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Acoustic drums, cymbalsThe details on Endre's acoustic drums and cymbals can be found here. Read more... |
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What the aliens left behind: Peavey Radial Pro 1000Background and AntecedentsPeavey Radial Pro was probably the most mistreated, hapless endeavour ever in the history of drum manufacturing. Having procured from inventor Steven Volpp a drum manufacturing technology based on a revolutionary new concept, Peavey, the largest musical instrument manufacturer in the U.S., entered the market of premium category acoustic drums in 1994 with great expectations. |
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The essence of this new design was the introduction of a 3-piece drum shell: two completely independent self-supporting wooden rings, over which the drum head is mounted, plus a very thin (in the case of toms, 3 ply, only 2.5 mm), completely tension and load-free maplewood cylinder, with the rings glued to its top and bottom edges. This idea made it possible to construct drums with shells thinner than ever before. The objective was to obtain a lightweight and thin wooden shell that becomes resonant within the shortest possible time when the head is struck. The result turned out to be a vivid, overspilling, open sound with an unbelievably hard, crisp attack. The precise technical description of the Radial Pro design, and further relevant information of this item now considered as an oddity of musical instrument history can be found on the Peavey Radial Pro Owners Club website. The drummer community took a suspicious stance vis-à-vis this bizarrely concieved instrument of a company previously best known for its amplifiers. The innumerable favorable test reports all trumpeting superlatives amounted to little, the impressively precise workmanship and the sound that just said it all were all in vain, drummers failed to appreciate the weird sight of self-tensioning wooden rings mostly reminiscent, IMHO, of toilet seats. After several years of experimenting, in 2002 Peavey finally decided to discontinue the production of all three lines of its Radial Pro series. |
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My Radial Pro 1000I had my as-if-new own kit, in excellent conditions, with natural finish, ordered and brought over from the U.S. in 2005. Originally, it had only four toms, but luckily I succeeded in persuading my friend [link href=http://www.gustavito.hu text=Guszty Perger] to fabricate me a 8"-tom, according to the Radial Bridge System specifications. This little sweetie fit in perfectly with the others. Note it: these drums are not going anywhere from here, they are destined to stay with me. Bizarre, but ever since I had this set, many junior drummers accosted me saying, "Whoa, this is a beautiful kit, what make are these drums?". Poor Steven Volpp, it looks as if he predated but also erroneously miscalculated their implementation by 20 or so years... T1: Gustavito Radial Bridge 8" tom |
