May 2021 – Volume 45 • Number 5
On 17th May 2021
In case you haven’t been paying attention, Doc Sweeney Drums is straight killing it with its creative, innovative, and inspiring approach to the solid-shell snare and drumset. We have reviewed many of their drums over the years, and we continue to be blown away by the craftsmanship and the massive-yet-musical sounds.
This month, we got our hands on one of the first Legend series drumsets. This new line consists of two different three-piece shell packs that expand the very popular Legends series snares modeled after coveted Slingerland and Leedy solid-shell drums of the 1920s to 1940s. While the Legend series snares come in maple, walnut, and myrtle, the kits come in maple, walnut, and European beech. (Matching beech snares now exist, too.)
The Specs
We received the M22 configuration, which comprises a 14x22 bass drum, a 9x13 tom, a 15x16 floor tom, and a matching 6.5x14 snare in European beech. Each drum features a sleek Dark Matter finish that gives the drums a striking and timeless look, while allowing the gorgeous woodgrain to peak through the black stain.
Articles in May 2021
Brooke Colucci - The Drumming Prodigy Powers Plus
Who cares? That’s my attitude about Plush. Who cares that it’s an all-female band? Who cares that none of the band members are even 21 years old yet? Who cares that they have become social-media darlings, and who cares the…
Crashes in Your Fills
The stereotypical rock drum fill might be a measure of 16th notes cascading around the kit from snare to toms, but there are many other options. As we progress as players, we want to increase our vocabulary of beats and…
Thommy Price
Rock and Roll Hitmaker Brooklyn, New York’s Thommy Price has spent the large majority of his career playing and touring with a diverse array of iconic bands and artists. His four-decade career spans countless gigs and recordings from Mink DeVille…
The Importance of Writing Notation
We have all heard that it’s very beneficial for drummers to learn how to read music. I completely agree. For me, it was one of the many game changers for my drumming. Learning to understand basic notation gave me the…
Ralph Peterson Jr. - A Look at the Life
May 20, 1962 – March 1, 2021 Ralph Peterson Jr.—who came to prominence in the 1980s as one of jazz’s swinging, improv-driven “Young Lions”—succumbed to cancer on March 1. He was just 58 years old. Peterson’s commitment to bebop—as well…
Endurance Exercises
Balance Your Left and Right Hands! The purpose of this exercise is to strengthen each hand individually in order to achieve a balance between the two. For the right-handed drummer, the left hand is the weaker hand, and vice versa.…
Sly Dunbar
Modern Drummer, April 1985 Certain people expect me to shine all the time, but artists can’t be at their best every day. No one is perfect. If a song is a good song, it’s much easier for me to play…
Who Is Your Favorite Post-Beatles Drummer on Any Former Beatle’s Solo Albums?
Apparently, the Modern Drummer community loves their post-Beatles drummers. When we reached out on our Facebook page to query you about your favorite drummers on the solo albums of Paul, John, George, and Ringo, we received quite a flurry of…
Denny Seiwell - Revisiting a Classic
Denny Seiwell became Paul McCartney’s first post-Beatles choice as his drummer when he was brought into the sessions for Paul and Linda McCartney’s Ram album in 1970 and ‘71. Soon thereafter, Seiwell was invited to join the McCartney’s new project,…
How a Dave Weckl Performance Changed My Life
I’ll never forget the first time I saw Dave Weckl play the drums. At the time, I had heard Dave on records, but had never seen him play live or on TV. One fateful day, I happened to have the…
Yamaha - DTX6K3-X Electronic Drumset
A simple, powerful, and compact solution to keep you playingwhen acoustic drums aren’t an option. Yamaha makes great gear. Period. When it comes to drums—specifically electronics—the company always succeeds in delivering high-quality products to keep you inspired to practice and…
True Colors
Kenny Kuzniar Designs Kit to Celebrate His 30th Anniversary of Drumming Kenny Kuzniar did a bit more than throw a party to mark his 30th year of playing drums. Instead, the Saskatchewan, Canada, drummer worked with Dustin Drummond of Drummond…
Donn Bennett’s Drum Vault
The Paul “Jamo” Jamieson Collection The Rolling Stones rented this vintage Gretsch set for its 1997 “Saint of Me” video shoot. It’s almost impossible to talk about drums in Los Angeles without Paul Jamieson’s name coming up. “Jamo”—as he is…
Dave Weckl
The Sublime Power of Supporting Music with “Special Sauce” What inspires the human spirit to pursue and achieve greatness? In the case of six-time Modern Drummer cover artist and MD Hall of Famer Dave Weckl, there are many levels of…
Developing Speed Naturally
Almost all young drummers attempt to see how fast they can play at some point. This is a natural stage of development. It is sort of like flexing your muscles just to see how strong you are. Technique is needed…
Foundational Brush Technique
When I first started playing brushes, I copied what I heard on recordings, and what people like Joe Morello were doing. When Joe came to town, I would get as close as I could to watch how he played brushes.…
Realistic Reggae Rock, Part II
Awesome Drum Fill Ideas for Irie Playing In the April issue, we kicked off your journey through Carmine Appice’s Realistic Reggae Rock with a session on hi-hat patterns. This month, Carmine unveils some cool and authentic reggae fills. Dig in!…
Interview with Jazz Musician Tony Williams
Just what is a Tony Williams? Many of his admirers have described his style as: “Free,” “He doesn’t really play rudimental things,” “He’s loose,” “There’s something out of the ordinary about what he does,” and, “It’s different.” If those descriptions…
10 Pieces of Wisdom from the MD Archives
In its 45 years of publication, Modern Drummer has collected essential data from thousands of remarkable drummers, percussionists, and educators. Throughout our 45th anniversary in 2021, we will offer some features that celebrate the musicians, editors, writers, and photographers who…
