articles & reviews

ORANGE COUNTY DRUM & PERCUSSION
By Greg Gaylord (Music Maket August 1997)

In the early 1980's, West Coast Drum purchased the remainder of Ludwig's cymbals, which were being made by UFIP. The cymbals were in large containers weighing several hundred pounds each. John Machado was hired by West Coast Drum to help them deal with the large amounts of cymbals. He soon found himself repairing their drum building equipment and ended up staying with West Coast Drum for nine years.

West Coast Drum also hired an energetic youth Daniel Jensen. John says that the persistent Daniel would continually ask him "when are we going to open our own drum shop?" Well, guess what? It wasn't long and Orange Country Drum & Percussion was on its way.

O.C.D.P was originally a retail drum store, offering a full range of services, including lessons, repairs, and custom drum building. It was this custom drum building that would prove to be the mainstay of O.C.D.P. The retail portion fell by the side and the company emerged as a custom drum company.

Orange County Drum & Percussion is now a small California based custom drum company with five full time employees and one part time employee. They are a small company with big ideas and a big reputation to back up those ideas.

Between John and Daniel, they have over twenty years of drum "crafting" experience, and when it comes to customizing a drum kit, experience is exactly what it takes to get the job done right.

Daniel has experience as a stage tech, as well as having been a session tech. This is why Daniel feels he can understand the needs of a performer, and can then begin to pursue the ideal drums (sounds) for that individual.

The individual truly is the focus of O.C.D.P. There are no assembly lines, just personalized services. They offer virtually unlimited drum set configurations. A drummer can choose from hundreds of colors and finishes, including acrylic urethanes, wraps, high-pressure laminates, metal finishes, exotic wood finishes and animal prints and textures.

O.C.D.P's "anything goes" attitude applies to lugs and hardware as well. If you want it, they will do it. Die cast lugs or vintage style brass tube lugs are no problem for these guys.

The Snare Drums

If there is one thing that makes O.C.D.P stand out from the plethora of other custom drum builders, it has to be their vented snare drums. These snare drums are the creation of Daniel, who says that the drums are acquiring a reputation for their loudness and sensitivity.
O.C.D.P uses 100% maple Keller shells, but if you want something thicker than a 12 ply shell, they add the extra plies themselves, as well as any tone/reinforcement hoops.

O.C.D.P is currently seeking a patent on their vented snare drums, which employ some very radical venting theories. Some of them incorporate large vent holes. Extremely large vent holes. I'm talking the kind you can put your hand through!

Don't like large holes? How about lots of smaller holes, say a couple of dozen thumb size holes, perhaps? I have to admit that, cosmetically, it would take some getting used to all those holes.

According to John, the average size of these large vent holes is between 2 1/4 and 3 inches in diameter, and the average number of holes if four to six. These vented drums are drier sounding, have less resonance, and are louder than other drums, due to this venting. John also says that the drums are more sensitive, which comes from a combination of venting and their precision cut snare bed.

The precision cut snare bed is not a dip as on traditional snare drums, but is totally level, resulting in drums that don't buzz.

The Bottom Line

When people think of custom drums, they think of high prices. I was very curious about the cost, so I asked John about prices. He told me they are " cheaper than the top of the line drums" of the big companies. A typical wrapped five piece kit will list for between $2,000 and $3,000 (which means it will sell in for under $2,000). That sounds reasonable enough to me, given the costs of kits from Drum Workshop and other "big" companies.

The list of endorsers that John sent me was quite impressive. I don't think the likes of Adrian Young of No Doubt, Chad Sexton of 311, and both Taylor Hawkings and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters would be playing and buying (yes, they have to pay for their drums just as you or I would) O.C.D.P drums if they weren't top quality drums in both sound and performance.

You can reach Orange County Drum & Percussion at P 0. Box, 80903, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, 92688, (714) 589 7308.