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Over 300 of the worlds leading musical instrument distributers and maufacturers will be packed into Londons ExCeL venue on the 14th and 15th of June to inspire you, the consumer with their latest gear.

London International Music Show is 4 shows in one; London Guitar show, Drummer Live, Unplugged and the Sound Recording & Technoligy show all under one roof and one ticket gets you into all shows.

The show promises all the lastest gear and technology with siminars, conferences and even celebrities of the music world. You can expect to see exhibitors from “Acoustic Guitar Magazine” through to “Yamaha Music UK”, and instruments from xylaphones to bassoons.

On the Live stage you can see Paul gilbert playing on saturday for the London Guitar show, Chad smith will be beating them skins for the Drummer live line-up, and the list goes on….

For updates on the event visit www.londoninternationalmusicshow.com and be sure to not miss the best music event this year.

The Alesis Performace Pad, a versatile piece of kit suitable for various uses. Eight velocity-sensitive drum pads and a built-in electronic drum machine which sounds like the classic DM5 module. There are foot-switch inputs for a bass drum pedal, HiHat pedal, and a Line-level input to connect a CD Player, iPod, computer, or other audio device.

So, powering up the module you are presented with the display for the unit which i have to say is rarther navigateable. Plenty of pre-set kits are at your disposal and immediately i’m blasting out some beats. You can assign the various on-board percussion sounds to any of the eight pads. Now this usually takes a bit of time and a lot of patience, however I whipped out the manual (unusual, yes) and within a couple of seconds i found the step-by-step instructions and was pleasently surprised at how easy it was to assign the sounds to the individual pads and also manipulate the sounds as far as volume/velocity.

I have to say, if you’re a drummer thats after a percussion set up but dont want to carry the extra equipment or simply dont have the room to accomodate djembe’s conga’s and other various world instruments then this is what you need. Set it up on a stand next to your kit and your away.

So, you’ve heard my opinion, now lets see what the details are:

• 8 natural feeling, velocity-sensitive drum pads with Dynamic Articulation™
• Built-in professional drum machine so you can record and play back your own beats
• 50 Preset / 50 User drum kits with 233 sounds assignable to any pad
• Built-in rhythm patterns to complement your playing
• Large LCD display with easy-to-navigate interface
• Dynamic Articulation stereo samples with reverb and ambience for realistic playing
• 2 foot-switch inputs for external kick and HiHat (sold separately)
• Stereo input to play along with your CD or MP3 player
• MIDI output to play external MIDI devices
• High-quality 24-bit stereo and headphone outputs
• Lightweight, durable enclosure

Alesis Performance Pad : Buy Now from PlayRecord.Net

Zildjian, you don’t need to be a drummer to have heard this name….no doubt you’re nodding your head thinking, yes I’ve heard of them….

Well that’s no surprise. Let me tell you why…..

Buy Zildjian Cymbals

Back in Constantinople in the 17th century, Avedis Zildjian was an alchemist who’s attempts to make Gold by combining base metals in turn led him to create an alloy of tin, copper and traces of silver that had unique sound qualities. It was at this point that things had changed in the world of cymbals.

Avedis went on to make cymbals of extreme clarity, tone and power. It was for this that he gained his reputation and was given the name ‘Zildjian’, Armenian for ‘son of cymbal maker’.

Four centuries on, and Zildjian are still going strong. In fact, the Zildjian company is known as the longest running family-owned business in America.

As well as bringing us remarkable sounding cymbals, Zildjian also brought us the standard drum kit cymbals that we all take for granted. For example, the hi-hat, ride cymbal, splash cymbal, sizzle and crash cymbal were all named and invented by the main man himself, Avedis Zildjian.

Now in 2008, Zildjian have a huge catalogue of cymbals. Available in various sizes, you can choose from ranges like; Z and Z Custom, A Custom, K and K Custom and of course the Avedis series.
Throughout the different musical genre’s you will see drummers using the appropriate Zildjian cymbals for their style and sound. For instance, you may notice most heavy metal drummers using the ‘Z’ range, known for taking a good old beating the Z range is heavy and designed with the heavy hitter in mind.
Get yourself to your local hip-happening Jazz joint and i can bet you’ll see the back-bone of the band tinkling away on his Zildjian K series ride cymbal, known for the defined sticking sound and washy overtones, K’s are loved by jazz drummers.

So, now you may have an idea of why you have heard of this brand. I can honestly say that this is one brand with a fully focused vision and with heritage, and with this comes the continuous production of innovating cymbals and customer satisfaction.

Saturday 14th June promises a banging line up of top drummers at London’s ExCel venue.

Presented by REMO, the night is also supported by top drum and cymbal companies such as DW, Zildjian, Pearl, Sabian, Gretsch, and Paiste to name a few. The night will bring the drumming community together with up to 16 top name, world class drummers performing with a band of session musicians.

The event is to celebrate the many hits that the collection of drummers has achieved over the years in support of the teenage cancer trust.

Names of the performers are to be confirmed, we can only hope we might see the likes of Thomas lang or Dennis Chamber’s. With the top name brands I think it’s worth getting your hopes up ; )

See you there!

For further information go to: www.remo.com

Electronic drum kits are readily available now at affordable prices. No longer does the consumer have to pay extortionate prices for an electronic drum kit that comes close to sounding like the real deal.

I’ve recently road tested one of the more affordable electronic drum kits, the Alesis DM5 Pro. Having played the standard DM5 for a good while with no problems at all, I was keen to get my hands on the new ‘Pro’ kit.

Buy the Alesis DM5 Pro

Standard rrp on this kit is around £465, nearly £100 less than the retail of the it’s competitors; Traps E400 and Yamaha DTXplorer. However, you will find the kit at the best price on PlayRecord.Net.

Out of the box, setting up the kit was a breeze. Not once did I need to look at the instructions to figure how to put the rack together. Once tightened the rack stands solid and feels comfortable as far as reach goes. I then fitted the toms to the kit, firmly locked in with a couple of turns of the screws with no wobble on the tom arms..superb. The wiring is neatly all together with just enough length for each trigger it reflects the all-togetherness of the kit.

So the kit was all together within an hour and I was ready to plug it in and start enjoying. Note: there’s no bass drum pedal supplied with these kits, so I used a Ludwig. If you’ve used the DM5 kit you’ll be familiar with the brain straight away, I turned it on and let rip.

First off, the pads now have rims and actual drums skins on. The general feel is very close to the feel of an acoustic kit, which is great. All the tom pads are 8 inches and I appreciate the way that this forces accuracy around the kit. The snare has dual triggers, using the rim as the second trigger. By default the rim trigger is not set to the standard “rim click” sound that I desired but with a quick tweak of the DM5 brain it was soon sorted. The new cymbals are designed well and they don’t miss a beat, they’re extremely quiet and sit nice and firm in position. Bass drum pad, held upright with a floor plate and two legs on a 45 degree angle. On the bottom if the plate is some velcro, when I eventually managed to move the bass pad I noticed that i’d actually pulled the carpet tile up to - that’s how much it stays in place.

So i’m playing the kit and the first thing that comes to mind is that unlike a few of its competitors, the pads don’t miss a beat. Buzz rolls, any roll, you play it and you’ll hear it. The sensitivity is great, giving a very dynamic feel to the kit.

After a good play of the kit i can only find one thing that i would change, that’s the hi-hat pedal switch. It’s simply to big and chunky. You really need to take your foot of it to get the open hat sound, and this is an unnatural feel compared to the rest of the kit. In my opinion, I would buy a replacement standard DM5 hi-hat switch pedal and use that.

So, overall i’m very impressed. Price is great, the feel is like an acoustic kit and its reliable. Apart from the hi-hat switch i’ve nothing to grumble about. Just remember to get yourself a decent bass drum pedal and some headphones and start rocking out.

It appears that a Stone Temple Pilots reunion this year is not just rumor, but it’s almost certain. On January 20th of 2008, lead vocalist Scott Weiland told the Miami Herald at a charity event in Miami that Stone Temple Pilots fans “should be on the lookout for a STP reunion in the coming months.”

The rumor of a STP reunion had been circulating for some time since reported problems in Velvet Revolver rose up again, which also coincided with Scott Weiland reconciling with Robert and Dean Deleo, who were also the main songwriters with Stone Temple Pilots. Stone Temple Pilots broke through in 1992 with the release of their debut album ‘Core’ which has since gone 8 times Platinum on the strength of the single ‘Plush.’ Stone Temple Pilots released their last full length studio album ‘Shangri-La Dee Da’ in 2001 and the fans have been wondering if Scott and the Deleo brothers could ever reform.

While Weiland formed Velvet Revolver with former members of Guns N Roses and the Deleo brothers went on to release an album under the name Army of Anyone, it seems STP fans can finally get excited about the certain. We caught up with Robert Deleo recently at an Army of Anyone show to find out how he feels about Stone Temple Pilots long list of accomplishments and if there were any hard feelings between him and Weiland.

Deleo Proud Of Stone Temple Pilots Accomplishments

“You know, I haven’t seen Scott in awhile. I wish him the best and there’s no hard feelings at all. We just kind of moved on and I’m very proud of what we did.”

In 2006 Scott Weiland was questioned if he could see a Stone Temple Pilots reunion in the future and he stated “the only thing that’s left unfinished is the completion of the story. If all the planets lined up, you never know what might happen one day,” implying that the end of the bands story had yet to be written. Recently, current Velvet Revolver and former Guns N Roses guitarist Slash, who is currently working on a solo album, mentioned a Guns N Roses and Stone Temple Pilots reunion tour wouldn’t be impossible to happen. Although anything that would involve Axl Rose certainly wouldn’t be easy to make possible. Look for Stone Temple Pilots to confirm their plans for in the coming months.

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Hollywood Insider Story

Metal Sucks Story

Introducing one of the best drummers around, Mr Danny Carey.

Carey started his love with the drums when at the age of ten (yes, 10!) he joined a school band and started the taking private snare drum lessons. His natural progression on to full kit lessons started only two years after age twelve.
As Danny hit high school in Paola, Kansas, he started to learn the intricacies of jazz drumming under the wing of a new teacher. He gained experience on the Kansas jazz scene even whilst going through his college years.

Of course Carey has now had a full music career playing with many artists/bands, but he’s probably best known for his amazing work with uber-tour band Tool.

Like Thomas Lang, Danny uses Sonor drums. Beech shells are used with inner and outer makassar ebony veneers - 1″ thick on 8″ tom and progressively thinner as the drums get larger. Bass drums are made out of rosewood and about 3/8″ thick. This is the kit that Carey has been using on Tools “10,000 Days” album and latest tour.

Danny also has a secret weapon, another kit made from recycled cast bronze Paiste cymbals (3/16″ thick and same dimensions as the Sonor). This kit has only been used for American legs of Tools tour as it weighs so much, but don’t despair British Tool fans because this kit was used to record ‘Jambi’ from the latest 10,000 days album, so dig it out and listen to how it sounds …; )

2006-2007 Tour Kit

Drums - SONOR Custom

• 14×8″ Bronze Snare (by Jeff Ocheltree, made out of recycled Paiste Cymbals)
• 8×8″ Rack Tom
• 10×10″ Rack Tom
• 14×16″ Floor Tom
• 16×18″ Floor Tom
• 22×18″ Bass Drum
• 24×18″ Bass Drum

Cymbals - Paiste

• 13″ Signature Sound Edge Hi-Hat
• 21″ Signature Dry Heavy Ride
• 18″ Signature Full Crash
• 19″ Signature Power Crash
• 20″ Signature Thin China
• 20″ 2002 Novo China
• 11/18″ Noise Works Dark Buzz China
• 8″ New Signature Dark Energy Splash Mark I
• 10″ New Signature Dark Energy Splash Mark I
• 7.5″ 2002 Cup Chime
• 8″ 2002 Cup Chime
• 6″ 2002 Accent Cymbal
• 8″ Signature Bell
• 5″ 2002 Cup Chime
• 40″ Symphonic Gong

Related Blogs

Danny Carey Biography - TOOL Drummer

Danny Carey

TOOL - 10,000 Days Fall Tour 2007

Thomas Lang, one of the best drummers on the planet. Years of total dedicationm, immense aspiration and unmatched independence of limb has brought him to work with many artists, produce and create many instructional DVD’s as well as touring clinics.

At the age of 5, Lang a native of Vienna, Austria, took up the drums after being inspried by a televised performace of a heavy metal band. “the drummer looked like he was the boss, and got to sit down”….well said Tom and how right you are

Thomas Lang has leant his expertise to Meinl Cymbals, Remo and Sonor Drums. Over his professional years he has also managed to feature on about 250 albums, countless jingles, movie tracks and singles.

Lang currently endorses Sonor drums and Meinl cymbals, and uses a Sonor X-Ray kit that was designed by himself and a Sonor Delite kit when performing live. Thomas has also had the privilege to design his own Meinl cymbals,a Synthetik Crash, Kompressor Crash, Kinetik Crash, Signal Crash/Klub Ride, and Filter Chinas. All of these designer cymbals are available in even sizes between 8″ and 16″.

Lang also uses Roland electronics, and he certainly knows how to make the best of Roland’s electronic drums. Using a selection of brains and a multitude of pads and pedals, he is able to more-or-less mimic his full size acoustic kit and deliver a stunning performance.

2003 - 2007 Tour Kit

Drums - Champagne Sparkle or X-Ray Acrylic

• 14×5.5″ Snare
• 12×5″ Wood Shell Soprano Snare
• Remo TSS marching drum (played with foot)
• 10×8″ Tom
• 12×10″ Tom
• 16×16″ Floor Tom
• 18×16″ Floor Tom
• 22×17.5″ Bass Drum
• 20×16″ Gong Bass Drum

Cymbals - Meinl

• 8″ Classics Low Bell Bottom/8″ Amun Splash Top (Used as Hi-Hat)
• 13″ Byzance Fast Hi-Hats
• 14″ Byzance Fast Hi-Hats (Used as X-Hats)
• 12″ Generation X Safari Hi-Hats (Used as X-Hats)
• 20″ Byzance Ping Ride
• 16″ Generation X Synthetik Crash
• 17″ Generation X Kompressor Crash
• 18″ Generation X Kinetik Crash
• 18″ Generation X Signal Crash/Klub Ride
• 10″ Generation X Filter China
• 12″ Generation X Filter China
• 14″ Generation X Filter China
• 16″ Generation X Filter China
• 8″ Generation X Filter China

Please see this awesome video of Thomas Lang warming up on chairs!!;

According to sources, the legendary punk band The Offspring will headline this year’s Download festival, set to take place on the weekend of June 13-15. The festival will also be headlined by The Lostprophets and one other to be comfirmed legendary rock band (strongly rumored to be Kiss). Other bands confirmed for this year’s festival are metal legends Judas Priest and Finnish love metal band HIM.

The Offspring are currently in the