REMO SILENTSTROKE DRUMHEADS AND ZILDJIAN GEN16 CYMBALS!
While at the 2014 NAMM show, my Remo representative, Bruce
Jacoby, pulled me aside telling me that he wanted to show me something he
thought I’d be interested in. He led me
to a 4-piece drum set with what looked like Coated Ambassadors on the batter
heads. He told me to sit down handed me
a pair of sticks and told me to play.
When I hit the first note, I knew I was playing something special.
The set was fitted with Remo’s new SilentStroke drumheads. Upon closer observation, I noticed they were
a mesh material. These were not like the
practice mesh heads I played in the past.
They let the tone of the drums shine though! Each drum sounded beautiful! The kick drum had a low, focused attack with
a rich boom surrounding it. The snare
was sensitive at low volumes and capable of producing a smooth buzz roll AND a
rim shot! I was even able to get a
sidestick sound from it! But that isn’t
why I think these heads are special. As
a member of Team Remo, I haven’t found a head combination I didn’t like. What made these heads special was that they
were 90% quieter than a standard drumhead!
I’ve been a full-time drum educator since 1998. I started teaching out of my home. Then I did added mobile lessons. Then I taught out of a large, big-box music
store. Then I opened my own music
school. When my son was born in 2003, I
went back to teaching out of my home studio.
My current student roster sits between 68 and 72 students per week. I teach Monday-Saturday. That means I get lots of students of
different ages and skill levels coming to my house to learn an instrument that
is typically quite loud. Living in
Southern California, I don’t have the luxury of having space between my
neighbors. A huge issue for me is sound
management. I want to keep my neighbors
happy! I do not have the ability to have
a dedicated, soundproofed teaching studio.
My studio is located in my garage.
Yes I have it finished and insulated as well as climate controlled but it
is not soundproofed! I have sound
absorption panels and mutes on my teaching set.
The sound levels are manageable and my neighbors never complain. I thought I had everything dialed in… until I
tried these heads!
I cannot recommend these heads enough to fellow educators
who need a teaching set that sounds AND feels real while being 90% quieter than
standard heads or to anyone who wants to play their drums without having the
police knocking on their door! Which
leads me to another product Bruce hipped me to:
Zildjian’s Gen16 cymbals!
I mistakenly thought these cymbals were only for triggers
and electronic kit players. How wrong
was I! They come with the option to not
get the accompanying triggers! The same
kit with the SilentStroke heads was set up with a Gen16 hi hat, crash and
ride. These cymbals looked great and
sounded exactly like what you’d expect a great Zildjian cymbal to sound like
but again, 90% quieter! The cymbals felt
just like my beloved K’s when I played them!
BOTTOM LINE: If you
are a drum educator who needs a quieter teaching set or live in an apartment,
townhome or anywhere else which requires your drums to not be heard, you will
not find a better more affordable sound treatment option than the combination
of Remo SilentStroke drumheads and Zildjian Gen16 cymbals!
1)
They are much less expensive than an
electronic kit.
2)
You can outfit your current kit with
them and still have the familiarity, touch, feel and tone of your existing
acoustic kit.
3)
They are much quieter than a practice
pad kit or an acoustic kit with mutes.
