Drum Bonanza

TJ and Beck did a little sprucing up yesterday and this picture shows how it ended up. There’re other sets not shown here as well as more coming in all the time. We’ve got a bunch of new/used/vintage kits in, and the new Gretsch Brooklyn kits have been flying out the door!  We’ve sold a bunch off the floor and special ordered some too – they’re doing really well.  Keep in mind that Gretsch has a deep Brooklyn heritage and being in the shadow of the original Gretsch factory is big for us. At least once a week I’ll take a tourist outside and point south on Wythe to just past the bridge where you can see one of the original factory buildings. But you locals know this already…….

We’ve also got new DW, PDP, Ludwig, and some gorgeous Canopus kits kicking around all looking for new homes. And judging by the piles of gear that we’ve seen come in for repair after our friend Sandy’s visit, some of you may need help getting into replacement drums. We’re sympathetic to your plight and we’ll try to help you out on replacing your drums or hardware if it was destroyed. Mention this blog post and we’ll cut you some sort of break.

I hope all is well with you, blog readers, and as always, come on down and say hello.

John

TONS OF DRUMS!!!

Main Drag is currently rolling in drum sets, I mean, they’re coming out of our ears, falling off the shelves, jamming up the refrigerator, getting under foot……if you’ve ever wanted one of the sets in here or any of the ones coming in soon it’s a good time to come in and make a deal!  If you can find a better price on ANYTHING, let us know!  We need to make some room, even the mice are starting to complain.

Something’s happening at Main Drag……

Can you see the look of imminent change in these fine Main Draggers’ eyes? Ricky might even have vodka or gin in that glass in celebration, who knows? Adam’s looking joyous, and the New Guy (who’s fitting right in) is looking like he knows a secret.  Hint: They’re  psyched because it’s going to be a lot quieter in the store. And a firm no to the idea that less noise will actually be made at the store, it’ll just be contained a lot better.

 

 

 

 

And here’s another hint in the form of a photo.  What could Main Drag Founder Karl Myers possibly be doing in that gray room?  Is he working on his staining skills? Faux finishing a wall to look rustic?  He’s got crazy finishing skills already, and the barn look really doesn’t really mesh with our aesthetic………hmmmmmm. Give up yet?

 

 

Since you’ve read this far, you might as well know that we’re building a drum and cymbal testing room located back in drumland. The room will have tuned walls, new carpet, mood lighting, blacklight posters of Spanish galleons, busty dragon slayers bearing broad swords……actually no decor to speak of, but more importantly, most if not all of our cymbal stock will be arranged neatly and provocatively in there. And there’ll be a drumset of fairly neutral size so that jazzers, rockers, beats players, and all else will be able to try out cymbals, snare drums, bass drum pedals, thrones, etc. with a set in a nice sounding, comfortable room. It’ll be awesome, and look for it to be done in about a week.

Also awesome is the fact that we’ve got lots of new drumsets in with more on their way from Ludwig, DW, Gretsch, and more cymbals from Sabian, Zildjian, Istanbul, and newcomer Paiste (finally). And if you don’t see it, we can order it at prices matching the Center of Six-Stringed Instruments. And all of this in addition to our always cool selection of used and vintage gear. Look for more updates as the date gets closer.

John

 

 

TIVOLI VISTALITES!!!

Here’s something to check out that you’re not likely to see anytime soon — a set of Smoke Gray Tivoli Vistalites!  Click on the image to see them in all their glory. Almost all Tivoli’s are a color combination called Tequila Sunrise and these babies are rare as hell in this finish.  Yes, there are lights inside!  Very Studio 54!  The sizes are the classic Big Beat configuration which is 8×12, 9×13, 16×16, 14×22, and 5×14.

Norman and I got into the task of rewiring them and replacing a transformer and they look unbelievably cool in the dark.  There’s a switch on top of the bass drum that lights everything off, and I can’t imagine that there’s anyone in any size audience wouldn’t notice just how badass this set is when the drummer hits the switch.

They’re priced at a very reasonable $3200 as they’re both unbelievably cool and also very collectible.  We’ve seen the more common Tequila Sunrise kits selling for lots more.

John

Lots of New Gretsch Arrivals

We’ve gotten in a ton of new, used, and vintage Gretsch kits in the last few weeks bringing us to 11 on the store. This pile happens to include one of the new Brooklyn sets and a few Brooklyn snares. They’re fantastic sounding, great looking, and the prices are really spot on. Most of you probably know that Brooklyn was the home for Gretsch for about 90 years and their pride in these drums runs deep. The shells are 6 ply American maple and poplar, and sport 3mm double flanged hoops in a bit of a throwback to Gretsch’s pre-diecast hoop days. The resulting combination is warm and punchy and a little rounder sounding than the traditional Gretsch shell/hoop combo. And for all of you retro-grouches, the badging tastefully harkens back to the hallowed Round Badge. These drums are fantastic, and look for more here soon.

Also in the lineup are some new USA Custom drums including a gorgeous 12/14/18/4×14 bop kit with Pratt Mufflers in the bass drum on both heads, and mufflers on the batter and resonant of the toms. The snare has a single muffler on the batter. This kit is built up to be as faithful to old Gretsch drums as possible. I tried to order them with the Round Badges that they used on the 125th Anniversary kits but no dice.

There are also a few Catalina Clubs, one of our most popular inexpensive kits, and a couple of used and vintage bebop kits as well as 12/14/22 used Catalina birch set.  And the blue glitter fade lacquer on the Renowns looks incredible. Hard to believe that these drums are priced where they are, and they too, sound fantastic. And just wait for more USA Customs to arrive.

We’re serious about ramping our stock of new sets – we’ve been listening to you. Look for more new Ludwigs soon, and we’re bringing in a bunch of DW sets as well. But don’t worry, we’re still obsessed with used and vintage drums and we’re always looking for more.

And one last thing: We’re working on a major improvement/addition to experience of trying out drums and cymbals here so stay tuned!

John

A Facelift for the Drum Department

We recently added a new counter for the drum department in order to have someone on hand to answer questions and show people gear.  And expect to see some new faces working there.

And we moved the snare rack so that’s it’ll hold more snares, be easier to check out, and just to move things around a little for the spring. Come by and check out some of the awesome snares, drumsets, and cymbals we’ve been adding daily.  We’ve currently got over 60 snares and 30 or more sets!

Almost 50 Killer New/Used/Vintage Drum Sets….

…..are all out on the floor here. We’ve got some killer sets here right now and it changes fast, so come on down and check one out. We’ve been trying to get in a bunch of less expensive players’ kits that are long on sound but a little easier on the wallet. Of course we’ll continue to offer high end new/used/vintage drumsets, but kits that sound good and have lots of mojo and vibe are great to take on tour or to clubs even if they don’t win any beauty contests. But as with any drum set we sell they’ve been gone over carefully, the edges have been checked, hardware lubed and threads checked, had heads replaced, and finally, set up and tuned so you don’t have to worry about them.  Presently there are a couple of Slingy’s and Ludwigs, and a big shelled Tama kit soon to hit that fit this bill and should hit the floor at well under $1000.  A great drummer on a set of beaters that sound amazing is way cooler than a mediocre drummer on the latest, high-tech shells and hardware.

And if you’ve got an older set that needs this sort of work, Norman and I are devoting more days a week to repair in order to get your job turned around quickly. Most repairs that come in early in the week are out within a few business days. Also, we’ve been doing more wrap-jobs, so if the old beater kit that sounds good needs a facelift, bring it by.  And don’t forget our Snare Drum Special.

All the best from 32,000 feet, somewhere in the skies between New York and New Orleans. This internet-in-the-sky thing is cool. John

BE-BOP DELUXE!!!

This is a photo of just a few of the be-bop kits that we’ve got here right now.  We presently have 10 (yes, 10) kits here with 18″ bass drums that are calling out to anyone who needs some portability.  Or an Elvin sound.  They range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, and they can be the perfect set for playing with anything from a piano trio all the way to a small rock gig.  Or anything really that doesn’t need massive volume.

Our website is now searchable! Simply click on “gear for sale”, then hit the “search” button, and dive in!

Drums! Drums! Drums!

Have you seen all awesome additions we’ve made to the drum shop? Not only have we underwent a complete shift in layout, we’ve been getting in some really amazing gear.

Have you seen all the vintage Zildjians that have been piling up? 60′s, 70′s and 80′s 13″/14″/15″ hi hats, 16″/18″/20″ crashes and 18″/20″/21″/22″ rides galore!

Have you seen Murph from Dinosaur Jr’s custom C and C kit?

Have you seen the new Turkish cymbal line we’re now carrying, Supernaturals Cymbals?

Have you seen the incredible collection of vintage snare drums we’re amassing? We’ve posted a bunch of them under drums in the “gear for sale” portion of our website if you’d like to check some out, but we’re getting them too fast to put them all on. Come check em out before this batch is gone!

MDM