Octabans

[Bdrum]

So what is the deal?
Are Octabans still cool......
or are they old school?

[Drummyjoey]

I think they're cool and I'm pretty young. But I've never heard or seen them in person.

[Farview]

They were never cool. The only thing they were good for was to make it easy to spot people with more money than sense.

[PhilGood]

I don't know. The way Stewart Copeland used them, no they weren't cool. The way Simon Phillips uses them, they are incredibly cool! Listen to the track "Streetwise" off of the solo album "Protocol" and you'll see what I mean!

The secret for Simon's sound is to mount the mic inside the shell just at the bottom. Let the tuning stay kind of low.

He doesn't really use them anymore. He's switched to a timbale and a side snare.

[Drummyjoey]

I was referring to Simon Phillips also, by the way. But perhaps it's him that's cool and not the octobans

[fldrummer]

The only person I can think of is Mike Portnoy and uh... he just has too many drums. I think he got them because he had a few inches of room left and had to have more drums.

[Louddog]

Alex Van Halen used them too. I think they were mainly for show, alot of guys who have huge sets had them. I'm not sure how functional they are.

[MadAudio]

Tim "Herb" Alexander of Primus used them, but not on many songs.

[my2cents]

they sound cool, but they're like a gong. how often are you going to use them? and , do you really want to carry them around from gig to gig?

[Tim Brown]

Instead of octobans, I bought a bunch of used 6" Black Rototoms and mounted them on a rack I made. Worked for me.


Tim

[my2cents]

Originally Posted by Tim Brown

Instead of octobans, I bought a bunch of used 6" Black Rototoms and mounted them on a rack I made. Worked for me.


Tim

clever idea. i used to want to put together an all roto tom kit (well, except for snare...roto snare would be awesome, though), but never could find the big roto toms. now that i gave up on the idea i see big roto toms all the time.

[MadAudio]

Originally Posted by my2cents

clever idea. i used to want to put together an all roto tom kit (well, except for snare...roto snare would be awesome, though), but never could find the big roto toms. now that i gave up on the idea i see big roto toms all the time.

The last time I saw Trans Am, the drummer's toms were all of the roto variety.

[PhilGood]

Roto toms don't have the same sound, though! Roto's are bright, whereas octobons have a deep throughty sound. Very dark and dry.

[Bdrum]

Originally Posted by Tim Brown

Instead of octobans, I bought a bunch of used 6" Black Rototoms and mounted them on a rack I made. Worked for me.


Tim

What is the difference between $600 octaBANS
AND $100 ROTO TOMS

I LOVE MIKE p. and the siamese......
Images and Words!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bdrum]

Originally Posted by MadAudio

Tim "Herb" Alexander of Primus used them, but not on many songs.

MY NAME IS MUD.

[PhilGood]

Originally Posted by Bdrum

What is the difference between $600 octaBANS
AND $100 ROTO TOMS

Alot! The two sound nothing alike!!

[tilinmyowngrave]

Originally Posted by PhilGood

Alot! The two sound nothing alike!!

Octobans are OK, but the price is way too much. Roto toms are cheaper and cooler.

[Bdrum]

I still have my set
I like them because you can play the Rims!

[Bdrum]

Didn't Alex Van Halen use them in a solo or two?

[NL5]

Originally Posted by Farview

They were never cool. The only thing they were good for was to make it easy to spot people with more money than sense.

So do you like them or not?

[Farview]

Originally Posted by NL5

So do you like them or not?

I guess they were also good as a way to fake people into thinking you were a percussionist instead of a drummer. Other than that...

[PhilGood]

Originally Posted by tilinmyowngrave

Octobans are OK, but the price is way too much. Roto toms are cheaper and cooler.

See, here's where I differ. (This is just MY humble opinion. No offense to anyone.) Roto toms are NEVER cool. I have always seen roto toms on the kit of the guy who THINKS he's Neil Peart, but can't play like Neil or afford a set of concert toms. Seeing a set of rotos on a kit instantly makes me think the drummer is gonna suck. Unfortunatley, I'm usually right.

Octobans makes me think the drummer might know what he's doing, because he's after a specific sound, not a budget solution.

[Tim Brown]

Originally Posted by PhilGood

Alot! The two sound nothing alike!!

If you tune the 6" roto's down really low, they will have a similar kind of sound, especially mic'd up. it was close enough for me.





Tim

[Tim Brown]

Originally Posted by PhilGood

See, here's where I differ. (This is just MY humble opinion. No offense to anyone.) Roto toms are NEVER cool. I have always seen roto toms on the kit of the guy who THINKS he's Neil Peart, but can't play like Neil or afford a set of concert toms. Seeing a set of rotos on a kit instantly makes me think the drummer is gonna suck. Unfortunatley, I'm usually right.

Octobans makes me think the drummer might know what he's doing, because he's after a specific sound, not a budget solution.

I have an entire set of Chrome rototoms (from 6"-18") and I love them.
The problem is that most drummers tune them way up out of their natural tuning range.


Tim

[tilinmyowngrave]

Originally Posted by PhilGood

See, here's where I differ. (This is just MY humble opinion. No offense to anyone.) Roto toms are NEVER cool. I have always seen roto toms on the kit of the guy who THINKS he's Neil Peart, but can't play like Neil or afford a set of concert toms. Seeing a set of rotos on a kit instantly makes me think the drummer is gonna suck. Unfortunatley, I'm usually right.

Octobans makes me think the drummer might know what he's doing, because he's after a specific sound, not a budget solution.

Well of course, you need to know how to use them! If I had a set of octobans or roto toms, that wouldn't make sense, because I suck. But in the hands of someone who is a skilled drummer and tuner, roto toms (and octobans) can be nifty tools.