Edinburgh, Scotland, although generally known more for folk than rock n' roll, has its share of worthwhile music shops. Most tend to fall into a classical, stringed-instrument luthier category, but the city definitely has a niche for every musician. For drumming this niche is the Drum Vault on Candlemaker Row, a small two room shop located just down the street from the iconic Greyfriar's Bobby statue. Launched in 2012 by owner and drummer Jamie Corstorphine as "the first dedicated second hand drum shop in Edinburgh" the Drum Vault has been doing restorations, repair service and custom artwork with a focus on vintage Premier drums.
Istanbul: Cymbal Capital of the World
This week Lodo Drum Guy is featuring a special guest blog post from my web designer Trevor; he's been backpacking across Europe while maintaining the site since the end of November and has been checking out new and awesome gear for me the whole time. You can check out some of the interesting stuff he's run into below.
An amazing selection of Turkish bronze!
Istanbul, Turkey is undoubtedly the world capital of the cymbal with tons of brands and styles to choose from and not a single brilliant finish sheet bronze plate in sight. Pretty much everything here is hand-hammered and custom and has been for generations back.
Most of the companies go for the darker wash of cast bronze cymbals that higher end Sabian HHs and Zildjian Ks feature as a premium. When you consider that many of these companies even have their own secret alloy mixtures it's easy to see how a drummer could dial in a seriously unique sound with these brands.
The list of Turkish manufacturers is as varied as the lines which include Agean, Amedia (located in Istanbul itself), Bosphorus (and the more custom off-shoot Impression), Istanbul Agop, Masterwork/Orient, the Turkish/American Supernatural and many, many others.
Reproductions of the legendary Constantinople from Zildjian are still available with a stamped instead of engraved brand mark.
Ever since Pete demoed a Zildjian K Constantinople for me in the loft the darker sound of the handmade Turkish cast cymbals has been a standard for me (even though Avedis Zildjian moved from Turkey to Massachusetts over a century ago). Because of this I was surprised to find similar sounds in so many of the cymbals in the music shops around Istanbul at much more affordable prices, including brands that are seemingly unavailable in the U.S. except through online orders from the manufacturers themselves or other sites.
Istanbul Mehmet manufactured "El Negro" custom cymbals designed by drummer Horacio Hernandez.
Zildjian's Gen16 low volume cymbals with electro-acoustic pickups.
One of my favorite brands in the shop are the hand-made Istanbul Mehmet cymbals. In general, they follow the same standards as most Turkish cymbals by starting with a thin plate that responds quickly to sticks but has a short decay so each stroke can be heard with definition. The bell isn't as loud as most cymbals and has a much darker sound that doesn't stick out in comparison the sound of the body. They maintain the deeper, heavier sound of 18" and larger cymbals but respond astonishingly fast for such a large piece of metal. I also like the rough brush approach to the finishing of the cymbals which the shop owner told me was completely unique to the "El Negro" line. The dark and sometimes rusty finish is all part of their unique handmade feel.
Overall, the selection and sounds available in these cymbals are epic; it's good to know the tradition of the Constantinople is alive and well even if Zildjian is moving in different directions (see their low-volume electronic friendly Gen16 cymbal to the left). If anything, the Turks are spoiled for choice in great sounding, hand forged cymbals and will be for generations to come (both Istanbul Mehmet and Agop learned their trade directly from Zildjian's lineage).
By the way, if you're ever in the neighborhood the cymbal prices are definitely worth the plane ticket especially when you factor in a visit to the amazing city of Istanbul as well!
Holiday Drum, Cymbal, & Percussion Stockpile Price Lunacy!
With four bands currently on the road armed with cash scoring fantastic gear for cheap, this holiday season will guarantee continued price lunacy on complete kits and high-end cymbals. Take a look at the nine (9) awesome drum kits now available. Also picked up 35 new cymbals which will be up later this week (assuming they survive the weekend blitz).
Swap Your Used Cymbals
So let's say you bought this expensive ride cymbal not too long ago for a bucket of cash and now, several shows into it, you realize the ride isn't quite what you were looking for.
Here's a better way. You have an expensive cymbal? I have hundreds of them by your favorite brands, including Zildjian, Sabian, Paiste, Meinl, and many others. Often I get rare finds.
Current brands include Avedis, K, Constantinople, HHX, AAX, Paragon, Signature, Byzanthe, and many, many more.
If you're in the Denver area, get in touch, come over and audition them here and if you hear something you like, we trade them out, cover any differences in price and a nominal fee, and you are on your way!
2nd Annual Ponderosa H.S. Bridge Percussion Concert
This weekend LoDo Drum Guy will be at the 2nd Annual PHS Bridge Concert in a continued effort to raise money for the Ponderosa High School Bridge Project to help build classrooms in Mozambique. The benefit concert will be at Ponderosa High School in Parker and will be featuring The Jacob Cade Project, Leung and the Wreck, and other student/alumni acts.
Premier Drum kits For Sale! Premiering my New Inventory of Signias and APKs!
When School of Rock needed a drum set for their Littleton, CO location, I gave them over twenty different options to choose from. Out of all of these options they chose a five piece Premier APK drum set that looks and sounds great!
I've been a long term fan of these Premier drums for good reason:
Premier's been making drums in England for the past 90 years and have been the choice for artists including Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, Rod Morgenstein, and Phil Collins. The hardware on these kits is brutal and built to withstand rigorous abuse. They were on tour with Pink Floyd, Iron Maiden, and Radiohead (all shows that were performed by students at School of Rock by the way) and sound awesome!
Vintage Premier drum kits are somewhat rare nowadays and are considered by most experienced drummers as high quality drums so I keep my eye out for them and grab them whenever I can.
I've been using a rotating lineup of awesome Premiersas pro-grade gear available for backline rental for years, and they've never failed a customer.
Check back often for new Premier drum kit finds and take one home today for low dough!
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School of Rock Littleton Students Get 15% Off All Drums, Cymbals & Percussion!
School of Rock has played a HUGE role in my daughter's life. I watched their program transform my kid from the shy girl that choked under pressure into the confident young woman that today rocks at everything she does.
Today SoR Littleton took delivery of a sweet Premier XPK 4-piece drum kit from LoDo loft and I'm stoked!
Stick Ponies: Bannock Street Garage 8/17 9PM
Premier APK & Yamaha Backline Drums At Psychedelic Light & Sound Denver Edition
Psychedelic Light & Sound Poster
This weekend, the Psychedelic Light & Sound: Denver Edition is coming up this Saturday, August 10th! Be sure to check out a big line-up of great bands (see below) and come out and enjoy what is sure to be a great day of music. Drumblebee and the Ferrari Red Premiers will be the featured drum sets at the venues. Come out, support this awesome event, and check out some of the affordable gear we have available for sale.
R360 Auction Success at Wish of a Lifetime's Evening Affair
I just brought a beautiful Rogers R360 drum kit over to Seawell Ballroom tonight and set it up for Wish of a Lifetime's Evening Affair: Dare to Dream auction.
It was a huge hit, definitely an eye-catcher. Awesome!
The kit went for $1000 to the lucky bidder. Congratulations and thank you!!
Rogers R360 blue oyster drum set auctioned for $1000 at Wish of a Lifetime's Evening Affair.
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