Blocks

[Pat McNeil]

Hi All,

I've been trying to find a wood block / plastic block for a while now & wanted to know if you have any faves.

At the moment, I have an LP "blast block" (The green one). I like the pitch of it but it is much too loud for the rest of the kit. If I hit it lighter, the tone just vanishes, but when I whack it hard enough, it becomes very piercing.

Any suggestions for a "mellow" block?

Thanks,
Pat

[PETER]

Hi,Pat!
I have one too!OK!there's one method that I ever use.Try attached a small tissue paper with a Black masking Tape on the center of the plastic block.This may help u to reduce the volume a bit!
Happy trying!
PETER LAU

[Captain Nemo]

I've got three of those LP blast blocks now. I'm not sure why, but I love them. The green one works for a cow bell or a cross stick sound. Do you use a nylon tip stick? Maybe that's the problem. Different sticks have different sounds on them. Depends where you strike them too. I think they're great.

[Pat McNeil]

Hi Peter & Capt Nemo

Thanks for the replies.

I generally use wood tipped sticks, but still found it a bit loud. I'm trying Peter's damper advice & will report back on how it works. I'd like to get it quieter, but with the same overtone balance, if that makes sense.

I tried the red LP block at the store today & really liked it but it is a bit huge & as the block holds my hihats in place, it won't work. Hopefully Peter's suggestion will work for me.

Pat

[mangorockfish]

The blue jam block is the way to go. The red one was too hollow sounding to me and the others are too loud.

[Captain Nemo]

I have a small orange and a big larger purple - they exactly match the tones of my two toms. Adds lots of fun for my Neil Pert impressions. And I have a new larger green one that serves for a cow bell. You can't beat these things.

[multiperc]

I have a bunch of these (red jamblock and a pair of tiny blast block agogos) as well as some really nice wood ones, but my vote for coctail use is the smaller blue jam block - seems to fit the sonic size of the rest of my kit.
Peter's idea is great, and sometimes I use a layer of duct tape on part of the edge of the block for a softer alternative if needed.

[Pat McNeil]

OK - here's the results of my experiments. Peter's suggestion worked fine, but I ended up using a small piece of cloth instead of paper, and that mellowed things out nicely.

I will be on the lookout for the blue block - as I said, I saw the red & liked it but it was much too huge.

Thanks again all!
Pat

[PETER]

[quote="Pat McNeil"]OK - here's the results of my experiments. Peter's suggestion worked fine, but I ended up using a small piece of cloth instead of paper, and that mellowed things out nicely.

I will be on the lookout for the blue block - as I said, I saw the red & liked it but it was much too huge.

Thanks again all!
Pat[/quote]
Hi,Pat!
Good to hear that
Regards,
Peter

[cockdrummer]

i hate the lp plastic blocks, and i hate the pearl clave blocks slightly less. what i use is a LP block meant to be handheld. it comes with a beater i think, i found it on a table of perc stuff at a local store, and it just sounded better than any i've used. it's kind of maroon and has a center bead for whacking. can't find it on the lp website, but it's great, and cost me $12 with no beater or anything.

[tikifreak]

I use the LP medium wood block - yes, actual wood! It has the same great tone that I hear on Stan Getz bossa nova records. I have it mounted with two LP wood block mounts (one on each end) attached between the z-rods of an LP Mini Everything Rack - along with a cowbell - on my hi-hat stand just under the cymbals. This works perfect because I only play the block with my left hand (right-handed setup), and can hit the cowbell with either.

I recommend using two mounts, one on either end (underneath) or both on one end (one top and one bottom). This will keep your block level with the floor, whereas only one mount leaves the block sagging on one end.