Hi, it’s Ben here with the first GEWA Gearcheck in a series of three about the new REMO Festival drum series. The Remo Festival drum series was first presented at the NAMM show in January 2018. It’s a bit more than a year old and it’s all that you can see around me. First of all we’ll take a look at the whole thing from the outside.
What’s it all about? Let’s have a look. There are basically four different types of drums. We have a djembe, a doumbek, a timbau and the elongated tubanos. The whole thing comes in three different finishes: Café Royal Blue and Morado. Additionally, there is the special edition tubanos as Nested Tubano Set and the bass drum. We’ll take a look at those in a later episode. Let's look again from the outside. What are the technical aspects? Of course, as usual at Remo, the drums are made of sturdy, solid acousticon. However, I have to say that the shells here have an extremely stable and very firm feel, unlike, for example, the very light Versa drums.
The drums are very light but they have something very well grounded about them. I like having them in my hand, they feel good and are very light all the same. The heads are made of Remo’s mylar. In this case, they‘re Black Suede heads. Please don‘t confuse that with the Bahia skins, which are also black; they’re not the same and they have a completely different sound. Another special feature is that they have pre-tuned skins so you don‘t have to tune it yourself. These are Fliptop heads. That means you can remove them by simply pulling them off without tools. Then you have a kind of frame drum and the chance to swap the heads quickly and easily. The heads rest here on a raised edge so there is no danger that you‘ll press the heads over the shell with harder playing.
They sit there there very accurately. You don’t need any tools. Just pull the head off, push it on again and you’re ready to go. As for technology… …I would say that's it. Let's hear how the drums sound. I‘ll start with the djembe. All instruments are available in 10 "inch versions. There aren’t any larger versions. At first I found that a bit annoying because I wondered if the little drums are as good in a Drum Circle.
But I realised that are actually great because they are so easy to use. The participants position them between their legs and they’re simple and instinctive to play. What is the sound like? Let's see if the djembe gets a decent bass sound, despite its size. It’s got bass. Tone. Slap. Yes, it cuts through properly. Ok, let's hear how the whole thing sounds in combination. The New Festival Djembe. So, in a Drum Circle, the whole thing can definitely be assertive. Let's take a look at the timbau for comparison. Experience has shown that timbaus have a little less range than the djembes. So they do not sound as deep and not that high, but they do have a more controlled sound. Let's see if this is the case here.
Bass. Yes, that sounds a bit higher. Tone. Yes, the tone actually sings a bit more than the djembe. Slap. A bit softer. Not quite as high as the djembe. We can compare the groove. Overall, it’s a bit drier than the djembe, as you would expect from a timbau. Noooooow let‘s look at the doumbek. I'm not such a good doumbek player and I would not expect you to have a lot of drum circle participants who can play a doumbek in a traditional way. That's why I’m playing it the way I can and most of your participants will; between the legs. Bass. Almost deeper than the djembe and with more sustain. From the outset it already has overtones in it. Tone. I don‘t know if you can hear it that well on the screens. The impression here is that the tone has a lot of bass and overtione frequencies, unlike the isolated sound of the djembe. On the whole, it sounds like it has a larger frequency spectrum. Slap. The slap makes a lot of pumping noise. Let's see what the groove is like. Lots of sustain. Lots of frequencies that are permanently responsive here.
Sounds very nice, really sings. It’s really a very pleasing instrument. I look forward to comments from those of you who really play the doumbek and hearing what you’re able to get from the instrument. Please write to me in the comments or by email. Finally, we have the tubano here. At first, I had the impression that it should be the bass drum of the whole thing. But I don’t think it is at all. Listen to how it sounds as a bass drum. Well, of course you can play it with a mallet but now it is not a "bass". I use it as a hand drum.
Works much better. It wouldn‘t be my Number 1 hand drum but it does have the great advantage that it is relatively high. For people who are, for example, sitting in a wheelchair, or for some reason can not or do not want to hold the drum between their legs, they are great because it can stand a little further away and can be played with a mallet, or just in front with the hand. It doesn’t have to be angled. Like most Remo tubanos, it’s got these air holes which are a bit like feet, so they don‘t have to be tipped when it’s played. I would say it doesn‘t sound as varied as the doumbek or djembe, but it's the easiest to handle.
So these are the four drums that are basically the first of the New Festival series. Behind me you can see the special models of the Nested Tubano Set and the Festival Bass Drum. We’ll have a look at them in the next episodes. I hope I could give you an initial little overview of the series. If you have questions, please write them in the comments, whether on YouTube, Facebook or directly by email to me. Of course I like to be able answer your questions or to pass them on to colleagues who know even better than me. Try them out; I think they‘re great.
The price is very good. Here you have real Remo quality and no compromises were made. The price is really cheap when you consider it. They’re great drums and I hope they make great drum circles for you. Take care from me, Ben..