Well Hello Everyone It is T and I have returned to blow off the dust to my long neglected blog. This actually the first blog this year, after you here what's been going down you can perhaps forgive me.
Let's recap the last 2 months. Christmas was a record breaker for us. Our best month ever. Despite us not getting 2 major orders one from Wuhan the other from Silken until the 16th and 17th of December. We worked at a feverish pace to get every order we took in shipped out by Christmas. We cut it so close I was getting paniky. We had accepted thousands of dollars worth of orders on the promise from our vendors that the mother load of product was just a day or two away. With one company this went on from around Nov 28 th. Never again we learned a great lesson and will begin our Christmas ordering no later than Oct 1.
After Christmas Cymbals & Snares solidified our position as a major player for Silken cymbals, Recieveing well over 100 cymbals from them after the music trade show NAMM in January. Infact as of this writing we are the only authorized Silken dealer in the USA. A fact were very proud of. If you havent checked them out yet go to our website and peruse our extensive selection or you can go to our totally re-vamped You Tube channel http://www.youtube.com/ILDUCE61 and just check out the Videos. Were at close to 80 product Video's, plus video favorites we've downloaded and some our customer and freinds have sent in. It's really becoming a very interactive channel, and we love it. So shoot over there when you get a chance and subscribe we got room the more the merrier.
While your checking out either listings or Vid's on YT you may notice something . A change that was looong overdue. We laid out for a great new HI-def Video camera with digital audio. Compared to our old video presentation's it's like night and day. The one constant complaint we recieved especially about our listing Vid's was the poor quality of picture and sound. These were totally legit complaints. We had so rushed into getting set up we soon realized our video's were probably hurting us as much as helping. The one way and opportunity to impress a potential customers was being squandered for the lack of proper equipment.
Well we took corrective measures and things changed overnight. There was an instant positive reaction. All our video's are in high resolution accompanied with digital audio, the sound bytes are dead on accurate. We are very happy with this improvement. In order to better communicate with our customers and freinds we will be blogging atleast once a week, Like our You Tube channel our blog is an under utilized asset of our company. Not any longer.
The only drag thing that happened was Feb 17th I had an ulcer that burst. I also have a chronic intestinal infection which kicked into high gear from the ulcer's debris going through my intestines. On top of it my pancrease became infected it was a mess I was hospitalized 17 days. Since I do all the packing and correspondance our company ground to a halt. I was so hoping are stirling reputationwouldn't get affected. Most people were very understanding. Any issue's we had have been cleared up. I see the need to have someone else trained on the computer without a back up person we are very vulnerable. We are no longer the little Basement operation we once were, And that about wraps it up for this week kids. Until next time T.
Overdrive Cymbals
Overdrive Cymbals T20 Series
Friday, March 5, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
My Set up
I always seem to ask the questions. I am forever the inquisitive one. Whenever I meet a fellow drummer I love to talk shop. All of you out there know exactly what I mean. Most of the times when you do meet a fellow drummer and a conversation ensue's you almost instantly bond. You think hey this guy's in "the Club" This happens more so now that I am a little older. When your younger in your teens and early twenties there's still that competetiveness we all posses, so sometimes things don't go as smooth as they do now.
The question I get asked most by people asides from business related questions is what do I play what is my set up like. Well this blog will be dedicated to my kit and set up. My drumkit is about 6 or 7 years old. It is a Mapex Mars Pro series the finish is Midnight Black almost a grey color with the wood grain showing. I like the color. When I purchased it Mapex was just switching over to the Pro M series of which my kit is the forerunner of. I got a very,very good price on my kit. You have to remember Mapex was not the household name it is today. At the time Mapex was almost a cultish drum company. People knew of them they were getting alot of good press, but I was still going out on a limb sorta speak. Foretunately everything worked out well.
When I first got my kit Mapex was still a novelty and whenever I did a gig Drummers would always ask me about my kit Most of the time it was the first Mapex most guys had ever seen. My Original kit was 6 pieces a 14x5 snare, 10x10 and a 12x12 mounted toms a 14x14 and a 16x16 suspended floor toms and a 20x18 kick drum. The kit comes with Mapex's suspended isolation mounting system. I really like the way all of my toms resonate. It came equiped with all the hardware A few cymbal stands double toms stand for the floor toms a snare stand a bass pedal a HH stand I mean everything. Mapex makes very nice hardware everything on my kit was double braced. Nice looking functional and sturdy, unlike a shell pack I didn't need to buy a thing to play. The quality hardware was a nice plus. A few years back I bought some shells that matched my kit off of ebay 3 to be extact. It was advertised with a 8x8 tom which I dearly wanted and still do. The guy couldn't measure his toms correctly I wound up with another 10x10 tom a 13x12 floor tom and a 18x18 floor tom.
They were'nt really what I wanted but I kept them anyway. I just tune the two 10x10's a little different from each other. It works pretty well. Last year I expanded again by adding a set of Cannon's tom toms to my set. They are 8x6 and 8x8 we sell these and I will tell you they were a great addition to my Kit. So there's my 11 piece kit for ya. The drums are fitted with Evans G2 coated batters and Evans G1 clear reso heads. The Kick drum has an Emad batter and a Black G1 ported reso. The coated G2's are excellent heads and I love them, there a two ply head which gives them a nice fat warm sound to them. The only thing I'm disapointed in is the Emad. It doesn't suck or anything, maybe I was expecting more especially the way guys in the forums talk about it. When it's time to change bass drum heads I'm going back to the Aquarian super kick II. I just like it better.
I use a double bass drum pedal It's a DW 5000 series pedal infact all of my pedals are DW's and they are all in the 5000 series. The Double kick is the 5002 to be exact. It's a great Pedal, smooth action ready to play right out of the box. My HH stand is also a 5000 DW with swivel legs and a removable third leg which is off to give me a little more room for the double kick pedals. Last but not least is my remote HH stand again the DW 5000 series. People have a tendency to critisize the remotes as sluggish and non responsive. I can honestly say none of that is true with mine I use an 8' cable so maybe that's the reason but it works like a charm. I think it's one of the best additions I made. I absolutely love playing with dual rides and dual Hat's.
As for my Cymbal array that really is the "voice" of a drummer. I have a hodge podge of brands Zildjians, Sabians, Wuhan's, Silken's, Diril's & a Meinl. People are so worried about the sonic contitnuity of the cymbal array they forget it's okay not to have cymbals to be perfectly note for note sonically mathced. I never worry if a cymbal will "fit" in with my set up. My Pie's are so diverse and so numerous anything at this point will match up. OK let's start the run down
Zildjian :
19" med Crash A
15" Thin Crash A
20" Ping ride Custom A
14" New Beat HH ( right side , secondary)
17" Med Crash A
8" splash Custom A
Sabian :
14" AAx Stage Hat's ( Main hats)
16" AA Thin crash
Silken:
20" Hansun ride
15" Vintage crash
10" Hansun splash
Diril:
16" Med ICE series
14" D series thin crash
Meinl:
16" MB20 Med/hvy crash
Wuhan :
8,10, & 12 S series splashes
16" S series thin crash
17" S series Med Crash
8 & 12" Taditional series splashes
8, 10 & 12" New Traditional series splashes
16" NT med crash
14" NT Thin crash
12" China
17" China
As you can see I like Cymbals Lots and lost of cymbals. I have 2 cymbals tree's with 3 cymbals on each. There is nothing like rideing up one Cymbal tree and down the other. On both rides plus a few i Have in reserve I use moongel. I think the stuff is great I use it on my $100 Wuhan , My $200 Silken and My $325 Zildjian. It's effectively cuts the wash and overtones and brings out really nice clear sticking. So there you have it that's my little baby. I've said it before and I'll say it again If I wouldn't use a product I won't sell it. Until Next Time. T.
The question I get asked most by people asides from business related questions is what do I play what is my set up like. Well this blog will be dedicated to my kit and set up. My drumkit is about 6 or 7 years old. It is a Mapex Mars Pro series the finish is Midnight Black almost a grey color with the wood grain showing. I like the color. When I purchased it Mapex was just switching over to the Pro M series of which my kit is the forerunner of. I got a very,very good price on my kit. You have to remember Mapex was not the household name it is today. At the time Mapex was almost a cultish drum company. People knew of them they were getting alot of good press, but I was still going out on a limb sorta speak. Foretunately everything worked out well.
When I first got my kit Mapex was still a novelty and whenever I did a gig Drummers would always ask me about my kit Most of the time it was the first Mapex most guys had ever seen. My Original kit was 6 pieces a 14x5 snare, 10x10 and a 12x12 mounted toms a 14x14 and a 16x16 suspended floor toms and a 20x18 kick drum. The kit comes with Mapex's suspended isolation mounting system. I really like the way all of my toms resonate. It came equiped with all the hardware A few cymbal stands double toms stand for the floor toms a snare stand a bass pedal a HH stand I mean everything. Mapex makes very nice hardware everything on my kit was double braced. Nice looking functional and sturdy, unlike a shell pack I didn't need to buy a thing to play. The quality hardware was a nice plus. A few years back I bought some shells that matched my kit off of ebay 3 to be extact. It was advertised with a 8x8 tom which I dearly wanted and still do. The guy couldn't measure his toms correctly I wound up with another 10x10 tom a 13x12 floor tom and a 18x18 floor tom.
They were'nt really what I wanted but I kept them anyway. I just tune the two 10x10's a little different from each other. It works pretty well. Last year I expanded again by adding a set of Cannon's tom toms to my set. They are 8x6 and 8x8 we sell these and I will tell you they were a great addition to my Kit. So there's my 11 piece kit for ya. The drums are fitted with Evans G2 coated batters and Evans G1 clear reso heads. The Kick drum has an Emad batter and a Black G1 ported reso. The coated G2's are excellent heads and I love them, there a two ply head which gives them a nice fat warm sound to them. The only thing I'm disapointed in is the Emad. It doesn't suck or anything, maybe I was expecting more especially the way guys in the forums talk about it. When it's time to change bass drum heads I'm going back to the Aquarian super kick II. I just like it better.
I use a double bass drum pedal It's a DW 5000 series pedal infact all of my pedals are DW's and they are all in the 5000 series. The Double kick is the 5002 to be exact. It's a great Pedal, smooth action ready to play right out of the box. My HH stand is also a 5000 DW with swivel legs and a removable third leg which is off to give me a little more room for the double kick pedals. Last but not least is my remote HH stand again the DW 5000 series. People have a tendency to critisize the remotes as sluggish and non responsive. I can honestly say none of that is true with mine I use an 8' cable so maybe that's the reason but it works like a charm. I think it's one of the best additions I made. I absolutely love playing with dual rides and dual Hat's.
As for my Cymbal array that really is the "voice" of a drummer. I have a hodge podge of brands Zildjians, Sabians, Wuhan's, Silken's, Diril's & a Meinl. People are so worried about the sonic contitnuity of the cymbal array they forget it's okay not to have cymbals to be perfectly note for note sonically mathced. I never worry if a cymbal will "fit" in with my set up. My Pie's are so diverse and so numerous anything at this point will match up. OK let's start the run down
Zildjian :
19" med Crash A
15" Thin Crash A
20" Ping ride Custom A
14" New Beat HH ( right side , secondary)
17" Med Crash A
8" splash Custom A
Sabian :
14" AAx Stage Hat's ( Main hats)
16" AA Thin crash
Silken:
20" Hansun ride
15" Vintage crash
10" Hansun splash
Diril:
16" Med ICE series
14" D series thin crash
Meinl:
16" MB20 Med/hvy crash
Wuhan :
8,10, & 12 S series splashes
16" S series thin crash
17" S series Med Crash
8 & 12" Taditional series splashes
8, 10 & 12" New Traditional series splashes
16" NT med crash
14" NT Thin crash
12" China
17" China
As you can see I like Cymbals Lots and lost of cymbals. I have 2 cymbals tree's with 3 cymbals on each. There is nothing like rideing up one Cymbal tree and down the other. On both rides plus a few i Have in reserve I use moongel. I think the stuff is great I use it on my $100 Wuhan , My $200 Silken and My $325 Zildjian. It's effectively cuts the wash and overtones and brings out really nice clear sticking. So there you have it that's my little baby. I've said it before and I'll say it again If I wouldn't use a product I won't sell it. Until Next Time. T.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
History Of the Drumkit
I thought This blog we'd take a look at the History and development of the instrument we hold near and dear to our hearts. If your unfamiliar with the story it's actually pretty interesting to see how our instrument of choice came to be.
In the 1800's all theater was live. All broadway and vaudville shows had live bands. The percussion "section" was made up of several musicians playing different percussive instruments i.e. snare drum, bass drum, tom toms ( or chinese drums as they were also known) cymbal players and so on. In an early cost cutting move theater owners started to demand that the percussion section be reduced to one musician playing all the percussion parts together. This did not really become feasable until a man named William Ludwig look at the situation.
It was 1909 when William Ludwig invented the first workable bass drum pedal. He patented the idea and later that year the first bass drum pedals began to be manufactured. Intrestingly prior to the bass drum pedal's invention the bass drum player literally kick his drum. That's how the bass drum also became known as the kick drum a term we still use today. With the success of Ludwigs pedal the drummer could now be seated and an array of drums and cymbals could be set up around the drummer. Music also began to be written so a percussionist could play all the parts at once.
Early drum kits consisted of a bass drum, a snare drum a tom a few cymbals and a contraption table. mounted on the bass drum it was a table full of assorted percussion items that would be played during the show. Tambourines, Triangles, cowbells and thingsalong those lines would be on this table. Drum kits were begining to be reffered to as contraption kits. It was later shortened to trap kits and that is the origin of that term. During WWI and the roaring twenties the modern day drum kit truly began to take shape. There was just one thing left to modify and the truly modern drumkit was born.
Early drummers and drummers of this period kept time on the ride cymbal and on a piece of equipment called the "low boy". The LowBoy was essentially a high hat that was played on the floor. It had 2 cymbals the bottom one was stationary and the top one was moveable by a foot pedal standing only about 15 Inches from the floor and the cymbals were generally small 10-12 inches. It was a time keeping device meant to be heard by the drummer only. In the early to mid twenties drummers began to experiment around with the lowboy and began adding a tube to it raising the lowboy to a height that could be played with the sticks and still operated by the foot if one desired. In 1926 The First Hi-hat appeared in a drum catalog and the modern drumset as we know it was born.
During the 1930's and 1940's drum kits really began to resmble todays kits. Toms were added to the bass brum with mounting brackets floor toms with legs were positioned to the right or left of a drummer. Bass Drum sizes shrank from 26-28 inches to more modern 20, 22 & 24 inches. the bass drum pedals were improving so large drums were no longer needed for projection. What is generally considered a modern developement the double bass drum originally appeared as early as 1940. It enjoyed a brief moment of popularity as the swing era and big bands swept America. But by the early 50's be-bop and a new musical wave called rock-n-roll took over the airwaves and the double bass drum faded from popularity. Only to sit dormant and almost forgotten for over 30 years until ironically rock-n-roll revived it in the early 80's.
The double bass pedal was invented in 1972 and was manufactured by an Australian company Sleishman from 1972 until 1975 when manufacturing was discontinued due to a lack of sales. This was an Idea before it's time, today the double bass pedal is standard equipment amongst Metal drummers and is quite popular with rock and contemporary drummers also. Today's option for drummers is endless with the advent of electronic drums sound choices are endless for todays drummers. Double bass Pedals, remote Hi-Hats, elctronic triggers it all owes it's exsistence to 2 major inventions and innovations earlier in the 20th century. The development of the bass drum pedal and the Hi-hat.
In the 1800's all theater was live. All broadway and vaudville shows had live bands. The percussion "section" was made up of several musicians playing different percussive instruments i.e. snare drum, bass drum, tom toms ( or chinese drums as they were also known) cymbal players and so on. In an early cost cutting move theater owners started to demand that the percussion section be reduced to one musician playing all the percussion parts together. This did not really become feasable until a man named William Ludwig look at the situation.
It was 1909 when William Ludwig invented the first workable bass drum pedal. He patented the idea and later that year the first bass drum pedals began to be manufactured. Intrestingly prior to the bass drum pedal's invention the bass drum player literally kick his drum. That's how the bass drum also became known as the kick drum a term we still use today. With the success of Ludwigs pedal the drummer could now be seated and an array of drums and cymbals could be set up around the drummer. Music also began to be written so a percussionist could play all the parts at once.
Early drum kits consisted of a bass drum, a snare drum a tom a few cymbals and a contraption table. mounted on the bass drum it was a table full of assorted percussion items that would be played during the show. Tambourines, Triangles, cowbells and thingsalong those lines would be on this table. Drum kits were begining to be reffered to as contraption kits. It was later shortened to trap kits and that is the origin of that term. During WWI and the roaring twenties the modern day drum kit truly began to take shape. There was just one thing left to modify and the truly modern drumkit was born.
Early drummers and drummers of this period kept time on the ride cymbal and on a piece of equipment called the "low boy". The LowBoy was essentially a high hat that was played on the floor. It had 2 cymbals the bottom one was stationary and the top one was moveable by a foot pedal standing only about 15 Inches from the floor and the cymbals were generally small 10-12 inches. It was a time keeping device meant to be heard by the drummer only. In the early to mid twenties drummers began to experiment around with the lowboy and began adding a tube to it raising the lowboy to a height that could be played with the sticks and still operated by the foot if one desired. In 1926 The First Hi-hat appeared in a drum catalog and the modern drumset as we know it was born.
During the 1930's and 1940's drum kits really began to resmble todays kits. Toms were added to the bass brum with mounting brackets floor toms with legs were positioned to the right or left of a drummer. Bass Drum sizes shrank from 26-28 inches to more modern 20, 22 & 24 inches. the bass drum pedals were improving so large drums were no longer needed for projection. What is generally considered a modern developement the double bass drum originally appeared as early as 1940. It enjoyed a brief moment of popularity as the swing era and big bands swept America. But by the early 50's be-bop and a new musical wave called rock-n-roll took over the airwaves and the double bass drum faded from popularity. Only to sit dormant and almost forgotten for over 30 years until ironically rock-n-roll revived it in the early 80's.
The double bass pedal was invented in 1972 and was manufactured by an Australian company Sleishman from 1972 until 1975 when manufacturing was discontinued due to a lack of sales. This was an Idea before it's time, today the double bass pedal is standard equipment amongst Metal drummers and is quite popular with rock and contemporary drummers also. Today's option for drummers is endless with the advent of electronic drums sound choices are endless for todays drummers. Double bass Pedals, remote Hi-Hats, elctronic triggers it all owes it's exsistence to 2 major inventions and innovations earlier in the 20th century. The development of the bass drum pedal and the Hi-hat.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Cymbals & Snares earns "Top Rated Seller" Status
First we hit power seller. Which is really just based on gross sales per month. I'm not exactly even sure what the minumum is for that designation. It does however let potential customers know that you are consistantly doing a fair amount of buisness. It let's them know your a serious Ebay store and operation, to some degree it gives your company some credibility and I'm sure makes some buyers more at easy in dealing with your company.
This month however Cymbals & Snares has joined the Ebay elite. We were designated a "Top rated seller " By Ebay. This is the highest designation Ebay can give a company. In essence it means that :
A) We consistently recieve the highest buyer ratings
B) We ship our products quickly
C) We have earned a track record of excellent service.
I and the entire staff at C&S thank our customers for rating and speaking so highly of us. When I started this business these were in essence some of our goals. It feels good to be recognised for your efforts. This will also boost the confidence of potential customers knowing they are dealing with a top rated outfit.
This just motivates us more to work even harder to unify our ancillary sites we've talked about into a seemless circle and makes us put more emphasis on finally getting our long overdue proprietary website up and running in addition to our Ebay store. We are certainly finishing 2009 with some momentum and look foward to making 2010 a truly "Breakout" year for us. Again we'd just like to thank everyone who has helped C&S become both a Power Seller and a Top Rated Seller. Without you our customers we wouldn't be any of this. Until next Time T.
This month however Cymbals & Snares has joined the Ebay elite. We were designated a "Top rated seller " By Ebay. This is the highest designation Ebay can give a company. In essence it means that :
A) We consistently recieve the highest buyer ratings
B) We ship our products quickly
C) We have earned a track record of excellent service.
I and the entire staff at C&S thank our customers for rating and speaking so highly of us. When I started this business these were in essence some of our goals. It feels good to be recognised for your efforts. This will also boost the confidence of potential customers knowing they are dealing with a top rated outfit.
This just motivates us more to work even harder to unify our ancillary sites we've talked about into a seemless circle and makes us put more emphasis on finally getting our long overdue proprietary website up and running in addition to our Ebay store. We are certainly finishing 2009 with some momentum and look foward to making 2010 a truly "Breakout" year for us. Again we'd just like to thank everyone who has helped C&S become both a Power Seller and a Top Rated Seller. Without you our customers we wouldn't be any of this. Until next Time T.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Holiday Message from our President
Season's Greetings everyone. I cannot believe another holiday season is upon us. The economy is in the beginnings of it's long waited recovery. But still things are not that good on main street. Despite all that Cymbals & Snares experienced a year of solid growth. Last Christmas we went into the holiday season with about 25 product offerings, this year we've increased it by 5 fold to around 125 items. More goodies for you too choose from.
We could have more items but instead have chosen a more steady path to growth. We will continue to grow and add brands and products as long as our ability to keep the level of customer service you've come to expect from C & S remains the same. If you begin to sacrifice what has made you successful in the end we wind up being just another Internet drum shop. That's not gonna happen on my watch. We have just been awarded EBay's top seller award. each listing now will have a gold icon saying were a Top Seller and in our listing eBay lists the reasons for it. Consistent high marks from customers, consistently fast shipping. Were proud of that and we worked hard for it. We aim to keep it that way.
To help stretch your holiday dollars even farther C & S has eliminated shipping charges on all cymbal packs. Being these are our heaviest and most popular items it can add up to some real savings for some of you. We have not raised our prices to compensate for the cost to us. We have made the choice of simply doing with a little less income this season, and a way of saying thank you for patronizing our store before you even purchase anything.
Don't know what to get that special drummer in your life ? Cymbal & Snares introduces our personal shopper program. Simple email us with your name and telephone number and a sales rep will get back to you within 24 hrs to discuss gift ideas. The only thing we ask is that try to familiarize yourself at least a little bit with his/hers set up it will make picking out the perfect gift much easier. Try to see what type of cymbals they play ( the logo is usually on it) and what brand and how many drums he /she has. It will help us greatly. So don't worry about not getting the right thing. A friendly sales rep will help guide you to getting what your drummer needs on your budget. Not what we want to sell you. That's a C&S guarantee.
We have several more deliveries scheduled before Christmas. They will include products from Wuhan, Silken, Taye, TKO, cannon & attack so there's lots more on the way. Now take a deep breath and relax your holiday drum shopping is in good hands.
As President I and the entire staff at Cymbals & Snares would like to thank all of you who patronized our site this year. We look forward to an even bigger 2010. We hope you have a great thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa or a Merry festivus for the rest of us no matter what your beliefs are or wehter you have any beliefs at all have and enjoyable holiday. Thank you
Tony Patrizzio
President
Cymbals & Snares
We could have more items but instead have chosen a more steady path to growth. We will continue to grow and add brands and products as long as our ability to keep the level of customer service you've come to expect from C & S remains the same. If you begin to sacrifice what has made you successful in the end we wind up being just another Internet drum shop. That's not gonna happen on my watch. We have just been awarded EBay's top seller award. each listing now will have a gold icon saying were a Top Seller and in our listing eBay lists the reasons for it. Consistent high marks from customers, consistently fast shipping. Were proud of that and we worked hard for it. We aim to keep it that way.
To help stretch your holiday dollars even farther C & S has eliminated shipping charges on all cymbal packs. Being these are our heaviest and most popular items it can add up to some real savings for some of you. We have not raised our prices to compensate for the cost to us. We have made the choice of simply doing with a little less income this season, and a way of saying thank you for patronizing our store before you even purchase anything.
Don't know what to get that special drummer in your life ? Cymbal & Snares introduces our personal shopper program. Simple email us with your name and telephone number and a sales rep will get back to you within 24 hrs to discuss gift ideas. The only thing we ask is that try to familiarize yourself at least a little bit with his/hers set up it will make picking out the perfect gift much easier. Try to see what type of cymbals they play ( the logo is usually on it) and what brand and how many drums he /she has. It will help us greatly. So don't worry about not getting the right thing. A friendly sales rep will help guide you to getting what your drummer needs on your budget. Not what we want to sell you. That's a C&S guarantee.
We have several more deliveries scheduled before Christmas. They will include products from Wuhan, Silken, Taye, TKO, cannon & attack so there's lots more on the way. Now take a deep breath and relax your holiday drum shopping is in good hands.
As President I and the entire staff at Cymbals & Snares would like to thank all of you who patronized our site this year. We look forward to an even bigger 2010. We hope you have a great thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa or a Merry festivus for the rest of us no matter what your beliefs are or wehter you have any beliefs at all have and enjoyable holiday. Thank you
Tony Patrizzio
President
Cymbals & Snares
Friday, October 16, 2009
Music Store Faux Pas
Used to be when I walked into the local Sam Ash the manager although not instantly recalling my name always greeted me in a friendly manner. If he was with a customer a nod of the head and a wave and a "I'll be with you when I'm done here" was a given. Of course those were the days when there just a few SA outside NYC.
I remember having the manager throw a drum key or a pair of sticks in my bag every now and then. I distinctively remember him asking me to try a new brand or style of stick they had just picked up, and let me know what you think. What exactly it was is lost to time were talking late 70's folks.
I remember looking at the Zildjians and paistes ( that's all there were then Sabian had yet to come into existence) Trying a Zildjian whatever kinda crash and having the manager tell me we just had a guy return the same one if ya like it let me know it will sell as used and I can save you a bunch of coin.
Those days are gone forever. Now whenever I walk into a Big Box store there's a different manager. Usually a whole new crew. You know the guy. The Drum managers today are by and large embittered Drummers in their late 40's early 50's who music careers were about as successful as the Titanic. They hate the record labels for not recognising their genius. They hate the company they work for and they pretty much hate life and you.
It's attitudes like that help me decide to found Cymbals & Snares to re-establish a retail practice that has long been dead Customer Service. Some of the things that have happened to me at Music stores are just unbelievable. I know we all have stories and we wanna hear them. Just recently I accompanied a Friend to Guitar Center ( he's a guitar player) I strolled over to the drum department. No one in their except me and 2 clerks. One guy was chatting to his girlfriend on the phone. I approached him and said" excuse me." He put his finger up indicating he'd be with me when he was done. Not saying to his girlfriend "hold on a second honey I got a customer" I turned an approached the guy behind the counter who was practicing his paradiddles. I asked for some sticks to try some Pies out. Without looking up he reached down and gave me a stick. A STICK. all the while intently reading his music notes. Eye contact was established after I asked for a pair. I was there 20-30 minutes playing Cymbals in the sound room. Playing pearls new demon drive $600 set of pedals. Neither of these guys asked me a single question nothing Nada zip. I thought to myself not much has changed here.
A few months ago I asked the bitter drum manager about Agazarian cymbals. GC has ditched Wuhan for Agazarian it's their house brand. I asked why the switch ? how did they compare a few shop talk kinda things. Now this guys has no idea I'm an Authorized Wuhan dealer. First response from him was Wuhan quality was going down hill. Wuhan is/was going out of business. Wuhan was only making china's from now on. Of course all three answers are wrong. But I wonder was he intentionally lying ? Was he misinformed ? Or did he just not know ? Any way you slice completely unacceptable for a dept manager.
Several years ago at Sam ash ( Now you Knew I couldn't leave them out) I was looking to purchase a new kit. My first new one in years I did my research I wanted to make sure I was making the right purchase. After talking to the clerk who recommended a DW kit (of Course) he then began to make his sales pitch For his personal Kit !! I politely told him I wasn't interested in a Canary yellow Birch kit from some boutique maker I never heard of. But on he went Every parameter I has laid out for my new kit was ignored as he kept talking about his kit and what a deal it was. Over the next two weeks I was in and out of that store 8 times looking and relooking and each and every time he talked up his kit. he even got my telephone number from a stick purchase I made and called me at Home !! I screamed at him " I DON"T WANT A USED KIT !!! " That became my first on-line purchase I wound up getting a Mapex Mars pro series kit. That I still use today.
Now my last story from the big Indie shop around here. This was my last big purchase before opening Cymbals & Snares. I decided to re-head my entire kit get a new crash some new snare wires felts I mean a real kit tune up. My first purchase was the heads . Now I have 11 drums on my kit so you know quality heads are gonna set you back a little coin here. Evans G2 coated for the batters and G1 Clears for the reso's. The kid Told me big mistake. I'm thinking "oh boy" They talked me into a Emad bass drum head. I wish I has stuck with my original Idea another Aquarian super Kick 2. Oh well. Off to the Cymbals. I grabbed a beautiful Meinl MB20 med/hvy 16" crash which was well over $200 bucks. Felts, washers a set of 14" 20 strand purseound Blaster series snare wires. a few pair of sticks and I was ready to go....... Almost I spotted amongst the snare stands 2 matching boom stands that are huge The biggest boom stands I'd ever seen. Besides my 11 drums I use about 20 cymbals on my kit. These had the height , telescopic arm perfect to bring 2 more cymbals to within reach of me. I also noticed they were used. I thought Great Bargaining room especially with what I bought.They were $40 a piece I offered them $25 for the set. The kid went nuts. "that's nuts " what do you take me for, are you crazy " I looked at him and quickly reminded him I had just shy of $600 in merchandise on the counter. His response was swift "So what what has that got to do with this" I thought Salesmanship not being emphasized here that's for sure. I told the kid "look you gave the guy store credit for these anyway you ain't loosing nothing and what your making off of me should more than make up for giving me these stands for $25. A Senior employee walked over listened to us I again emphasised my $600 purchase. I was soon loading them into my car. But the point of all these stories are the same Customer service is dead. Stores look for the single deal as we at Cymbals & Snares look to build relationships with drummers for the long term.
But enough about how Cymbals & Snares does things. Let's hear some of your music store fiasco's. T
I remember having the manager throw a drum key or a pair of sticks in my bag every now and then. I distinctively remember him asking me to try a new brand or style of stick they had just picked up, and let me know what you think. What exactly it was is lost to time were talking late 70's folks.
I remember looking at the Zildjians and paistes ( that's all there were then Sabian had yet to come into existence) Trying a Zildjian whatever kinda crash and having the manager tell me we just had a guy return the same one if ya like it let me know it will sell as used and I can save you a bunch of coin.
Those days are gone forever. Now whenever I walk into a Big Box store there's a different manager. Usually a whole new crew. You know the guy. The Drum managers today are by and large embittered Drummers in their late 40's early 50's who music careers were about as successful as the Titanic. They hate the record labels for not recognising their genius. They hate the company they work for and they pretty much hate life and you.
It's attitudes like that help me decide to found Cymbals & Snares to re-establish a retail practice that has long been dead Customer Service. Some of the things that have happened to me at Music stores are just unbelievable. I know we all have stories and we wanna hear them. Just recently I accompanied a Friend to Guitar Center ( he's a guitar player) I strolled over to the drum department. No one in their except me and 2 clerks. One guy was chatting to his girlfriend on the phone. I approached him and said" excuse me." He put his finger up indicating he'd be with me when he was done. Not saying to his girlfriend "hold on a second honey I got a customer" I turned an approached the guy behind the counter who was practicing his paradiddles. I asked for some sticks to try some Pies out. Without looking up he reached down and gave me a stick. A STICK. all the while intently reading his music notes. Eye contact was established after I asked for a pair. I was there 20-30 minutes playing Cymbals in the sound room. Playing pearls new demon drive $600 set of pedals. Neither of these guys asked me a single question nothing Nada zip. I thought to myself not much has changed here.
A few months ago I asked the bitter drum manager about Agazarian cymbals. GC has ditched Wuhan for Agazarian it's their house brand. I asked why the switch ? how did they compare a few shop talk kinda things. Now this guys has no idea I'm an Authorized Wuhan dealer. First response from him was Wuhan quality was going down hill. Wuhan is/was going out of business. Wuhan was only making china's from now on. Of course all three answers are wrong. But I wonder was he intentionally lying ? Was he misinformed ? Or did he just not know ? Any way you slice completely unacceptable for a dept manager.
Several years ago at Sam ash ( Now you Knew I couldn't leave them out) I was looking to purchase a new kit. My first new one in years I did my research I wanted to make sure I was making the right purchase. After talking to the clerk who recommended a DW kit (of Course) he then began to make his sales pitch For his personal Kit !! I politely told him I wasn't interested in a Canary yellow Birch kit from some boutique maker I never heard of. But on he went Every parameter I has laid out for my new kit was ignored as he kept talking about his kit and what a deal it was. Over the next two weeks I was in and out of that store 8 times looking and relooking and each and every time he talked up his kit. he even got my telephone number from a stick purchase I made and called me at Home !! I screamed at him " I DON"T WANT A USED KIT !!! " That became my first on-line purchase I wound up getting a Mapex Mars pro series kit. That I still use today.
Now my last story from the big Indie shop around here. This was my last big purchase before opening Cymbals & Snares. I decided to re-head my entire kit get a new crash some new snare wires felts I mean a real kit tune up. My first purchase was the heads . Now I have 11 drums on my kit so you know quality heads are gonna set you back a little coin here. Evans G2 coated for the batters and G1 Clears for the reso's. The kid Told me big mistake. I'm thinking "oh boy" They talked me into a Emad bass drum head. I wish I has stuck with my original Idea another Aquarian super Kick 2. Oh well. Off to the Cymbals. I grabbed a beautiful Meinl MB20 med/hvy 16" crash which was well over $200 bucks. Felts, washers a set of 14" 20 strand purseound Blaster series snare wires. a few pair of sticks and I was ready to go....... Almost I spotted amongst the snare stands 2 matching boom stands that are huge The biggest boom stands I'd ever seen. Besides my 11 drums I use about 20 cymbals on my kit. These had the height , telescopic arm perfect to bring 2 more cymbals to within reach of me. I also noticed they were used. I thought Great Bargaining room especially with what I bought.They were $40 a piece I offered them $25 for the set. The kid went nuts. "that's nuts " what do you take me for, are you crazy " I looked at him and quickly reminded him I had just shy of $600 in merchandise on the counter. His response was swift "So what what has that got to do with this" I thought Salesmanship not being emphasized here that's for sure. I told the kid "look you gave the guy store credit for these anyway you ain't loosing nothing and what your making off of me should more than make up for giving me these stands for $25. A Senior employee walked over listened to us I again emphasised my $600 purchase. I was soon loading them into my car. But the point of all these stories are the same Customer service is dead. Stores look for the single deal as we at Cymbals & Snares look to build relationships with drummers for the long term.
But enough about how Cymbals & Snares does things. Let's hear some of your music store fiasco's. T
Friday, September 18, 2009
Comming this fall.....
Summer is over.Tthe kids are back in school and time to back into that old routine. Which for some of us means buy stuff for the old drum kit! We like to keep our customers up to date about the happening at Cymbals & Snares so here's a quic rundown of what you can expect in the fall.
TAYE DRUMS: We will expand our selection of Taye snares. Over the summer we sold out of our shipment of rockline entry level snares. We will be bringing in some mid-level snares mainly the rock-pro line. Don't worry there's plenty to choose from. The colors, finishes and materials in which to choose these are very solid reasonably priced drums. Taye also makes some great award winning bass pedals. Were not kidding last year at Namm one of Taye's bass pedals won best in show, Look for an extensive selection of entry level to doublekick pro level pedals from Taye
SILKEN : We currently have a pretty good selection of 2 of their lines. The Vintage and Hansun are well represented. This fall see us expand our Silken offerings with a number of Cymbals from a 3rd line called Dark Energ. With additional selection in the two series we currently carry.
TKO : This company makes some really good entry level products a great exampl of that is the TK101jr drumkit. Probably the nicest most well built kids drum kit on the market. They also make some of the nicest and affordable cymbal stands on the market. TKO's 1200 series has many pro features including that massive counterwweight for the boom stands . look for us to bring in TKO 1200 series this fall.
DIRIL : These goreous hand made cymbals from Turkey are among the best pro-grade cymbals on the maket. We are currently carrying the D and ICE series look for us to pick up their jazz line sometime this fall.
Cannon : these guys make rock solid hardware that is very fairly priced. Equipment from their Road pro and their 820 line of equipment. HH's thrones and assorted standslook for more of these things from Cannon. We also are considering brining on the all Maple version of Cannons popular concert toms. These are all custom toms which color matching you exsisiting is an option !
Wuhan : We will continue to to fully stock every Wuhan they make. We are currently working on a deal that wil allow us to offer every china they make. stay tuned
ALL OTHER BRANDS : from puresound to attack we will expand our offerings from all the brands we carry. well that;s it for now T
TAYE DRUMS: We will expand our selection of Taye snares. Over the summer we sold out of our shipment of rockline entry level snares. We will be bringing in some mid-level snares mainly the rock-pro line. Don't worry there's plenty to choose from. The colors, finishes and materials in which to choose these are very solid reasonably priced drums. Taye also makes some great award winning bass pedals. Were not kidding last year at Namm one of Taye's bass pedals won best in show, Look for an extensive selection of entry level to doublekick pro level pedals from Taye
SILKEN : We currently have a pretty good selection of 2 of their lines. The Vintage and Hansun are well represented. This fall see us expand our Silken offerings with a number of Cymbals from a 3rd line called Dark Energ. With additional selection in the two series we currently carry.
TKO : This company makes some really good entry level products a great exampl of that is the TK101jr drumkit. Probably the nicest most well built kids drum kit on the market. They also make some of the nicest and affordable cymbal stands on the market. TKO's 1200 series has many pro features including that massive counterwweight for the boom stands . look for us to bring in TKO 1200 series this fall.
DIRIL : These goreous hand made cymbals from Turkey are among the best pro-grade cymbals on the maket. We are currently carrying the D and ICE series look for us to pick up their jazz line sometime this fall.
Cannon : these guys make rock solid hardware that is very fairly priced. Equipment from their Road pro and their 820 line of equipment. HH's thrones and assorted standslook for more of these things from Cannon. We also are considering brining on the all Maple version of Cannons popular concert toms. These are all custom toms which color matching you exsisiting is an option !
Wuhan : We will continue to to fully stock every Wuhan they make. We are currently working on a deal that wil allow us to offer every china they make. stay tuned
ALL OTHER BRANDS : from puresound to attack we will expand our offerings from all the brands we carry. well that;s it for now T
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