I've made thousands of drums - thousands. Out of those there are a few that I've really want to keep. None so much as this one. This is a bespoke clone of one of the first wood shell snare drums I made under the Dunnett brand. The original has been in countless studios and is on countless recordings. On a recent outing a drummer who I consider to be a friend asked if I would make him one. I've often turned down requests to make another one but this was a request I could not refuse - even though I wanted to. Now I'm glad I said yes. This drum - like the original - will make you forget everything you think you know about snare drums.

Dunnett R4-L has arrived!

Finally! The revised Dunnett R4-L throw offs have arrived. The R4-L is the last replacement for your Ludwig P-85 and P-86 strainers. Designed to fit ANY Ludwig Supraphonic, Black Beauty or Acrolite snare drum. Available through any Dunnett Classic dealer or Big Bang distribution.

My friend John Emrich sent this to me this morning - it is his explanation of the imaging techniques used to capture the Dunnett Classic Titanium set for the BFD2 module. John did some interesting experiments and came up with a unique way to really extract every ounce of Titanium beauty...

I've finally found a bit of time to encapsulate and upload some tracks from my album Protect You and share them on YouTube. The tracks feature early Dunnett Classic snare drums and some music that I've always been very proud of. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es3tqsbrZ9E&feature=plcp

DRUM! re-review

http://www.drummagazine.com/gear/post/dunnett-classic-snares-a-triplet-of-sounds/

Galactic and the Spirit of New Orleans

I don't know if you saw it live last week, but Stanton Moore and Galactic appeared on the Conan O'Brien show. Corey Glover, Stanton and the entire band nailed it with one of the funkiest power tunes I've heard in a long time - check it out!

http://teamcoco.com/video/galactic-hey-na-na

A novel Drum Clinic - featuring...actual DRUMS.

Drum Center Koln announces Music Messe Masters line up

Dirty Bird!

While at NAMM my friend Tommy Igoe was kind enough to give me a copy of his new CD Tommy Igoe and the Birdland BigBand. It is an excellent listen and it features Tommy's 5.5 x 14 George Way Aero snare drum on all of the tracks. Check it out on Tommy's web site...

http://www.tommyigoe.com/

2012 NAMM Grand Slam

So many stories, so little time...

The 2012 NAMM show was simply an opportunity. It was a chance for me to follow up on the launch of the new web site and all it represents - in a word "communication". The instruments I created and brought to NAMM were really for the benefit of my loyal dealers who worked as hard as I did in 2011 to raise the profile of Dunnett Classic and George Way drums. Unlike some drum companies that seem to take pride in listing hundreds of non-stocking dealers on their web sites, I have purposely chosen to maintain my rather small dealership network. It makes sense and I have the finest independent dealer network I could hope for. Appreciation. Communication.

I was very lucky this year to share my humble 10 x 10 space with a colleague whom I love and respect - Mr. Curt Waltrip of Joyful Noise. It was Joyful's NAMM debut and what a debut it was. Between Dunnett, George Way, Joyful Noise and Craviotto aisle 3000 in Hall D was renamed the 5th avenue of Anaheim. Beauty. The traffic was relentless and we were up to the task. Dunnett Classic racked up the best show numbers ever. I call it J2J - January to July - and my production schedule is booked well into the middle of the year.

I invite you to have a look at the highlight "reels" from the show on my FB album. You can view it right here : http://tinyurl.com/6qbkdgo


Stay tuned for upcoming announcements on my travels including the 2012 Music Messe show and Summer NAMM.

Thought for the day

M-Power yourself with a high dose of Vitamin M

NAMM - Booth 3066

The War of the Roses

There is just nothing else like a Dunnett Classic steel snare drum from James Trussart collection. My work with James has produced an extremely limited number of these snare drums, each one a truly unique piece of art. But beauty isn't everything and that's why the Trussart models are becoming studio favorites. Very soon I'll be adding HD audio performances to these moving images, so make sure you check back.

Huh?

I was just doing some editing on the new website  - the owner's manual in particular and I finally got around to communicating something I've been wanting to communicate for a long time. It's about the most important part of any drum: your ears. I regret not having the many different types of hearing protection that are available today back when I first started. I have tinnitus now and trust me - you don't want any part of it. So do me and yourself a favour (if you haven't already): get some attenuation goin' on. My preferred method of passive protection are Peltor H7 neck muffs. You can pick up a set for under $20. They are super comfortable and - they make your drums sound supremely EQ'd. I find taking the foam out of the cups makes my drums sound great - takes all the nasty stuff out and leaves only the good. You can order them on line right now...

http://www.envirosafetyproducts.com/peltor-earmuffs.html

The right Way and the wrong way...

And I take a step back and I ask myself 'Would George have liked it?'. I have little doubt. Doing justice to a heritage brand is not an easy thing to do. I want to do the right thing and I have to be as uncompromising as George was. I certainly made no compromises on this lovingly crafted homage to the classic sunburst guitar finishes. This shell was crafted for GHW by Johnny Craviotto and bears his mark inside the shell. The hoops are double flange with the original Way style ears. The "beer tap" throw off provides simple and effortless operation. Just a little NAMM teaser for ya.

Reach out and...

I'm pleased to let everyone know that Dunnett Classic & The George Way drum company now have new phone numbers, including a toll free line, because you know - I like talking drums!

Please note that the old number is no longer in use.

Direct:     604.946.DRUM (604.946.3786)

Toll Free: 1.855.847.6263

Dunnett launches "V2"

You'll have to pardon the lack of a more imaginative name for the new Dunnett Classic Drums website, but there was no lack of thought and energy that went into it. Development on the new V2 (Version 2) began shortly after I returned from Musik Messe. The concepts and ideas that I had would require more expertise than my own and that lead me on a search for a web "guy" who could understand my vision and be able to translate those ideas into code. That would be one Curt Hemmingway AKA "Gooru", whose patience was exceeded only by his sincere desire to meet every challenge I could throw at him - and I threw plenty! I wanted a website that moved.  I wanted a website that harnessed the power of social media. I wanted a website that was nimble, flexible and modular to be able to handle high quality and diverse content. I wanted a website that really showed the hand-made craftsmanship and individuality of every drum I create. And most importantly, I wanted a website that improved communication with my clients and dealers and encouraged a level of participation from them. I achieved all of that and more - all within an elegant architecture and clean, simple interface. Yeah - I'm pleased. It's a great way to start a brand new year that holds plenty of promise. So please - take some time and enjoy the site and remember to check back frequently as I'll be adding fresh content almost daily.