james502535 + Musician in St. Louis, MO

SEEKING

ABOUT

James Woods has one of the largest and most diverse drum kits in the drumming industry. With its black and chrome hardware, rich ebony shells, and shimmering bronze cymbals, his kit lures you in as it sits on stage. If you're not drawn in... by its remarkable appearance then the kit's size will demand your attention. James Woods drum kit includes an array of professional drums, Zildjian Cymbals, Gibraltar Hardware, and percussion equipment by Roland
What sets James kit apart from other drummer's equipment is its inclusion of so many different percussionist elements (cowbell, chimes, timbales, etc.). James credits Bill Cobham and Bernard Pretty and Billy Kilson’s ,Dennis Chambers, Steve Gadd, Art Blakey, Tony Royster Jr. ,Teddy Campbell, Cindy Blackman, Eric Valentine, Gorden Campbell, David Garibaldi, Lionel Hampton, Omar Hakim as his inspiration to become the role of a percussionist behind a drum kit. I felt it was necessary to include in his kit more instruments that a percussionist would normally play.
Every year it seems that James kit is growing larger and larger. One year James even decided to add a second bass drum to his kit. The one thing that seems to change the most is his cymbal setup. Every now and then James will experiment with new cymbals and sounds. It's not rare to find James playing different hi-hats, rides or crash cymbals each show.
In addition to what's included in his drum kit, James also plays the bongos, congas, and other hand percussion on many of the band's song. It can be said that James drum kit is a continuing experiment that keeps evolving. One of the biggest thrills of being a Billy CoBham and Bernard Pretty and David Garibaldi fan is waiting to see what he'll add to his drum kit next.
Much credit should be given to my favorites drummer Billy Cobham, Bernard Pretty , Billy Kilson’s ,Gavin Harrison, Gorden Campbell,Teddy Campbell, Derrick Wright, Marvin McQuitty, Dennis Chambers, Steve Gadd , Aaron Spears, Carter Beauford, Thomas Lang, Quee Cora Coleman Dunham, Kimberly Thompson, Carter's Camille Gainer, Terri Lyne Carrington, Cindy Blackman, Narada Michael Walden, Russ Miller, Eric Valentine, Omar Hakim.
As always I welcome any comments or feedback you might have on this little project of mine. Please feel free to email me. TheBeatGoseon I always love talking with people about James kit and his drumming in general. I find no greater joy than spreading around the passion of his drumming.

past 40 years. That's quite a long time to be playing the same drums. Remember his bass and floor tom changed several years ago. It's uncertain at this time if his tom sizes will remain the same. Another lingering question is what finish will he choose? The finish options available for the Phoenix line are, depending on the outer ply: matte natural, matte black, polar white, cherry sunburst, garnet fade, sapphire fade, turquoise fade, textured amber sunburst, and textured black sunburst. Whatever he or Henry chooses, nothing will match his current glossy lacquer black finish on his Recording Custom kit. The matte black is about the closest thing in terms of color, but matte is the exact opposite of glossy.
James use a Tama HT741 Ergo Ride throne and Pearl Throne Thumper mounted underneath..
Some details in the drumhead department, James plays a special snare batter head. It's a CS (controlled sound "dot") Coated Emperor head from Remo.
James gave some good information about his cymbals. For Hi-Hats James has been playing 14" K Mastersounds but he is going to switch to 13" New Beats soon. Zildjian K Custom right crash is a 17" K Dark Medium Thin. He has a 10” Zildjian K Custom Dark Splash stacked atop his 14" K Dark Thin Crash. That previous unknown 16" crash in his setup is an A Armand crash. His 14" K Mini China doesn't have any rivets. has done away with the china stack for good now because all James plays is the 18" Oriental Classic China. I know, shocking. Such a longstanding piece on his kit has been reduced to a single china. Continuing on, his left ride is a 20" A Custom Flat Top Ride with 6" A Custom Splash stacked upside down atop it. That EFX crash on his extreme left is no longer there. It's been replaced with a 22" K Custom Dark Ride. Henry confirmed the Zildjian skillet prototype he used recently on tour. It has been taken out of his setup now. The rack tom to James left was a 13" and not 14". And speaking of that tom, it's going to get moved to James right where his timbale is and his timbale will go where the tom now is only a little higher.
James also talked about some of his electronics, like his triggers and sampler. For a while he was using kick triggers from Roland The triggers are controlled with an Aphex Impulse module and then routed through an Akai Z8 sampler. All necessary changes have been made to the diagram and equipment list below.
Also, in the near future I will be adding a "Drum Kit Photos" section below the kit diagram/equipment list. This area will feature some good quality photos of James beautiful kit. A few of the photos will be rare never-before-seen shots. So stayed tuned for that.

TheBeatGoseon

Screen name:

james502535

Member since:

Nov 18 2012

Active over 1 month ago

Years playing music:

45

Gigs played:

Over 100

Tend to practice:

More than 3 times per week

Available to gig:

4-5 nights a week

Influences

Art Blakey, Billy Cobham, Bernard Pretty , Billy Kilson’s ,Gavin Harrison, Gorden Campbell,Teddy Campbell, Derrick Wright, Marvin McQuitty, Dennis Chambers, Steve Gadd , Aaron Spears, Carter Beauford, Thomas Lang, Quee Cora Coleman Dunham, Kimberly Thompson, Carter's Camille Gainer, Terri Lyne Carrington, Cindy Blackman, Narada Michael Walden, Russ Miller, Eric Valentine, Omar Hakim.

Instrument experience:

Drums:

Expert

Other Percussion:

Expert

EQUIPMENT

Roland TD-20KK V-PRO mesh pads multiple trigger zones and Roland SPD-30 OCTAPAD, Tama Iron Cobra Twin, Tama HT741 EROG Ride Throne ...with back rest, Zildjian Cymbals ZBT 20” 18” crash 16” crash 10”splash Zildjian 14” K/Z Special Hi Hat with rivets ,Top Hat Hi Hat 6” ZXT 20” Ride 18 “ crash with rivets 16” crash Sabian Crash Sabian 10” splash Zildjian A Custom Crash Zildjian Z Bell , Zildjian A custom EFX crash, 18” Zildjian Oriental China Trash Cymbal, Vater slick nut Quick-Release Cymbals Fastener, Vater stick holder , Vater Drink holder, Drum sticks Ahead 5B /5A, Snare Drum Pearl Limited Edition Beaded Steel Shell Power Piccolo, Snare drum Pearl Fire Cracker, Ludwig Supra-Phonic Snare Drum, Gibraltar H Hot Hat off time, All Hardware by Gibraltar, Roland MDS-25, 2 Mackie Thump TH-15A, And the Zildjian AE GEN 16 Cymbals system.AE 14”Hi Hat w/Pickup AE 18” Crash w/ Pickup and AE 20”Ride w/Pickup with Crash n Flash drummer controlled stage lighting system and IW Drums LED DMX Lighting system.

MUSIC