Even though some of the greatest drums in the world roll straight off assembly lines before they end up on store shelves, there is something irrefutably unique about the handcrafted – the ones where the artisan has steamed, bent, screwed, bolted and riveted their instruments together from the first slab of produce to final product. We’re talking about the made-to-order, custom and rare instruments in which each man-made little characteristic contributes to something that can’t be mass-produced or mimicked: personality. Welcome to the Custom Shop EZX, a collection of some of the most rare, hard-to-come-by and unique handcrafted drums in the world.
While most EZXs seek to capture a certain sound or genre, the Custom Shop EZX goes out of its way to do the exact opposite. It’s about the drums and the drums alone. It was recorded by producer Joe Blaney (The Clash, Prince, Keith Richards) and drummer Stephen Belans at Brooklyn Recording, a studio with a room ideal for transparent drum tracking. Featuring all handpicked drums, with tom shell sizes ranging from ten to 18 inches, several different types of wood and metal as well as a host of cymbals, the Custom Shop EZX presents the broadest possible sonic scope. The truly unique Q kit, with its solid copper shells, has a tone unlike any other – loud, open and resonant but still centered and focused with a deep and warm decay. On the other end of the scale we have the Japanese Canopus kit in a traditional jazz setup, producing a much brighter, more dense and complex attack. Balancing between the previous two, we have the classic Craviotto in solid walnut shells, crafted by hand at the small boutique factory in Watsonville, California, giving you a punchy, bell-like clarity but still a dark and round sound. Finally, at the far end of the meter we have the thunderous Fibes set, a maple-ply kit with a truly deep and vibrant tone.
Add to this four extra snares, two kicks as well as brushed variations of select kits and you have a sonic palette with near infinite application.
Welcome to the custom shop. All the drums are yours to keep.
