"Drums" advice?

[reflected]

Not sure where this one fits...

I'm thinking about spicing up my live performances with percussion. I play alone on a D-35 and harmonica, kinda' Dylan style. Sometimes I really miss some percussion, but I don't want to hire a drummer

What would you advise I use? I tried a small kick drum for fun, and it's just too difficult to transport and "too much", too overwhelming.

I'm thinking about stomping on a tambourine, but the problem is that it goes on the upbeat, the snare, just like the guitar. I want something that goes on the kick drum - I hope you know what I mean.

I've been eyeing Ortega's horse kick, but aren't these boxes a bit artificial? Maybe a bit too overwhelming with just one guitar, and I would have to stomp on them all the time, otherwise the songs would become too empty too quick? I would like something more natural, and subtle. Any recommendations please? The above might easily be a misconception, so please correct me if you don't agree.

Thanks!

[Silly Moustache]

A simple wooden stomp box.... I have one doing nothing.

[catdaddy]

I've been using a Porchboard Bass for many years for self-accompaniment percussion. Solid build, ergonomically satisfying and easy to add to your mix. Works well as a kick drum simulator. Here's some info: http://www.porchboard.com/

[Jabberwocky]

Kick drum pedal rigged to beat on a cajon?

Another suggestion is to rig the kick drum pedal to beat on a traditional Chinese or Japanese drum. You may be able to find them in different sizes in Chinatown or online. They are cheap.

16" or 14" floor tom converted to kick.

[Purfle Haze]

I wonder if any single sound will become tiresome after a couple of songs. How about a trigger pedal and a sample box/drum module? You could vary the instrument sound. Do you need to be fully acoustic?

[Wengr]

I have a stomp box pedal thing. I don't like the sound of it. I have heard other brands that I disliked less, but in the end, the poarchboard/stompbox pedals don't do it for me. So, I got the idea to go to samples as suggested above. The problem is the triggering. Typical triggers work with a kick drum pedal. Works well if you are a drummer sitting at a kit, but for me I don't want to move my leg so much. I just want to tap my foot and trigger the sample.
So I bought some piezo triggers, in the hopes that I could stick them somewhere on my stompbox pedal and trigger from there, but so far no luck as the signal is far too weak.

[Song]

[joeguam]

If you'd rather actually play the beats yourself rather than simulate it with a looper or a drum machine, check out what this guy does with Roland KT10's

[buzzardwhiskey]

On our latest record project, I'm creating "foundations" upon which the band layers its stuff. The lowest layer of the foundation is a drum loop built in a DAW from a product called EZ Drummer 2.

I'm super pleased at how "real" the drums sound and how creative I can get with a minimum of drumming talent. I'd originally thought that all the midi drums would get replaced with real stuff, but now I'm re-thinking.

Anyway, If I was so inclined, this system (a $60 DAW called Reaper and the $250 plug-in called EZ Drummer 2 with Songwriter Extension) may well be a nice way to produce the pre-recorded elements for my solo act as well.

[PorkPieGuy]

https://www.footdrums.com/


Whenever I see a guitar player using (or trying to use) something percussive with his/her feet while playing guitar, it always comes across something like this for me:

https://media.giphy.com/media/I2kUA6oHPVUl2/giphy.gif



Each to his own.

IMO, you should just jam with a drummer at some point. We aren't all that bad.

Best of luck either way!

[Steve DeRosa]

Sounds like you'd rather stay all-acoustic - worked briefly with a converted-drummer grad-school bud in the late-70's (miked 6- and 12-string guitar) and we did something like this:

• Keep the bass drum/pedal setup and swap the beater for an old-style all-felt or lambs'-wool version - takes the sharp edge off the initial attack and reduces volume (Note: add a Remo Fiberskyn head and a glue-on strike pad to the equation and you'll have all the "natural and subtle" you need);
• Check your local big-box store's percussion department for a used hi-hat and a set of cheap used hat cymbals (these get traded in all the time as kids step up from their beginner kits) - work the hi-hat on the "snare" (2-4) beats and you might be surprised at just how much of a "full kit" illusion it provides for the audience (add a sizzler to give a "snare+ride" effect);

Although they weren't available at the time, there are several hand percussion instruments that have been adapted to foot-pedal control (tambourines, cowbells, wood blocks) which you can add to either side of your kit, as well as double-bass pedals that can help add some drive to those "chug" rhythms or (played softly) fill out the low end when you're working up the neck...

[cotten]

May not be what you're looking for, but I'm intrigued by this pedal's capabilities.



cotten