New pics today - 1985 Red Wine MLX

[KirkDS]

I've posted pics of my stuff before, but since my band has the week off, I'm spending some time getting everything setup just right...and since I've been enjoying you guys' pictures, I thought I'd take some more myself to share.

1985 Pearl MLX - Wine Red
22,10,12,13 (16 and 18 not pictured and hardly ever used)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/KirkDS/DrumRoom/Drums1-07b.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/KirkDS/DrumRoom/Drums1-07a.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/KirkDS/DrumRoom/Drums1-07c.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/KirkDS/DrumRoom/Drums1-07e.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/KirkDS/DrumRoom/Drums-driversseat.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/KirkDS/DrumRoom/Drums1-07f.jpg

[wichitasid]

Dude,
Great kit!

[StixNSkins]

Wow! Those are beautiful! Love that finish! You have really taken great care of those. 23 years and going strong!

How do you like the Opti-Mounts on those? I have a piano black GLX kit that I bought in 1985 (basically the same shells as yours - 6 ply maple except with the Super Gripper lugs) and I put Opti-Mounts on mine a few years ago. I think it's the best thing I've ever done for that kit. It amazed me to see what a difference it made to get the mounts off of the shell and get the tom arms out of the drums. My drums always sounded good, but now they sound better than ever - as I'm sure is the same with yours. The shells can really sing now...

I love the 80's Pearl stuff...

[DW-DRUMS1954]

Those look brand new very impressive !!!!!!!!!!!

[KirkDS]

Thanks guys...really appreciate it. When my new BRX midnight fade kit gets here on Friday, I'll swap the drums out and take some pictures...
Well, I guess it won't be a vintage kit then....hmmm

[SoCalMike]

Sweet kit!!!

[DW-DRUMS1954]

I just sold a BRX very cheap.Excellent condition never gigged.

Thanks guys...really appreciate it. When my new BRX midnight fade kit gets here on Friday, I'll swap the drums out and take some pictures...
Well, I guess it won't be a vintage kit then....hmmm

[bill f]

Those look brand new very impressive !!!!!!!!!!!

Agreed!

[MichaelThomas]

That is a PERFECT set-up. The second pic is like an awesome postcard!

[Dawael]

Beautiful

[CJG90]

stunning!

cymbal specs please.

[KirkDS]

stunning!

cymbal specs please.


Thanks everyone. I had forgotten about this thread... Really appreciate the nice comments.

As for the cymbals, here it goes from left to right : (I tend to go for 16' crashes in varying thickness and models.)

13' A Custom hats
16' K Custom Dark crash
-8' A splash
16' K Custom Fast crash
21' A Rock Ride (my first "real" cymbal ever! With me since '82) Still shines up nice
16' A Medium crash
17' K Custom Dark china

Cymbals hanging on the wall :
14' New Beat hats (my first hats from '82!)
14' Sabian Regular AA hats (awesome! my primary hats for many years)
15' K Custom Dark crash (broken)
15' A Custom thin crash (broken)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/KirkDS/DrumRoom/Drums-driversseat.jpg

[JANNERY]

hi kirk. how do you keep your cymbals bright and shiny.

jan

[bretkill]

I have a 10, 12, 13, 22 setup as well, except I use the 12" & 13" as floor toms.

Anyways, what kind of snare is that?

[KirkDS]

hi kirk. how do you keep your cymbals bright and shiny.

jan

Hey Jan -

I use Zildjian cymbal cleaner (the white stuff) ever couple of months or so and I truly believe it's the best by far.
I've seen some really good cymbal cleaning processes posted around here, but I'll tell ya what I do and try to keep it simple. It really is simple actually :)

I use a rag and a kitchen spounge...the soft side.

Spread the cleaner all over the cymbal with the rag so that everything is covered in a light film. Let it dry for a couple of minutes.
Turn on some warm water in the bathtub... Now scrub the cymbal with the sponge (soft side!) while rinsing the cymbal off under the water.
Continue to rinse it very well and then repeat for the other side. (There will be lots of black residue, so you'll want to rinse your sponge off with hot water between cymbals.)
Now, go over the cymbal a number of times with Windex and a soft cloth. I've used paper towels here and haven't had any scratching. This will remove the rest of the black junk that the water didn't remove...and make them very shiny.
If you're artistic or have a steady hand, you can use a sharpie to fill in parts of the logos as they disappear...if that sort of thing matters to ya.

If any of this needs clarification, just ask!

[KirkDS]

I have a 10, 12, 13, 22 setup as well, except I use the 12" & 13" as floor toms.

Anyways, what kind of snare is that?

Hey Bret -

It's a Free Floater with a copper shell. It's the original snare that came with the kit in '85 from Atlanta Pro Percussion.
Here's a closer view of both my FF snares. The red one is hand-hammered brass.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/KirkDS/Kirk%20drums/Drums_2.jpg

[bretkill]

Hey Bret -

It's a Free Floater with a copper shell. It's the original snare that came with the kit in '85 from Atlanta Pro Percussion.
Here's a closer view of both my FF snares. The red one is hand-hammered brass.

Wow, nice. I've seen alot of Free-Floaters before but never a red hand-hammered brass one.

[KirkDS]

Wow, nice. I've seen alot of Free-Floaters before but never a red hand-hammered brass one.

Thanks! Yeah, it was a special edition deal for the millinium...or something to that effect. It's pretty uncommon to see one, although a few people here have them.
It's so beautiful that I can't bring myself to use it much!

[KirkDS]

Here it is getting some use :)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v325/KirkDS/Kirk%20drums/DSC01658.jpg

[bretkill]

I dig that poster very much.

[KirkDS]

I dig that poster very much.

Thanks.. I have lots of Neil Peart stuff on the walls...the Sabian and Zildjian banners, some posters, etc. He and Rush were my heroes during many of the formative years and even though I've long outgrown thinking he's the best drummer on the planet, he's still one of my favorites and a huge source of inspiration. This particular banner (it's a huge tapestry thing) is incredibly rare. I guess Tama gave them to stores back in like '82 maybe? Once in a blue moon you'll see one on Ebay.

[bretkill]

Thanks.. I have lots of Neil Peart stuff on the walls...the Sabian and Zildjian banners, some posters, etc. He and Rush were my heroes during many of the formative years and even though I've long outgrown thinking he's the best drummer on the planet, he's still one of my favorites and a huge source of inspiration. This particular banner (it's a huge tapestry thing) is incredibly rare. I guess Tama gave them to stores back in like '82 maybe? Once in a blue moon you'll see one on Ebay.

I'm more of a fan of vintage Tamas myself.

[KirkDS]

Just looked at your Tamas... Nice! Very cool... Love the way you have them setup. I keep thinking I want to switch to that sort of layout, but I've been doing it this way for so long I hate to change.

Cool drums! I love the old Tamas as well.

[bretkill]

Just looked at your Tamas... Nice! Very cool... Love the way you have them setup. I keep thinking I want to switch to that sort of layout, but I've been doing it this way for so long I hate to change.

Cool drums! I love the old Tamas as well.

Well, luckly my Tama Swingstars have deep enough toms to make up for their small diameter. The 12" and 13", especially with 1 ply heads sound much bigger then they look. So it works out alright. I've pretty much used the 1 rack setup for a long time now, playing 2 rack setups is a little more difficult for me. Mine are from the same era as your's too. They were made between 84'-86'. Although, they're not maple like your's. Just mahogany, which is still the best low-end wood in my opinion. I also just noticed your Roland electronic pads. I've been wanting to buy a Roland TD-6V module and some Roland pads for awhile now and they add them to my acoustic kit.

[KirkDS]

Well, luckly my Tama Swingstars have deep enough toms to make up for their small diameter. The 12" and 13", especially with 1 ply heads sound much bigger then they look. So it works out alright. I've pretty much used the 1 rack setup for a long time now, playing 2 rack setups is a little more difficult for me. Mine are from the same era as your's too. They were made between 84'-86'. Although, they're not maple like your's. Just mahogany, which is still the best low-end wood in my opinion. I also just noticed your Roland electronic pads. I've been wanting to buy a Roland TD-6V module and some Roland pads for awhile now and they add them to my acoustic kit.

For electronics, I use the Roland SPD-S. It's like a sampler and an OctaPad in one....the most incredible little gadget I've ever seen. It makes incorporating electronic sounds, loops, clips, etc. into your show SO easy. It lets you hook up two external pads as well, so that's why I have them on opposite sides of my kit. The SPD-S has saved my life :) You can hook up a couple of pedals to it as well, but I never have.

[JANNERY]

thank you for taking time to explain how you clean your cymbal. i am sure others will benefit from it too.

jan

[DrummaChick]

That is a really sweet kit. Looks great.

BTW, are you a fan of JD Blair? He is killer!

[JANNERY]

hi kirk,
pls check the thread started by mr. al percival dated 9-19-06 and pls. give me your comment.

regards,
jan

[aaront]

It seems you enjoy free floating snares, how do you like the copper shell? Have seen them around but haven't heard a lot about them.

[JANNERY]

http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/showthread.php?t=150492
this is the post i'm talking about. this was posted by al percival but the drum set is mine