James Walker
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Mar 18 2002
Posts: 1128
Loc: Connecticut
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Searching around online for cowbells yesterday, I stumbled across this 2002 radio interview of Caly Rivera, of JCR Bells - best cowbells I've ever played.
http://www.radiodiaries.org/newyorkworks-home.html
Scroll down the page for the interview - RealAudio, MP3, and a transcript are available. It doesn't go into a huge amount of detail, and it's not technically oriented (it was done for a general audience, I'm guessing - not drummers specifically), but I thought it was an interesting listen.
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James Walker
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Mar 18 2002
Posts: 1128
Loc: Connecticut
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19 views and no replies yet - no love for JCR bells here? 
Here's some more - apparently, it helps if I spell the man's name correctly ("Caly" with a "y," not an "i"). The first link here is text, but the ny1.com pages have video clips from a report they did on Caly.
http://web.jrn.columbia.edu/studentwork/bronxbeat/2001/040901/cowbells0409_01.html
http://www.ny1.com/Default.aspx?SecID=1000&ArID=58719
http://www.ny1.com/Default.aspx?ArID=58747
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awfulldrummer
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Jun 26 2007
Posts: 617
Loc: manchester, nh, usa
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Hi James, sorry i read and didn't reply. i never heard of them before. thanks for all this info. it was interesting to read too. i have a couple of cowbells, a meinl and an LP. i'd consider them if i were to need anything the make!
thanks James.
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Foursticks
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Feb 19 2003
Posts: 958
Loc: California
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James:
I usually check in here once or twice a day, and reply when I find something interesting or something I can add to. But I was out of town this past weekend on a gig and so didn't see this until today. Anyway....
I had never heard of Caly Rivera or JCR bells until reading your post and then clicking on the links. (That's what I get for living in the woods, far from civilization...) So first of all, thanks for posting this info. What you can learn here! - that's one of the things I love about TB's forum.
As for the JCR bells, I would love to hear more than what was on the one sound file. I've had an LP cowbell for years, but the next time I'm at GC (there's one in Reno, about 90 miles from here), I'll be sure and look for some of Mr. Rivera's products.
Thanks again for sharing.
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James Walker
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Mar 18 2002
Posts: 1128
Loc: Connecticut
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I have to keep reminding myself that 1) not everyone checks in here as often as I do, and 2) it's easier for me to find JCR stuff locally since I'm in the Northeast US, just a stone's throw (so to speak) from Da Bronx. Sorry if my enthusiasm started to border on pushy - it wasn't intended that way.
The local Guitar Centers and Sam Ash stores carry JCR bells here - I don't know if they're distributed nationally, tho.
(I realize that this thread is bordering dangerously on spam - but FWIW, I've got ZERO affiliation with Caly or JCR. I"m just a very VERY satisfied customer...)
One of these days, I hope to post a review of some of my JCR bells to the forum review section...which will give me an excuse to go buy some more bells...you know, just so I can give a thorough review. And of course, I'll have to go get some more bells from OTHER brands, just so it'll be a fair comparison..."Honey, I'm going to the music store, be back in a bit..." 
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roger strange
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Dec 09 2003
Posts: 1137
Loc: Nova Scotia Canada
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Anywhere I can grab a sound file? All I get on those URLS is a recruiting clip for NYPD
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James Walker
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Mar 18 2002
Posts: 1128
Loc: Connecticut
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For me, the NYPD thing loaded first, and then the video from the show loaded afterwards.
There are a few brief examples of Caly playing his bells in the first link I posted - at that linked site, there's an mp3 file available for download. He compares one of his bells to a mass-produced bell.
I should have some time in the next few days to put up a microphone and do a mini cowbell "shootout" - some JCR, some Toca, some Gope agogo bells, a Pete Engelhart bell, and a few 25-year-old LP bells. Maybe I'll just make it an open-ended thing, adding a new sound file each time I pick up a new bell.
I've been joking with a friend that cowbells are going to become my next gear obsession, following in the footsteps of snare drums and ride cymbals. The nice thing about cowbells is, I can buy one without having to check my bank balance first - $20-25 for a bell, compared to $150-??? for a good ride.
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Edited by James Walker (Tue Aug 19 2008 01:13 AM)
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James Walker
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Mar 18 2002
Posts: 1128
Loc: Connecticut
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Quote:
Anywhere I can grab a sound file? All I get on those URLS is a recruiting clip for NYPD
Here are my JCR bells:
half-moon (thin mambo bell) - http://www.malletjazz.com/bells/cowbell_shootout_jcr_halfmoon.mp3
large hand-held bongo bell - http://www.malletjazz.com/bells/cowbell_shootout_jcr_bongo.mp3
I posted a few sound files of my other cowbells for comparison, in this thread.
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roger strange
Tiger Talk Pro
Reged: Dec 09 2003
Posts: 1137
Loc: Nova Scotia Canada
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Glad I persisted in getting sound sound files. Those bells are great.
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