision from over-drumming (it happens!). But, when you’re
finding yourself in a chronic pain situation from drumming, fixing it could be
as simple as adjusting your drum kit to your
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19th Mar 2015
Looking for a Better Drum Sound? Check Your Drum Heads!
Because drummers like to be different, we tend to gravitate
toward the complexities of life. Such as choosing the right drum or drums for
the music we want to play. Everyone knows that drums come in all sorts of different
styles, sizes, brands and configurations. There are hand drums like djembes,
doumbeks and congas or drum set and component drums like snares, toms and bass
drums. While all drums have different drum heads to consider, drum set drummers
may have the most intriguing spectru
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11th Mar 2015
Don’t Drum and Drive: Your Drumming Habits behind the Wheel
There you are, minding your own business, when you notice
flashing blue lights in your rear view mirror. You think to yourself, “Was I
speeding? Why am I being pulled over?” and then go through the hundreds of
possible traffic violations you may have committed while innocently driving
down the road. Once you are safely pulled off to the side of the road, the
officer approaches and asks if you’ve been drinking.
“No, sir, I don’t drink and drive,” is a likely response to
the officer’s q
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29th Oct 2014
Translating Rhythm: From the Drum Set to the Cajon Drum
Finding a new drum or hand percussion instrument to play is
one of the best things about being a drummer. No matter if you started out on a
set of bongo drums or you were a drummer in your school’s marching band, once
you’re bitten with the percussion bug, it can be hard to ever let that
excitement go.
For the drum set drummer, all of those hours spent learning the
basics and practicing rudiments can lead to a really great experience drumming
in a band, on stage or in a stu
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23rd Oct 2014
Need A Better Sounding Cymbal? Check Your Drumsticks!
That whole “stupid” stereotype that surrounds a drummer is
baffling, especially considering all of the effort a drummer puts into play
drums, as well as selecting all the right equipment to make a rhythm come
alive. To the untrained, non-drummer ear, the nuances in sound, tone and decay
from drums and cymbals can be easily written off, but, we know that there is no
mistaking the sound of a set of drums for jazz music compared to those played
in a metal band. The drums in those drum sets
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2nd Oct 2014
Kick Up the Bass: Our Kick Pedal Obsession
Just ask any drummer about the most important sound from a
drum set… and, you’ll get a different response each time. But, just because
drummers cannot agree on what part of the drum set is the best, that doesn’t
mean that drummers who prefer the bass drum are entirely wrong. If that is, of
course, the answer, which we are assuming, solely so we can discuss our love
for kick pedals.
Kick pedals became necessary additions to a drum set back in
the early 1900s, when drummers realized that b
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12th Sep 2014
Cleaning Cymbals Is SO Mainstream... Or, Is It?
Drumming is a controversial profession, passion or hobby,
with never-ending debates over the best kind of drums, drumming style and who
should make the “
Top 10 Drummers of All Time” lists across the Internet.
Because drummers are unique, polyrhythmic thinkers, there is no doubt that when
a dozen drummers are asked a question, there will be a dozen different answers.
The diversity that is innate to each drummer could be why there are so many
different styles and types of cymbals out t
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8th Aug 2014