00:00Hello, I'm James, I'm the drummer for Caskets here in Chicago to show off my drum gear.
00:17So from left to right I'll do cymbals, so I've got the Byzance traditional hi-hats,
00:23they're 14 inch, and then over here I've got the 10 inch Byzance Dual Splash, I've been
00:28using this for a long time, no cracks still.
00:32This I've had for, god, since the first EP we brought out, so 7 years, this is the Byzance
00:39Extra Thin Jazz, 18 inch, and then over here I've actually got Crash Ride, the Polyphonic
00:45Ride, that's 21 inch, got a really nice bell on it as well.
00:49And then over here I've got the Luke Holland Bullet Stack, that's 16 inch, really cuts
00:53through, and then for a change I've gone with the 20 inch Equilibrium China, which
00:59is the Matt Garsker signature, and that's unreal, really nice dry sound as well.
01:07So with the cymbals, also I have them at quite weird angles, I've watched Northland Drummer
01:12Nick Pedersen for years, always wondered why he did it, and it made me realise that every
01:17time I go half-time or something like that, it's always in the right position when it
01:21comes back, so I'm not having to hit a weird part of the cymbal or anything like that.
01:25So from the front it does look a bit crazy, but when you're actually back here, it's really
01:30flat and really nice.
01:32So I've been working with Meinl for around about 4 years now, absolutely great company,
01:38it's one of those companies where I used to watch drummers growing up like Thomas Lang
01:42and, well, Matt Garsker, and I always wanted to play with them, and I got a message on
01:48Instagram one day, and immediately I was like, please let me be able to sort something
01:55out with them, and luckily I did, and they've been great, helped me out with all the cymbals,
02:01if anything goes wrong they're always there, Joe at Meinl, great guy, super nice, good
02:07to call him a friend as well because I give him messages all the time, but yeah, very
02:11proud of what I've got at the minute.
02:14So for this kit I've got the SJC Touring kit in satin black, I have got a 10 inch, 16 inch
02:23and down here is a 22, really really good kit for touring, really reliable, just sound
02:32great as well, especially in rooms like this, mic'd up, without mics, whatever you do, sounds
02:39really good, they even came with the Evans G2's on, they're a great skin for me, I use
02:46these, I normally use the EC2's as well, the clear ones, but yeah they're holding up great,
02:51this is the 6th show, probably going to change them soon, but still sounding great, and then
02:56with SJC I've been talking with Matt and Mark and they've been great, really helped me out
03:03with the touring when it comes over to America, because shipping costs a fortune, so they've
03:09been really helpful, helped me out with this, helped me pick what kit I wanted, what would
03:15be good for the shows, and always a back and forth as well, you never like waiting on anything,
03:22and I appreciate them so much because it's been so helpful.
03:26So my snare, I've had this for quite a long time, maybe 10 years, this is a 13x7 Tama
03:33Soundlab Project Maple G, everyone seems to come up to me after shows and they're always
03:39wondering what snare I'm using, and I've never wanted a snare as much in my entire life,
03:47when I finally got it, it sounded as good as I thought it would, it's great, tuned high,
03:52tuned low, and then on the top of it as well, I've actually got the big fat snare, just
03:57to dampen the sound as well, so you can get a big room without having any of the ring.
04:04So for the tuning, the snare I normally have it quite low, just so it's got a lot of body,
04:09and the sound guy can work a lot with it, and for the toms, ideally I like them quite
04:17dead, that's why I've got moon gel on, there's no such thing as too much moon gel for me,
04:22as long as I don't have that really annoying ring, that's all I'm bothered about, so yeah
04:26low tuning for these, and for the kick as well, I've come to realise that I like the
04:33front skin tuned a little lower, just for the rebound, which I've only just picked up
04:40on over the past two years, but yeah, everything quite low tuned so there's a lot of body,
04:46and you can make the kick sound real fat.
04:48So for hardware I've got the Iron Cobra Double Kick, I've been using these a couple of years
04:55now, absolutely love it, did change the beaters on it, that's the DW beaters, just for the
05:02sound when it actually hits the skin, and for the hardware, I'm very lucky this tour
05:08I managed to get all new hardware, all DW 3000's, and really good for the memory locks,
05:14quite light, very durable, and yeah, nothing's gone wrong, nothing's gone loose, so very
05:20happy with that.
05:21For the sticks, I'm also endorsed by Meinl Sticks and Brush, these are the 5 Heavy A's,
05:31really good, not had one break on me yet, and I couldn't be happier, again, Meinl helping
05:36me out, really good.
05:38So for the throne I've got a Tamworth First Chair, it's kind of a cheaper version of some
05:44of the more expensive ones, but it's really good for touring, it's really light, comfortable
05:50for about an hour set as well, I know some stools are quite hard on the arse for a bit,
05:55so yeah, I'm glad that it's comfortable.
05:58I've also got my fan down here, my only number one fan, keeps me cool, very reliable, so
06:05yeah, it's really good.
06:07So thank you everyone for watching the video, checking out my kit, I do have to say a big
06:12thanks to Meinl and SJC for helping me out, if you're a fan of the band or me, give me
06:20a follow, it's James underscore CSKTS, and then also for the band, Caskets underscore
06:26band on Instagram, Caskets on Facebook and Caskets band on YouTube, and that's about
06:33it.
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