BUY FIBES!!!!!
J.Wald
Russell m. Gellman wrote:
>
> I just wanted to post on the net my good experiences with the
> Fibes Drum company.... as many may know, I bought a small 4- piece kit
> from Russo's music in Trenton, NJ. I custom ordered a 16x22, 10x12,
> 16x16, 5.5x14 in turquoise sparkle. The kit is amazing. But just as
> impressive as the sound, is the company itself.
> I originally ordered the drums with no mounting hardware. But by
> some mis-communication between Russo's and Fibes, the Floor tom had the
> mounts, and the legs. I didn't bother to return it since I figured it
> would take another 2 months to see the drum. And as I soon discovered,
> the 16x16 sounded like most 16x16 floor toms.... dead.... I tried
> everything from new heads to different RIMS mounts, and finally realized
> it just wasn't going to do. So I contacted Tommy, the owner of Fibes,
> and he agreed to take the drum in, and trade it in for either a 16x16
> with no mounts, or a 14x16 mounted tom. No questions asked. I sent the
> drum in last week, he just received it, and said the new drum will be out
> of the factory in 1-2 weeks.... just in time for my band's recording session.
> So, some of you may be asking, what was so wrong with that 16x16
> to begin with? Well, we all know how personal drums are. What my ears
> like, yours might not like. Most people out there may have considered it
> a fine drum. But that's not the point. The point is that Fibes hasn't
> lost touch with it's customers, and that's impressive in today's market.
> As for the rest of the kit.... I can't praise it enough. The
> 10x12 SINGS!!!! My sister even commented on how great it sounds (and she
> doesn't play... but sufferred through years of me playing in the
> basement). The bass drum was amazing out of the box. I still can't get
> over its presence. For my purposes, I simply added an Evans EQ kick pad,
> and it now rivals any bass drum sound I've ever wanted. And as for the
> snare... woody! It has the bite I love, with the warm wood tone.....
> Seriously, if anyone is looking for a set of professional maple
> drums, don't forget to look at Fibes. I paid $1500 including tax for the
> four drums, and love them to death. And the assurance of knowing that
> the company stands behind what they make makes them an even sweeter deal....
> Thanks Tommy!
> Russell
Russ,
I was poking around a drum shop the other day and saw a set of clear
Fibes. I checked the badge and saw that they were made in Pennsylvania.
Are these the new Fibes or are they from an older era?
jw
Russell m. Gellman
Bobby
> Seriously, if anyone is looking for a set of professional maple
> drums, don't forget to look at Fibes. I paid $1500 including tax for the
> four drums, and love them to death. And the assurance of knowing that
> the company stands behind what they make makes them an even sweeter
deal....
> Thanks Tommy!
> Russell
I second that thought. My Fibes sound great. I was treated like a king by
Tommy Robertson(owner of Fibes). Look him up if your in the market for a
set.
Robert Gaines
KTrick45
> I was poking around a drum shop the other day and saw a set of clear
>Fibes. I checked the badge and saw that they were made in Pennsylvania.
>Are these the new Fibes or are they from an older era?
Old. They're a product of the first of the many sales/relocations of Fibes.
Martin Guitars bought the company in the late '70s or early '80s. Their stay
in Nazareth, PA was brief. Fibes was later to become Corder, then Darwin,
before returning to Fibes a couple of years ago. A Pennsylvania badge would
date the drums to the Martin ownership, roughly 1980 or so.
cloc...@nospammindspring.com
Does fibes make their own shells?..or are they Keller or something?
DIRads
Jasper...same as Gretsch<BR>
<BR>
>Does fibes make their own shells?..or are they Keller or something?<BR>
<BR>
---------------------<BR>
Dan<BR>
DIR...@aol.com<BR>
cloc...@nospammindspring.com
Cool...I've been trying to figure that out...no wonder I like thier
sound!
YoYoMaster
I don't know what the big deal is with fibes, but check this set out, it seems
nice!
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=17613705
Just my two cents...
-Lee
Steve Kesler
In article <6m6gro$ntp$1...@netnews.upenn.edu>, gai...@mail1.sas.upenn.edu
says...
> KRufe (kr...@aol.com) wrote:
> : FIBES uses only jasper shells made to spec. The FIBES shells are somewhat
> : reminisent of GRETSCH but FIBES demands a #1 grade of maple and the snare shell
> : is now 8 plys.The Darwin drum company did use Keller bass drum shells.
>
> Be aware that Jasper uses Gumwood inner plies; they are not 100% maple.
> Not that they are bad shells, but i have seen some crappy Jasper shells
> in the past. I have worked on about 50 or more old Gretsch shells, and i
> have never seen any consistency in their quality. Keller, on the other
> hand, has always made excelent shells (over 40 years, starting with Rogers).
>
> Cheers.
>
> --
> -matt
>
> Gaither Custom Drums gai...@sas.upenn.edu
> 1325 N. 5th Street, Studio 1D http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~gaither
> Philadelphia, Pa. 19122
> (215)235-4313
>
>
Mr. Gaither
Not to contradict you or anything, because of your experience and
expertise in Drum design and manufacturing, but I have understood that
both Keller and Jasper, the main manufactures of 3rd party Maple shells
would build these shells per the customer's specifications. So if there
was some filler wood between the Maple plies,(Poplar,Gum,Mahogany,or
whatever) it was specified by the customer. As you know, early on in the
history of drums, alot of drum shells used two different types of woods
in their shells. Only in the last so many years has all maple shell been
not only popular, but almost a requirement with a lot of drummers. I
think a lot of this is due to the music in general becoming louder, thus
the need for drums that cut and project more.
I had a set of Gretsch drums in the early 80's and they were all 6 ply
maple and were near perfect in construction quality. I have heard that
there is more variation in the grain apearance on Jasper shells than on
Keller shells though. They were the Best sounding drums I have ever had
except for the Kick Drum. I have never heard your drums though, but would
like to some time. From what I hear on this news group they sound great.
Later,
Steve
Mark Talbott
Does anyone know how long Jasper has been building drum shells? Have
they always provided shells for Gretsch? If not when did they start
providing them and did Gretsch manufacture thier own shells prior to
this?
Thanks in advance for any info,
Mark Talbott
big...@bigdog.seanet.som
Bill Ray
I have a set of Darwins for sale- see my ad below in "Darwin Kit for sale."
My address is: drum...@earthlink.net
Gordy Gale wrote in message <358656...@pacbell.net>...
>I've got a set of Darwin drums (the company Fibes bought out to restart
>their company). I just did an 11 week tour (I play for Work Group/Sony
>artist Dan Bern) with the kit, and one for one, every soundman commented
>on how great they sounded. I wish I would have gotten more of them. I
>have 18x22, 10x10, 14x14 and 5 1/2x14. Black piano laquer finish, no
>mounts in the drums only RIMS with mounts. And of course, the Fibes
>lugs. If anyone has an 8x10 or 16x16 tom in this color, I'll buy it.
>--
>Gordy Gale
Sean L. Younge
I was sitting here reading your post thinking how nice it was for someone to
enjoy their kit so much, but now I must respond because you so readily put
down the Brand that I like so much. I'm sure that Fibes drums are a good
product, and I know many drummers that I respect who play Fibes and respect
fibes, but I know more people who play DW drums and like them better. This
obviously is a matter of opinion, but if you were to take number of pros who
like and play dw and number of pros who like and play Fibes you would be way
out voted, and don't give me that crap about DW giving away more stuff. If
Terry Bozzio or Carl Allen or Jason Bonham or Jonathon Moffet or many others
wanted to play Fibes, I guarantee that Fibes would give them a kit.
Patricia Mazzucco wrote:
> It's nice to see the word is getting around. I have 2 new Fibes kits. One
> silver sparkle , and one in the black onyx . Both are the best sounding
> kits I have ever owned. Don't forget the SFT snare drums. I've got the
> 5x14 fiberglass with the brushed copper finish. Unbelievable sound
> projection! (just ask Buddy) I also have a 6 1/2 x 14 and 6 1/2 x 13
> Maple that I am equally happy with. Bottom line is this, Fibes is a small
> company that will bend over backwards to make the customer happy. And
> they make the best sounding drums around. ( Yes, that remark is aimed
> directly at all of you worshipers at the church of DW...)
>
> Lee Thompson
> www.halmarcusband.com
> LeeTh...@prodigy.com
Gene Miller
Matthew Gaither wrote:
>
> KRufe (kr...@aol.com) wrote:
> : FIBES uses only jasper shells made to spec. The FIBES shells are somewhat
> : reminisent of GRETSCH but FIBES demands a #1 grade of maple and the snare shell
> : is now 8 plys.The Darwin drum company did use Keller bass drum shells.
>
> Be aware that Jasper uses Gumwood inner plies; they are not 100% maple.
> Not that they are bad shells, but i have seen some crappy Jasper shells
> in the past. I have worked on about 50 or more old Gretsch shells, and i
> have never seen any consistency in their quality. Keller, on the other
> hand, has always made excelent shells (over 40 years, starting with Rogers).
>
> Cheers.
>
> --
> -matt
>
> Gaither Custom Drums gai...@sas.upenn.edu
> 1325 N. 5th Street, Studio 1D http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~gaither
> Philadelphia, Pa. 19122
> (215)235-4313
quality that only gets better with age.
Gene M.
Patricia Mazzucco
Well...
It's nice to see the DW faithful are as thin skinned as ever :>
P.S. Fibes does not give away kits to any endorser.(Me included
unfortunately)
Lee Thompson
Russell m. Gellman
Well, the Fibes v. DW war has begun.....
As a Fibes owner, I understand where Lee (?) is coming from, and
agree that Fibes do rival DW... for one very basic reason.... VALUE!!!!
Compare the price of a Fibes kit to the price of a DW kit, and for the
money, I think Fibes is a better value. I have seen numerous shoddy DW
kits, new in the store, with such flaws as peeling covering, and still
costing over $2000 for a five piece kit. I understand that DW has a
loyal following. I understand that perhaps people like the DW sound (yes,
I must admit, I have heard a few nice DW kits).... but simply because
"everyone else plays DW" doesn't make it a better kit. It might simply
mean that DW has been around long enough to produce drums in higher
quantities. But my original point is simply that, for the money, you
can't get a better maple shelled kit. You can argue that a DW kits rival
Fibes, but you're going to pay a lot more money for the same kit, and to
my ears, it certainly isn't worth the extra money...
Russell
Sean L. Younge (sly...@ionet.net) wrote:
: I was sitting here reading your post thinking how nice it was for someone to
: enjoy their kit so much, but now I must respond because you so readily put
: down the Brand that I like so much. I'm sure that Fibes drums are a good
: product, and I know many drummers that I respect who play Fibes and respect
: fibes, but I know more people who play DW drums and like them better. This
: obviously is a matter of opinion, but if you were to take number of pros who
: like and play dw and number of pros who like and play Fibes you would be way
: out voted, and don't give me that crap about DW giving away more stuff. If
: Terry Bozzio or Carl Allen or Jason Bonham or Jonathon Moffet or many others
: wanted to play Fibes, I guarantee that Fibes would give them a kit.
:
: Patricia Mazzucco wrote:
:
: > It's nice to see the word is getting around. I have 2 new Fibes kits. One
:
:
:
Dcymbals
> Be aware that Jasper uses Gumwood inner plies; they are not 100% maple.
> Not that they are bad shells, but i have seen some crappy Jasper shells
> in the past. I have worked on about 50 or more old Gretsch shells, and i
> have never seen any consistency in their quality. Keller, on the other
> hand, has always made excelent shells (over 40 years, starting with
>Rogers).
>
> Cheers.
>
> --
> -matt
>
> Gaither Custom Drums gai...@sas.upenn.edu
> 1325 N. 5th Street, Studio 1D http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~gaither
> Philadelphia, Pa. 19122
> (215)235-4313
Does this mean that "great gretsch sound" is not %100 maple? there is
gumwood in gretsch shells?
D
Matthew Gaither
Dcymbals (dcym...@aol.com) wrote:
: > Be aware that Jasper uses Gumwood inner plies; they are not 100% maple.
: > Not that they are bad shells, but i have seen some crappy Jasper shells
: > in the past. I have worked on about 50 or more old Gretsch shells, and i
: > have never seen any consistency in their quality. Keller, on the other
: > hand, has always made excelent shells (over 40 years, starting with
: >Rogers).
: > -matt
: >
: Does this mean that "great gretsch sound" is not %100 maple? there is
: gumwood in gretsch shells?
Exactly, and right now, as i work on Mark Polis' Gretsch project snare,
i have discovered that the old 1950s 3 ply shells are maple/poplar/maple.
Other oddities i have spotted with Gretsch snares was a 1940s Broadcaster
with a birdseye maple outside ply (under factory white laquer), mahogany/
maple inner; also worked on a maple/teak/maple. I could tell it was Teak
because the oil was leaching into the maple where there were any holes,
and it was causing these beautiful dark brown patterns in the grain of
the maple as the teak oil bled into the top veneer. The sound was
incredible as well.
--
-matt
Gaither Custom Drums gai...@sas.upenn.edu
1325 N. 5th Street, Studio 1D http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~gaither
Philadelphia, Pa. 19122
(215)235-4313 toll free (888)739-1727
Dcymbals
>From: gai...@mail2.sas.upenn.edu (Matthew Gaither)
>Dcymbals (dcym...@aol.com) wrote:
>: > Be aware that Jasper uses Gumwood inner plies; they are not 100% maple.
>: > Not that they are bad shells, but i have seen some crappy Jasper shells
>: > in the past. I have worked on about 50 or more old Gretsch shells, and i
>: > have never seen any consistency in their quality. Keller, on the other
>: > hand, has always made excelent shells (over 40 years, starting with
>: >Rogers).
>: > --
>: > -matt
>: >
>
>: Does this mean that "great gretsch sound" is not %100 maple? there is
>: gumwood in gretsch shells?
>
>Exactly, and right now, as i work on Mark Polis' Gretsch project snare,
>i have discovered that the old 1950s 3 ply shells are maple/poplar/maple.
>Other oddities i have spotted with Gretsch snares was a 1940s Broadcaster
>with a birdseye maple outside ply (under factory white laquer), mahogany/
>maple inner; also worked on a maple/teak/maple. I could tell it was Teak
>because the oil was leaching into the maple where there were any holes,
>and it was causing these beautiful dark brown patterns in the grain of
>the maple as the teak oil bled into the top veneer. The sound was
>incredible as well.
>
>--
>-matt
>
>Gaither Custom Drums
Very interesting Matt, you mean to tell me that at different periods in Gretsch
drum manufacturing, there were different filler woods being used? This also
means that Gretsch's sound was not consistent eventhough they were touted
as(and still are) the standard warm drum sound especially for jazz. With the
craze now about "%100 all-maple shells" and whatnot, does anybody think that
should lessen the perception everybody has of Gretsch? dosent that kind of
prove to everybody that what you get is not always what you see? I always
thought of Gretsch as being the all maple sound to judge others by but I
suppose there is more too it than just the shell material.
D
Matthew Gaither
Steve Kesler (ske...@mtnhome.com) wrote:
: My 85 Gretsch Kit was 6 ply all Maple shells, I repeat all Maple. I don't
: know about some of the older shell's though.
:
: later, Steve
Yes, them shells be Keller.
--
-matt
Gaither Custom Drums gai...@sas.upenn.edu
1325 N. 5th Street, Studio 1D http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~gaither
Philadelphia, Pa. 19122
Michael Damian Catano
Matthew Gaither (gai...@mail1.sas.upenn.edu) wrote:
: Steve Kesler (ske...@mtnhome.com) wrote:
: : My 85 Gretsch Kit was 6 ply all Maple shells, I repeat all Maple. I don't
: : know about some of the older shell's though.
: :
: : later, Steve
: Yes, them shells be Keller.
i've heard that in the past few years gretsch has changed their standard
factory bearing edge to a sharp 45 degree cut. all their endorsers also
seem to be country rockers as opposed to their more traditional jazz
clientel. are the reissue broadkasters equipped with the same harsh
bearing edges?
m
Matthew Gaither
Michael Damian Catano (mca...@is.dal.ca) wrote:
: i've heard that in the past few years gretsch has changed their standard
: factory bearing edge to a sharp 45 degree cut. all their endorsers also
: seem to be country rockers as opposed to their more traditional jazz
: clientel. are the reissue broadkasters equipped with the same harsh
: bearing edges?
: m
Well, all of the newer Gretschs i have seen did have that severe/
aggresive edge. I can only imagine that new drums haven't changed much;
and they still don't seal the edges.
Sharp edges tend to bind up the drum heads once the head has seated
itself. A corrected radius on the outer edge would make tuning so
much easier. Why they chose that crazy edge in the first place? I can
only surmise that they were under the influence of that "sharp edge equals
resonance" fad. R and D, what's that?
At one point, Gretsch jumped back and forth between Keller and Jasper
(early-mid 80s); these days they are back to Jasper. Go figure... cheers.