Recently we’ve been the happy recipients of a Drum Art snare drum, beautifully made using stave block construction and a Pandouk shell. Before we tell you any more about it, lets get to what you really want and show you a few photos of it:
Drumart Padouk Snare Close Up Shot
Drumart Padouk Snare Wide Shot
Drumart Padouk Snare Underneath Detail
As with everything we get in store, we like to give it a bit of a test run so we can be confident of what we are saying when talking to customers if they have any questions about something they want to buy. With the Drumart snare we gave it to Guy to put through it’s paces and report back on, and he had this to say:
“Having tried it out I can safely say that I’ve never experienced a drum with such a wide dynamic range. Although it was made with classical music in mind, it’s warm lows and crisp highs make it perfect for rock music and it reminiscent of classic 70s Ludwig and Gretsch snares. At over an inch thick the unusual shell really gives this snare quite some beef!”
We’re sad to see this test model go back to the supplier, but we really did enjoy having the chance to give it a try out while it was in the store. Thanks have to go to Pete at Proel for the loan of the snare and we’re happy to report that all Drum Art snares are now available to order with prices on application via Newcastle Drum Centre. Take a look at the Drum Art site and draw yourself up a wish list.
If you’re on the Newcastle Drum Centre mailing list, then you will already know about the massive January sale we are currently running with excellent discounts across hundreds of products.
If you want to sign up to the mailing list to be informed of such offers in the future then simply send us a mail to ask.
If you just want to view the items on offer though, you can;
If you’ve clicked the Friday Freebies banner on the top of the main site you will already know about the Friday Freebies promotion that we are offering to mark the launch of the new site. If you haven’t clicked on the banner yet, here is a bit of information about it for you:
Every customer who places an order on the website between now and March will automatically be given 1 free raffle ticket for each £50 they spend. So if you spend £300 you get 6 free raffle tickets, automatically.
Every Friday at closing time we will draw the raffle for the tickets given away that week and one lucky winner will automatically win a prize from the pile, which includes:
2 x Sabian Hat & T-Shirt pack worth over £30 – 1 gone already!
2 x Sabian T-Shirt & iPod Shuffle worth over £50. – Both gone already!
5 x Sabian Image T-Shirt & Promark Stick Bag packs worth over £80 – 1 Gone this week.
Tama Iron Cobra Jr. Single Bass Drum Pedal and Case worth £85. - Gone to a lucky winner!
Sabian AAX 16″ X-Plosion Fast Crash Cymbal worth £239.
Pearl 14″ x 5″ Morgan Rose Signature Snare Drum worth £310.
Tama Iron Cobra Rolling Glide Double Bass Drum Pedal with Cobra Coil & Case worth £359.
We will select a prize at random each week, then pick the winner’s ticket at random and inform them via the email used to register on the site.
If you are the lucky customer who has the corresponding ticket then you will be sent your prize as soon as you let us know where you’d like it delivered.
We held off announcing the latest winners just in case the items bought on the site were for Christmas presents, so here are the last two week’s winners:
18th December
Victoria Plenty of Helston won a
Tama Iron Cobra Jr. Single Bass Drum Pedal and Case
25th December
BC Edward-Inatimi of Dundee won a
Sabian Image T-Shirt & Promark Stick Bag packs
Congratulations to our winners, and remember, even things bought in the sale announced in the next day or two will still qualify for the Friday Freebies, so get buying!
Yamaha Download in association with Andrew Small are bringing you an exclusive series of drumming warm ups designed to keep your skills sharp and fine tuned.
Acclaimed session drummer Andrew Small started his musical career trying out guitars, bass and keyboards in his local church before settling with the drums. After studying music at Middlesex University the major turning point for Andrew was training under the great Bob Armstrong, who has remained influential in his approach.
You can go to the first lesson, complete with video and downloadable / printable sheets for the lesson by clicking here.
Choosing a drum kit can be pretty daunting and when you throw different sizes into the mix it can seem impossible to choose. On this document we’ll try to explain the differences between the four main size choices to make your day a little bit easier. If you have any further questions we’re always happy to talk and can be contacted with any of the details on the contact page.
We’ve got a few images here to give you a bit of a guide, then we’ll go a bit further into describing the differences further down the page. Click the images to enlarge;
22 Rock
22 Fusion
20 Fusion
22 American Fusion
22” Rock
This size is one of the more popular we stock. The ‘22”’ refers to the size of the bass drum and ‘rock’ to the size of the toms. Just because it’s called a ‘rock’ kit doesn’t mean it can only be used in rock music however the slightly larger drum sizes do mean that it is a little better suited to louder situations. As we’ve already mentioned, a 22” rock kit will include a 22” bass drum. It also includes 12” & 13” rack toms (those that are usually mounted on the bass drum) and a 16” floor tom (the one that’s on legs). As with most kits, there’s usually a 14” snare drum included (although not always, so it’s worth checking) but other than that, that’s pretty much it!
22” Fusion
Currently this size of kit is probably the most popular one we sell. As with the rock kit above the ‘22”’ in the name refers to the size of the bass drum and ‘fusion’ to the size of the toms. As you’ll see below, a fusion kit has evenly spaced tom sizes which makes it a little easier to get the drums all sounding different. A 22” fusion kit is suited to most musical situations. A 22” fusion kit includes a 22” bass drum. It also includes 10” & 12” rack toms and a 14” floor tom. Sometimes in a fusion kit the 14” floor tom is swapped for a 14” tom which is usually a little shallower and has no legs so must be mounted from a cymbal stand. Some people prefer these so they can save on the amount of floor space their kit takes up. If you have a preference for one type of tom over the other it’s worth checking which one is included in a kit before buying.
20” Fusion
As you’ve probably worked out by now the ‘20”’ in this kit’s name refers to the size of the bass drum and ‘fusion’ to the size of the toms. As with a 22” fusion kit, a 20” fusion kit has evenly spaced tom sizes which makes it a little easier to get the drums all sounding different. The smaller bass drum in a 20” fusion kit makes it a little more suited to lower volume gigs although they’re often used inall sorts of performances. So the sizes included in a 20” fusion kit are a 20” bass drum, 10” & 12” rack toms with a 14” floor tom.
22” American Fusion
Probably the rarest of the four most popular sizes, the 22” American Fusion is for drummers who want the versatility of a fusion kit but with the wider range of sounds offered by a 16” floor tom. The sizes included in a 22” American Fusion Kit are a 22” bass drum, 10” & 12” rack toms and a 16” floor tom.
Anything Else?
There are quite a few other sizes offered by the various different manufacturers although the four above are far and away the most common. If you’re after something a bit ‘rockier’ than the kit above then it’s worth checking out a 24” bass drum kit or if jazz is your thang then a cheeky little 18” be bop kit might suit youbetter. However, by and large, the above four kits will probably cover the needs of the vast majority of drummers.
It worth mentioning that we’ve only been speaking about the diameters of the drums (i.e. the size of the drum heads) in the sizes above and that drum kits are also available in different depths. If this has completely thrown you then we’re sorry, give us a ring or an email and we’ll talk you through it. However, the diameters are the more important thing.
Still working hard into the final few days of christmas, and this year’s hot instrument to have most definitely seems to be the Cajón. We took delivery of 4 of them this morning, and before we even had time to enter them into the system as arrived, they had all been sold and vanished back out of the door!
For those of you that dont know, a Cajón (pronounced Ka-Hon) translates from Spanish as “Box or Drawer” and that pretty much describes them perfectly.
They are an oblong shaped box of wood which is usually played by sitting on the top, angling the drum slightly and slapping the front with a bare hand. Depending on if you slap the edge or the centre of the thin plywood front will dictate the tone of the note, and this can be further altered by lightly applying pressure further down the front with the side of a foot. Inside the box there is a snare wire similar to guitar strings which provides a nice sharp metalic edge to the sound.
With its roots in the 1800’s in Peru the humble cajón has come a long way, but can still be found regularly being played by afro-peruvian bands and afro-cuban bands such as the drum/song/dance style known as rumba.
We’ve immediately placed an order to get some more into the store, and will no doubt update this blog when they are in so people can come along and have a try, but for now here is a quick youtube video about the instrument to keep you entertained.
We’ve had a busy couple of days in the drum centre, things are really gearing up for Christmas and kits are flying out the door. Don’t worry though, we’ve still got a huge stock of acoustic or electronic kits, as well as a huge selection of cymbals, sticks, heads and all the other addons you might be looking for.
Something else that has been keeping us busy is the installation of our new Sabian Brightwall, a vast improvement on our old Sabian display. Now you can really get up close and personal to the cymbals and get a good look at what you are buying, have a test of the various cymbals and make a selection from the wide range available.
As you can see from the pictures below though, when they called this thing a Brightwall, they were not tell ing any lies, we’ve had to hand out sunglasses to all of the staff and we’re considering starting a sideline in tanning booths with it.
(click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)
(click to enlarge)
So if you’ve been thinking of buying some new cymbals, there has never been a better time to come and have a look at what is on offer in store.
Speaking about in store, you can tell the guys are all happy and excited for christmas, with Ben and Harry singing a duet of Chas & Dave’s Rabbit earlier on. They’ve not quite got it down 100% yet but if you’re in the shop you might even get treated to one of their rehersal renditions, a dubious pleasure indeed.
We’ve restocked our A Custom Rezo range, including the fantastic Rezo Pang Chinas…
There’s more Z3’s in stock too, we’ve got an extra few Rock crashes in stock now for you noisy devils out there.
The 20″ A custom ping ride is back in stock too. Plenty of stick definition and a great clean tone.
We’ve gone for an 18″ Oriental China Trash, which is just fearsome. A great add on to any live set up.
As well as all these, we’re back up to full stock on most of the Zildjian range as well as a great selection of K and K customs.
Speaking of cymbals, we’ve got one box set of Paiste PST 5 cymbals that we’re clearing out at just £189, which is pretty much half of the usual price. These are avilable on store on deals, so if you’re interest then give us a call!
Thats all for now, but we’re ordering new stock all the time so there is bound to be another update soon.
If you’ve clicked the Friday Freebies banner on the top of the main site you will already know about the Friday Freebies promotion that we are offering to mark the launch of the new site. If you haven’t clicked on the banner yet, here is a bit of information about it for you:
Every customer who places an order on the website between now and March will automatically be given 1 free raffle ticket for each £50 they spend. So if you spend £300 you get 6 free raffle tickets, automatically.
Every Friday at closing time we will draw the raffle for the tickets given away that week and one lucky winner will automatically win a prize from the pile, which includes:
2 x Sabian Hat & T-Shirt pack worth over £30 – 1 gone already!
2 x Sabian T-Shirt & iPod Shuffle worth over £50. – Both gone already!
5 x Sabian Image T-Shirt & Promark Stick Bag packs worth over £80
Tama Iron Cobra Jr. Single Bass Drum Pedal and Case worth £85.
Sabian AAX 16″ X-Plosion Fast Crash Cymbal worth £239.
Pearl 14″ x 5″ Morgan Rose Signature Snare Drum worth £310.
Tama Iron Cobra Rolling Glide Double Bass Drum Pedal with Cobra Coil & Case worth £359.
We will select a prize at random each week, then pick the winner’s ticket at random and inform them via the email used to register on the site.
If you are the lucky customer who has the corresponding ticket then you will be sent your prize as soon as you let us know where you’d like it delivered.
So far the winners have been:
27th December
Judith Redpath of Wooler won a
Sabian Hat & T-Shirt
4th December
John Marston of Leeds won a
Sabian T-Shirt and iPod
11th December
Marc Lloyd of Nottingham won a
Sabian T-Shirt and iPod.
So as you can see above the prizes are going out already, and remember the more you spend then the higher chance of winning you have. As you can see above, its been the lower value prizes that have been picked so far, so it cant be long before one of those high value items is given away.
If your young one is an aspiring drummer, then what better present for Christmas than their very own drum kit at just the right size for them to play?
We’ve just taken delivery of 8 of these great Spongebob Squarepants 3 piece kits, and they come with everything your future rocker needs to get started, including 3 drums, a cymbal, sticks and a stool!
We just couldnt resist having a quick go of one in the shop when unboxing, so here is a couple of videos of Ben, Harry and Guy rocking out to give you a wee demo. As you’ll see, though its a small kit it still has a great sound to it!
If you’d like to buy one of these amazing little kits, then either drop in to the shop or head over to our online store, either way you’ll have it in plenty of time for Christmas.
Samba Drumming
Newcastle Drum Centre are main dealers in all of the major samba
drumming brands. If you are looking for samba drums or samba percussion
from Gope, Contemporanea, RMV, Bauer, Percussion Plus, Remo, Stagg, LP,
NDC, Bauer, Pearl, Meinl, Izzo and Liverpool then you've come to the
right place. We supply samba instruments from surdo, repenique, caixa,
tamborim, rocar, ganza, chocalho de platinela, timba, agogo bells,
cuica, whistles, pandiero and reco reco, tan tan and rebolo. We have
ethnic musical instruments for every samba bands drumming needs, cheap
samba is right here.
