Percussion Equipment Evaluations and On-Site Repair

Tuesday, September 11, 2018 No Comments

Now that we’re back to full staff, Chops Percussion and Paige’s Music’s repair department are willing to send a trained specialist to your school to assess your percussion inventory.

Brian Travelsted, our percussion repair specialist and sales associate for Chops, will work with you in deciding the best course of action to get your inventory back in its best shape! Paige’s Music offers on-site repair for large percussion instruments such as timpani, mallet instruments, concert bass drums, etc. This service is intended to alleviate the need to send in large instruments with your District Manager and be without them for several weeks. If an instrument is not repairable, Brian will recommend the best replacement options to best suit your ensemble’s needs.

No more waiting for your large instruments or going without because the instrument is waiting in the shop! Small percussion instruments can be paired with a large percussion instrument request for added value. If interested in an equipment evaluation or on-site repairs, please email Brian at btravelsted@chopspercussion.com for more information.

Product Feature: D’Addario’s Proprietary Mallet Manufacturing Improvements

Tuesday, September 4, 2018 No Comments

We not sure if you’ve heard, but D’Addario has completely revamped its manufacturing process from the bottom up. Here’s the low down:

  • Rather than purchasing raw materials from third-party suppliers, they now using injection molds and make all cores in house.
  • They have also developed a new method to attach cores to shafts by developing a threaded insert that dramatically increased durability
    • With the new process, it requires over 200% more force to pull the core off of the shaft versus nailed construction.
  • Taking D’Addario’s proprietary string winding technology, they developed and custom built a new mallet winding machine that offers a more consistent finish and increased variability in design.
    • They can now custom tailor “wrap recipes” that are optimal for the shape and use of each mallet.
  • Diversity of Materials: With access to a vast library of materials, as well as developing an innovative new way to achieve multi-tone sounds, we are able to create mallets that can be tailored to any playing situation.
  • Quality Control + Consistency: By manufacturing all of the components in house, they’re able to apply their own quality control practices and ensure that every mallet core and shaft are made to the highest possible standards. This includes the core itself being extremely consistent in its weight and hardness from pair to pair.

These are available to order right now. Please contact us if you have any questions!

2018 College Marching Band Season Preview

Tuesday, August 28, 2018 1 Comment

Welcome back to the Chops blog! Today we’d like to take the chance to preview the new college football season and several of our local collegiate marching bands.

If you are a fan of the marching arts, it’s hard to beat Indiana. Between drum corps during the summer, marching band in the fall, and winter guard and percussion during the winter and spring, there’s rarely a break between marching seasons. However, it’s easy to forget that there are many great college marching bands in the state.

Butler, Purdue, Indiana, Indiana State, and Marian University are all located in, or within a short drive from Indianapolis, and have excellent marching bands. These bands will perform before, during, and after their school’s home football games throughout the fall and winter. For the relatively inexpensive price of a ticket you can see an exciting college football game and performances from the band.  Be sure to get there early for some tailgating, as most of the bands will perform outside the stadium before everyone heads inside!

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Meet The New Chops Team

Tuesday, August 21, 2018 No Comments

Hey, everyone. I hope everyone is settling into the new school year! The Chops crew recorded this video to let you know that we’ve undergone some personnel changes. Please take a moment to check this out.

2018 DCI Wrap-up

Tuesday, August 14, 2018 No Comments

Photo by: Drum Corps International

We had a great time at the DCI World Championships last week! Thanks to everyone who stopped by our 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 Santa Clara Vanguard on their first world championship title since 1999, and to the Santa Clara Vanguard percussion section for winning high percussion for the third straight year!

Thank you to Vic Firth and Zildjian for teaming with us on the display booth for the 13thconsecutive year. Make sure to visit their websites to keep up with the latest trends in sticks, mallets and cymbals for marching season!

Vic Firth.com

Zildjian.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.