The Drum Handbook: Buying, Maintaining and Getting the Best from Your Drum Kit [Paperback]

Geoff Nicholls (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2004

Drummers from beginners to pros will relish this comprehensive guide to the tools of the trade! The Drum Handbook gives you the in-depth knowledge you need to choose the whole range of gear, including drums, cymbals, hardware, heads and sticks - new, used and vintage. Includes info on setting up, tuning and maintenance, plus tips from top pros on gear, recording, playing live and surviving on the road. Fully illustrated and authoritatively written, this book includes a website directory and an exhaustive glossary of technical terms.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Geoff Nicholls is a professional writer and musician. He is the author of The Drum Book, the only full history of the drum kit. He wrote the award-winning BBC radio series Byte The Music, and contributes to many publications from Rhythm and Modern Drummer to The Independent newspaper. He was the drummer/presenter on BBC TV's Rockschool series, presented the Virgin video How To Play Drums, and wrote the acclaimed Rock Drum Method for Boosey & Hawkes. Nicholls lives in London, England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Backbeat Books (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879307501
• ISBN-13: 978-0879307509
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,194,921 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good information!, June 23, 2005

By 

Absense of Form (Hong Kong S.A.R.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Drum Handbook: Buying, Maintaining and Getting the Best from Your Drum Kit (Paperback)

I came across this book and took a look at its table of contents and thought "Oh, just the basic information about drums I'm sure I'll find in any other general drum info book"... WRONG! This book is good stuff! If you're new to the drumming world like me and only got a chance to play on someone else's drum set and never knew where to look to learn about all this drum stuff like the different types of hardware qualities, whats the difference between a steel snare drum and a wooden one, etc. This book explains it. I have to say, just the 1st chapter about the basics taught me so much I'd have to pay double the amount this book costs just to get a teacher to take me on a tour like that...
I recommend it for anyone who might not be too experienced or has not had too much exposure to the drumming world because this book explains a lot of the information very well.
On a side note tho, if you've never drummed or have not much of an idea about some technical terms like snare throw-offs, you might have some prolbems when you come across these terms.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buying a new kit? Need info? Look no further!!!!!, September 22, 2005

By 

Mr. P. M. Fowler - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Drum Handbook: Buying, Maintaining and Getting the Best from Your Drum Kit (Paperback)

I have been playing on and off for the last 10 years, and am looking to buy a new kit. I wasn't sure exactly what to go for due to the huge choice available out there. This book is excellent in that it gives you a very clear understanding of the entire drum kit and breaks everything down. Types of shells, cymbals, hardware whether vintage is good or not etc. Would have been so lost without it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Drumming Book!, December 25, 2008

By 

Sean O'Hara "seohpmp" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Drum Handbook: Buying, Maintaining and Getting the Best from Your Drum Kit (Paperback)

Picked up this book once I decided to buy a new kit and just couldn't put it down. Geoff Nicholls used his knowledge and superb British wit to walk through every aspect of the drum set, explaining the ins and outs of each drum, cymbal, head and hardware. Especially valuable were the various perspectives on how noted drummers prefer to have their drums set up and how they play. After drumming on and off for nearly 30 years on a kit that I pieced together starting with a snare drum, I am now in a position to buy new drums and was needing to figure out what I really wanted. Mr. Nicholls' book provided everything I needed and then some! I am sorry that there weren't more pages, quite honestly. Great book!