Drum Blog

The age old debate of pillow vs blanket: how to muffle your bass drum

We've gotten though Christmas, and all of the boxing day madness, and we're now into a new year, and for many people this is a time to start things fresh.  If you were lucky enough to have the big man in red show up with a new drum kit for you, most of the work has already been done, but for the rest of us, we have to re-work the gear that we already have. 

One of the most overlooked parts of the drum set is the bass drum, because although we use it almost as much as the snare (more than snare if you play metal), it sits on the floor, typically with a bunch of stuff sitting on it.  Also, a lot of people just view it as that drum that goes “thud” and it makes that sound without any effort.  So, it's time to set those mounted toms somewhere, and disconnect that crazy pedal you have, and pull that bass drum out where we can look at it.

There are two ways to muffle the sound of a drum, by the inside, or by the outside.  All of the major drum head manufacturers now make heads that have an external dampening system, some even make it adjustable.  This tends to be the way that I go, because with the amount that I move my drums around, I know that the muffling will be in the same place every time I pull the drum out of the case.  At least, I have this on all of my batter heads.  You can also get an apparatus that mounts to the rim of the drum and holds a small pad against the head.  You can usually adjust the amount of tension on these, therefore adjusting the amount of muffling.  Also, there's always the story of the guy who throws his jacket or sweater over or against the drum in such a way that it muffles it. 

On the internal side, there are a number of options.  You can adhere something to the head, such as medical tape, duct tape, or in the case of one of my bass drums that I've already posted about, a sock and gaffer tape.  Moon gels don't tend to work too well on bass drums because they're not sitting anywhere close to flat.  You can also adhere foam to the inside of the shell in a way that it will come in to contact with the head.  This tends to be what the marching players use as it will stay in place when you do a back flip (not that I've seen a marching bass player do a back flip while playing, but I'm sure it's been done).  Also, you can take a strip of felt and put it between the head and the shell, 2/3 of the way up the opening.  A lot of jazz and classical players tend to go for this route, as well as anyone trying to get an authentic vintage sound. (Coated Ambassadors on both heads with felt muting and a wooden beater, you need to try it if you haven't, it's the bee's knees!).

Then, you get to the pillow/blanket question.  This tends to be the most popular route people go.  So popular in fact that some manufacturers actually make drum set pillows that stay in place with Velcro!  Some people will take a small towel rolled up so that it just touches both heads.  Some people will stick a sheet in that is against the batter head, but lets the resonant head ring.  Other guys will grab as many blankets as they can fit to make the drum as dry as possible.  I also knew people in my garage band days who would put a pillow and sleeping bag in their bass drum, and then use it for sleeping with at over night jam sessions.

Whichever way you end up, I suggest you try a couple.  Each one has its merits, someone does it, and they have their reason for it.  Ultimately, your budget, ears and drum set location will dictate which one is best for you. (Pete is a Percussion Specialist at the Waterloo branch of St. John's Music)

SO YOUR KIDS WANTS TO PLAY DRUMS...SHOULD YOU GO ELECTIC OR ACOUSTIC?

Around this time of year many parents are faced with children who have decided to heed the call of the drums.  Many parents are reluctant to make the financial commitment, partly because they don't know if their kid will stick with it, or if they'd be trying to sell it four months later.  The other issue that usually causes reluctance is the decision of whether to go electric or acoustic.  

The most financially viable option is usually the acoustic kit.  Most drum kits come with the standard 5 drums (snare drum, bass drum, floor tom and two mounted toms) and the stands for them.  Beware, not all packages include everything that you see assembled.  A lot of kits don't come with cymbals and most don't come with a throne.  We do have packages available that come with both, so that you can get everything that you need with one purchase.  An extra set of sticks is also a good thing to pick up.  Though our package comes with one set, excited kids who haven't played before can break or lose the sticks, in the same way the some kids will use their new DSi until the batteries die.

The other option of course is the electronic kit.  Unlike acoustic kits, electronic kits usually come with cymbals as standard items, however, they typically don't come with a throne and in many cases don't come with a bass drum pedal.  Electric kits are generally more expensive than acoustic ones, however the price has come down a lot in recent years because so many players are buying them.

One of the many advantages to an electric kit is that although you are physically only buying one drum kit, you're buying the sounds of many different kits.  To get a significant sound change from acoustic drums you would have to, at the very least, re-tune the drums, which is something that at best can be done between sets in a show, but not between songs.  However, making your electric kit sound very different can take a few seconds and the push of a couple of buttons.  A lot of entry level kits will also come with a bunch of non drum related sounds to keep kids interested when their sticking exercises become a little dry.

Another major advantage to electric kits is the headphone factor.  Any of the sounds that you can get on an electric kit, you can get through headphones, with very little noise to people around.  The down side to this is that the kits don't come with speakers, so if your kid wants to play along with friends, you have an extra expense in purchasing an amplifier.  You can get an acoustic kit to be very quiet, but it tends to require major changes to the set-up which drastically change the sound quality.  

One thing to consider, which isn't often discussed, is the feel.  I've played, owned and sold many different kits, both electric and acoustic, over many years, and as hard as they try, a $6,000 electric kit still doesn't feel as nice as a $600 acoustic kit.  Also, because you can just turn an electric kit down, many players who start there become very loud players when they play on acoustic kits.  Those who start on acoustic kits, but use electric ones for practice don't tend to have the same problem.

Another issue, lesser for beginners, but worth noting, is that an electronic kit is very portable, as almost everything is attached to one rack, and is very light.  Acoustic kits aren't as portable, and tend to be just a little bit heavier.

So, if you're limited for space, or can't make much noise because of being in an apartment or condo, the electronic kit is likely the better choice for you.  If space isn't an issue and you have space in your basement for your kid, and maybe some of their friends, to make some noise, then the acoustic kit might be a better option.  Ultimately, you have to think about your situation, and the options, and that will tell you what option is right for you. (Pete is a Percussion Specialist at the Waterloo branch of St. John's Music)

Top 10 non-drummer musician jokes.

There are some jokes that work for any musician with slightly different wording, however there aren't that many of those here.  As with the drummer jokes, this started as a much larger list and was voted on by my co-workers.

10. How do you get a guitarist to play quietly?  Put sheet music in front of him.
9.  What is the definition of a semitone?  Two oboists playing the same note.
8.  What do bass players use as contraceptive?  Their personality.
7.  What's the difference between a cello and a coffin?  The corpse is on the inside of the coffin.
6.  How many songwriters does it take to change a lightbulb?  Two, one to change it, and one to write a song about how the old lightbulb was better.
5.  How do you keep your violin from getting stolen?  Put it in a viola case.
4.  What do you do with a kid who can't play?  Give him two sticks and make him a drummer.  What do you do if he can't drum?  Take one stick away and make him a conductor.
3.  How many bass players does it take to change a lightbulb?  None, the piano player can do it with their left hand.
2.  What does a bass trombone player use to book gigs?  A year at a glance calendar.
1.  What is the definition of perfect pitch?  When you throw a banjo out the window and it takes out an accordion player. (Pete is a Percussion Specialist at the Waterloo branch of St. John's Music)

Two drums and a cymbal fall off a cliff, ba-doom chick: top 10 drummer jokes

Everyone has their favourite drummer joke. I started with a list of about 30, and worked it down to this list by voting from my co-workers. So, your favourite may not be here, but these tend to be pretty good. As a note, all of the drummers featured here are males, as it is generally assumed female drummers are smarter than male drummers (aren't all females?), and to further that, it is usually assumed that if you're female, you should know better than to be a drummer.

10. How can you tell your floor is level? The drummer has drool coming out of both sides of his mouth.

9. What's the difference between a mutual fund and a drummer? A mutual find will eventually mature and make money.

8. How many drummers does it take to change a light bulb? None, they have a machine for that now.

7. Why did the drummer stare at the can of frozen juice? Because it said “concentrate”.

6. Why do drummers put their sticks in their windshield? So that they can park in handy-cap spaces.

5. What's the difference between a drummer and a large pizza? A large pizza can feed a family of four.

4. How can you tell there's a drummer at your door? The knocking speeds up and he doesn't know when to come in.

3. How many drummers does it take to change a light bulb? Six, one to change the bulb and five to talk about how Neil Peart would have done it better.

2. How do you get a drummer off of your porch? Pay him for the pizza.

1. What do you call a person who hangs around with a bunch of musicians? A drummer. (Pete is a Percussion Specialist at the Waterloo branch of St. John's Music)

The Top 10 Things that You should bring to every Gig, But hopefully won't need

10.Extra strings.
I know what you're thinking, strings, really, this is a drum blog, well, trust me, I have been on way too many gigs where the guitarist didn't think to bring an extra set of strings and broke one.  If you want to, just bring a single 0.010 high E string, because that's what's going to go, but a whole set is easier to pack and find later.

9.Mic and patch cables
Maybe you're singing, maybe you're not, maybe you don't find out until you get there.  If you have one, you won't need it, if you don't you will.  Also, guitarists and keyboardists are bad for wanting to try out a new piece of gear and forgetting to bring an extra cable for it.

8.Misc tools
And no, I'm not referring to your band mates.  It's handy to have a multi-bit screwdriver, a wrench, pliers and a flashlight.  I always get flack for the flashlight, until the guitarist drops his pick behind his amp during the last set.

7.Microphones
There's always that moment in between the first and second sets out and you're talking to a friend in the audience, and they say “I couldn't really hear your snare”, so it's nice to be able to fix that.  Also, there's the possibility of “oh, by the way you're singing” that happens.

6.Duct/Gaff tape
Sometimes you need to tape down your carpet, sometimes your bassist keeps tripping on the power cord for the guitarist's amp, and sometimes your tom arm breaks in between sets.

5.Speaker cable
“We brought you a monitor, but forgot to bring you a speaker cable;”  this happens way too often.

4.Microphone clips
It's not that your guitarist intentionally broke his mic clip, but he tripped on his mic cable, and it had nothing to do with anyone in the audience or what he was drinking.  Also, if you do have to mic your snare or bass, it's handy to have a clip for your mic.

3.9V and AA batteries
Between pick-ups in acoustic guitars and floor effect pedals, batteries are a handy thing to have.

2.Hat and Sunglasses
If you're in a Blues Brothers cover band, or a country band, this doesn't need to be mentioned, but it comes in handy if you want to look cool, or if you need to hide when the gig goes bad.

1.A spare guitarist
This is for when the guitarist mentioned in #4 actually breaks something more serious than his mic clip. Also, if the spare guitarist comes with you, you'll know that they're there in time for the gig.  Preference for spare guitarist would be someone who can tune with a pedal tuner while talking to the audience, someone who isn't trying to steal your girlfriend/wife/etc, someone who will get your drink for you when you're taping down your carpet and/or someone who knows all of the words to We Didn't Start the Fire.(Pete is a Percussion Specialist at the Waterloo branch of St. John's Music)

Extra heavy, ultra-thin and oil filled: finding the right drum head thickness Part 2 'Pete Lamont'

As a continuation of an earlier blog that I did about drum head thicknesses, there are many things to consider when purchasing new drum heads.  As important as the thickness, is the texture of the head that you're using. 

The first type of head that I'll mention as a textured head, is the original, calf skin.  Back when someone figured out that you could hollow a log out and stretch a membrane across it, the only thing they had was the skin of whatever animal was available.  As people started doing a lot of this, it was generally decided that calf skin would be used for drums played with sticks, and typically goat skin would be used for drums played by hand.  Don't ask me why, I wasn't there, it was before my time. 

Because hides are a porous surface, they have a texture which allows striking implements to be brushed across them for a colour of rhythmic accent.  Drummers got quite used to doing this, and there are even books written on how to play rhythms or imply them using brushes in arc movements.  When synthetic heads were introduced in the 20th century, people wanted to still be able to do this, so some heads are coated with a texture. 

As a by-product of the coating, the head is now slightly thicker, which will make the sound just a little bit darker.  A lot of jazz drummers will put coated single 10mil ply heads on both sides of all of their drums (except the resonant snare side).  This will give you a sound that is warm, but doesn't ring too much.  This same head is also the most common snare drum head, especially for rock music, despite the fact that most rock drummers won't ever need to play with brushes.  Though white is the traditional colour of coating that is used for heads, some manufacturers have used black or translucent grey as a colour.

The most common drum set head however, is the smooth, untextured head.  I say this, because most drummers use untextured heads on their toms and basses, and because most people have untextured heads as their resonant heads.  Most people will use a completely clear head for their resonant heads as this will allow for the maximum resonance.  For a batter head, people will often choose a clear, two ply head that will have some muffling agent placed either outside of the head or between the plies.  There is a recent trend with bass drum heads to have the muffling device mounted on the outside of the head, where you can quickly change the amount of dampening (sometimes even between songs if your singer likes to talk a lot). 

Though clear is the most common of the untextured heads, you can also get them in smooth white and smooth black.  Smooth black is the most common for resonant bass drum heads (most kits come with one of these with the drum company's logo on it).  Over the years, various companies have also made “clear” heads that were a transparent other colour, such as red, blue or green.  Let me tell you, a white drum kit, with black rims, and clear green heads looks pretty cool, especially when you have the lights below the kit!

I know that these couple of articles have been pretty info packed, and maybe not as exciting, but there's just too much to think about when it comes to drum heads.  A lot of companies are doing a lot of different things, with new products coming out all of the time.  If anything that I've said doesn't make sense, feel free to email me about it and ask me, or, contact one of the drum experts in any of our stores.  We'd be glad to help you figure out what thickness and texture is right for each of your drums to get your specific sound.(Pete is a Percussion Specialist, at the Waterloo branch of St. John’s Music)

Extra heavy, ultra-thin and oil filled: finding the right drum head thickness 'Pete Lamont'

As with choosing many other products, knowing a little bit about what you're getting into can greatly effect your experience with the item.  One of the ways to make your drum set experience more pleasurable is to change the drum heads.  Sometimes it can feel like playing your drums is getting a little bit boring, but just putting a new set of skins on it is a lot cheaper than buying a whole new kit, and it could be just the change you need.

There are a number of drum head manufacturers out there right now, and all of them make a number of great sounding heads, so I'm going to try to keep this really general, and try to keep my bias to myself.  Drummers are the worst for finding one particular company and only using it.  Sure, a lot of guitarists will have just Strats or just Tele's, but most of them will have a lot of different guitars from different manufacturers.

The first kind of head is a thin single ply, usually something in the 6-7.5 mil range.  It doesn't take very much to get this head to make sound, so it is often used as a bottom or resonant head.  When used in this application it will bring out the warmth of the tone, as opposed to when used as a batter head, where it tends to bring out the overtones.  People who play a lot of quieter music will often use these as a batter or top head.  They don't tend to last very long for louder musical styles as they don't have enough thickness to absorb a lot of abuse.  Unfortunately, most new drum sets under the $2,000 price come with these heads on both the top and bottom of all drums.

The second kind of head is an ultra-thin single ply, something in the 2-5 mil range.  These heads are only used as resonant heads as they are not thick enough to withstand sticks.  Typically these are used for snare resonant heads, as you want a snare resonant head to move as much as possible in order to get the snares themselves moving.  However, some manufacturers will actually use these heads as resonant heads on toms as well.

The third kind of head is the most common and is a mid thickness single ply, in about the 10 mil range.  This is the most used drum head of all time, because it is in the middle of the road for thicknesses.  It's not too bright, not too dark, just generally good for everything.  Because it is so user friendly, this is the most common batter head for snare drums.  Not that it can't be used for toms, because it often is, but it is the most common snare head. It is often used as a resonant head as well.

The fourth kind of head is a thick double ply head in the 14 to 16 mil range.  This is the head you typically want as a batter head if you play reeeeeeally loud.  Because this head is so much thicker, it tends to not ring as much, or for as long, so it doesn't make a good resonant head, unless you want a really dry sound.  Some heads in this thickness actually have a thin amount of oil in between the plies.  If you can see a rainbow of colour in the middle of your clear head, that's what causes it.

These are just the four most common thicknesses, but there are others as well.  You can get a head that is a single ply at the 15 mil size, a double ply in the 10 mil size, and you can even still get calf skin heads instead of plastic.  Or, if you're a really hard hitter, or a marching player, you can get heads that are made of Kevlar or Mylar and are super thick.  If you're looking for new heads and aren't sure what to get, just come into one of our stores, and one of our drum experts should be able to find the right fit for you. (Pete is a Percussion Specialist, at the Waterloo branch of St. John’s Music)

The Little bass drum that could: A DIY approach to making a little drum sound big 'Pete Lamont'

I have this little drum kit, and I like it for a number of reasons.  The first one obviously is the sound, which should always be the reason why you buy a kit.  The second one is the size.  It has this wonderful little 18” bass drum, that I like so much it influenced the car that I bought.  It’s the only bass that I’ve ever had that actually fit into my trunk!  In fact, I can get the entire kit into the trunk, without having anything in the back seat.  To say that this is rather convenient for gigging is an understatement.

The kit (and bass) sounds great for jazz, folk and anything else that’s more delicate with very little effort, but, the issue comes up of how to make it sound good for something that’s a little louder (or a lot louder).  The easiest thing to do, to make it sound bigger, is to use a resonant head that doesn’t have a hole in it.  This will allow you to keep all of the air inside of the drum, allowing it to bounce around a few times, resonating more than it would have had it escaped.  

The next trick is to use a lifter to get the drum off of the ground.  This will allow the bass drum beater to hit in the middle of the head, which will bring out most of the fundamental tones of the head, making it sound nice and low.  The other method of doing this without lifting the bass is to choke up on the bass drum beater, but this won’t allow you a full length for maximum volume.  Some people will argue that with the bass being lifted it won’t resonate through the floor properly, but I haven’t had any issues with this myself, especially since either way the drum will be on a carpet.  

The third thing that you will want to do is focus the sound of the drum.  There are many ways that you can do this, one of which being to put a pillow or blanket in the drum.  I didn’t end up choosing this option because I knew that the drum would be moving around a lot, and the blanket would add extra weight and would need re-adjusting every time it came out of the car.  This can however be very effective in a bass that isn’t moving around.  I used a batter head that had a built in external muffler, that way I could change the sound of the drum quickly depending on the type of gig and room that I was playing.  

The batter head was then tuned in a mid tuning range, so that it had a note to it, but not too high.  The resonant head was tuned a little lower than the batter, to try and bring as much low end to the ring as possible.  After a couple of gigs I found that this had too much ring to it, as I had no muffling inside the drum.  This could be fixed by a strip of felt carefully placed while the head is off the drum, going from one edge to the other as most drummers did back in the day.  I didn’t have any strips of felt, so an old sock and some gaff tape on the underside (inside the drum) of the head fixed it.

Inevitably, this worked for several gigs, but there were shows that I still was losing the bass drum in the mix.  Without a hole in the resonant head, mic’ing was going to be difficult, but I was able to rig up an internal system.  I found a small piece of steel piping that was the same size as the tom mount, and installed it, leaving the threaded end sticking up.  I put my bass mic on a small piece of microphone stand that I was able to clamp to the pipe using a standard drum clamp.  Finally, I fed a mic cable through the pipe and was able to plug the microphone in, and keep the cable attached to the pipe with a standard Velcro tie.  

So, my fellow musicians always look at me funny when I pull this bass drum out of the bag and there’s 20 feet of mic cable coming out of it, but they never say anything when that little bass drum is thumping its way through an entire night of loud rock music. (Pete is a Percussion Specialist, at the Waterloo branch of St. John’s Music)

Getting that ideal snare sound 'Pete Lamont'

When we think about playing the drums, we can look at things like stick twirling, double kicks, and the newest effect cymbals, but they’re not the bread and butter of our existence.  Strip all of the elaborate layers away, and you’re left with the most important drum, the snare.  This little drum sits closest to us (often between our legs) and speaks for us (often on 2 and 4).  The question is, does that little drum say what you want other people to hear?

The best place to start is with the batter head off.  If you happen to be starting with a new head, even better, but you can still use an old head.  Always make sure that the bearing edge (rim) is clean, wiping it down with a damp cloth if you need to as this will make the most accurate sound.  Place the head evenly on the drum, making sure that it does not conflict with any of the lugs or bolts.  The orientation of the logo doesn’t really matter, but if you put it in line with one of the lugs, it may help for later. 

Now it’s time to put the bolts in.  If you want to be really picky, try putting a little bit of 3-in-1 oil in the threads of either the bolt or the lug (or both) before you put the bolt into the lug.  Just a drop will work.  This oil will protect the threads against rust and will also make the bolt move smoother.  Also, make sure that you don’t cross thread the bolt in the lug.  This will ruin both the bolt and the swivel nut inside the lug.  Both are replaceable, but it’s a pain, because you have to get a screwdriver and take the lug off of the drum, and it adds time.  Put each of the bolts into the lugs and finger-tighten all of them.  Then comes the fun/challenging part: tuning!

1.     Pick a lug to start with, using a drum key, rotate the bolt 180 degrees or one half turn. 
2.    Go to the lug that is directly across the head from the lug that you just tuned and rotate the bolt the same amount.
3.    Go to the lug that is directly across the head, and one to the right of the one you just tuned and rotate the bolt the same amount.
4.    Continue with steps 2 and 3 until each of the bolts has been tightened by half a turn.
5.    Continue with steps 2 and 3 a second time, tuning each another half turn.
6.    If you’re using a new head, go through the process again.  If not, go to step 7.
7.    Repeat steps 2-4, but this time only tightening by a quarter turn, or 90 degrees.

Depending on the size of the drum, the head that you’re using, and the style of music that you play, this will either be the right tension, or too tight or loose by a little bit.  If you need to adjust the tension, do so by increments of 45 degrees.  Once you like the sound of the top head, tune the bottom head to match using the same process.  For most styles, the two heads should be roughly the same note, however, for a darker sound tune the bottom head lower by a 45 degree turn at each lug, and for a brighter pop, tune the bottom head just a little higher.

If you find that the drum is ringing more than you like, you can add Moongel’s or medical tape to the heads (the bottom head rings too) or one of the pre-cut plastic ring removers.  If you know that the drum rings too much before you start the tuning process, you can either use a dryer head or put the medical tape on the bottom side of the head, so that it doesn’t get in the way of your sticks or brushes.

Most of the time drummers are looking for a full bodied sound that will cut through the mix and explode on rim shots.  If you tending to be playing fairly loud, you may want to reduce the tension on the snare strainers, making the snares more rattle-y for quiet music, but won’t damage them for louder music.  If you’re playing more quiet music, you may want to tighten the snares, especially if you’re playing buzz rolls.  This should get you most of the way there, now your ears can do the rest. (Pete is a Percussion Specialist, at the Waterloo branch of St. John's Music)

Finding the perfect ride cymbal: The Quest for the Holy Grail 'Pete Lamont'

For many years drummers have been trying to find the perfect ride cymbal.  They scour every music shop, pawn shop, and now online to check out every cymbal they can find.  However, as with anything definite, there are some major problems.  In this case, you can't always find one cymbal that will do the job in every situation.  

Sure, you may be playing in the same CCR cover band every night, and always playing in the same sized room, with the same number of people and the other player's amps are always set to the same levels, however, you might not.  If your CCR cover band plays in different sized venues every night, or some nights the place isn't as packed, or if you sometimes have a different guitarist, the same ride cymbal might not sound right every time.  And if sometimes you're playing in your AC/DC cover band, and not the CCR cover band, you're totally out to lunch.  Of course, if you are playing in a CCR cover band exclusively, this article is actually moot, because you wouldn't need a ride cymbal anyway.

Typically, the thicker a cymbal is, the higher it's pitch is going to be, and has more potential for volume.  Conversely, thinner cymbals tend to have a lower pitch and to not be as loud, and in fact, can be cracked at higher volumes.  As cymbals get bigger, they tend to have a lower pitch, and they actually become harder to crack.  Smaller cymbals tend to have a higher pitch.

So, if you're playing general, middle volume rock music with some friends, you're likely looking for a 20” cymbal, in a medium to medium thin weight.  This will give you enough weight that you can play loudly enough and will have enough brightness that it will be heard along with the guitar amps.  If you find the cymbal isn't cutting enough, you may want to go with a thicker cymbal, like a heavy weight.  

If you're looking to play in a jazz context, you're looking for a darker sound.  Typically this means a thinner cymbal, especially if you're playing in a small combo.  However, if you're playing in a big band, you'll still want your darker sound, but you'll want to be able to play louder, so you may want a medium or medium thin, instead of a thin, but in a 22” or 24” size.  If you happen to play some Latin stuff in your jazz band, you'll want to make sure that the bell cuts, and/or you may want a dryer cymbal (you can do this yourself with some medical tape or moon gel).  Plus, you may also want a second ride cymbal with rivets or a chain.  I've known jazz drummers to show up with 3 or 4 ride cymbals, and no crashes to gigs.

The long and the short of it, is each cymbal that you find is the perfect cymbal for one or two things.  So, if you play mid level rock music in a jam hall and bars, you can likely find a cymbal for that.  If you also play quiet jazz in your house or at dinner gigs, there's likely another cymbal or two for that.  As you play more styles of music, and in different situations, you may find that you collect a number ride cymbals, and even though you think you have one for every situation, you may still come across a gig or a rehearsal, that the ride cymbals that you have still aren't the right one.  So, even though you have 10 ride cymbals already that are all very different, you still haven't got the right one.  How many ride cymbals do you need?  Just one more, and the quest continues.  (Pete is a Percussion Specialist, at the Waterloo branch of St. John's Music)