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Sweeney Todd - Sam Wisman

Sam Wisman’s combined book setup for Sweeney Todd at Kansas City Repertory Theatre.

Sam's write-up below photos.

Sam Wisman’s combined book setup for Sweeney Todd at Kansas City Repertory Theatre.Sam Wisman’s combined book setup for Sweeney Todd at Kansas City Repertory Theatre.Sam Wisman’s combined book setup for Sweeney Todd at Kansas City Repertory Theatre.Sam Wisman’s combined book setup for Sweeney Todd at Kansas City Repertory Theatre.Sam Wisman’s combined book setup for Sweeney Todd at Kansas City Repertory Theatre.Sam Wisman’s combined book setup for Sweeney Todd at Kansas City Repertory Theatre.

Sam Wisman:

"Playing Sweeney Todd presents some interesting challenges. Primarily the fact there are at least three versions of the percussion book in existence and none of them is ideal. The reduced 1-player book is full of errors and the 2-player books underestimate what one player can pull off. For this production there is an 11 piece orchestra playing the 'full' orchestration using two keyboards to support 9 live players. With that in mind, I created a hybrid book playing primarily both parts simultaneously from the most current 2-player book while stealing some parts and philosophy from the reduced 1-player book.

I am set up on stage and had to deal with the usual space limitations plus navigating some support poles. I mount as much as possible from STRONG cymbal stands and stack cymbals to save space and allow easy one handed rolls. Also, I use the chimes to mount several of my 'toys'. The vibraphone frame and bars (as long as you don’t need the notes!) are a good place to rig things as well. This all allows my footprint to become smaller.

Having a smaller drum set bass drum AND a grand cassa is pretty essential for the sound of this show. Often I hit my grand cassa using a bass drum pedal with an oversized, heavy beater.

Lastly, having some timpani mutes (in this case folded suede leather) has been very helpful achieving staccato timpani notes without much hand dampening which allows me to quickly start playing the next instrument.

And, as always, the Miller Machine is an absolute necessity and has a central spot in the set up."

Sweeney Todd - Regional - Sam Wisman
March 2018

Sam Wisman’s combined book setup for Sweeney Todd at Kansas City Repertory Theatre.

"Conducting a National Tour is incredibly challenging, but so rewarding. Stepping on to the podium with a new orchestra every few weeks really keeps you on your toes. Every player responds differently so you are constantly adjusting to get the desired result. I would compare it to playing a multi-percussion piece where the instruments are constantly moving."
"After a grueling four years at SUNY I still had one theory class left to finish. I was really depressed. A classmate of mine recommended me for a tour of a Broadway show. This completely changed the course of my life."
"When I first got the call to start working on Ain’t Too Proud - The Life And Times Of The Temptations, I was curious about which era the show was going to focus on. Their career began in the early 1960’s and they’re still releasing albums today."
"The timpani tunings are the real challenge of The Little Mermaid. Changing pitches must be done by feel, that was my biggest challenge. Memorizing the mallet parts was also very necessary."
"As you can see in the pictures, I prefer to have as much 'stuff' right in front of me, as close as possible. Because there are so many instruments close in, I have mounted a music stand off of the tom mount.
"Different from the tour, the original Broadway production had acoustic drums, an acoustic set of timbales, and an acoustic tambourine - the tambourine is now programmed in the SPD-SX."
  • 2 min read

Gene Krupa's drum solo from "Gene's Blues" from the album Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich released November 1955.

Steve Jordan's drum solo from the title track of the album Casa Loco.
Robbie Ameen's drum solo from the track "Spring Fling".

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