| 777Drum |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Sun Feb 10 2008 11:41 AM |
| 70.244.62.228 |
Cradle review
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The Danmar cradle is overpriced for what you get, though I suppose it could be said you pay for the Idea. Not much to it. I found for a 16" FT it does work, yet at least on the carpet in the Drum room it's a bit unstable. A bit too much movement. I'm also back to a similar problem I had trying to use a Crappy gibraulter BD riser (since retired) With the DW pedal having to go past 90 deg to hit head. Any closer and the chain hits the rim of the drum. This sucks as it's just wrong and not worth playing. It looks like the rim must be cut back in order to get the pedal in the right position with out exceeding 90 deg strike zone. It's not a pedal adjustment from what I'm seeing.
I also Have spent a lot of time trying adjust the DW pedal (a 5000 from a DBL Pedal set) and I've had enough of it. I can't get anywhere close to my axis pedal feel and that pedal is so old I bought it direct from axis b4 they were in music stores. I'm Finished with DW pedals and I'm going to get a new Axis to use with my other drums. I also have a single DW pedal that while much better I'm still unable to adjust to ease and quickness of the axis pedal.
On the positive side. The Tama 16" FT sounds really good. I bought an Aquarian Studio X for The batter. Put a 10" x 10" piece of 1" Tempurpedic Mattress foam touching the batter, and front head is a clear new Emperor. I cut an offset 2.75 Diameter hole in the emperor. It sounds very nice and I like this sound far more than a tinty boomy two head open sound. But that's just what I like I suppose.
Maybe the pearl legs idea would work better on the FT as BD idea. Who knows? I find the lack of stability annoying.
| 777Drum |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Sun Feb 10 2008 01:21 PM |
| 70.244.62.228 |
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Re: Cradle review
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Update : DW Pedal....Kept working with it..Got it happening again..I do like the weight of of the DW Footboard and switching back and forth can throw you off. Still have deadness in my other one and may be the spring. ???
Moved cradle, adjusted..now much more stable. Very pleased. The 16" Tama Floor tom with new head set up creates an incredible explosive little cannon. This is great fun. Also killer for funk and fusion beats.
To get this BD setup to feel really good, I think will require a cutout of around a 1/2" to the metal hoop. This would give enough room closer to the head so the pedal has a flat strike zone. Then the action could feel perfect.
| roger strange |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Sun Feb 10 2008 08:22 PM |
| 24.138.33.186 |
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Re: Cradle review
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Might it be in the way you are setting up the cradle? I have never had either my 16" floor or either of my 20" basses move a centimeter even when really laying into them with doubles. But then again I do not mount toms on my basses.I use a rack and at times in rehearsal just a couple of stands that I clamp my toms via the L-arm spike mounts to.
| 777Drum |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Mon Feb 11 2008 08:06 AM |
| 70.244.62.228 |
|
Re: Cradle review
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Quote:
Might it be in the way you are setting up the cradle? I have never had either my 16" floor or either of my 20" basses move a centimeter even when really laying into them with doubles. But then again I do not mount toms on my basses.I use a rack and at times in rehearsal just a couple of stands that I clamp my toms via the L-arm spike mounts to.
I think my movement is more a floor issue. Upstairs room with carpet. For now it's fine, since I moved it a bit.
The real problem I see, and this must be noticed by anyone say using a FT as the BD, is that the chain of the pedal will hit the metal hoop, if it is placed close enough to give a 90 degree beater strike. Having to miss the hoop, means pulling the drum back a tad and this causes the beater of the pedal to go past 90 degrees or dead center straight up when beater strikes the head. This really ruins (for me) the action of the pedal. The only way I see to fix is to cut a 3/8" to 1/2" deep section and maybe 1/2" wide
area out for clearance. Did you not have this problem? I don't see how any drum (except a Djembe or conga) would not have the clearance problem.
| roger strange |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Mon Feb 11 2008 10:25 AM |
| 154.11.98.150 |
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Re: Cradle review
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Nope, don't have that problem. I just adjust my beater for the angle. Didn't have that problem with any of my DW pedals when I was playing DW and don't have it with my Janus at this time. I think I had that problem once with an old Tama Rockstar pedal I have that I now use for my cowbell. All I did was adjust the spring tension to accomodate the extra travel and clamped the pedal a little back on the plate. Are you mounting the cradle snug with the hoops of the heads, right back up against the rim on a tom? Especially the back cradle piece. Since I use the cradle with either an older 16" Ludwig Tom or wood hooped 20" basses everything fits well. Some rims have deeper aprons dropping below the head. You may be having that problem. Ludwig rims are quite shallow below the head level. I don't use my 16" anymore as a bass because I can use either of my 20" basses, but to improve the sound of that tom as a bass I ordered wood hoops and claws for it and at the end had it turned into a true 16" bass drum. You might have to get one of those mallets that have impact adjustments rather than use the fixed DW mallet. Gibraltar make a good one that's not too expensive and the Tama does the same thing. That way you can move your pedal clamp back on the plate. I've always used pedals with plates with those big velcro strips that grab the gig rug surface so if I do have those types of problems I can back off the pedal, use the velcro and the pedal spurs to lock the pedal to the floor.
| 777Drum |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Mon Feb 11 2008 11:09 AM |
| 70.251.17.105 |
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Re: Cradle review
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Thanks for all the info. Yes I have the drum mounted right and the cradle is working quite well. Maybe I should explore the beater with the adjustments, and avoid having to cut the hoop.
This I will say, The 16" Tama FT as a BD is amazing. I set up the following and found it's hard to walk away.
Tama 16" FTBD
14" Paiste sound edge HH
6 x 13" Corder Snare
14" Premier FT
22" Zildjian Constantinople Med Thin High
| roger strange |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Mon Feb 11 2008 03:14 PM |
| 24.138.33.186 |
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Re: Cradle review
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What a beautiful little kit. I'm sure you can find some way to solve the problem without any type of butchery to hardware. Just sit and look at the pedal and cradle plate for a while. When I am stumped by something I'll just look at it and think about what needs to be the end result. It never fails, I solve the problem. Those Tamas had I think a tower rim type setup. Maybe all you need is to retro fit something like an older style triple flange rim on there. Something with a lower profile. As I said I used a Ludwig, and Luds have a low profile of rim to head distance. Rather than the Tama/Rogers tower type high rim.
| 777Drum |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Mon Feb 11 2008 08:51 PM |
| 70.244.62.228 |
|
Re: Cradle review
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It really is Roger, and loads of fun to play. You may be right about the rims. It's very close. I'll look at some ludwig rims. Thanks for all your input. It's very helpful.
777
| 777Drum |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Tue Feb 12 2008 12:43 PM |
| 70.253.56.187 |
|
Re: Cradle review
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This little guy just screams, so much so, that at 6 AM I put a small piece of foam in offset cutout. Sounds even better now!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15351394@N03/?saved=1
| James Walker |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Tue Feb 12 2008 01:36 PM |
| 4.245.182.75 |
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Re: Cradle review
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Cool!
(I'm saving up the money for another DIY kit, with a 16" bass drum, and this thread is making me impatient...)
6AM...was that "early in the morning," or "late at night"?
Nice cacti, BTW.
| 777Drum |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Tue Feb 12 2008 02:52 PM |
| 70.253.56.187 |
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Re: Cradle review
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Quote:
Cool!
(I'm saving up the money for another DIY kit, with a 16" bass drum, and this thread is making me impatient...)
6AM...was that "early in the morning," or "late at night"?
Nice cacti, BTW.
Early in the Morning! I like to play very early b4 work. I find that playing with brushes and quietly really helps everything get better and stronger. The little taye baby drums are fairly quiet due to their size. I wait until at least 6:30 b4 I'll use the sticks! In the past my am drumming has caused some complaints. I found that in this corner room upstairs I am as far away from anyone that I could be. It works very well.
Yes, the 16" Tama FT as the BD is just incredible. If I can figure out how to do the video thing and post link, I'll record this little cannon! What new kit are you going to build next?
| keep_wit_it |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Tue Feb 12 2008 04:15 PM |
| 64.132.0.250 |
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Re: Cradle review
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That's awesome 777! I'm sure you are having a blast on that thing. I will post pics when I get my cradle and floor tom going.
| 777Drum |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Tue Feb 12 2008 04:45 PM |
| 70.253.56.187 |
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Re: Cradle review
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Quote:
That's awesome 777! I'm sure you are having a blast on that thing. I will post pics when I get my cradle and floor tom going.
Thanks Chops! I must say, I'm amazed at how great this FT sounds as a BD. It's just so much fun to play. It's really an explosive sound. Roger was right about the cradle. Super simple and it just works. I think it's great fun to have different sets or set ups to play. It gives you new ideas and keeps the ears fresh. The 16" FT BD sounds so good with the 14" Premeir FT. Very different from what I'm used to hearing. Yes, let's see your pics and comments when you get it ready. I had no idea it would be so much fun!!
| James Walker |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Tue Feb 12 2008 05:01 PM |
| 4.245.152.2 |
|
Re: Cradle review
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Quote:
What new kit are you going to build next?
After experimenting with some of the drums from my purple kit, I've realized that I really like:
1) 16" bass drums
2) an 8"/10" rack tom setup
...so with that in mind, I'm thinking of a nice little bop kit - 8x8" & 8x10" toms, 12x13" or 13x13" floor, and a 14x16" bass drum. Probably Keller shells, probably with roundover bearing edges, but that's all negotiable at the moment.
(I don't mean to hijack this thread - I'm sure I'll post a separate thread when the project is up and running.)
| 777Drum |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Tue Feb 12 2008 05:45 PM |
| 70.253.56.187 |
|
Re: Cradle review
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16" Bass drums are too cool. The new kit you'll build sounds ideal. You buy the shells, drill holes and install Hardware. Will you stain shells or cover?
777
| James Walker |
| (Tiger Talk Pro) |
| Tue Feb 12 2008 06:21 PM |
| 4.245.182.224 |
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Re: Cradle review
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Quote:
Will you stain shells or cover?
Probably stain, but that's not set in stone. A nice wrap might make for an interesting change of pace.