Equipment setups
Occasionally someone will ask what equipment I use in performance. Whereas I discourage the excessive consumption of this sort of information (drummers particularly seem to care too much about equipment and not enough about music), I am glad to provide the following.
In its most indulgent form, my main drum set includes 2005 Ludwig Classic Maple drums in Mahogany lacquer with Remo FiberSkyn medium and Ambassador snare-side heads (jazz set: 6½” X 14” wood snare, 14” X 20” bass, 8” X 12” and 14” X 14” toms; rock set: 6½” X 14” brass snare, 14” X 24” bass, 9” X 13”, 16” X 16”, 16” X 18” toms); a Ludwig bronze 3” X 13” piccolo snare; Zildjian K. Constantinople cymbals (14” hi-hats; 18” crash; 20” medium-thin low ride; 20” sizzle medium-thin low ride; 22” flat ride, medium-thin low ride, or medium ride); Zildjian K. Custom cymbals (8”, 10” dark splashes); Zildjian F, F#, G, G# finger cymbals; an octave of Zildjian crotales; an old Turkish K. Zildjian 15” thin cymbal; a 12” Leedy heavy cymbal, sans tambourine jingles; a 14” Stanople heavy cymbal; a 7” UFIP Icebell; a Mecart chime tree; Sarna attar, camel, elephant, and temple bells; generic sleigh bells; a small Alan Abel triangle; an 8” Paiste Roto Sound Disc; 10” and 24” Paiste gongs; 14” and 22” Wuhan gongs; a Studio 200 bell plate; a Pakistan bell tree; small and large Buddha temple bells; Latin Percussion small percussion; a Drum Workshop 5000CX pedal; Ludwig hardware; Vic Firth sticks, mallets, and brushes; etc. I rarely use a large setup; for a typical gig I take a four-piece and a few cymbals.
My home set is a 1965 Ludwig Downbeat in Oyster Blue Pearl, 4” X 14” wood snare, 14” X 20” bass, 8” X 12” and 14” X 14” toms. I have a Deagan Commander vibraphone and other toys.
I use three different timpani setups depending on the style of music: For authentic baroque or classic music I use a 24”-22½” pair of Barockpauken by Lefima of Germany, or a 28”-26” pair of Exposition Model handscrew drums made about 1915 in Geneva, N.Y., by the Englishman John Pole; these four drums have calfskin-like Remo Renaissance heads. For later music, modern performances of earlier music, or ease of tuning, I have access to a set of five Ludwig Standard pedal drums that I donated to the Key West Symphony Orchestra.
I use a Carvin PA system when necessary, with Shure Beta 52 and SM57 drum mikes and an SM58 vocal mike. I have keyboards, guitars, basses, recording and processing gear, fiber and ATA cases, leather and nylon gig bags, etc. In all situations I travel as light as possible.
For more information contact:
Hal Howland
263 Venetian Way, Sugarloaf Key, FL 33042-3612
Telephone: 305-745-2572
Internet: halhowland@bellsouth.net