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There are actually thousands of bits n bobs available for drummers, from screw on ash trays to pedal operated bottom scratchers (I made up the latter, but give it time). Of course most of the various bits of hardware available are very genre specific, I doubt the average mask wearing uber metal drummer is going to want to hit a cowbell with a bass drum pedal. But again, give it time. Below I have listed 3 bits that are non genre specific, inexpensive and surprisingly useful.

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Having been to many gigs and witnessing many drummers go through the hell of dropping a stick and not having a spare directly to hand, scrabbling around on the floor before bringing the song to a shuddering halt, I can safely say it’s a bit silly not to have one of these. It’s simply a big peg with two bits that hold two pairs of drum sticks and it clips directly onto your hardware anywhere you wish.

Alternatively you could go for a drumstick bag, these are only a few pounds and attach to your drum kit using boot laces (usually) with the added bonus that it’s a bag.

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I wonder how many times ‘check it out guys, I’m bleeding!’ has been said by drummers in rehearsal rooms around the world? Well it needn’t be that way, popped blisters, calluses and the like can be prevented with the use of stick and finger tape. Wrap it around your sticks to provide grip and cushioning or wrap it around the vulnerable spots on your fingers like Lars Ulrich or, erm.. Michael Jackson. The beauty about this stuff is that there is no residue, it’s sweat resistant and it’s easy to remove, so for gods sake don’t use Gaffa tape as a cheap alternative because you’ll probably have to go to hospital for removal at the end of every gig.

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Now how many trips does it take to your car to get your drum gear into a venue? Too many? I thought so. These bags are made with a rigid tough underside and tough rubber wheels at one end. They are designed specifically for all the eye gauging, paint scratching, sunroof smashing stands that for some reason, the better quality they are the heavier they are. Simply wheel it all in one go!

There are a whole galaxy of bits and bobs available for you to squeeze into your guitar case from vibration feeling clip on guitar tuners to humidifiers. Many of these things you will survive without, however just surviving is not always a good thing. below is a list of some guitar accessories that not only add convenience to your life as a guitarist, but also make you appear more professional to the onlooker. The best bit is they don’t even cost that much!

GUITAR LUBE

Yes that’s right and I’m not even joking, Fast Fret. I’ve found that Fast Fret seems to last for an eternity. The main purpose of these products is to lubricate the strings and you’ll find playing a much more pleasant experience with less drag on your fingers. Financially you will benefit, because the waxy coating makes the Nickle coating on strings last longer as they are protected from your sweat. Also one one very intriguing side effect I’ve found, both products have a unique and pleasant smell and after using them for quite a while just smelling the stuff makes you want to play guitar in a weird Pavlov’s dogs kind of way!

STAGE TUNER

Now even if you’re just starting out or have no intention (yet) of getting up on stage, it’s definitely worth buying an actual stage tuner. The reason for this is that tuning with a stage tuner isn’t as easy as sitting on a chair with a pocket size tuner on your lap. A stage tuner will either be on the floor like a Fender PT-100 with your stomp boxes, or will be (for a little more money) rack mounted like a Behringer BTR2000. It’s well worth regarding tuning your guitar fast and accurately as an in integral part of your skills. With only twenty minutes for your bands set, loosing five minutes over a botched tuning reduces your playing time by 25%!

MIC STAND PICK HOLDER

The Dunlop 5010 is probably the most famous and unknown bit of kit in the world! watch any of your favourite live DVD’s and it’s almost guaranteed to be attached to each guitarists mic stand with a uniform line of plectrums poking out. Save yourself the embarrassment of attaching the plectrums with gaffer tape then pulling over the entire stand whilst trying to remove one (trust me). They look very pro and only cost a couple of pounds so it’s well worth it.

Bo Diddley died from heart failure on monday this week surrounded by family and loveod ones at his home in Florida. He was famous for his unique ‘Bo-Diddley beat’ that laid the foundations for rock ‘n’ roll.

Diddley’s debut single titled “Bo-Diddley” hit number 1 in the R & B chart back in 1955. His success shined throughout the 50’s and 60’s with several releases, interviews and shows. His work continued, and he kept touring into his later years.

In May 2007 Bo Diddley was admitted to intensive care follwing a stroke he suffered after a concert in Iowa. A heart attack followed in August the same year. While recovering from both stroke and heart attack Diddley went back to his home town of McComb for the unveiling of a plaque devoted to him on the National Blues Trail, it was at this unveiling that he played his last public performance. Whilst Jesse Robinson sang a song written for the occasion, he felt that Diddley wanted to perform and handed him a microphone.

Further Reading

Thanks, Bo Diddley
RIP Bo Diddley
Bye Bye Bo Diddley
RIP Bo Diddley
RIP Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley Dies at 79

Nottingham University Conference was the venue for this years Pearl day. I managed to get there on time, despite the highway maintenance service’s hard efforts to slow my journey to a near halt.

Greated by the warm welcoming staff of Pearl I marched myself straight to the main event; the products. Wall to wall of some of the most stunning kits available. A new era of Pearl drums is upon us.

Very, very soon all the new kits and configurations will be available from PlayRecord.Net so keep checking the site for updates. To keep you satisfied till then, let me tantalize you with a run-down of the Pearl range and their unique features.

Masterworks
With no assembly line boundaries and no mass production compromises, Masterworks offers all that is possible to the end user = You!
Every drum is designed by you, and hand built to your spec one drum at a time. Shell thickness and composition, to exterior finish and hardware plating. You can even choose a combination of woods for each individual hand crafted drum. Taking it that one step even farther, Pearl will even match and duplicate colours that you submit, so say you want your kit to match the colour of your favourite pair of trainers or maybe your Aston Martin…you can!

Reference
To fully understand the Reference series you need to accept that the desired tonal characteristics of a rack tom are completely different than that of a bass drum, and to make these drums with the same composition would result in compromise. The result of this knowledge is a perfect sounding drum set where every drum is optimally engineered to produce the best sound possible wihtin its tonal range and diameter. The Reference series ‘Recipe’ consists of optimised shell composition, optimised bearing edges and optimised thickness.

Masters Premium
Pearl Masters series like the Export series is another well know name and has been for years by all in the trade from roadies to uber-producers. The Masters sound is synonymous with legends like Dennis Chambvers and jeff Pocaro. Masters Premium offers the discerning player precission, beauty, innovation and options. This special order series is available in your choice of 4 ply or 6 ply 100% Maple or 100% Birch shells, top end features from the Masterworks/Reference series include bass drum spurs, claws, floor tom legs and brackets. All Masters Premium kits feature the new innovative ‘Golden-Ratio’ air vents for improved low end response on toms and bass drums and improved attack on snare drums. This is an idea not used before in the drum world.

Masters MCX
Featuring the same Masters quality drum hardware and 6 ply Maple shells as its big brother the Masters Premium (MRP). Thr MCX range offers a select number of UV lacquer finishes and one drum hardware option. Four lacquer finishes and three “glass glitter” wrapped finishes with real glass flakes!
Standard features include Masters optimounts, spurs, floor tom brackets and MaterCast Die-Cast hoops.

Vision / VMX / VBX / VSX & VX /
The legendary Export series spent 20 years as the the number one selling drum kit i the world. Now, we have Vision. Pearl have taken all the lessons learnt from the long success of the Export and brought out a kit that far exceeds it.
With the new Vision range you get more choice than ever. Starting with the Vision VMX you get 100% Maple shells with matching 6 ply 100% Maple snare drum. 9 standard shell configurations are on offer which is more than any other drum manufacturer has ever done. This is a shell pack only kit, no hardware is concluded. Available in 5 exclusive High-Gloss lacquer finishes.

Next up is the Vision VBX. Using 100% Birch shells this time for its focused naturally EQ’d sound. 9 standard configurations available like the VMX giving the modern drummer more choice than ever. VBX come with professional two-ply heads as standard and the muched-loved sensi-tone steel snare.

Last on this list are the VSX & VX sets. These feature blendid birch shells with 6/8 shell technology; using 6 plies on rack toms and 8 plies on floor toms and the bass drum to deliver a dynamically balanced sound. Both the VSX and VX come with a brushed Steel SensiTone snare and award winning 900 series hardware. VSX offers 6 ultra-high exotic wrapped coverings, the VX offers 6 solid colour wrap options.

I saw all of these kits up close and personal, and the qualtiy of each kit sets the bar for all the other brands out there. Never before has there been so much choice and personalization available. Even with the Vision series you now get 9 different configs, thats a lot to choose from. And don’t forget, from Masterworks to the Forum all the shells get built using the same advanced technology not used on any other kits….This is an exciting time for drummers, keep checking PlayRecord for new ranges of Pearl drums

……time to start saving them pennies me thinks.

It’s that time again, Festival season. So i thought a quick list of some up-coming events you can’t miss this year would come in handy.

Sunrise Celebration 2008 / 29 May 2008 – 01 Jun 2008
Bearley Farm, Somerset UK

Middlesbrough Music Live 2008 / 01 Jun 2008
Middlesbrough Town Centre, UK

Hampton Court Palace Festival 2008 / 03 Jun 2008 – 21 Jun 2008
Hampton Court Palace, UK (Jools holland, Marc Almond, Van morrison and more)

New Generation Arts Festival 2008 / 05 Jun 2008 – 20 Jun 2008
Various venues aound Birmingham, West Midlands, GB

Rock Ness 2008 / 07 Jun 2008 – 08 Jun 2008
Dores, Loch Ness, UK

Future Perfect / 08 Jun 2008
Durham University Racecourse, Green Lane, Durham

Grassington Festival 2008 / 13 Jun 2008 – 28 Jun 2008
Grassington, Wharfedale, North Yorkshire (top line up including The Ukulele orchestra of great britian and the BBC Big Band)

Download 2008 / 13 Jun 2008 – 15 Jun 2008
Donington Park, UK (expect to see The Offspring, Lost Prophets and KISS)

Glastonbury Festival 2008 / 26 Jun 2008 – 29 Jun 2008
Worthy Farm, Pilton (Jay-Z and Kings of Leon headlining)

This is just a shortlist of some of the many amazing events going on this year that the PlayRecord team recommend.

And, of course, don’t forget to take your festival guitar and tambourine for the late night entertainment round the campfire…….oh, and maybe some wellies just in case ; )

Further Reading
Promo Video for Sunrise Celebration
Sunrise Celebration
Middlesbrough Music Live 2008
Birmingham summer festivals round-up
New Generation Arts Festival
Rock Ness
Fatboy Slim at Rock Ness
Future Perfect
GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL – WHY ARE PEOPLE SNUBBING THE MUD?
Jay-z Addresses Glastonbury Festival Controversy
Glastonbury 2008 weather forecast
Full Glastonbury Lineup