knitting needles on cymbals

[andrew9986]

no i'm not giving up drumming for crochet, but what knitting needles have
worked for some of you guys who've tried them?

are stainless needles best? I would think long & thin would be the way to go...

andrew

[LuvmyLeedy]

knitting needles i have not tried.. but cooking chopsticks are good. challenging for the technique..

my sweetie knits. i'll have to "borrow" a couple of her needles to try.

[txalapartalari]

I have a pair made of steel. And as you say long and thin. You have to get used to handle them, first time I took'em it felt like they weren't there.

Jon

[txalapartalari]

knitting needles i have not tried.. but cooking chopsticks are good. challenging for the technique..

my sweetie knits. i'll have to "borrow" a couple of her needles to try.

Marc, this may seem stupid to ask but what exactly is a cooking chosptick? Sounds to "generic" to have that name. Ah, idiomatics....

Jon

[LuvmyLeedy]

you get 'em in chinatown, if your town has a chinatown. they are oversized chopsticks used for cooking. there are different sizes, most are about the same length as your average drum stick, but not as thick, and made of lightweight wood. they usually taper down to a rounded point at the end, like a stick with the nylon tip removed.

[JayCam]

Try playing with wooden skewers... the volume is too low to actually be of any use in a gig but you can get some wicked sounds and its again quite challenging.

J.

[uwwshaw]

I played a session once with chopsticks. . . nothing else was available. And I'd do it again, under the same circumstances--but ONLY under those circumstances. The ride sound SUCKED!

[naknir]

Me playing with chopsticks (not really, just for fun and sort-of making a dream come true) in my 19 years old surprise birthday party (more than a year ago).

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b117/naknir/mewithchopsticks.jpg

Everytime me and my family went to a chinease restaurant when I was a kid, I always took the chopsticks and started "air drumming", so this was (as I mentioned earlier) like a dream come true. :tonguea:

[BenKoostra]

I've heard that Bosphorus makes a pair of copper knitting needles that are very musical. I'd start there.

[lavaroom]

I saw a show at a local club once. Mike Reed, a Chicago based drummer playing in a trio, once get some of the most delicious sounds out of his cymbals( and drums) using shishka bob skewers.
He told me he was not concerned with the scratches he was making on his cymbals.

If you ever get a chance to hear him do not pass it up! His drumming was remarkable it that he would play densely textural swathes of sound. Bubbling on and on... really tasteful and not overbearing. He was with a trio featuring David Boykin (bass clarinet) and ? Sigfreid on upright bass.

Time to buy some skewers and knitting needles, and cheepy cymbals!

[bdbop]

Try playing with wooden skewers... the volume is too low to actually be of any use in a gig but you can get some wicked sounds and its again quite challenging.

J.
Here's a neat little thing for ya -

I often use the pointed tip of a thin bamboo kabob skewer to get in between the tonal grooves of a well lathed ride cymbal - by slowly moving the tip around the groove's trough you will get a set of harmonics that will just amaze you - sounds will emanate from your cymbal that you never knew were in there!

You need to grip the skewer about two inches from the pointed tip to do this properly.

Terrific for post-bop slower tunes and effects over a quiet bass or guitar solo. I keep a few in my stick bag for these effects. Careful - they're dangerous little weapons!

[bdbop]

Me playing with chopsticks Cool shot, Nir.

[JayCam]

Here's a neat little thing for ya -

I often use the pointed tip of a thin bamboo kabob skewer to get in between the tonal grooves of a well lathed ride cymbal - by slowly moving the tip around the groove's trough you will get a set of harmonics that will just amaze you - sounds will emanate from your cymbal that you never knew were in there!

You need to grip the skewer about two inches from the pointed tip to do this properly.

Terrific for post-bop slower tunes and effects over a quiet bass or guitar solo. I keep a few in my stick bag for these effects. Careful - they're dangerous little weapons!

Awsome. I imagine its like bowing the cymbal but much more subtle? I will try this as soon as I get home to my cymbals.

J.

[drummist]

I imagine it's similar to doin the same thing with any wood tip drumstick. I have about four pairs of chopsticks in my bag and use them quite a bit. i use long metal threaded things but haven't tried skewers or needles. have thought about it. maybe it's too soft for YOUR style of music....

[JayCam]

maybe it's too soft for YOUR style of music....

What is that supposed to mean lol? I am a very quiet player and I like to be heavily amplified and proccessed so I think this could suit my playing quite well. Im not really offended or anything just thought it was a weird remark.

Anyway I saw a drummer at the Apelby Jazz festival 2005 doing the thing where you hold one stick against the cymbals edge perpendicular to the profile (so it makes a kind of sideways T shape) and rotate the cymbal with the other hand. It makes a really cool creaking/squeeking noise but I tried to do it with my Agop 21" Ride and it just wouldnt do it. No matter what I tried I couldnt make that sound. What is the secret? I tried with other cymbals and still nothing.

J.

[drummist]

no insult intended- just noticed your comment that it was too soft to be heard in an actual gig.

you're describing the stick friction thing right. is all about pressure. not too hard, not too soft. but once you get it, it's easy. thinner cymbals are easier but you can do it on aany cymbal. you can also make a good squeak by rubbing the tip at the intersection of a head and a rim (i've only tried it with metal rims).

[PerryJustus]

you can also make a good squeak by rubbing the tip at the intersection of a head and a rim (i've only tried it with metal rims).

That sentence is making me horny.

[txalapartalari]

That sentence is making me horny.

Er....
Did you read the "underwear" thread?

:D
J