Function: Drum Instructional Videos

Price: $24.99

What’s New: New to drums but eager to learn?  Praise and Worship Drumming: An Inspirational Guide to Drum Instruction may be just right for you.  A two-volume set, Volume 1 of Praise and Worship Drumming covers all the basics of drumming, including stick grip, rudiments, time signatures, dynamics and fills.  Volume 2 focuses primarily on playing the basics of different musical styles, such as rock, jazz, country, and shuffles.  Both volumes provide clear examples of drumming technique specific to a worship context, providing original worship songs as examples on the DVD (available with and without drum tracks as a free download with purchase of the DVD).  Drum artist and instructor Jeffrey Jones gives great examples of drumming technique and form and tastefully demonstrates how to play drums in a worship context.  Where Praise and Worship Drumming really shines is in teaching the basics.  Many drum instructional videos spend a lot of time on fills, double bass patterns, and speed techniques, and the attention to rudimentary detail in Praise and Worship Drumming is refreshing and essential.  Praise and Worship Drumming is a great resource and perfect for beginners and aspiring drummers.  Visit drumsandstuff.com for more information about Praise and Worship Drumming and other products.  

Roland BT-1

Function: Drum pad

Price: $99

What’s New: The BT-1 bar trigger pad is a low-profile drum pad designed to work with V-drum or other electronic drum machines.  Lightweight and easy to mount, the BT-1 is designed to work together with any drum kit, acoustic or electric.  Internal design eliminates false triggering by hitting drums close to the BT-1, and the small, curved design makes it perfect for mounting just outside the rim of a snare or tom.  In addition to being a standard drum trigger, the BT-1 can be used to start/stop click track, trigger backing tracks, tap tempo, and more.  The BT-1 is the perfect drum trigger to add to acoustic drums, or as an accessory to an electronic drum kit.

Function: Compressor Stompbox

Price: $375

What’s New: If you’re looking for an ultra-smooth, fat, punchy compressor, the Origin Effects Cali76 is one of the best out there.  Based on possibly the most famous studio compressor of all time, the UREI 1176, the Cali76 is a condensed version of the 1176 in a standard guitar pedal chassis.  Built in a rugged metal box, the Cali76 is ultra smooth on both bass and guitar, with fat vintage-style FET compression and an all-analog circuit.  While the steep price tag may turn many away, for the guitar player who always wanted an 1176 on stage, the Cali76 is your magic bullet.

-Andy Toy

Function: Heavy duty drum hardware stands

Price: $189-$209

What’s New: While 200 bucks might be a little steep to throw out for a snare stand, the DW airlift is worth every penny.  Identical to the world-renowned DW 9000 Series drum hardware, the Airlift snare and tom stands feature a revolutionary new pneumatic shock system that allows effortless, exact adjustments to the snare and toms.  The drums sit on a cushion of air that allows the drummer to adjust the drum to the exact height with incredible ease.  Additional memory locks ensure that the drum will be in the exact same place at each setup, saving time (and your back) for drummers everywhere. 

-Andy Toy