Welcome back to the Chops blog! Now that many students are starting to get their instruments for the upcoming school year, there are instrument assembly questions that need to be addressed. The Musser Xylo kit seems to be the one that people have the most questions about, so we’re sharing an assembly video from Jim Catalano to help you out!

If you have any additional questions after the video, please feel free to call or email us!

Keep improving this summer with a rental from Chops Percussion!

Chops has several drum sets and keyboards available for rental that are perfect for home practice. Now is the perfect time to prepare for practice at home this summer.

Pearl Decade Maple Drum Set

For $69 per month, you will now be able to rent the Pearl Decade Maple set with 830 series hardware, a Sabin XSR cymbal package (14” hi hats, 16” and 18” crashes, 20” ride), and a Pearl D930 drum throne. We’ve had many requests for drum set outfits with upgraded drum and cymbal options, and this package definitely fits the bill. Do you want to hear the Decade in action? Please check out this video (best to listen with headphones or high-quality speakers):

Adams MSPV43 Soloist Series Marimba

Adams Soloist Series Marimbas offer the precision construction methods and many of the great features found on the Artist and Concert series instruments, and combine them with a number of keyboards and size options ideal for beginners and schools looking for a high quality, wood bar instrument, at an extremely affordable price.
[Learn more]

Adams AMPD33R Academy Marimba

The AMPD33R 3.3 octave Academy Marimba with Resonators is designed to be an affordable option that allows the intermediate student to work on many of the pieces written for a low A marimba, all while still having the full tone and projection of a full size marimba.
[Learn more]

There are other options available as well on limited quantities so feel free to give us a call if you need for info.

Rentals are only available for residents of Indiana. Please contact us for more information on our rental program.

Email: chops@chopspercussion.com
Phone: 317.813.2070 or 1.877.900.DRUM (3786)

With many indoor percussion seasons now at an end, it is the perfect time to check over all your marching percussion gear and get it ready for both use during summer camps and into the fall. By taking the time to go through and do an inspection on all your drums you can likely avoid any emergency situation that might pop up at the worst time. Marching percussion equipment is exposed to the most environmental challenges throughout the course of the school year and is often times used year round. With these environmental demands, there comes a need for taking care of the instruments on a routine basis. One of the biggest pitfalls in maintaining marching percussion equipment is failing to regularly change your heads. With the materials and high tension nature of modern marching heads, failing to change them regularly can place unneeded pressure on the bearing edge and shell if heads continue to be over tightened. If you are a school that does both marching band and indoor percussion, try and line up a cleaning day when you are executing a head change. This allows you to thoroughly clean your equipment and get fresh new heads on the drums.

*Below you can find specific issues to check for on the different types of marching drums.*

Marching Snare Drums

•  Do a visual inspection for any missing or broken parts that may need replaced. Some common parts missing or broken include the following:
  • Rim Guards or Feet
  • Bent Tension Rods
  • Bent Long Tension Posts or Tubes
  • Bent Strainer from overtightening snare guts
  • Inspect the bearing edges when heads are off for any damage
• Wipe down each drum with a soft cloth, including the hardware and the shell.
• If there is extreme dirt or grime, you can use denatured alcohol diluted in water. If you have anything that is extremely sticky use a small amount of valve oil. In both cases, put the product on the cloth instead of spraying directly on the drum.
• Check the snare guts, if they are extremely bent consider replacing or tightening with a screw of the side as they are too loose causing them to bend over the rim incorrectly.
• When executing a head change, be sure to use lithium grease on the tension rods.
• Ensure that any hardware for attached to the drum for the carrier is tight and in working order.
• Place a clean drum cover on the drum and then place the drum in a hard or soft case.
• Each drum should be stored in a secure and cool environment.
• If storing for the winter season, the tension on both the top head and bottom head should be reduced by half to keep the tension rods in place and pressure of the drum and heads.

Marching Tenor Drums

• Do a visual inspection for any missing or broken parts that may need replaced. Some common parts missing or broken include the following:
  • Bent Tension Rods
  • Cracked Lug Casings
  • Screws missing to hold lug casing on drum (found inside drum)
  • Bent or missing spacers between the drums
  • Bent rims causing the heads to not sit correctly and causing tuning issues
  • Missing or loose tenor trim
  • Inspect the bearing edges when heads are off for any signs of damage
• Wipe down each drum with a soft cloth, including the hardware and the shell.
• If there is extreme dirt or grime, you can use denatured alcohol diluted in water. If you have anything that is extremely sticky use a small amount of valve oil. In both cases, put the product on the cloth instead of spraying directly on the drum.
• When executing a head change, be sure to use lithium grease on the tension rods.
• Ensure that any hardware for attached to the drum for the carrier is tight and in working order.
• Place a clean drum cover on the drum and then place the drum in a hard or soft case.
• Each drum should be stored in a secure and cool environment.
• If storing for the winter season, the tension on both the top head and bottom head should be reduced by half to keep the tension rods in place and pressure of the drum and heads.

Marching Bass Drums

• Do a visual inspection for any missing or broken parts that may need replaced. Some common parts missing or broken include the following:
  • Bent Tension Rods
  • Cracked Lug Casings
  • Screws missing to hold lug casing on drum (found inside drum)
  • Cracked or Broken Hoops
  • If foamed inside drum; loose or missing foam
  • Overly bent claw hooks that don’t attached properly
  • Inspect the bearing edge when heads are off for signs of damage
• Wipe down each drum with a soft cloth, including the hardware and the shell.
• If there is extreme dirt or grime, you can use denatured alcohol diluted in water. If you have anything that is extremely sticky use a small amount of valve oil. In both cases, put the product on the cloth instead of spraying directly on the drum.
• When executing a head change, be sure to use lithium grease on the tension rods.
• Ensure that any hardware for attached to the drum for the carrier is tight and in working order.
• Place a clean drum cover on the drum and then place the drum in a hard or soft case.
• Each drum should be stored in a secure and cool environment.
• If storing for the winter season, the tension on both the top head and bottom head should be reduced by half to keep the tension rods in place and pressure of the drum and heads.

Marching Cymbals

• Do a visual inspection for any missing or broken parts that may need replaced. Some common parts missing or broken include the following:
  • Check for Cracks or Dents
  • Worn or Ripped Cymbal Straps
• Wipe down each cymbal with a soft cloth.
• If there is extreme dirt or grime, you can use denatured alcohol diluted in water. If you have anything that is extremely sticky use a small amount of valve oil. In both cases, put the product on the cloth instead of spraying directly on the cymbals.
• Each cymbal should be stored in a secure and cool environment.
• If storing for the winter season, place in cymbal bags rather than leaving them exposed to the air.
• Cymbal Polish: Using cymbal polish is optional and should only be used for additional cleaning. Keep in mind the type of cymbals you have will affect the amount of “shine”. If it started with a non-brilliant finish it will remain non-brilliant.

If you can take the time now to go through and do all these steps you will set yourself and your students up for success in the future by being prepared and having your marching gear in it’s best possible condition to start the season.

In this weeks blog we want to highlight one of the best manufacturers of drum and percussion products for recently celebrating their 75th Anniversary. Along with this create achievement they will be realizing some new products this year that both celebrate their history while also creating new and exciting products with the best in modern drum making. The President Series Phenolic line of of drums are the highlight of this year for them, as they bring back one of the first lines of drums they make back in the 1966. These will be limited and come with classic logos, throwback hardware, felt muffling strip and a beautiful drum wrap.

Along with this series of drums there are new cymbal stands that feature a curved design to give even more flexibility to your set up. They will also feature a new concert snare drum this year that features 20 ply of Maple/Birch and will produce the most articulate concert snare sound in all of the Philharmonic Series.

There will also be some updates to Adams Percussion products (distributed by Pearl in the US), as they will roll out a new line of concert frames that will replace the Voyager Frame and will be

If you would like to learn more about some of the new products they will be offering you can check out this link: www.pearldrum.com/75th and I highly encourage you to watch the below video that gives you a little information about the history of the Pearl Corporation.

We look forward to sharing more details about thier new products over the coming weeks and congratulations to Pearl Corporation for your continued success!

It is hard to believe that the 2021 IPA season is already coming to a close this coming weekend at Ben Davis HS and Avon HS. The hard work and dedication of all the students, directors, and parents to pull off a successful season is to be highly commended and it is such an honor to sponsor this great circuit. As we head in to the final weekend here is some information that will be able to keep up to date with everything for the final performances of the season!

PSB/WINDS RECAP

First we would like to congratulate all the Winds and PSB groups that completed their seasons last weekend at Center Grove HS or Avon HS. Congratulations to the top 3 groups in each class as well for the 2021 Season and you can find a full recap on the Indiana Percussion Association website.

PSB State Finals – Top 3

1st – Warren Central HS
2nd – Bishop Dwenger Winter Percussion
3rd – Washington Indoor Percussion

Winds Scholastic A Finals – Top 3

1st – Springs Valley Winds
2nd – Lewis Cass Winds
3rd – Warsaw Winter Winds

Winds Scholastic Open Finals – Top 3

1st – Westfield Winds
2nd – Decatur Central Indoor Winds
3rd – Plymouth Winter Performance Ensemble

Winds Scholastic World Finals

1st – Avon Winds
2nd – Greenfield Central Winter Winds

FINALS 2021 – Ben Davis HS/ Avon HS

There will be two different sites for finals the upcoming weekend with Avon HS hosting the concert class groups and Ben Davis HS hosting all other groups. You can find specific information about both sites at the links below.

Information for Ben Davis HS – http://indianapercussion.org/?q=content/ipa-state-finals-ben-davis-high-school

Information for Avon HS – http://indianapercussion.org/?q=content/ipa-state-finals-concert-class-avon-high-school

LIVE STREAM

If you are unable to attend the event in person but want to support and watch the groups this weekend, there will be a live stream of the full state finals event. The event is produced by BOX5TV and you can get a one day subscription for access from your home computer, mobile device, or Roku TV. Details and links for the live stream below.

http://indianapercussion.org/?q=content/state-finals-live-stream

STOP BY AND SEE US

While it certainly has been a different year, we are looking forward to having a small booth of stick, mallets, stick bags and more for you to purchase throughout the event. We will have be at Ben Davis HS from the start of the first group to the last note played. Stop by and say hello and check out some great deals on our products!

We look forward to seeing you this weekend and best of luck to all competing groups on your final run of the season!