The Other Room - audio engineering & web design
Percussion

Oddity of the Year 2008

Square is the New Round

The Square Drum people call their system "Cabinet Enhanced Percussion." The idea is that you can increase the volume of the drum to get a bigger sound. The toms in the kit I heard were all using the same diameter heads but had progressively larger boxes between the heads.

These are probably the weirdest shaped drums to come out since the North Drums.

Square is the New Round

Whack a Duck

...or a gorilla or a motorcycle. Work out those repressed childhood aggressions and trigger drum sounds at the same time.

I wonder if Pintech will offer a library of multi-sampled ducks in distress?

Whack a Duck

I'd Like a Double-Double, With Cheese

Each pedal activates two beaters, providing a really loud kick drum. It kind of makes me feel bad for the poor kick drum.

They actually called this "The Maximus," not the "Double-Double," but I think the In-N-Out reference would have been more fun.

  • Off•Set
  • 410 Main Street, PO Box 402
  • Coalport, PA 16627-0402
  • (814) 672-5780
  • www.off-set.net
I'd Like a Double Double, With Cheese

The Ford Smart Ass

According the Ford Drums this drum throne "Remembers the ass you really are," just like the guitar player from the last band you were in.

They're using memory foam under the tuck and roll exterior, so it's likely to be kind to even the most sensitive drummer.

  • Ford Drum Company
  • 13132 Yorba Street
  • Santa Ana, CA 92705
  • (714) 744-2467
  • www.forddrums.com
The Ford Smart Ass

Kicks for Kicks (and Hats)

I suppose that if Curling can have special shoes, why not drumming?

Kicks for Kicks (and Hats)

The Lou Rider

It looks like Lou Dog is at it again. Last year he had the three-wheeler with multiple LCD displays built into it. This year he's created the Rolls Royce of drum cycles.

  • Orange County Drum and Percussion
  • 1609 Suite D East McFadden St
  • Santa Ana, CA 92705
  • (714) 564-0667
  • www.ocdrums.com
The Lou Rider

Hammerax Metals

Not only do these look nice, they have a very unique and musical sound.

Some of the cymbals were very thin and floppy, some were more rigid. The various pieces of hanging percussion are very cool too.

Hammerax Metals

The Muffbone

How could a product called the Muffbone not be included in the Oddities?

It sits between your kick pedal and the back head and actually looks like it could be useful. Easier than stuffing a pillow in the kick.

The Muffbone

Keep Your Drums Happy

Drum Rub is a "Conditioner for natural skins" so I guess it's not for those aging stars that are just this-side of embalmed.

It might just be the lack of resolution of the picture I took but I'd swear that the label says "Rub onto drub head in small circles."

Keep Your Drums Happy

BucketDrumz

If you're going to beat on a plastic bucket, you may as well make it easier on your wrists. This is a simple system that will let you put a 12" drum head on just about any 3.5 to 5 gallon bucket. You do have to cut a hole in the bottom of the drum to get it to speak.

BucketDrumz

BlowIt Personal Cooling System

Now this is a cool idea :-P. Seriously though, someone should have done this a long time ago. The fan clamps right onto the drum hardware and has a flexible gooseneck to easily aim it.

The backline guys at Coachella ought to have these on hand. It gets pretty damn hot out there.

  • Personal Cooling Concepts, LLC
  • PO Box 5452
  • Fort Smith, AR 72913
  • (479) 646-0943
  • www.blowitfans.com
BlowIt Personal Cooling System

The Kelly Shu

This drum mic suspension system will work for mics mounted inside or outside of the drum. It's nice that it doesn't require any modifications to the drum shells.

  • Kelly Concepts, LLC
  • P.O. Box 67231
  • Lincoln, NE 68506
  • (402) 421-1169
  • www.kellyshu.com
The Kelly Shu

The 2box DrumIt Five

This looks like a pretty attractive alternative to the Roland V-Drum system. Aside from the visual appeal, the ability to load new samples into a memory card is a great feature. They tell me that you'll be able to bring in sounds from applications like BFD.

  • 2box Musical Applications AB
  • Gräsgatan 6
  • 118 60 Stockholm, Sweden
  • +46 8 643 20 30
  • www.2box.se
The 2box DrumIt Five

Instant Cocktail Kit

This is an interesting gizmo that lets you turn a floor tom into a kick drum.

Shown is the simple walnut version. From their literature I see they've got cheetah and flame finishes as well. I'm sorry I didn't see those, they would have been more appropriate for inclusion in the Oddities.

Instant Cocktail Kit

Drum Crank

Or maybe "cranking drums," or "drummer on crank?" I don't know, it just looked kind of odd. So here it is.

  • Mid-East Mfg., Inc.
  • 7694 Progress Circle
  • West Melbourne, FL 32904
  • (800) 673-1517
  • www.mid-east.com
Drum Crank

Cymbal Rejuvenator

If you're a big drum dealer with grimy-handed shoppers or just a drummer who's really particular about his cymbals, this is the product for you.

The cymbal mounts on a motor that spins it while you clean off the muck and polish it up. They say it only takes 5 minutes per side to clean a filthy cymbal.

  • Pro Cymbal, Inc.
  • P.O. Box 1232
  • Studio City, CA 91614
  • (818) 284-7614
  • www.procymbal.com
Cymbal Rejuvinator

WhackMaster

This would have made the Oddities even if the company wasn't called WhackMaster.

They've come up with a new approach to adjusting the height of the high hat where you can play it while you're setting it.

WhackMaster

The Rim Riser

With the Rim Riser installed on your snare you can do cross sticking and not have to grip the stick just by the sides. The change in stick angle gives you enough space to get a good grip on the stick.

The Rim Riser

Boston Skyline Snare

This was kind of different... and that's what the NAMM Oddities are all about.

  • SJC Custom Drums
  • P.O. Box 1314
  • Dudley, MA 01571
  • (774) 272-0591
  • www.sjcdrums.com
Boston Skyline Snare

Disco Tambourine

The picture doesn't do this justice, but there are multi-colored LEDs built into this tambourine. When you play it, they will light up to the beat.

  • Talent-Expo International Co., Ltd.
  • Floor 23, Building A, City One Tower, No. 48 Wang Jing Xi Lu
  • Chao Yang District, Beijing 100102, P. R. China
  • +86 10 5129 8656
  • www.talenttoy.com
Disco Tambourine

A Strap-On for Drummers

The GoJo shaker was created by drummer/percussionist Stephen Perkins.

I've got a few of those egg shakers with the velcro elastic bands, but the GoJo seems like it would stay put better than the eggs.

I plan on picking up a couple of these guys.

  • Latin Percussion
  • 160 Belmont Avenue
  • Garfield, NJ 07026
  • (973) 478-6903
  • www.lpmusic.com
A Strap-On for Drummers

A Solid Double Into Center Field

Remo scored two Oddities this year.

The first is their modular drum. You can put it together in various configurations that cover a range of sounds from doumbek to conga to bongo and then some.

The second is the splashy graphics available on their Skyndeep heads. As you can see, they are available for congas and djembes.

  • Remo Inc.
  • 28101 Industry Drive
  • Valencia, CA 91355
  • (661) 294-5600
  • www.remo.com
A Solid Double Into Center Field

Precision Drum Tuning

This new approach to drum tuning relies on measuring the tension of the head rather than the torque on the tension rod. This just sits on the drum head and you move it from lug to lug as you tighten the head.

  • DrumDial Inc.
  • 1830 East Broadway #124-197
  • Tucson, AZ 85719
  • (800) 860-0321
  • www.drumdial.com
Precision Drum Tuning

Djembe Djonut

This product protects your legs from the tuning lugs on a djembe.

When I asked them what it was called, they told me it a "Djembe Donut." I of course suggested that they use "Djembe Djonut" instead.

Djembe Djonut

Buzz Roll Anyone?

It wouldn't be a NAMM show without a new company with aspirations of redefining the drumstick industry.

The aptly-named Hornet drumstick confers many bullet-points-worth of features to the user.

Buzz Roll Anyone?

Don't be surprised if you find that the product or the company you see on these pages has ceased to exist, particularly as the pages get older. One function of the NAMM Oddities is that of a historical archive of attempted products.

These web pages are not associated with or sponsored by the National Association of Music Merchants

Send your suggestions, clarifications, rants or praise to oddinfo@otheroom.com

©2008 Barry Wood