North drums, tom sounds and tuning

Here is more detail on the sound of North toms

[@donovanbratsch8297]

I had the privilege of playing your drums at Uncle Sam's during an open jam nights. They were so much fun to play! Thank you!

[@christhedrummerkimball]

That's awesome!

[@looppool]

I LOVE HOW THESE DRUMS LOOK!!!!

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Thanks for watching! I always thought that, too. Some people don't like them, but I think the whole concept is cool.

[@terrydonegan1622]

I'd love to see these come back, with perfect bearing edges

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Absolutely. I'm trying to think of coming up with some kind of an invention that will help drums with bad bearing edges. Something like a perfect bearing edge made out of steel that slips over the top bearing edge of an existing drum. If I could just come up with some backing, some capital, and some copyright information, maybe I could make $1000000 selling them to those 14 other people that have North drum sets! :-)

[@woodstockjon420]

@@christhedrummerkimball , two suggestions... one I do Always. I use soap or a candle of wax, to "lube" the bearing edge! Plexi/wood/fiber, whatever! And the other suggestion is to take 600/5oo/400... grit wet/dry emory paper to the bearing edge and take it smooth! For this I recommend making a jig out of a piece of wood with the correct curvature so that at least that part will remain consistent and even around the diameter of the drum.

[@christhedrummerkimball]

@@woodstockjon420 Thank you--both great suggestions!

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Tonight I took an old snare and tuned it using your soap idea. Worked like a charm! Thanks again for the suggestion.

[@GODofAbrahamIsaacandJacob]

Used to own a 6 pc. Kit in plain white... 6"-8"-10"-12 upper case toms... 14" floor tom 22" Bass Drum Purchased back in 1986 at drumstore... Mine was an M.I.T. kit from Italy with the fibercore design... Put clear Remo head's with center black dot, and used deadringers back in 86'... In early 2000 I tried Remo weatherguard clear with pinstripe heads, and that opened them up , plus killed the ringing/ overtones... Had to sell all my drums ,and other drum sets back in 2014 after serious work related back injury... Just couldn't move them anymore... Thanks for creating this video...👍😎

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Wow, bummer about the back entry. I hope you're okay!

[@GODofAbrahamIsaacandJacob]

@@christhedrummerkimball Yeah it does. I will be ok, and the pain has subsided enough where I can do limited things. I just don't have the strength anymore to do everything I once did in times past. Lugging a kit to and from a gig, and practicing, plus working full time just was way too much strain on the body. Thanks for the kind words...👍😎

[@williamsheffield1764]

Wow how did you put that kit together? Must have taken a Lifetime. We had a set in the early 80's. Just a 5 piece. I wanted to put a kit like that together. Impossible. But yeah, they sounded like HS marching band so they got the thumbs down. A lot of peeps said they looked stupid. Even if it was two that was too many back then. So l sold it after maybe just a few weeks. Always regreted that. We had one of the first Simmons SDS5 kits in 1981. I thought they sounded stupid but Everyone Loved them. I gave those away too in the late 80's early 90's. Fantastic accomplisment BTW and you know exactly how to play them. A lost art. When you go its over, lol. Great video.

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Thank you! It took me several years of scouring eBay and other used instrument places to finally collect all the sizes I wanted. It took some work to get them to look good again, too, but I always thought they were cool, and now I can actually afford them. Thanks for watching!

[@Bearbytez]

You might be the only other person alive I've seen with a full two kick, six tom north kit.. mine was "Neil Pert's" an inheritance through REO. They're in rough shape.

[@702ringo1]

I agree, I also like to hear a lot of the toms! Those sound really great.

[@christhedrummerkimball]

I'll post another video with more toms when I get a chance, thanks!

[@steveblake5764]

Hi Chris, I miss you old friend. You were great to play with and I learned a lot about Dairy Queen and desserts. Stevie

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Hey Steve! Great to hear from you. We really should get together and jam sometime. When you going to be in my neighborhood next? :-)

[@robsco1249]

Uriah Heep early '80 drummer had this kit Tom's sound like rotom in a box.

[@christhedrummerkimball]

That's a great way of describing them! Thanks for watching.

[@gabrielruzzi4452]

Beautiful drums and i gotta say, you’ve tuned them as good as they can be tuned.

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Thank you--I appreciate the positive comments. Fortunately most are positive, but not all! :)

[@gregoryking2244]

Those drums suck that's why they didn't sell just look good

[@Rico_G]

Came for the North. Stayed for the Mini. Jealous of your toys.

[@christhedrummerkimball]

:) The Mini is a lot of fun, my son bought it when he went to college, and once he graduated I bought it from him! Thanks for watching!

[@feistybastard]

Always fascinated by North, but these sound like marching quads.

[@christhedrummerkimball]

True!

[@scotttesar6661]

Blue Devils '76 tenor line : www.bluedevils.org/programs/a-corps/seasons/?module=photos&albumID=56&season=1976#&gid=1&pid=16 And reprised for the ten year anniversary in '86 : kzbin.info/www/bejne/hWmTkmSFqM1njNU

[@christhedrummerkimball]

@@scotttesar6661 Very cool! (And undoubtedly very heavy!)

[@earldrum]

It’s all about the drums! Thanks for doing this one and groove away my friend!

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Thank you! It's always great to get positive comments. Inspires me to make more videos :)

[@soundsgood7757]

I used to mix a band that had a North kit in the the 80's. The bearing edge thing was a problem back then too. We'd get a vibration/buzzing sound that sounded like a kazoo because of the unevenness between the head and edge. I think they sound very good. However, they do have more low end than you can hear in this recording but less than a conventional batter/resonance head drums of similar size. They sound musical which IMO is much better than the usual attack/thud or attack/boom sound that may have energy but lacks character and musicality. Nice job.

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Thank you for your positive and thoughtful comments! I'm hoping to get an interface which will allow me to use better mics for my future videos. That should help the sound.

[@jpcyphers]

Seems like that splash cymbal is too close the rims of the 2 toms on the main bass drum.

[@christhedrummerkimball]

It just misses them! I always try to have things as close together as possible without running into the thing next to it. It makes for less effort when moving from one tom or cymbal to another! Thanks for watching, I appreciate it.

[@jimilove7773]

Nice!

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Thanks!

[@michaelkrysiak5282]

What did you replace the bass drum spurs with?

[@christhedrummerkimball]

I'm not sure exactly where I got them, but they were generic, heavy duty bass drum spurs.I might have bought online somewhere.

[@jaimesorli2436]

love the video chris, needs near of the hats one set of 5 percussions locks..., im so jelaous, i always love them and still i wish one in goo state, is one drummer which i love, he is one of the best for me, he played one set in black in the mind 70, with return to forever, he is gerry brown, the double live where he play it is one of the best drum record in my opinion, what a latin rythms in a prog way he play in that record at the speed of light..., also the sound of that norths are amazing, in that record, i think the secret are th heads, ambassadors clear........., but anyway...., love the video and the set..., wish you put more thing, i like your playing, remember you in some drum festival with alan white, famularo the drummer from primus which is amazing and more people..., i liked our solo....., ahhh, also the sound from you sonor toms sounds amazing...., the pearl octobans in cooper are really cool...., i gonna leave you some links if you want to check..... kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXepdqt3brSmqKM kzbin.info/www/bejne/sICVoopsiJmWrpI kzbin.info/www/bejne/i5iqqJeLa950e6M kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5Pbh6Kbmq-gb6s

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Thank you--I appreciate it! Glad you liked the video.

[@jaidensavoy8153]

Amazing! But one question. Why do they need to be shaped like cornucopias?

[@christhedrummerkimball]

To project the sound, and they come in handy for Thanksgiving dinner ornaments...:)

[@tylerwyler6]

Funny story, but a couple of decades ago I played in a jazz trio at my college with a piano player who told me his kid played a set of these North drums. I was flabbergasted to see these videos of yours pop up in my suggestions. Chris, you ever hear of a guy named Ken Kimball? (Your dad is one of my heroes. In fact, I got a scholarship from your family that paid for a year of my college. Sending my very best, Tyler).

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Wow! That is amazing. My dad was really great, we lost him way too soon. Really glad to hear from you! If you're ever near Tacoma get ahold of me and you can stop by and see the drums in person.

[@user-po3fb9gy8o]

i really liked the way the drums look//

[@christhedrummerkimball]

I do, too. To me, that's part of the fun in owning them--the comments I get from people who have never seen North drums before are pretty funny! Thanks for watching, I appreciate it.

[@user-po3fb9gy8o]

@@christhedrummerkimball .....Good Luck To You !

[@christhedrummerkimball]

@@user-po3fb9gy8o And to you! Thanks!

[@okgo8315]

Something you didn'nt know about North drums, they were invented by my old friend Graham Davies (rip), NOT as claimed by Roy North, to whom he sold the original moulds. He had the original idea whilst looking at the flair on a trumpet and imagining what effect it would have on tom toms, visually and audibly. Among other inventions of his like the Octobans by Tama, originally designed with different lengths to be tuned to an octave, so a lot of them...12! A genius, started as a motor mechanic and even worked for Downton Engineering UK (who did engine developmant for BMC , Mini Coopers etc), their race cars which Graham worked on were legendary.👍🇬🇧🎺

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Thanks for the info--I replied to this comment on my other video. Thanks again for watching!

[@akaragdollsvids]

drumPiper

[@christhedrummerkimball]

:)

[@sticksbass]

i prefer clear ambassador even on dbl headed drums but especially on drums that are already way dead like concerts. i dont even like very much muffling on the bass drums if at all. they def sound better the way u tune for notes

[@christhedrummerkimball]

I've come to really like the live sound as well. Thank you for watching!

[@margovallen]

Russ Kunkle.

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Yes! He played North drums for a while. Thanks for watching and for the comment!

[@benhymo]

Revely lmao

[@christhedrummerkimball]

:)

[@rolandhillmann7475]

Burn this up.

[@christhedrummerkimball]

I'm not sure if that's a compliment or not, but thanks for watching!

[@matrixmodulator]

Sounds like plastic

[@christhedrummerkimball]

Exactly! Well, to be more specific, some are plastic and some are fiberglass, but I guess one could call fiberglass plastic...:)

[@matrixmodulator]

@@christhedrummerkimball ah ok, you know why not all the same material?

[@christhedrummerkimball]

@@matrixmodulator Some are the early models made from fiberglass, others are the later ones made in Italy after Roger North sold the company.

[@cluek9780]

Show me a drummer that *really wants to be melodic. Meh

[@christhedrummerkimball]

I think there are at least a few of us out there! :) Thanks for watching, I appreciate it.

[@he5975]

@@christhedrummerkimball To_y-Williams-is-

[@TimBales-ys3mk]

Those Tom Tom sound like crap, they sound like plastic paint cans, but it's not your fault, that's why they don't make them anymore because they're more of a novelty then a useful instrument.