Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Good point. I went to a Match Box 20 concert and there was this teenage girl screaming at the top of her lungs. It was actually hurting my ears. I can't imagine 20,000 screaming teenagers at the same time. It must have been painful.

Arrrghhhh..... "Lark's Tongues In Aspic" not withstanding, any drummer who insists on playing a metal snare needs to be keelhauled.

Them's fightin' words! Well, not really...but for those of us who spent some formative years playing in big marching band drum sections, the sound of one little metal snare doesn't even reach the pain threshold.

Just to advocate for the devil slightly further: I would submit that four sets playing right next to the drummer won't damage your hearing nearly as much as the half-second 120 dB feedback blast caused by the soundman's inattention. Now we're talkin' keelhauling...

>>>Them's fightin' words! Well, not really...

No, the ARE fightin words.... my head is still throbbing from that damned metal snare last Saturday. Plus, the fill-in drummer was hitting it soooooo hard and his idea of "dynamics" in a song was to go from 110% volume to 105%.... and FORGET about catching his attention in the middle of a song - just couln't be done for some reason. Very frustrating. UGH... we were having some difficult issues with the regular drummer, but when he returns later this week I'm going to give him a big hug.

>>>half-second 120 dB feedback blast caused by the soundman's inattention.

OUCH... I hate when that happens. Not that we have a "soundman" but sometimes the other guitarist gets his green bullet mic (used for harp) too close to his Traynor amp and YOWZA.

I know what you're getting at, Kent...but it's the drummer who's at fault, not the drum in this case...operator error can turn even the most benign bit of technology into a killing machine.

Drummers like your substitute need to give it up and take up boxing...at least there the inflicting of pain is the one and only goal...

Actually, as someone who has done some boxing, I would have to disagree on that last point.

But in general you are right... the sub drummer was an attack dog. Armed with a potent weapon like the metal snare made him truly lethal.

I may be crazy for having a drum set since I'm a guitar player but mine has a wood snare LOL.. I may even get a plexi drummer cage.

With a slot so you can be fed raw meat during rehearsals...

Kent, I agree with you overall...there're not many things worse than a non-musical drummer, and the more 'efficient' his gear is, the worse your aural hangover will be the next day.

I suppose you're right about the multiple goals of boxing, but like most things these days the one at the top of the list is selling tickets. And you gotta admit: no pain, no 'entertainment'...

>the more 'efficient' his gear is, the worse your aural hangover will be the next day.

the infamous fill-in drummer owns 4 (count 'em, four) full drum sets, all expensive plus an electronic set plus all sorts of other percussion stuff. But the sound he makes sends me up the walls.

In contrast, our regular drummer has a good but very well used older set which looks it might have been used at the First Battle of Bull Run. But he sounds great.

As for the boxing thing, it's a sport. Some may not like the inherant violent nature of it, but I can assure you (business aspect aside) the intent of the boxer while in the ring is to WIN the fight. His (or her) primary (or even secondary) intention is not to "cause pain".... if that IS their intention then they are not BOXING, they are doing something else and will not last very long in the sport. So no, I dont admit to the no pain - no entertainment theory of yours. Some may go to a boxing match looking for blood and pain but mostly you'll find those people at an "Ultimate Fighting" thing (which personally I never liked watching).

And then there is pro-wrestling.... I wonder if any of those clowns (and thats what they literally are) ever got hit over the head with a Rickenbacker?

Pro wrestlers are like dancers in a show. Very choreographed. Hit over the head with a Rickenabacker? Most of them probably have never seen one up close. If they did they would all fall in love and become rock stars. After all they're halfway there. They've already got the stage act and presumably know how to wow an audience.

Yea, I agree... clowns can be coreographed too. But to give then their due ... they are good athletes. Dancing athletic clowns I guess. Its all sillyness.

Drummers are one bad band member that you cannot tolerate.

Dane, a friend of mine saw King Crimson back in the "Larks' Tongues In Aspic" days and he said they were so soft that the audience was yelling at them to turn up. Eno stood up (they were all sitting in chairs facing each other) and told the audience to please be quiet that they had to play this way to get the exact sounds they wanted from their instruments. My friend said all you could hear all night was the ear-spitting crash of a metal snare!, haha!

This is all true except for the last part of which I couldn't resist. If I play with a drummer with loud cymbals or snare out comes the ear plug, if your ear hurts you are doing permanant damage.

Bob...I saw them in that era and almost every tour since. I have a bootleg of the Discipline tour which was recorded in a packed student union hall at Stony Brook, Long Island. Audience members at the back of the room can be heard yelling for the band to play louder. At one point, Fripp says "We've had a lot of requests to play louder...if I might make a suggestion, you might try listening more attentively." What a concept...but I'll give up my metal snare when they pry it out of my cold dead stand...

Dan, as I've played drums in bands as much as I have bass, I have to respond to your comment...how about trying to tolerate guitar players who turn up to eleven and then noodle incessantly between tunes (even live)? How about lead singers who involve their idiot 'significant others' in band decisions/politics? How about...well, bass players?

The 'one band member who can't be tolerated' could be taking up any position in the room..

Kent...not to be argumentative, but just looking for some clarity: how do you win a boxing match without hurting your opponent? It's a fight, not a ballet (as opposed to pro-wrestling: your point there is well taken)...if the other guy doesn't look wrecked by the end of the proceedings, you haven't 'prevailed'. Muhammad Ali has the look of someone who other people were trying to hurt for his entire career...

I think your point is that there are rules to try to limit the ways that pain can be inflicted, but to say that dealing out pain is not a part of boxing is like saying sex is unrelated to rock'n'roll...(or drugs, for that matter)...