Building the Phil Collins Gretsch Kit - Part Three

 

In my earlier blogs, I began work on a replica of Phil Collins' black Gretsch USA concert tom kit. My original intention was to build a V-drum version, with Remo Mesh heads and a bevy of the revolutionary wireless "Versatriggers", made in Europe. Suffice it to safe, I enjoyed building the kit so much, that I ended up making it an all-acoustic version. The Versatriggers went back into the closet; Gone but not forgotten. As fate would have it, I had the last of my orphaned drum shells lying around; an 8", 10", 12" 13" and 18 leftovers from several aborted or cannibalized projects. As I considered what to do with them, I remembered the V-Drum project and thought perhaps I could reignite it. The shells were actually already black, in fact, they were going to be part of that original Gretsch kit, however they were either too small, or the wrong sizes. What if I made a another version of the Collins kit? I had an 18" x 16" shell, an old 20" x 14"; the 13" would replace the 15" he used and the shallower depth of the 12", 10" and 8" would make up the rest. The only thing I would need were the floor/concert toms. Instead of the 18" and 16", I'd use a 16" and 14". I managed to find two floor toms on ebay and reverb; a 16" x 14" and a 14" x 12", both by Sound Percussion. All I needed to do next was to fill the holes, re-wrap them and I'd have the complete set.

When it came to the snare, I actually had an old Ddrum 14" x 5.5" shell that I never used. I also had some chrome wrap from Jammin' Sam, and a bunch of Goedrum's "Gretsch style" snare lugs. The Bum Wrap Company of Maryland sells OEM Gretsch badges, so to complete that authentic look, I got 7 of them, one for each tom and the kick. I already had a spare badge from an earlier project, so I used that on the snare. I've always felt that concert toms were a great choice for internal triggers, because you can access them a whole lot easier without having to remove any bottom tom heads. That would come in handy when it came to connecting the single-headed toms, however if I ever wanted to use the snare and kick as an acoustic hybrid drum, those double-headed drums would need to have an access point too, so I drilled a 1" hole in the side of both the snare and kick, and installed an internal, female-to-female 1/4" jack to connect a cable from the internal trigger to the outside of the drum shell. 

Before I could finish what I'd started, a friend mentioned another triggering alternative I might be interested in. It was another company from Europe, however they weren't in Romania, they were Hungarian and had been around for years: Padtech. Although they weren't wireless, they had a unique trigger system which fit over the rim and under any drum head, acoustic or mesh. I decided to invest in 8 of them, which cost a little under $700. They took 1/4" jacks and worked with most drum modules. One of the issues with the Versatriggers was you had to use their interface on a laptop, and some kind of drum software. With the Padtech triggers, I could go directly into any drum module and via USB, still have access to all of its internal sounds and have the ability to connect to my laptop and its drum apps. I could use 6 inputs for the toms, plus 2 for the snare and kick. My most recent module is an Alesis Strike Pro, with a plethora of outputs. I already had plenty of Alesis trigger pad cables to connect the kit, so I measured the lengths and laid them out so that once the triggers arrive, I'd be able them plug all in without any significant delay.

After about a month, the new Padtech Triggers finally arrived. It should be noted that after my original order through Amazon was cancelled, I went to Padtech's website in Hungary to complete the order. Before their arrival, I got an idea to expand the Gretsch kit into an all electric variant, based on the classic Gretsch "Monster II" kit. I'm a huge fan of Chester Thompson, Collins' fellow Genesis percussionist. I first saw Thompson with Frank Zappa, next with Weather Report and again with Genesis. In those early days, Thompson used the famed Ludwig "Octoplus"; Double bass drums, 8 concert toms and an 18" floor tom. Thompson's drum fill from Zappa's "More Trouble Comin' Everyday" is the stuff of legend. Collins was so enamored of it that he and Thompson reprised it at the end of the Genesis song "Afterglow". That set-up made a huge impression on me, and I've actually used it myself in a few combos over the years. Another drummer carrying that monster kit torch is Simon Phillips. His current set-up is akin to Thompson's, however Phillips only uses 6 rack toms. Being "open handed" and a fan of those monster kits, my typical set-up is a hybrid of both, with 6 rack toms, a single kick and floor tom. It also occurred to me that with 2 additional triggers. I could actually turn this variant into an e-kit too, which is exactly what I ended up doing! 

For the Gretsch kick drum, I used an Aquarian Kick Zone trigger, used some velcro and attached it to a 19.5" bar and mounted it internally to the kick. I then used a 20" Remo Muffl Ring, attached a 1/4" cable, placed the Evans mesh head on, and gave it a quick test. Voila! It worked like a charm. With the Padtech triggers installed, it was time to connect it to my Alesis Strike Pro module. To my amazement, the Padtech triggers worked right out of the box, with little or no adjustments at all,  and I was able to get the entire drum kit to respond perfectly with the Evans SoundOff mesh heads! I have to admit, the Padtech triggers are the best internal triggers for the price that I have ever used. As a mesh e-kit, this "Gretsch" kit was a success; I can mate any trigger system to it; Alesis, Roland, Yamaha, Pearl, Jobeky, Pintech, Padtech, 2 Box, Ddrum, you name it. The world of acoustic to electronic conversion is truly a viable and game changing new way of going. If you have the patience, the desire and yes, a few dollars to spare, you too can have a fabulous time re-imaging any old acoustic kit with a new look and a vast array of digital percussion sounds.