УКРАЇНСЬКИЙ МУЗИЧНИЙ ЯРМАРОК звіт

[Юрко]

Пройшов, щорічний УКРАЇНСЬКИЙ МУЗИЧНИЙ ЯРМАРОК. Якого всі так чекали, і в тому числі я. Вдався він не набагато кращим, ніж минулий. Розпочну з недоліків, а приємне залишу насамкінець. Першим недоліком виставки було те, що не все було зосереджено у виставковому комплексі. І для того, щоб, наприклад, побачити барабани TAMA і тарілки ZILDJIAN, треба було їхати в центр Києва: в магазин Музторг. І це було незручно, але все-таки, хто хотів, той потрапив:). Барабанних брендів було менше, ніж того року. Тому кожна виставка являє собою щось нове, в цій, хоч інструментів було менше, порівняно з минулою, але організація була на рівні.
А тепер про приємне. У рамках виставки, на Україну був запрошений, Майк Террана, але знову, наші підвели. По-перше, приміщення, як хлів, - для барабанщика такого рівня, могли б щось краще знайти. По-друге, звук був жахливий. По-третє, як можна поставити фронтальний пласт з бас-барабану фірми DDRUM на SONOR? Я розумію, що представник, то гарна річ, але у свому є свої рамки. Це ще раз підтверджує, як би це сумно і соромно не звучало, що організатори – УКРАЇНЦІ. Цікаво, навіть дуже, подивися було б на організаторів, якби Майк відмовився грати :):). Впродовж виступу дядько відлабав набагато більше, ніж від нього очікували. Там було на що подивитися...
Ще в програмі виставки були заплановані виступи, наших українських драмерів, зокрема, Олександра Муренка та Максима Малишева. Мені вдалося потрапити лише на першого з них. З Олександром, я мав змогу поспілкуватися, поставити кілька питань, і оглянути його установку. На прощання він поставив мені автограф на своєму плакаті, і я побрів далі...
Всім відомо, що Олександр буде представником MAPEX. Він на цих барабанах грав впродовж всєї виставки. (Барабани MAPEX, тарілки ZILDJIAN, пласти томи - REMO EMPEROR GLASS, бас барабан – REMO POWERSTROKE3 GLASS, «основний» малий барабан (той, що справа) - REMO AMBASSADOR VINTAGE COATED, другий – REMO EMPEROR СOATED. Hardware різноманітний: TAMA, DW, GIBRALTAR.

«TAMA» до виставки представляє свої нові малі барабани.
В 2007 році ТАМА стала випускати малі барабани 13х4 Arwood Custom Limited Edition, які вийшли лімітованим тиражем. Своєрідністю цих барабанів є те, що вони мають хутряне покритття свого корпуса. Дуже гарно і стильно виглядають, рекомендую протестувати їх. Виготовлений корпус з 7-ми шарів 6-ти миліметрового клена – звук теплий аж занадто, водночас дуже м’який.
Ці малі барабани під назвою WARLORD, ТАМА презентувала в 2006 році, а вже в 2007 ТАМА створила цілу лінійку цих барабанів. TАМА представляє спеціальне перевидання моделей Masai і Valkyrie. Розробники TАМА, врахували сучасну моду - тому корпус цих малих барабанів виконаний в дуже популярному для США и Європи розмірі 13х6. Ці барабани мають екстра-товстий корпус, який виготовлений з екзотичних порід дерев: Masai виготовлений з 12-ти шарів 10-ти миліметрової хвилястої берези, а Valkyrie - з 15 шарів 13-ти миліметрового тополиного шпону і клена. Лаги барабанів - із колекції Warlord - оздоблення Swarovski дуже впадає увічі, а литі обручі дають потужний rim-shot і високоякісне налаштування. Вся колекція барабанів, має яскравий спектр кольорів.
Також, не можна не згадати про установку SUPERSTAR Hyper-Drive toms, яка вийшла лімітованим тиражем, і яку презентував Макс Малишев в «МУЗТОРЗІ». Hyper-Drive – це переворот у світі томів, який своїми розмірами томів завоював, багатьох барабанщиків, незалежно від стилю, в якому вони працюють. Завдяки fast-томам екстра-маленької глибини виробники, досягли підсиленної атаки і найшвидшої віддачі. Перевагою цієї маленької глибини томів є те, що установку можна ставити в багатьох зручних положеннях, що не завжди виходить з класичними розмірами, та легке і витончене налаштування барабанів.
Як і того року на виставці був присутній хардвер DW, який можна було протестувати, навіть дуже жорстко, як це вдалося мені. Писати про це нічого не буду, тому що бренд говорить сам за себе. Все дуже якісно «ходить», відмінні стійки під хет, і під тарілки, але їхня ціна підійде не кожному. Не маю цього казати, але скажу, що 9000 – на педаль сподобалась мені більше, аніж 5000-на (їй чогось бракує), але багато світових барабанщиків вибирають саме її. Була представлена нова педаль від PACIFIC В.О.А., про яку всі багато читали, але насправді нічого такого премудрого в ній нема.
P.S. Я радий, що у мене кобра:).
Було виставлено декілька установок барабанів PACIFIC від Drum workshop, але оригінальної установки DW не було. PACIFIC звучать дуже класно на свої гроші, чимось, навіть, нагадують оригінальний Drum workshop.
Сподобались акрилові малі барабани від PACIFIC, в майбутньому акрил стане на рівні з деревом (їх звук схожий на електронний). Багато відомих барабанщиків, вже перейшли на нього і їхні установки повністю акрилові. Щоб щось судити про них, треба їх послухати.
Ще були DW палки по три штуки в комплекті – ціна 51 гривня, досить класно вони придумали, тому що одна паличка з пари, як завжди, ламається, а іншої немає. А це одна зламалася і ще одна є. ). Так що раджу протестувати. Ще викладали DW педи, і різноманітну всячину, яка по ціні була дешевша від інших, а по якості не відставала.
З бренду SONOR, була виставлена нещасна 2005-на установка, до якого навіть стійок не поставили, і малий барабан, лежав вдалині від установки. Ще виставили два тімбалеса, які облаштували біля барабанів PEARL і тарілок PAISTE В тому році на виставці можна було побачити всю лінійку барабанів і хардвару SONOR, а в цьому як самі бачите…
Купуйте українське! Сподобався мені стенд якогось приватного підприємця-кулібіна, який займається виготовленням палок, коробочок, і ще деякої перкусії. Не знаю скільки вони прослужать, але виготовлені з різного дерева, і обшліфовані недосконало. Цей дядько після виступу Олександра Муренка, взяв у нього його одну паличку, і можливо, в наступному році, ми зможемо побачити в його асортименті іменні палички Олександра Муренка.
Барабани STAGG, виготовлені набагато якісніше, ніж я думав. Типова американська установка для початківця, в неї є щось.
MAPEX в цьому році виставляв більш дорожчі моделі, аніж в минулому. Я вважав, що це такі собі барабани, але роздививший їх поближче, я змінив свою думку. Звичайно, бюджетні барабани не дуже якісні, але топові достойні своєї ціни.
LUDWIG - виставив бюджетну установку, яка досить якісно виготовлена, якщо її привести в порядок, то буде досить класний і відмінний звук. Ще була виставлена литавра, декілька тонгів, і бонги.
Allegro music презентувала тарілки українського виробництва - Harpoon. Тарілки по звуку не дуже, хоча сплешки досить відмінно звучали, але вони дуже тонкі, і вже на стенді, хтось так грав, що погнув їх. Ціна на тарілок не дуже велика. Наприклад:
Хет - від 315 до 780 грн.
Креш – від 280 до 494 грн.
Райд – від 364 до 728 грн.
Сплеш – від 78 до 190 грн.
З установок PEARL на виставці були виставлені лише моделі EXPORT, а я думав побачити там такі серії як референт і мастерс. Виставлений був весь хардвар PEARL , від найпростішого до самого крутого. Тому кожен бажаючий, міг спробувати перл вживу. PEARL EXPORT - це барабани, які давно є лідером американського і європейського ринку.
Приємно було побачити іменні малі барабани PEARL. Майже всі, які я хотів побачити були представлені. Дуже засмальцювали малий барабан барабанщика Slipknot, напевно він всім сподобався.. Звук у нього дуже високий, могутня атака. Дуже сподобався малий барабан Vinni Paul – жорстка атака і вбивча міць, зроблений під шкіру змії.
З пластів REMO були представлені деякі пласти, зокрема пласт на бас барабан - Powersonic, новий Ambassador Vintage та інші. Було представлено багато перкусії: джембе, тамбуринів та ін.
З барабанів Yamaha були Stage custom, які там кожен рік, і ще я надибав ОАК custom, а нічого топового з Yamaha не було. Сумно…
З МEINL на цей було виставлено дуже багато тарілок, тому можна було наслухатись досхочу. Ще мейнл виставив деяку перкусію.
Щодо SABIAN, то в цьому році, так само як у тому майже не було. Бачив декілька комлектів, а так, щоб послухати, треба було їхати в музторг.
PAISTE для нього був виділений цілий стенд, так, що награтися і наслухатися можна було досхочу. Серія RUDE мені не сподобалась, не знаю, що інші рокові драмери в них знаходять? Типовий звук залізяки. Z custom у цьому плані мені більше подобається, хоч і дешевший, ніж RUDE . Ще було декілька хороших тарілок, але про них розказувати не буду.
ROLAND – король електроніки, його не зрівняти з електронними аналогами ямахи, були представлені V-Drums і ще деякі.
MASTERWORK – турецькі тарілки ручної роботи, я їх дуже чекав, хоча їх була невелика кількість, але послухати їх вдалося. Було їх так мало, тому що їх дуже розбирають, бо дуже класно звучать на свою ціну. Мій знайомий почав привозити їх в Україну. І в нього багато наших українських барабанщиків їх розкупили. Їх можна замовити та почути на Музбіржі:).Типове джазове залізо.
ZILDJIAN – cимфонічні тарілки дуже класно звучали, мені вдалося побемкати ними. Їх можна повісити замість креша))).
Istanbul – теж були наявні на виставці. Не всі серії були в наявності: багато тарілок залишилось в джаз-клубі. А звук дійсно непоганий, навіть у бюджетних моделях.
Виставка вдалася, щоб не казали. Бо з кожним роком вона розвивається і набирає обертів. Число використаних павільйонів росте, але від цього не збільшується кількість інструментів. Але кожен рік враховуються недоліки, і вони з часом виправляються в більшості випадків. Тому, ця виставка пішла багатьом людям на користь: як початківцям, так і професіоналам.






З повагою,
Юрій Тивончук

[Юрко]

пед.

[Юрко]

дал.

[Юрко]

дал2.

[Юрко]

123

[daztrigger]

[quote="Юрко]Сподобались акрилові малі барабани від PACIFIC, в майбутньому акрил стане на рівні з деревом (їх звук схожий на електронний). [/quote]

оце и друже насмішив!!!! що значить в майбутньому??? тобі сподіваюсь відомо, що акрилові барабани випускаються з 60х рокив минулого сториччя!!!! і що ознає, що в них звук подібний до електронних??? скільки не слухав Бонема, електронним його саунд іще ніхто не наважувався назвати!!! це класика акустичного рокового звучання!!! некажучи вже про сучасників!!! а от я особисто не знаю електронних барабанщиків, які б користувалися акриловими барабанами, виключно через їх акустичні якості!
можна докладніше пояснити, що ти розумієш під електронним звучанням? наприклад я маю декілька тисяч звуків елетронних барабанів и їхні частотні характеристки сягають від саб басу до високочастотних булькань, до чого тут акрил?

[Юрко]

Я мав на увазі, що дерево дуже розповсюджене і більшість мазикантів вибарають саме його, а акрилові малі входять у вжиток все більше і більше. А на рахунок звуку - акрил сжожий на елект. звук, хоча все залежить від настройщика. Хочеш подискутувати?

[Amal`]

Я тебе говорил - доработай.

[daztrigger]

Я мав на увазі, що дерево дуже розповсюджене і більшість мазикантів вибарають саме його, а акрилові малі входять у вжиток все більше і більше. А на рахунок звуку - акрил сжожий на елект. звук, хоча все залежить від настройщика. Хочеш подискутувати?

Залюбки подискутую!!!!

ну по перше, як би ти не настроював живі барабани, як eлектронні вони звучати не будуть!!!! (тільки якщо їх обробити зовнішніми ефектами)
прошу приклад http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91GXpXid ... re=related так звучать електронні барабани

а ось так звучать акрилові http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbSugn0d ... re=related
або так http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zli07q_m6Mc

якщо ти не відчуваєш різниці, то власне на цьому дискусія і закінчується...

що до розповсюдженності, то не забувай, що дерево дешевше... нормальну акрилову установку меньше ніж за 2500-3000 у.о. ти не купиш... це пов'язано з технологічним процесом виготовлення і дорожнечою сировини.
ну і по друге на сьогодні власне тільки ці компаніїї випускають акрилові барабани SONOR, Tama, RCI International, Fibes, DDrum, Zickos (Canada) and Peace, OCDP, DW, Ludwig... на противагу сотням компаній які випускают дерев'янні барабани...
за своїми акустичними характеристиками вони не поступаються жодному дерев'янному барабанові, ба навіть кращі!!!
спеціально для тебе відшукав статтю з "Сучасного Барабанщика" за 2002 рік, так само рекомендую переглянути підбірку за цей рік, там було багато про акрилові барабани (огляд Тами був точно!!!)

In the Clear

The Past, Present & Future of Acrylic Drums

By Jim DeRogatis


Mr. McGuire (Walter Brooke): I just want to say one word to you—just one word.

Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman): Yes, sir?

Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?

Ben: Yes, I am.

Mr. McGuire: “Plastics!”

Ben: Exactly how do you mean?

Mr. McGuire: There’s a great future in plastics!

—from the 1967 film, The Graduate

Since its first widespread use in 1951 via everything from the ubiquitous Tupperware to the sublime Eames chair, “plastic” has been synonymous with “the future.” So while drums have always been the most traditional of instruments—a Neanderthal banging on a hollow log was probably the first drummer—it was inevitable that someone would eventually build a “better” drum by turning from wood to synthetics.

Bill Zickos is generally acknowledged as the father of clear plastic drums. The founder of the Kansas City-based Zickos Drum Company built the first Plexiglass drums in 1959, though he didn’t formally start production until a decade later. In the early ’70s, Fibes’ Crystalite sets were the first acrylic drums to win significant popularity among rock players. But it was Ludwig that built the most famous clear drums ever, thanks largely to a one-of-a-kind drummer, John Bonham, who used an amber Vistalite set in the 1976 Led Zeppelin concert film, The Song Remains the Same.

Though many other manufacturers briefly hopped on the acrylic bandwagon (and just as quickly leaped off), these three American companies remained the biggest names in the field until the late ’70s, when a number of unique problems combined to halt production. Now, after years when they were viewed as an historic novelty, acrylic drums are experiencing a renaissance. There’s a booming market in vintage kits, as well as a thriving niche for new sets manufactured by a revitalized Zickos and Fibes. And last year, Ludwig made headlines by offering a new Vistalite set for the first time in 21 years.

Are drummers experiencing a strange nostalgia for a now-outdated vision of the future—something akin to the craze for space age bachelor pad music or retro furniture that looks like The Jetsons? Or are acrylic drums really a viable alternative to wood? Most drummers agree that they look cool, but what do they sound like? And how do you tune, clean, and care for them?

We’ll look at all of these questions in turn, starting with acrylic drums’ origins.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLEAR DRUMS

A former big band drummer and veteran tinkerer, Bill Zickos was searching for a better sound rather than a unique look when he made his first prototype drums from Plexiglass (a particular brand of clear plastic; “acrylic” is the generic name for the material). He followed the same method everyone used, and which still prevails today. The plastic is cut from huge sheets; heated (most manufacturers use pizza ovens, though Cream’s Ginger Baker is rumored to have made a set from Perspex warmed on the kitchen stove); shaped; bonded at the seams with adhesive, and finished by hand.

It took a decade of on-again, off-again experiments for Zickos to perfect a drum with a strong, clean, and consistent tone, as well as a “dry” but cutting sound free from distracting overtones. But there was one problem: When he tested his see-through drums on small jazz combo gigs, the volume blew his fellow musicians off the bandstand. Thankfully, musical styles were changing. “We didn’t originally go after the rock drum market, but Bill found that the drums projected a lot better and had a lot more resonance and life than most other drums, and that was perfect for rock ’n’ roll,” says Zickos’ son-in-law, John Brazelton.

In 1969, Zickos sold its first professional kit to Ron Bushy, the drummer with heavy-metal pioneers Iron Butterfly. Every night, as Bushy performed the epic drum solo from “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” his clear Zickos set reflected a rainbow of different colors from the stage lights, and musicians couldn’t help but take notice. Suddenly, drummers could be seen through the instrument that had formerly hidden 80 percent of their bodies. By the early ’70s, Zickos was selling more than 1,000 Plexiglass kits a year, but competitors soon emerged.

Drummer Bob Grauso and plastics specialist John Morena formed their company in upstate New York in 1966, combining the words “vibes” and “Fiberglass” (the material they favored) to come up with the name Fibes. C.F. Martin Guitars bought the firm in 1970, and things really took off; among the more notable Crystalite players were Alan Dawson, Billy Cobham (who can be seen with a double-bass set on the Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Spectrum album), and the great Buddy Rich, who endorsed other brands but favored a Fibes SFT snare.

Then America’s biggest drum manufacturer burst onto the scene. Ludwig didn’t invent plastic drums, and many aficionados say the company didn’t do them best. But “Vistalite” became synonymous with “clear drums” the way the brand name “Kleenex” has come to mean “tissues.”

Ludwig’s primary innovation was cosmetic. When Vistalites debuted in late 1972, they were available in clear as well as five colors: in order of popularity, blue, amber, red, yellow, and green. (White, black, and an opaque “smoke” were added later when green was dropped.) The drums were striking in appearance—the next step in flash and pizzazz after the sparkling psychedelic sets of the mid-’60s—but Ludwig kept upping the ante. In 1975, it introduced multi-colored Rainbow Vistalites (drummers could choose up to three colors alternating in one of six striped patterns), and in 1978 came a set with built-in Tivoli lights similar to those on Christmas trees.

Some of the most famous drummers in the world endorsed Ludwig, and players such as Keith Moon, Max Roach, Carl Palmer, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, Karen Carpenter, and Johnny Jackson of the Jackson Five could all be seen with Vistalite kits at various points in the ’70s. But no one did more to popularize them than Bonham, who switched from a maple Big Beat set to Vistalites for Zeppelin’s tours in 1973 and ’75.

Bonham played an amber kit in 14 x 26, 10 x 14, 16 x 16, and 16 x 18 (he usually stuck with an alloy snare). “I remember those Vistalites with special affection,” Zep bassist John Paul Jones says, though he underscores the oft-stated observation that it wasn’t a particular instrument that gave Bonham his massive sound. “I saw Bonzo playing a tiny Ludwig kit that he had made for Jason when he was about 5 years old, and you still had to stand well back. Even the cases would sound good in his hands!”

Nevertheless, the association with one of rock’s most powerful drummers sold many of the tens of thousands of Vistalite sets that Ludwig made in the ’70s. But the drums also had their critics. Among the charges leveled at Ludwig were that Vistalites were fragile and could shatter if dropped on a seam; that they were often out of round, and that the bearing edges were uneven. Given the sheer number of sets produced, it was inevitable that a few “lemons” would find their way to the market. But that’s all it takes to taint a product’s reputation—just ask Ford about the Pinto of the same era—and Zickos and Fibes complain that Vistalites gave acrylic drums a bad name.

The other problem that contributed to acrylic’s decline was global in scale. A key ingredient in plastic is petroleum. In 1972, the price of crude oil was about $3 a barrel; by the end of ’74, it had quadrupled to $12 as a result of the Arab oil embargo employed after the Yom Kippur War. The impact to consumers was considerable.

As quickly as acrylic drums had boomed, the market disappeared. Bill Zickos left the company he founded in 1971 after a dispute with investors, and it closed in the mid-’70s. Martin sold Fibes in 1979, and the new owners, the Corder Drum Company, stopped making Crystalites. Ludwig ceased production of Vistalites that same year. Plastic drums went from clear to invisible almost overnight.
ACRYLIC DRUMS RETURN

In recent years, interest in vintage drums has exploded. Granted, when most players use the term, they’re thinking about something like a fabled Radio King snare from the ’40s. But many rockers in their late 20s and early 30’s first gravitated toward the instrument while watching their heroes perform on see-through drums, so it’s only natural that they’d think fondly of these sets.

Lovingly restored vintage acrylic kits are now a common sight onstage and in the studio among players in underground genres such as stoner-rock (Brant Bjork of Fu Manchu swears by his mid-’70s Vistalites), post-rock (John McEntire of Tortoise bought an amber set in homage to Bonham), and alternative or punk (Weezer drummer Pat Wilson played blue Vistalites on a recent tour, and George Berz played a clear kit backing Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis).

I scored my own mid-’70s amber Vistalites in the spring of 2001 for $750; a matching 5 ½ x 14 snare set me back another $365. (I justified the expense to my wife by selling my 10-year-old cherry wood Recording Customs—a sweet set, but I haven’t missed them once.) I found my Vistas via the online auction site eBay, though I knew I was buying from reputable dealers; established shops such as Atlanta’s Vintage Drums or Iowa’s Vintage Drum Center can also help find whole acrylic sets or individual pieces.

My five-piece set was conventionally sized; an amber set in the Bonham configuration is the most sought-after item on the collector’s market, along with green Vistalites and special-order Rainbow sets in Bicentennial red, white, and blue or the colors of the African flag (which was popular among reggae drummers). These rarer kits can sell for upwards of $2,000, sans snare or hardware.

The popularity of vintage acrylics has inspired the original manufacturers to return to the business. Bill Zickos and John Brazelton reopened their company in 1993, and a revitalized Fibes was launched by Austin, Texas drum shop owner Tommy Robertson in 1994. Both companies now make an array of high-quality clear drums to order in a variety of colors. Ludwig also reintroduced Vistalites last year, though in a limited capacity—a clear five-piece set is the only option in what the company’s Jim Catalano calls an experiment to test demand. “I’m on the Net all the time, and all I ever hear is, ‘If Ludwig only brought back the Vistalites, you guys would make a killing,’” he says. “If the clear takes off and we get enough interest in the amber and the blue, then we’ll start doing things like that.”

A new acrylic kit from any of these manufacturers can cost in the neighborhood of $3,000—a steep tag that reflects the price of materials and manufacturing. Given that many people associate “plastic” with “machine-made,” it’s ironic that acrylic drums actually require more craftsmanship than wood drums. “It’s different and more involved,” says Fibes’ Robertson, who personally makes both types of shells by hand. “It’s a heavy investment, and it’s always going to remain a niche market. There are specific drummers who will buy and play an acrylic set—I have not met a person who didn’t love the way they sound—but some others will always go, ‘I just can’t see myself sitting behind those drums.’”

Of course, that unique look is part of the appeal, along with the distinctive sound. Since new acrylic drums reflect all of the improvements in manufacturing over the last 30 years—from better lugs and rims to higher-quality plastic shells—the classic, booming sound is stronger than ever. Looking to replace a rose-colored Fibes set that was stolen shortly before he joined Rainbow in 1980, Bobby Rondinelli recently purchased a new blue Crystalite kit to use with Blue Öyster Cult.

“Everybody that hears my kit, they freak out,” Rondinelli says. “I can’t say enough good things about these drums. I think the more people that get exposed to them, you’re gonna see more guys using them again, and I think this time they’ll stay for a while. I’m pretty much a purist—I love old stuff, and I’m a vintage snare snob—but good is good, and if something sounds better and plays nicer and is easier to tune and is more consistent, I’m not stupid. I can use any drums I want. I was using GMS, and everybody goes, ‘How could you go from GMS to Fibes?’ And I say, ‘Just listen to them.’”

King Coffee of psychedelic rockers the Butthole Surfers first played a Zickos drum in the mid-’80s, when he performed standing up with a snare and an 18-inch bass as a floor tom. “I discovered that if you put a really cheap Radio Shack strobe light underneath a clear drum, it just lights up like a light bulb,” he says. “We were really into stage theatrics, but we were also really low-rent as far as production, and for $20, that just looked incredible.”

Now Coffee is playing a new clear Crystalite set. “I think they’re better quality than the Vistalites,” he says. “They have a louder sound—there’s something about the acrylic that just resonates all over, and if you hit hard, they sound extra booming—plus I appreciate the whole ma-and-pa setup of Fibes. With the film projections we use now, clear is great because you can see the images through the drum set, and any lights you put through them just make them glow.”

Despite their reputation for fragility, acrylic drums don’t need to be treated any differently than a quality wood set. “Protect your instrument; use cases and common sense,” Robertson urges. “You’re not gonna break the drums from playing them. It’s the cartage—the handling—and that doesn’t matter if they’re acrylic or wood or anything.”

Clear drums do tend to show fingerprints; for cleaning, Robertson recommends a soft cotton cloth and Trick drum cleaner or Johnson Wax’s Clean & Shine. My vintage Vistas came marred by a few minor scratches and one nastier gouge that I added while replacing a dented badge. Many auto supply stores carry a line of plastic polish called Novus 1-2-3, which performs miracles in buffing out nicks and making acrylic sparkle. (This is one of several useful tips I learned from Vista enthusiasts on the Net; a quick Web search will turn up a bounty of sites devoted to the drums’ history and care.)

Wary of the volume and assuming they’d be unduly “boomy,” I initially outfitted my kit with Remo Pinstripes, though I soon learned from fellow acrylic drummers that I should have gone in the opposite direction, and the sets sound best with thinner heads.

“Acrylic drums are everything you’d think they wouldn’t be,” Rondinelli says. “They’re less ringy, more focused, real present, and quick. There are not a whole lot of harmonics you’re dealing with, and the volume’s all up in the drum. It’s not like you really have to hit them super-hard, because you’ll have a lot of ambient volume onstage anyway. If your guitarist has an amp that goes to 11, well, now you can hold your own.”

At the end of The Graduate, Benjamin Braddock opted for true love rather than a future in plastics, but then he didn’t play drums in a rock band. If he did, he could have had both at the same time.

— Modern Drummer, March, 2002

[Baracuda BAZ]

daztrigger, дякую за статтю. З цікавістю прочитав.
-->в закладки

[ZubastiK]

А что неужели Harpoon отечественные тарелки?

[Юрко]

Я мав на увазі, що дерево дуже розповсюджене і більшість мазикантів вибарають саме його, а акрилові малі входять у вжиток все більше і більше. А на рахунок звуку - акрил сжожий на елект. звук, хоча все залежить від настройщика. Хочеш подискутувати?

Залюбки подискутую!!!!

ну по перше, як би ти не настроював живі барабани, як єлектронні вони звучати не будуть!!!! (тільки якщо їх обробити зовнішніми ефектами)
прошу приклад http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91GXpXid ... re=related так звучать електронні барабани

а ось так звучать акрилові http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbSugn0d ... re=related
або так http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zli07q_m6Mc

якщо ти не відчуваєш різниці, то власне на цьому дискусія і закінчується...

що до розповсюдженності, то не забувай, що дерево дешевше... нормальну акрилову установку меньше ніж за 2500-3000 у.о. ти не купиш... це пов'язано з технологічним процесом виготовлення і дорожнечою сировини.
ну і по друге на сьогодні власне тільки ці компаніїї випускають акрилові барабани SONOR, Tama, RCI International, Fibes, DDrum, Zickos (Canada) and Peace, OCDP, DW, Ludwig... на противагу сотням компаній які випускают дерев'янні барабани...
за своїми акустичними характеристиками вони не поступаються жодному дерев'янному барабанові, ба навіть кращі!!!
спеціально для тебе відшукав статтю з "Сучасного Барабанщика" за 2002 рік, так само рекомендую переглянути підбірку за цей рік, там було багато про акрилові барабани (огляд Тами був точно!!!)

In the Clear

The Past, Present & Future of Acrylic Drums

By Jim DeRogatis


Mr. McGuire (Walter Brooke): I just want to say one word to you—just one word.

Benjamin Braddock (Dustin Hoffman): Yes, sir?

Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?

Ben: Yes, I am.

Mr. McGuire: “Plastics!”

Ben: Exactly how do you mean?

Mr. McGuire: There’s a great future in plastics!

—from the 1967 film, The Graduate

Since its first widespread use in 1951 via everything from the ubiquitous Tupperware to the sublime Eames chair, “plastic” has been synonymous with “the future.” So while drums have always been the most traditional of instruments—a Neanderthal banging on a hollow log was probably the first drummer—it was inevitable that someone would eventually build a “better” drum by turning from wood to synthetics.

Bill Zickos is generally acknowledged as the father of clear plastic drums. The founder of the Kansas City-based Zickos Drum Company built the first Plexiglass drums in 1959, though he didn’t formally start production until a decade later. In the early ’70s, Fibes’ Crystalite sets were the first acrylic drums to win significant popularity among rock players. But it was Ludwig that built the most famous clear drums ever, thanks largely to a one-of-a-kind drummer, John Bonham, who used an amber Vistalite set in the 1976 Led Zeppelin concert film, The Song Remains the Same.

Though many other manufacturers briefly hopped on the acrylic bandwagon (and just as quickly leaped off), these three American companies remained the biggest names in the field until the late ’70s, when a number of unique problems combined to halt production. Now, after years when they were viewed as an historic novelty, acrylic drums are experiencing a renaissance. There’s a booming market in vintage kits, as well as a thriving niche for new sets manufactured by a revitalized Zickos and Fibes. And last year, Ludwig made headlines by offering a new Vistalite set for the first time in 21 years.

Are drummers experiencing a strange nostalgia for a now-outdated vision of the future—something akin to the craze for space age bachelor pad music or retro furniture that looks like The Jetsons? Or are acrylic drums really a viable alternative to wood? Most drummers agree that they look cool, but what do they sound like? And how do you tune, clean, and care for them?

We’ll look at all of these questions in turn, starting with acrylic drums’ origins.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CLEAR DRUMS

A former big band drummer and veteran tinkerer, Bill Zickos was searching for a better sound rather than a unique look when he made his first prototype drums from Plexiglass (a particular brand of clear plastic; “acrylic” is the generic name for the material). He followed the same method everyone used, and which still prevails today. The plastic is cut from huge sheets; heated (most manufacturers use pizza ovens, though Cream’s Ginger Baker is rumored to have made a set from Perspex warmed on the kitchen stove); shaped; bonded at the seams with adhesive, and finished by hand.

It took a decade of on-again, off-again experiments for Zickos to perfect a drum with a strong, clean, and consistent tone, as well as a “dry” but cutting sound free from distracting overtones. But there was one problem: When he tested his see-through drums on small jazz combo gigs, the volume blew his fellow musicians off the bandstand. Thankfully, musical styles were changing. “We didn’t originally go after the rock drum market, but Bill found that the drums projected a lot better and had a lot more resonance and life than most other drums, and that was perfect for rock ’n’ roll,” says Zickos’ son-in-law, John Brazelton.

In 1969, Zickos sold its first professional kit to Ron Bushy, the drummer with heavy-metal pioneers Iron Butterfly. Every night, as Bushy performed the epic drum solo from “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida,” his clear Zickos set reflected a rainbow of different colors from the stage lights, and musicians couldn’t help but take notice. Suddenly, drummers could be seen through the instrument that had formerly hidden 80 percent of their bodies. By the early ’70s, Zickos was selling more than 1,000 Plexiglass kits a year, but competitors soon emerged.

Drummer Bob Grauso and plastics specialist John Morena formed their company in upstate New York in 1966, combining the words “vibes” and “Fiberglass” (the material they favored) to come up with the name Fibes. C.F. Martin Guitars bought the firm in 1970, and things really took off; among the more notable Crystalite players were Alan Dawson, Billy Cobham (who can be seen with a double-bass set on the Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Spectrum album), and the great Buddy Rich, who endorsed other brands but favored a Fibes SFT snare.

Then America’s biggest drum manufacturer burst onto the scene. Ludwig didn’t invent plastic drums, and many aficionados say the company didn’t do them best. But “Vistalite” became synonymous with “clear drums” the way the brand name “Kleenex” has come to mean “tissues.”

Ludwig’s primary innovation was cosmetic. When Vistalites debuted in late 1972, they were available in clear as well as five colors: in order of popularity, blue, amber, red, yellow, and green. (White, black, and an opaque “smoke” were added later when green was dropped.) The drums were striking in appearance—the next step in flash and pizzazz after the sparkling psychedelic sets of the mid-’60s—but Ludwig kept upping the ante. In 1975, it introduced multi-colored Rainbow Vistalites (drummers could choose up to three colors alternating in one of six striped patterns), and in 1978 came a set with built-in Tivoli lights similar to those on Christmas trees.

Some of the most famous drummers in the world endorsed Ludwig, and players such as Keith Moon, Max Roach, Carl Palmer, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, Karen Carpenter, and Johnny Jackson of the Jackson Five could all be seen with Vistalite kits at various points in the ’70s. But no one did more to popularize them than Bonham, who switched from a maple Big Beat set to Vistalites for Zeppelin’s tours in 1973 and ’75.

Bonham played an amber kit in 14 x 26, 10 x 14, 16 x 16, and 16 x 18 (he usually stuck with an alloy snare). “I remember those Vistalites with special affection,” Zep bassist John Paul Jones says, though he underscores the oft-stated observation that it wasn’t a particular instrument that gave Bonham his massive sound. “I saw Bonzo playing a tiny Ludwig kit that he had made for Jason when he was about 5 years old, and you still had to stand well back. Even the cases would sound good in his hands!”

Nevertheless, the association with one of rock’s most powerful drummers sold many of the tens of thousands of Vistalite sets that Ludwig made in the ’70s. But the drums also had their critics. Among the charges leveled at Ludwig were that Vistalites were fragile and could shatter if dropped on a seam; that they were often out of round, and that the bearing edges were uneven. Given the sheer number of sets produced, it was inevitable that a few “lemons” would find their way to the market. But that’s all it takes to taint a product’s reputation—just ask Ford about the Pinto of the same era—and Zickos and Fibes complain that Vistalites gave acrylic drums a bad name.

The other problem that contributed to acrylic’s decline was global in scale. A key ingredient in plastic is petroleum. In 1972, the price of crude oil was about $3 a barrel; by the end of ’74, it had quadrupled to $12 as a result of the Arab oil embargo employed after the Yom Kippur War. The impact to consumers was considerable.

As quickly as acrylic drums had boomed, the market disappeared. Bill Zickos left the company he founded in 1971 after a dispute with investors, and it closed in the mid-’70s. Martin sold Fibes in 1979, and the new owners, the Corder Drum Company, stopped making Crystalites. Ludwig ceased production of Vistalites that same year. Plastic drums went from clear to invisible almost overnight.
ACRYLIC DRUMS RETURN

In recent years, interest in vintage drums has exploded. Granted, when most players use the term, they’re thinking about something like a fabled Radio King snare from the ’40s. But many rockers in their late 20s and early 30’s first gravitated toward the instrument while watching their heroes perform on see-through drums, so it’s only natural that they’d think fondly of these sets.

Lovingly restored vintage acrylic kits are now a common sight onstage and in the studio among players in underground genres such as stoner-rock (Brant Bjork of Fu Manchu swears by his mid-’70s Vistalites), post-rock (John McEntire of Tortoise bought an amber set in homage to Bonham), and alternative or punk (Weezer drummer Pat Wilson played blue Vistalites on a recent tour, and George Berz played a clear kit backing Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis).

I scored my own mid-’70s amber Vistalites in the spring of 2001 for $750; a matching 5 ½ x 14 snare set me back another $365. (I justified the expense to my wife by selling my 10-year-old cherry wood Recording Customs—a sweet set, but I haven’t missed them once.) I found my Vistas via the online auction site eBay, though I knew I was buying from reputable dealers; established shops such as Atlanta’s Vintage Drums or Iowa’s Vintage Drum Center can also help find whole acrylic sets or individual pieces.

My five-piece set was conventionally sized; an amber set in the Bonham configuration is the most sought-after item on the collector’s market, along with green Vistalites and special-order Rainbow sets in Bicentennial red, white, and blue or the colors of the African flag (which was popular among reggae drummers). These rarer kits can sell for upwards of $2,000, sans snare or hardware.

The popularity of vintage acrylics has inspired the original manufacturers to return to the business. Bill Zickos and John Brazelton reopened their company in 1993, and a revitalized Fibes was launched by Austin, Texas drum shop owner Tommy Robertson in 1994. Both companies now make an array of high-quality clear drums to order in a variety of colors. Ludwig also reintroduced Vistalites last year, though in a limited capacity—a clear five-piece set is the only option in what the company’s Jim Catalano calls an experiment to test demand. “I’m on the Net all the time, and all I ever hear is, ‘If Ludwig only brought back the Vistalites, you guys would make a killing,’” he says. “If the clear takes off and we get enough interest in the amber and the blue, then we’ll start doing things like that.”

A new acrylic kit from any of these manufacturers can cost in the neighborhood of $3,000—a steep tag that reflects the price of materials and manufacturing. Given that many people associate “plastic” with “machine-made,” it’s ironic that acrylic drums actually require more craftsmanship than wood drums. “It’s different and more involved,” says Fibes’ Robertson, who personally makes both types of shells by hand. “It’s a heavy investment, and it’s always going to remain a niche market. There are specific drummers who will buy and play an acrylic set—I have not met a person who didn’t love the way they sound—but some others will always go, ‘I just can’t see myself sitting behind those drums.’”

Of course, that unique look is part of the appeal, along with the distinctive sound. Since new acrylic drums reflect all of the improvements in manufacturing over the last 30 years—from better lugs and rims to higher-quality plastic shells—the classic, booming sound is stronger than ever. Looking to replace a rose-colored Fibes set that was stolen shortly before he joined Rainbow in 1980, Bobby Rondinelli recently purchased a new blue Crystalite kit to use with Blue Öyster Cult.

“Everybody that hears my kit, they freak out,” Rondinelli says. “I can’t say enough good things about these drums. I think the more people that get exposed to them, you’re gonna see more guys using them again, and I think this time they’ll stay for a while. I’m pretty much a purist—I love old stuff, and I’m a vintage snare snob—but good is good, and if something sounds better and plays nicer and is easier to tune and is more consistent, I’m not stupid. I can use any drums I want. I was using GMS, and everybody goes, ‘How could you go from GMS to Fibes?’ And I say, ‘Just listen to them.’”

King Coffee of psychedelic rockers the Butthole Surfers first played a Zickos drum in the mid-’80s, when he performed standing up with a snare and an 18-inch bass as a floor tom. “I discovered that if you put a really cheap Radio Shack strobe light underneath a clear drum, it just lights up like a light bulb,” he says. “We were really into stage theatrics, but we were also really low-rent as far as production, and for $20, that just looked incredible.”

Now Coffee is playing a new clear Crystalite set. “I think they’re better quality than the Vistalites,” he says. “They have a louder sound—there’s something about the acrylic that just resonates all over, and if you hit hard, they sound extra booming—plus I appreciate the whole ma-and-pa setup of Fibes. With the film projections we use now, clear is great because you can see the images through the drum set, and any lights you put through them just make them glow.”

Despite their reputation for fragility, acrylic drums don’t need to be treated any differently than a quality wood set. “Protect your instrument; use cases and common sense,” Robertson urges. “You’re not gonna break the drums from playing them. It’s the cartage—the handling—and that doesn’t matter if they’re acrylic or wood or anything.”

Clear drums do tend to show fingerprints; for cleaning, Robertson recommends a soft cotton cloth and Trick drum cleaner or Johnson Wax’s Clean & Shine. My vintage Vistas came marred by a few minor scratches and one nastier gouge that I added while replacing a dented badge. Many auto supply stores carry a line of plastic polish called Novus 1-2-3, which performs miracles in buffing out nicks and making acrylic sparkle. (This is one of several useful tips I learned from Vista enthusiasts on the Net; a quick Web search will turn up a bounty of sites devoted to the drums’ history and care.)

Wary of the volume and assuming they’d be unduly “boomy,” I initially outfitted my kit with Remo Pinstripes, though I soon learned from fellow acrylic drummers that I should have gone in the opposite direction, and the sets sound best with thinner heads.

“Acrylic drums are everything you’d think they wouldn’t be,” Rondinelli says. “They’re less ringy, more focused, real present, and quick. There are not a whole lot of harmonics you’re dealing with, and the volume’s all up in the drum. It’s not like you really have to hit them super-hard, because you’ll have a lot of ambient volume onstage anyway. If your guitarist has an amp that goes to 11, well, now you can hold your own.”

At the end of The Graduate, Benjamin Braddock opted for true love rather than a future in plastics, but then he didn’t play drums in a rock band. If he did, he could have had both at the same time.

— Modern Drummer, March, 2002

ти мене не зрозумів...

[viktorsytnik]

...молодець, ЮРКО! Хороший Звит. Респект.

[daztrigger]

ти мене не зрозумів...

так, не зрозумів, тому і просив пояснити, що ти маєш на увазі.

[daztrigger]

daztrigger, дякую за статтю. З цікавістю прочитав.
-->в закладки

будьласка! радий що сподобалось!