Beautiful kit, and those drums sound fantastic. Knew a drummer out of CT. Who had an Eames shell kit. Back in 91 or 92 he was playing ina Three piece band, called the Greg Baril Band. At the time they were based out of Jacksonville Fl. The last i saw of Gene was in 2001 playing with Doctor Hector and the Groove Injectors. He was on the Live Album VITAL SIGNS. Gene Melendreras on drums. Recently had a friend send me that record, since my CD was stolen!!
Steve: You used to play Naturaltone shells, right? What shells do you recommend for high bebop tuning? How do the Vintage E differ from Naturaltone in tuning range/sound? Thank you for any feedback!
I still have a set of all Naturaltone shells, the 9-ply birch. At the time I wanted exactly what Bob Gullotti was playing, which was the 9-ply. That rosewood looking set (can't remember the name of his Eames finish) that he played with The Fringe (& tons of others) was 9-ply Naturaltone with Gretsch lugs & die-cast hoops. You simply cannot go wrong with the Naturaltone shells; tuning range is wide, and the tone is sublime. And it has all of the attack/bite that birch is kinda known for anyhow. Vintage-E is a more specific Vibe, and likely the reason it was introduced much later. Joe was making 6 / 9 / 12 ply straight shells for many years before Vintage-E came along. The thing with the Vintage-E shells isn't necessarily whether the tuning range is different; it's the overall sound & feel that are different due to the "rings". Joe once explained it this way to me, & it made perfect sense: Without the "rings", in a straight cylinder shell, the "compression" inside is different. When the head is struck, the air travels immediately from Top head to Bottom head. When "rings" are used, the air gets "confused" inside (for lack of a more scientific term), and that's why the Vibe is more "spongy". So, if you like the old Ludwig with rings, you will LOVE the Eames Vintage-E shells. It's simply another masterful offering that is different from the straight ply shells.
Best recording of them I’ve found on RUclips so far. They sound great! Tons of tone. Just got my master model snare and I couldn’t be happier.
Beautiful kit, and those drums sound fantastic. Knew a drummer out of CT. Who had an Eames shell kit. Back in 91 or 92 he was playing ina Three piece band, called the Greg Baril Band. At the time they were based out of Jacksonville Fl. The last i saw of Gene was in 2001 playing with Doctor Hector and the Groove Injectors. He was on the Live Album VITAL SIGNS. Gene Melendreras on drums. Recently had a friend send me that record, since my CD was stolen!!
Steve: You used to play Naturaltone shells, right? What shells do you recommend for high bebop tuning? How do the Vintage E differ from Naturaltone in tuning range/sound? Thank you for any feedback!
I still have a set of all Naturaltone shells, the 9-ply birch. At the time I wanted exactly what Bob Gullotti was playing, which was the 9-ply. That rosewood looking set (can't remember the name of his Eames finish) that he played with The Fringe (& tons of others) was 9-ply Naturaltone with Gretsch lugs & die-cast hoops. You simply cannot go wrong with the Naturaltone shells; tuning range is wide, and the tone is sublime. And it has all of the attack/bite that birch is kinda known for anyhow. Vintage-E is a more specific Vibe, and likely the reason it was introduced much later. Joe was making 6 / 9 / 12 ply straight shells for many years before Vintage-E came along.
The thing with the Vintage-E shells isn't necessarily whether the tuning range is different; it's the overall sound & feel that are different due to the "rings".
Joe once explained it this way to me, & it made perfect sense: Without the "rings", in a straight cylinder shell, the "compression" inside is different. When the head is struck, the air travels immediately from Top head to Bottom head.
When "rings" are used, the air gets "confused" inside (for lack of a more scientific term), and that's why the Vibe is more "spongy". So, if you like the old Ludwig with rings, you will LOVE the Eames Vintage-E shells. It's simply another masterful offering that is different from the straight ply shells.
What's the difference between the Vintage E shells and their regular shells?
Vintage E has a version of sound rings top & bottom (re-rings). Regular shells are without rings.