Best Samba Drums

Now here at the London School of Samba the drum of choice at the moment is the Ivsom. Now Ivsom are generally geared towards Caixas and Reps are a the thing that people desire these days. Myself and the missus (Fee) went to Ivsom to get some caixas and Reps and the sound in comparison to other caixas or reps means that the power required is less which can only be a good thing. They take pride in their work so you don't get shoddy products but as Mestre Robson said their stick are a bit light for the job in hand sometimes so asking for a darker/ heavier wood or seeking them elsewhere to save yourself the effort in playing.

As for Surdos, I'm not really THAT fussed on brand names as such, more how the drum is. If you're parading a lot, then the 8 lugged, hide head either side, wooden surdo will do the job AND save your back, but if you're all about the sound make that bad boy a steel shell and book the spinal replacement now. 50cm in height is the height of choice in most places samba and samba reggae, Mocidade Independente had a room stacked of 50cm surdos (steel shell) and wherever I was in Rio the 60cm only seemed to make an appearance on stands in Pagode shows, which is a marked shift from the days of old. As for skins, HIDE HEADS are legendary, but expensive, at around 30 quid, but if you're prepared to replace the hide part of the whole thing if it breaks it only costs you a tenner each time. Nappa is lovely (if you're going to play the surdo like Mr Burns in The Simpsons) but gets destroyed far too easily by inexperienced players. If you're looking for a simple measure to get your surdo sounding sweet then Vinyl is the way forward. Cheap, simple and effective.

Tams, again I go for style of Tam as opposed to name (but whilst we're playing the name game, King at the moment are cheap (like the budgie) and a good style for the seasoned Tam player. RMV and Artcelisor also do the similar style. Quite deep, steel rim (with grooves), 8 lugs, none of this lug holding the steel ring to the bottom of the shell business, no siree!!, brackets made into the side of the shell so skin replacement isn't like open heart surgery.

Chocalhos are the choice of the director (for sound) in conjunction with the skill of the player. Do you go metal wide and light or metal small and heavy frame? Wood bar thick and heavy or thin pole down the middle? The thick wooden ones seems to be most popular and most expensive at the moment, but it's all horses for courses.

Agogos - "I. like. big. agogos and I can not lie...". When people say size doesn't matter, in this case it does a bit. The overall sound you want although overules that of course and I for one am not a big fan of anything side sealed as the mild mannered agogo player generally cracks one of those tame agogos in about a month. The Quatro Agogo has been a 'flavour for a month' for sometime now with many school like Imperatriz busting out some complex grooves. They're lovely, but they tend to emplty the pocket quite quickly for one (but they're worth it).

Now go forth confused and buy!! Buy I tell you, BUY!!

Fred
Mestre da Bateria
London School of Samba
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