2019 DCI Recap

We had a great time at the DCI World Championships last week! Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Tama booth. We had a great time catching up with many of you, and hope you had a great time watching the incredible performances throughout the weekend.  Congratulations to the Blue Devils for winning another World Championship, and to the Blue Devils percussion section for taking home the high percussion award!

Thank you to Tama for making some room in your booth for us this year. Make sure to visit their website to see what they’re doing in the world of marching percussion and drum set!

tama.com

Congratulations to all performers, staff members and volunteers on a great drum corps season!

For official scores, be sure to visit the DCI score page.

The Chops Basic Guide to DCI 2019

Welcome back to the Chops blog.  We’re busy gearing up for the Drum Corps International (DCI) World Championships, held right here this week in Indianapolis!  It takes place at Lucas Oil Stadium and surrounding areas.  The competition inside Lucas Oil stadium isn’t the only thing to see.  There are many events throughout the week, most of which are free and open to the public!

Here’s our basic guide to help you take in some of the action.

July 2019 News at Chops

Marching Snare Head Feature: Remo Suede Max

We get many calls this time of year regarding snare head choices. There are many tried and true products out there, but there is one newer option that is quickly becoming the choice of marching groups everywhere: the Remo Suede Max batter head.

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It’s Vintage: Restoring a Ludwig Drum Set

If you are in the market for some new percussion gear for your upcoming marching band season, now is the time to take advantage of these great prices. Cap City Indoor used the gear this past indoor season, the gear is in great shape, and we just reduced the prices.

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Product Spotlight: Tama’s Dyna-Sync Bass Drum Pedals

We’re excited to talk about Tama’s brand new Dyna-Sync bass drum pedals. These pedals were unveiled at Winter NAMM this past January, and there was a lot of buzz surrounding them. I can tell you after putting my own foot on one the buzz was deserved!

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Product Spotlight: Tama’s Dyna-Sync Bass Drum Pedals

Welcome back to the Chops Blog! This week, we’re excited to talk about Tama’s brand new Dyna-Sync bass drum pedals. These pedals were unveiled at Winter NAMM this past January, and there was a lot of buzz surrounding them. I can tell you after putting my own foot on one the buzz was deserved!

The pedal action is unbelievably smooth. You would expect that from a pedal designed like this one, but even I was surprised by how little effort was used to play it. I know a lot of drummers look at direct drive-type pedals as great for speed, but not much else. This pedal provides both smooth speed and power, so you get the best of both worlds here.

The adjustments and features included on the single and double pedals are too numerous to list in the blog, so I would suggest going here to check it out:

(single) https://www.tama.com/usa/products/detail/hpds1.html

(double) https://www.tama.com/usa/products/detail/hpds1tw.html

The price tags are a little steep ($349.99 for the single and $699.99 for the double), but this could be the last pedal purchase you ever have to make, so that makes those prices a little easier to swallow. We have both in stock, so be sure to stop by soon and see what all the hype is about!

It’s Vintage: Restoring a Ludwig Drum Set

Every once in a while we will get a call from a customer that is somewhat out of the ordinary.  I recently visited a local summer camp that had a few drum sets that were in need of some work.  When I arrived to inspect the drums I was able to piece back together two drum sets that needed new heads and cleaned.  I was not expecting to find a vintage set of drums. The 1967 Ludwig Club Date that I found had all the original parts except for the cymbal arm and a hoop on the mounted tom.  While I knew it would be a challenge, I was determined to make these drums look and sound great again.  Below is a basic breakdown of the steps taken to get the drums back into excellent condition.