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David W. Hansen Performing Artist / Endorsements
1999-2002 Original Dixieland Jazz Band - "Yamaha Performing Ensemble" (with Mike Bennett of the Orchestral Division). Many New Orleans jazz musicians prefer Selmer, King, Bach and other fine instruments. We recognize and appreciate the diversity of quality instruments and do not endorse or promote just one manufacturer. Any manufacturer of fine, high quality instruments are welcome to contact us regarding individual endorsement of their products.
The following are not endorsements but are performance choices. David Hansen currently performs with the following equipment:
DRUMS: Yamaha Drums: Maple Custom Absolute (Sea Blue Maple) - went through Hurricane Katrina! ... hear more about Yamaha. Taye Drums: These drums are light, professional and sound great. - "I really like taking this kit to casual spot jobs!"
Ayotte Drums: Simply the best! Hand crafted artwork!!!
STICKS, BRUSHES and MALLETS: RegalTip by Calato: Brushes and Blasticks!
Vick Firth drum sticks, mallets and brushes
CYMBALS: Istanbul Agop Cymbals - hand made cymbals from Turkey - I had the honor of visiting their "shop/factory" in Istanbul in 1995. These are my favorite cymbals to play for jazz. The sound, tambour and feel of these handmade works of art are incredible. Zildjian A, K and vintage Istanbul K Cymbals Sabian Cymbals - many I purchased as a kid in Canada & love them! I still love my Zildjian and Sabian cymbals and use them in many performance settings but Istanbul Agop simply provide the exact sound and feel I am looking for when playing jazz.
DRUM HEADS: Top Heads: Remo Coated Ambassador - a standard sound and feel - I love these heads on the top of all my drums. Aquarian Coated Single Ply - Z-100 Coating
Bottom Heads: Aquarian Classic Clear - single ply
MICROPHONES: Earthworks DK25/L (SR25 microphones) - the Earthwork mics are absolutely incredible. I place two overhead and one on the bass drum and get the best recorded sound I have ever found.
Drum Head Tuning is always a fun ordeal. I am very particular in trying to find and maintain the "sweet spot" of resonance between the top and bottom head and then tune in sequence from the floor tom, tom toms to the snare drum. I like my drums to be open and ring. When the drums are tuned too high or too low they loose their natural resonant frequency derived from the shell dimensions and move into dead zones where there is not much resonance. I will generally tune the top head slightly higher or tighter than the bottom head. I would place emphasis on generally because I know where I like to tune the drums but I often experiment with different tuning techniques. I try to get a head evenly tuned with itself, find the tone or "sweet spot", do the same to the bottom head, then gradually move both top and bottom tunings up and down to tune between the different drums. When everything falls into place and the drums "sing" with a resonant tone, I am in heaven performing. If the drums get out of tune on each individual head, I find myself performing on heads with dead zones and you will see me distracted with a drum key trying to move the tuning. I have taken an old worn out head that sounds terrible off the drum, put it back on and tuned it evenly, then the same on the bottom and brought the old head back to life with a resonant tone. Old heads are smooth and don't provide much feel for brush work but you can rejuvenate an old head by fine tuning and bring the tuning back into the resonant zone of a drum. Occasionally when recording or performing live with the drums amplified through a sound system, I will place strips of duct tape on the outer edges to dampen the drums slightly to appease sound men and recording engineers. I try to put tape on the drums only after they have been tuned and only if someone placing microphones on the drums have trouble controlling their amplified sound of the resonant drums. |
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New Orleans Garden District Orchestra / Garden District Band
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