The last box arrived for the snare!!!!!!

Well I got home and there was a sexy little package with my name on it. I opened it up and the first thing I saw…REMO 13” POWERSTROKE 3 head. WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!? I was steaming. I rip that out of the box (thinking, “Man, that was light”) and see an Evans box for a 14” Hazy 300 snare side (that’s right) and then a Evans head but it’s not in a box. Just a loose head that says Power Center Rev. Dot (that’s right) so I checked the REMO box…empty. Just filler. I also got my hoops, double checking that they are 14” but 8 lug not 10 and they were right. I see that they sent me all 16 tension rods and I had forgotten but I got an air hole that actually works! Woooo hoooo! i did take 2 plyers to see about opening the old airhole up and i got it. it is not cross threaded, just bad machine job. i could probably tap and drill again and clean out the grooves but the pliers didn't really damage anything so i think that if i put them on the Pearl kick drum, that will work fine. that evening i started to sand the snare shell. i got it just about completely smooth. there are a couple areas that i need to hit again and then i can start to wet sand this weekend. i will start with 600 wet and love to assemble it this weekend but i don't know that it will go that smooth or that i will have that much time or arm strength to get all done. the one last thing that i have to work on is the badge. Jeff was in to my work today to drop off something actually WORK RELATED and then we got to business. i showed him the stuff that Rob designed that is very cool. some great ideas. i will finish the snare and just add these whenever i get around to them. well i think that is it for now. hope everyone has a good weekend. till next time.........

Thee order hath been placed. 2 hoops, Evans G1 Power Center Reverse Dot head, 1 Evans Hazy 300 snare side head, 16 1-3/8" tension rods and they are sending me a new 1/2 air holes at no charge. i do not have to send the other one back so i might see if i can get it into my Pearl kick to make it look nicer again. after i tore off the old red covers, i never put airholes back in so this would be nice to have. if not, no biggie. it can live another 14 years with out an air hole. the specks that you see in the picture are metal fleck. not dust. please click on the picture for a larger view. she is very nice. mind you, this has not been sanded yet. my best recolection it is 10 coats of paint, and 15 coats of clear.
Okay, the picture here is just to post a good color pic of the Green Giant's 13" tom. These are not museum condition but i love these things. i got 20 minutes to play on saturday and remembered quickly why i bought them. i do need to detune the 13" for my liking but i have it set up for a very jazzy kit. it is very clear and really rings. the pearls however, well, they need love. As you can see the velvetis coming off of the shell. now it has always had a little bit of that, but after may gigs and sitting in very humid rooms for long periods of time, it has only gotten worse. For only the price of 7500 cups of coffee, you too could adopt this kit. it would send you letters and show you exclusive pictures of the new kit that would be replaceing it. Don't let this kit die. Wood. it lives. it breathes. it loves.

New day, new post.

Hello all. Good weekends were had at the Kattau household. Saturday E. and i ditched the kid and went to South Bend to do a little shopping. Picked up a Primus DVD (interesting, but not what i was looking for. 2 stars) and another Jonny Lang CD, still impressive stuff, 3.5 stars. Went a couple other places, but no great things happened. That evening E. and i met Bronson and his mad scientist girlfriend for dinner at Olive Garden (the Steak Gorganzolla Alfredo is just wonderful) and then we went to go see Wild Hogs. Good movie. not GREAT but good entertainment.

Sunday i picked up Layla and we got to play outside. she loves it out and i couldn't be happier....except i really get tired of pushing a swing, however, i know one day i will really miss pushing a swing so i have to tell myself to take it while i can get it. Then Layla and i were out for a bike ride, which last year she didn't really like, but this year we did about 5 miles and she was mad when we were headed home. Rob was coming over so he joined us (again, at the swing) and he got to see the new snare shell in the light of the sun. after he left and the family ate lunch, i took each drum out in to the sun and took digital photos. as you can see on the sidebar that i loaded each of them. i am missing a couple. my Hand Hammered steel pearl shell is missing cause it is still at practice, i will get that this week and for some reason this pctured Luwig 1960-63 10x14 snare wouldn't load. but it will in this page. i also took a picture of both of my 13" toms from both kits. i will get those up shortly. the above snare is the best candidate for a makeover. i am still planning on finishing the Brass one which should be done by the end of April. i will place my last order today and i need to get one piece replaced. the air hole they sent to me, looks great but Rob discovered that it won't unscrew so it must be cross threaded. good eye Robbie! Well i think that is it for now. i will be back later today after i get things ordered.

This is Rob, he is my special friend

Well, after Rob beat the crap out of the snare, it has been repainted again and we are starting to clear coat again. that clear that ran took some elbow grease and dry 220 grit to get it back down. THANK YOU ROB! i got it repainted Monday and got the first 2 coats of clear on today. tomorrow coats 3 and 4 will go on then i will snad again. PEACE! I'M OUTTA HERE!!!!!!

Hello again

Well, it has been a little while since the last post after doing what seemed like 40 posts a day. the snare is doing well. i will admit that i wasn't in love with the first clear coat that i did on the shell so Monday when i went to put on coat 2, i really laided it on there, and also had a NASTY CASE OF THE RUNS. Man it was a nasty one. i have talked over and over (and over and over)with my paint guru, Rob and he tells me to shut up and wait. so we are waiting. on Thursday night i will begin to wet sand the wickedness that is paint run. i started looking at my first snare that i ever built again for positive renforcement. i'm good enough, i'm smart enough, and darnnet, someone likes me. I will be taking the shell with me on Friday to show to Rob so he can help fix my boo boo. this brings me to my next joy. I am taking a vacation day Friday and Elizabeth, Layla and i are headed to see my sister and aunt (who live 8 houses away from each other) We will leave Friday morning sometime and get down there around lunch. I think that the only major plans are to go to the Childrens Museum on Saturday and then that evening Elizabeth and i will join Rob and Stacy for some fine dining.

Well i think that the only other thing to report on is that baby that we have coming. We have set up a date for May 21 to have baby number 2 removed. We have another ultrasound on the 22nd of this month to see if we can get a 100% on the sex. right now they are guessing girl. If we can't tell, thats fine with me. We never got to know with Layla and that was the best surprise in the world. Well i think that will do it for today. I did have band practice last night. that went till 11:30 so i got home late again. Running was out of the question but since i won't work Friday, i will pick up the extra day there. Till next time. B.

Me vs. Paint, Round 2

Well, we went to paint today and it looks the same. I sanded last night with 1000 grit. got a lot of the orange peel out of it and really did a pretty good job getting it flat. i will sand tonight and start dusting tomorrow. i still need to figure out what i will do for my clear coat. i would rather use automotive but i hate to ask someone that i barly know to do it, plus, he won't use as much as i will. i just don't know if i trust the Krylon to be heavy duty enough but it looked really good on the sample pieces that i shot. this has gone very fast compared to my first snare. i think that i am a little more confident in my sanding technique and that is a big difference. i found a great heavy spounge to use as a backer and that is all the difference. i really cleaned off some problem area's. if i had all the choices in the world, i would make Rob sand it. sander professional. that is an A1 sandman. oh well, this has been fun and i like keeping track of it's progress. Thats all for today. B.

A very overdue post.

Well, i know that this post should have been up a bit ago but the drum has overwhelmed me so here it is. KIDS, DON'T GO TO DUKE. CHEATERS DON'T WIN. There you have it. Sure, Tyler Hansbrough is a little goofy to watch get overly excited and his dad is definatly a little soft in the loafers, but they bleed blue. Either way, Duke got beat twice to my Tar Heels. That is the bottom line. Coach K, good guy, i think that he will become the all time winningest coach in Div. 1 ball, but he could have done it at a better school. UNC in 2007. Bring on the brackets!

Next, i had band practice last night. As some of you know, there are talks of "is this singer getting the job done?" and last night he did well, with no notice. he came prepared. he still massacred Dance, Dance, but that was his one negative lst night. he left at 10:30 and then Shawn and Brian and I played. and played. and played. i got home at 12:30 (and i get up at 5:50) FEELING GOOD!!!!!!!zzzzzzzzz. anyhoo, when we just atarted messing around, it was some of the most impressive guitar playing that i have even been apart of, sorry Jeff, this kid will dazzle you too. i would say a song, "Little Wing" and he would take of on it. i never came up with a song he didn't at least get it 70%. amazing. the band is still working out bugs but i am to make Shawn a CD today of blues songs and we are going to work on that. Until later (go Heels)

Me vs. Paint, Round 1

Well, the first coat is on. looks okay. i will definatly have some wet sanding to do. the paint is down consistantly at least but i have some areas that started to bubble or blob but i don't have the runs! it is amazing how not impressive it looks, but when i did my test samples, after the clear coat gets on, it really sparkles in the light. well i am supposed to wait 3 days now until i can touch it again. i suck at waiting, but it is for the best so i will wet sand Thursday night and paint again Friday. til then............

WE GO TO PAINT!

Well, today we are laying down the first coat of paint. It has been a long process that just seemed to come off the ground recently. i have had this shell now for probably 3 years. never touched it. all of a sudden, IT'S ALIVE (enter Pearl Jam song "ALIVE") in the last 2 months, i bought the tube lugs and just about every part needed and i am already to paint today. as you can see from the bad picture that the primer is down, sanded and ready to be covered in a bath of Antique Brass Metallic. It should be glorious. i will get pics up ASAP.

Lots to catch up on. here we go.....

GREETINGS! Hope who ever reads this is doing well. I must say that it has been a while since i feel like i have blogged. I had a birthday. 30. ewww! Doesn't even sound that nice. 30. oh well. We had a good group together that went out to Hiennie's and then we went to Lucy's Rhythm Room. We had a good time. It is to be said that i got a lot of very helpful gift cards that are to go towards my new snare.
With that being said i then ordered my strainer and butt plate along with wires. i got the Dunnett stariner which was a totally unsupported decision. i had never used one, but after holding it and messing around with it, i am quite impressed. the butt plate got backordered so i will have to wait a bit on that, but i am going to go ahead and paint. the snare wires are going to be an issue, because they are a little more gimmicky than i like now that i have them in my hands. oh well. gotta try goofy stuff every now and then.
okay, whats next. CD shopping! okay, Elizabeth had to work Saturday so i had Layla. we went to Best buy with my $140 in Gift Certificates. I found a killer Curious George DVD to keep Layla happy and in line. she had been on a realy C.G. kick lately. i bought Dave Crowder, which i have heard a million times, always liked it, but never put the money down. i bought Jimi Hendrix, Axis: Bold as love. this is my favorite Hendrix album. Little Wing. what more do you need to say. i bought G. Love and the Speacial Sauce, Lemonade. this guy is just the image of the Cool Cat. easy listen. i feel like this album is going back to his earlier days and that is fine with me. I also bought, you guessed it, a John Mayer CD. the Dual Disc of Heavier Things. good disc. it finishes his major label CD's that i have of his, but the Dual Disc wasted $10 extra that is pretty much rubbish. CD...good. DVD...crappola! i also bought the Eric Clapton Crossroads DVD of guitar legends. good stuff. 2 DVD filled with Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, John Mayer, Johnny Lang, Doyle Bramhall II and tons more. so over all, 4 CD's and 2 DVD's and i still have $25 bucks left. i think that i will be investing that in some Johnny Lang.
Next, i played at Granger in the Heir Force Room this weekend. That was probably the best weekend out there yet. The sermon was very interesting. i have my domino under my moniter. the kids were going crazy, they were louder than i have ever heard them and every service was just great. We did a new song that was great and it just so happened that they were playing it on the main stage. Jeff and i were able to hear it a handful of times. both versions were great, but i think that our version was more fun to play cause we got to do all the breaks and dynamic changes. still to me the highlight of the services was Ben singing Marley's One Love. it was spot on. you couldn't have improved it one spot. audibly or visually. while Jeff and i were listening back stage, my gear senses started going crazy. i spotted a little Gretsch kit and a Yamaha snare. the kit was one that i had thought about getting for a practice kit. now i am glad i didn't cause i got the Green Giant, but it is still a kit i would like to mess around on.
Next subject matter, i will begin priming my snare today. i brought it to work. you can see from the pic (that i took with my handheld) how i do my painting. while i have a bare wood (Maple) shell, you can make your marking with a pencil and then predrill a hole, but only go 1/2 way through the shell.how tape off what you need to on the bearing edge and cover the inner section. now you can paint and not have to woory about corking or paint getting inside the shell. i think that my next shell i an going to do everything in flat black but do polished black hardware. first i need ot finish this one. this will be brass sparkle with chrome hardware including tube lugs.
well, thats all for now. more to come.