NAMM Oddities 2007 The Other Room
Guitars Goodies Percussion Instruments Techno Geek Toys You Figure It Out
Percussion

Spiral Trash Cymbal

Even big companies like Zildjian get into the Oddities game from time to time. The Spiral Trash Cymbal (their name, not mine) sounds something like a big thunderous spring, which kinda makes sense. In the picture you can see a player using a foot muting technique.

Avedis Zildjian Company
22 Longwater Drive
Norwell, MA 02061
www.zildjian.com

Zildjian Spiral Trash Cymbal

 

Lou Dog cycle

Oddities Abound

Local favorites, OCDP, fielded a number of Oddities-worthy specimens. Foremost among them was the Lou-Dog trike drumset that features multiple built-in flat-panel video displays.

I particularly liked the twisted graphics on the drums(at right), as well as the two examples of internally lighted drums.

Orange County Drum & Percussion
1609 East McFadden, Suite D
Santa Ana, CA 92705
(714) 564-0667
www.ocdrum.com

Orange County Drums and Percussion

 

Drumnetics

No, this isn't a drum pedal designed by L. Ron Hubbard, but there is a kind of "self help" aspect to it. In the pedal and footboard are powerful rare-earth magnets that repel each other to eliminate the need for any spring mechanism. Since you have control over the position of one magnet, you can adjust the amount of resistance.

Drumnetics Company, LLC
7508 Pilot Cove Ct.
Denver, NC 28037
(704) 822-2595
www.drumnetics.com

Drumnetics Pedal

 

Orion Placa Tupã

Orion Placa Tupã

The Placa Tupã produces a sound that lies somewhere between that of a china cymbal and a gong.

Orion Cymbals
Rua Emilio Goeldi, 411 - Lapa
São Paol / SP Brazil - CEP 05065-110
+55 11 3871 6286
www.orioncymbals.com

 

Kokoro

Percussion Crossbreeds

At left, the Kokoro, is a cross between a tamborim and the Brazilian pandeiro. You can also play the back of it as a cajon.

The Marimbata Cajon, seen at right, is the unlikely union of a cajon and a marimba with drumheads on each end.

Rhythms
671 Aldo Avenue #12
Santa Clara, CA 95054
(408) 492-9900
www.afrorhythms.com

Marimbata Cajon

 

Anti-SPCA Training Kit

I don't personally think that putting these into kids hands will cause them to beat on animals, but I'll bet there's some overzealous enforcer of political correctness that does.

Rhythm Band Instruments, Inc.
P.O. Box 126
Fort Worth, TX 76101
(800) 424-4724
www.rhythmband.com

Zoo Rhythms

 

Triplet Drum Glove

Triplet Drum Glove

The three loops built into these drum gloves are designed to help keep the stick aligned for proper stick technique. It might also come in handy for particularly clumsy drummers.

Triplet Drum Glove
(914) 787-8840
www.tripletdrumglove.com

 

Drum Key For The Impatient

This is a 4x gear driver drum key. For every turn of the handle the drum lug rotates four times, thus speeding up the tiresome process of replacing a drum head.

RoboKey USA
St. Louis, MO
(314) 983-9797
www.robokey.com

RoboKey

 

DTS Drum Tuning System

Drum Tuning for Dummies

This is a clever system that allows you to tune a drum head with a single Allen wrench. At each lug there's a lever that pulls down the rim as the cable is tightened. The cable slides easily at each lug so it maintains even tension all the way around the head.

Drum Tech
9018 Balboa Blvd. #107
Northridge, CA 91325
(413) 538-7586
www.drumtech.com

 

Uncompromised Shells

This is another new approach to drum tuning. The goal here is to avoid drilling any holes for hardware mounting. The drums I heard ring very nicely, but you're limited to tuning the top and bottom heads to the same pitch.

Page Drums
3855 Granada Ave.
San Diego, CA 92104
(619) 299-3266
www.pagedrums.com

Page Drums

 

C & C Custom Drums

Kick Drum Spinna

Does a motorized spinning hubcap on your kick drum sound like something you'd like to own?

If not then maybe your tastes lean more toward the simple graphics on this other kit from C & C.

C & C Custom Drums
(816) 468-1121
www.candccustomdrums.com

 

To Rug, Or Not To Rug

The Drum Rug folks where showing their latest: the drum stopper that you can use without a rug. The stoppers are simple rubber doo-hickies (that's the technical term) that sit under the legs of your kick drum. Positioned on a hard surface, it will keep your drum from migrating as you play. They also have a version with industrial velcro hooks on the underside that you can use on a carpeted surface, which seems like a thinly-veiled attempt to get you to buy both the stoppers and a rug.

Drum Rugs
(310) 909-8549
www.wildrugs.com

Drum Rug Stopper

 

Power Wrist Builders

Heavy Metal Sticks

These metal practice sticks range in weight from 13 to 29 ounces. If the TSA gives you any crap about bringing these in your carry-on bag, just tell them they're knitting needles, they allow those two-foot aluminum spikes onboard.

Power Wrist Builders
2230 Quimby Road
San Jose, CA 95122
(800) 645-6673
www.powerwristbuilders.com

 

Triggers All Grown Up

This is a trigger kit for people who want the triggers to still look something like drums, or maybe for electronic drummers who miss the good old days of lugging bulky gear. The kick has two triggers built in to accommodate a double pedal.

Wirges Percussion Systems
1119 Rushing Circle, Ste. 7
Little Rock, AR 72204
(501) 749-3055
www.percussion-systems.com

Wirges trigger kit

 

Cole Marcus

This kid kicked ass. I caught 8-year-old Cole Marcus playing a solo in the Buddy Rich Drum booth, about three minutes into the solo I thought to capture some video.

www.colemarcus.com

 

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©2007 Barry Wood