drumfactorydirect.com news
MONDAY 23 FEBRUARY, 2009 | 
February 2009 Newsletter
2008 was the first year of business for drumfactorydirect.com and we are happy to say that, as a new venture, there has been good progress made. Thank you to everyone who came to the site, and to those who not only came but spent money so that we are still here in 2009. Over the course of 2008 our product line grew from 314 products to 2800 and throughout this year there are plans to gradually add thousands more! When a shopper Googles an instrument or drum parts drumfactorydirect is coming up on page 1 more frequently and often in the coveted number one position.
Some recent developments within the site are: the "Tell A Friend" feature which enables the customer to easily let a fellow musician or drum builder know about an item that is of mutual interest. The new "Ask a question about this item" feature allows you to ask a question directly from the product listing which saves you from having to type out an email from your mail program. Lastly the "Save For Later" option is a great facility for the busy shopper who moves part way through the checkout process and can't complete the transaction in the moment; a simple click of the button saves your items in the shopping cart for your eventual return. Similarly, you may hold items in your cart simply to return at a later date. Items may be held in the cart indefinitely until time, resources or desire allow the completion of the transaction.
Upcoming features include the addition of sound and video files embedded into product listings for some items, this will be an extremely useful tool to complement the shopping experience, enabling the viewer to see and hear an instrument prior to purchase.
New Product - Guerrilla Drum Making DVD
Drumfactorydirect.com is happy to announce that we are now stocking the 'Guerrilla Drum Making' DVD by drum building maverick John Dutra. This great new resource to the custom drum building world has been receiving rave reviews from drum builders and parts suppliers alike. Dutra covers everything from veneers, wraps, laminates, sprays, dyes, acrylics and surface design to technical aspects such as laying out for lug placement and how to figure out tension rod length. The most exciting concept to the novice builder however, is that all drum building projects covered in the 86 minute video are executed using conventional household tools. This is a refreshing, and much needed, demystification of the drum building process and will aid anyone with the time and the will to execute an inspired and highly personalized instrument. We at drumfactorydirect are big fans and are happy to add the 'Guerrilla Drum Making' DVD to our growing list of products.
Don't miss our interview with John Dutra in this month's news!
Click the link below to go directly to the 'Guerrilla Drum Making' DVD listing to view a video clip of the DVD and see pictures of some of the drum making processes:
http://www.drumfactorydirect.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=27_340&products_id=3191
Winter's End CONTEST!
In order to celebrate the last few weeks of winter with our customers, drumfactorydirect is thrilled to announce the beginning of our first ever contest! Enter to win your copy of John Dutra's 'Guerrilla Drum Making' DVD, an 86 minute long DVD taking the viewer through the entire drum making process without the need for specialized tools and equipment. This prize will be shipped for free directly to you within 3 business days of the winners announcement. There is no purchase necessary to enter, simply answer the easy question to be entered into the drawing. The winner will be selected at random from all the entries on March 31st 2009. Simply click on the link below to navigate directly to the contest, answer the easy question and read the terms and conditions, before submitting your entry. Good luck!
www.drumfactorydirect.com/index.php?main_page=contest
An interview with Guerrilla Drum Maker's creator John Dutra
John Dutra the creator of Guerrilla Drum Making gave us this interview for the newsletter. Readers can look forward to many more articles and interviews with musicians and artisans in the coming months.
What did you do before you made "Guerrilla Drum Making"?
I had been building for a custom drum company for two years prior. It was actually the single most important thing that triggered the idea for the Guerrilla Drum Making DVD, and not because of the drum making experience. It was because the company was growing so fast and getting so popular, that the rate that I had to produce drum kits at was burning me out. My average work day was getting into the ten hour range with no food breaks... literally running around the shop and pumping out as many kits as possible. It was great for the company, and I am happy for them, but it was horrible for me personally, and I had to take a break. I quit the company and took almost a year off work to cool down.
It was in the first few months of decompressing and relaxing that I had the GDM idea... and then I had the most productive year of my life while making the DVD. It was then that my research showed that there was barely any visual explanations of drum making techniques and tactics. Mostly… everything was step by step drum making procedures with pictures. For such a detailed craft, that seemed crazy to me. There’s to many realistic steps that get left out when documenting something with pictures… and it seams truly unrealistic. People need to see someone doing it… seamlessly in action… so they can watch it and say, “Ok… got it. I can do that… no problem.”
Do you play drums or just make them?
I play them more than I make them. That was a huge advantage for me when thinking of the "philosophy" of the GDM DVD... was that I am a drummer first! I know how it feels to be playing drums every night... why certain hardware options can't work... what its like to not have money for a new drum set... and more importantly, what it's like to blow a lot of money on a drum set that proves to be mediocre. So I attacked the DVD from both the angle of an experienced musician and a drum builder. That middle ground is why the DVD works. The instructions are presented in a way that says "Do this and this because it works in the field, and try doing it like this because it doesn't cost a thing and you don't have to blow half of your budget on one silly piece of equipment."
What's your personal drum kit setup?
I constantly switch around my setup. Currently I'm playing a 20" x 22" bass with a 15" x 15" floor tom. My first rack tom is a 9" x 10", and my second rack is a 8" x 8." Having the smaller tom in the second tom position creates some interesting patterns that work well with the music I play. All the drums are birch and veneered with birdseye maple, stained and high glossed.
What first got you interested in drum building?
I got interested after seeing Primus' drummer "Brain" play. He had a set up that included all different colored drums. I went home and stripped off the silver laminate to an old Ludwig set, sanded the shells down with my Dad and painted them. It started
there.
What, in your opinion is the most difficult aspect of building a drum?
Truly, for anyone, I think it has to do with patience. The second you start thinking about a concept and start on a project, you want it done. You want the finished product in a snap.... not because the work is too hard or too much... you just want to play your drums.
What's your favorite part of the drum making process?
Concept creation.
Can you describe the sickest drum you've ever made?
It was a custom laminate design for a guys entire kit.... a space theme that intertwined with chemistry, black hole graphs and grids, and some other crazy stuff. I didn't have anything to do with the building process, I was just contracted by a company to do it and it turned out really cool.
What's the single most important piece of advice you could give a first time drum maker?
Use your imagination and get creative. If you even have the slightest spark to build and customize your own set, than you already have a vision.... take time to develop that vision and make it happen.
News for Monday 01 December, 2008
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