5/10/2013

Crazy Buffalo Drum Kit updated!

Well, here is the finished version of the Buffalo Kit! This drum kit is pretty crazy! It is also one of the most portable kits I have ever built  - without the hardware and cymbals, the six shells weigh maybe 12 pounds. I have added 2 more toms to it. You can't really see it in the picture, but there is a 5/16" foot long screw screwed through one of the pre-drilled holes at the top of the bass shell. The screw goes through a post clamp that is mounted to the ride cymbal stand. This helps to keep the bass drum super stable and prevent it from moving, since there are no spurs on it. I originally tried mounting the long screw through the side of the bass drum shell, but it wasn't nearly as stable as the current through-the-top version. My buddy Mikey came up with the idea of putting the screw through the top. The bass drum doesn't move at all now. The tiny shell by the hi-hat is an 8" snare; there are 8", 10" 12" and 14" toms as well. All the shells are 3.5" deep. All the toms and snare are bolted together using the pre-existing holes in the shells.  The entire snare/tom assembly sits on a snare basket. No hardware, no tuning, weather proof, water proof, bullet proof (nearly!). I love this kit. The hi-hats I'm using are 1961 Zildjian 14" beauties - they are really jazzy and dry. The ride cymbal is a 20" Sabian B8 that I found in the gutter one day. (Really!) That's a poster of Neil Peart and his Time Machine tour kit on the wall behind me.

I loved this kit - it incorporated all the elements I was trying to include in my crazy drum kits - lightweight, easy to set up/tear down, weather resistant, and inexpensive. However, as of February 2015, there is no more Buffalo Drum kit - I sold the various parts. I'm waiting for Remo to figure this out and bring out their version of it.

Truly an amazing little crazy drum kit, and I'm glad I made it!

No comments:

Post a Comment