HOSBUILT BASE DRUM+HARNESS

[John MacDonald]

Has any reader used this drum and harness setup?

Our band will shortly be looking for a complete new snare,tenor+basedrum setup.

Our experienced pipeband basedrummer is an ex army (British) basedrummer. He did the R.S.D.G. recording of Amazing Grace.

His preference is for the Premier Basedrum with Remo Skins. Howwever I am led to believe that this drum is realitvly new on the Pipe band scene and has been making an impression.

I was trying to gain some opinions into the sound weight/ construction as opposed to premier andantae Pearl etc from those in a position to compare like with like.

John

[mike o]

i would go with a full hosbuilt mid-section and either premier hts700s or andante reactors. my band has had a lot of trouble with premier tenors.
cheers :smokin:

[Jeff Boyle]

John,

The Hosbilt bass IS a nice drum, great tone!! A little on the pricey side and personally I found the delivery time is quite lengthy and the customer service average at best. In my humble opinion you would be just as well off with a Premier or Pearl. My band recently went back to Premier after a 3 year go with the Hosbilt.

[alixgunn]

Originally posted by Jeff Boyle:
John,
The Hosbilt bass IS a nice drum, great tone!! A little on the pricey side and personally I found the delivery time is quite lengthy and the customer service average at best. In my humble opinion you would be just as well off with a Premier or Pearl. My band recently went back to Premier after a 3 year go with the Hosbilt.My brother is bass drummer for the Grand Rapids pipe band, who purchased a Hosbilt bass/harness set up a couple seasons ago. As John says - delivery time was lengthy; and customer service was practically non-existent. The band was NOT happy with their purchase.

- alison gunn

[Andrew H]

CCal's new Hosbilt bass drum just arrived about a week ago and will have its competitive debut this weekend in Springfield, IL. Our tenor drums are due to arrive at Alma. Prior to playing with CCal, I enjoyed the sound of the Hosbilts played by our midsection in Midlothian.

To my ear (and let's face it, this is all opinion!)... Hosbilt drums are the epitome of pipe band tone and reasonance. The timbre matches the pipes perfectly and the tone is unbeatable when set up well.

PROS:
- Superior Tone
- Superior Reasonance
- 100% Customizable appearance
- Light-weight (important for bass drums!)
CONS:
- Lengthy delivery time
- More expensive than a manufactured drum
- Must learn how to set it up properly

To address the cons... I can easily address the first two very quickly. If you were a car fanatic you'd be willing to wait for a custom Rolls Royce and pay for what you get right? Well, Hoss makes the Rolls Royce of drums. You will not get superior sound and attractive appearance at a manufactured price... that's just how it goes. When you pay for a Hosbilt, and wait for a Hosbilt, your time and money invested will not go to waste... when your drum arrives, you'll realize why you paid what you did and were willing to wait to get it.

As for tuning... they're touchy. They physically don't tune like an assembly-line drum. They are 100% free-floating which means you tune both heads at the same time. This means a fair amount of tech work on how to make sure the heads come into tune together. In defence of this "con", Hoss is always willing to show each and every user how to properly set up his drums. And on contest day, he'll usually step over and make sure everything's going well, too. SERVICE!!

I know this sounds like a total advertisement... and I suppose it is... but I am the type of person who is willing to 'sell' products that I have been able to rely on. I have NEVER been let down by a Hosbilt drum. I was proud to play with Mike Cole, Bill Janakos, Kim Baumruck, and Danny Griffin when they won the Grade II World Bass Section title playing Hosbilts. Hoss has a few titles of his own as do several other dedicated users of his drum.

I imagine there are Hosbilt players in just about every sector of the pipe band world... if you're looking to buy a new bass drum, talk to some of these guys and gals that play them and see why it is that the drum is becoming so well-respected.

If anyone will be at Springfield this weekend or Alma next weekend, feel free to drop by CCal's headquarters to check out our equipment and chat with Mike Cole or myself about the drums.

Cheers,
Andrew
LD CCal P&D

[Pete Walen]

Hossbilts take a long time to be delivered, cost a LOT of money to purchase, and take more work to set up than drums that can be hauled out of the back of the car and thrown on the harness ready to go. And they are worth every penny.

Saw CCal's NEW model this last weekend and had bass drum envy. The hardware is much improved over the older model I play, and have for four years now, and the quality of the shell is as good.

When tuned properly, with a timpanic meter and an electronic tuner, there is no drum on the market that will beat it for projection, resonance, quality of sound or tone.

If you need one NOW and do not have the time/patience to wait for one (or the money), a Pearl would be my next choice. Solid hardware and a very fine quality shell combine to give a reliable sound every time. Again, not for those who want to pull it out of the car and play.

Can't speak for the Andante' drums. Never played one.

Premier - pull it out of the car and play. If you want. (I still wouldn't.)

Cheers.

[redhairedpiper]

All the above considered, I have seen Craig and his drum and his harness just recently. If you decide nothing else, I highly recommend you look into the bass harness. I know his drums are designed to be light-weight, but the harness looks like it would be a tremendous piece of equipment for any band. It appears to be designed to disperse the weight evenly, and put very little strain on the back. Worn as a vest, it seems to be the answer to many a bass drummer's call!!

[Jake]

John,
First of all, I own a hosbilt drum, and am happy with the result I've been getting playing it in my band. Second, I have heard recently that Hoss has ceased production of his drums (just what I have heard). So, you may not be able to purchase one if you do decide on chosing hosbilt.
Jacob Otto

[Jake]

John,
First of all, I own a hosbilt drum, and am happy with the result I've been getting playing it in my band. Second, I have heard recently that Hoss has ceased production of his drums (just what I have heard). So, you may not be able to purchase one if you do decide on chosing hosbilt.
Jacob Otto

[Ray D]

Where would I get info on the bass drum harness mentioned by redhairedpiper?
Cheers.
Ray

[Pete Walen]

Rather than wonder if the drums are still in production (I've some tenor drums on order), or wondering where to get the harness, Craig's website is http://www.mc-pro.com/hosbilt/ (Can I post that? If not, my feelings will not be hurt if the post gets zapped.)

Cheers -

[Drew McPheeters]

We took delivery of one just in time for the St. Patricks Day parade.

As a Drum Sgt.... :shrug:

The cost was higher, but not prohibitively so. I'd say about a 25% premium.

If he is in fact stopping production, it is a loss for the pipe band community, IMHO. :(

We have a bass, a tenor, and a alto, and would love to get a baritone as well.

[Mike Cole]

I stand by the Hosbilt. I've had three over the last 8 years, and have helped tune quite a few as well. Tuning them is tricky, at first, but after you get the hang of it; it's a cinch to keep them sounding great. I know Craig turns 'em out ever-so-slowly, but most people believe they're worth the wait. We're talking hand crafted drums here. Andrew summed up the characteristics very well. I like the way the drum sounds to me as I'm playing it. The thin maple shell resonates beautifully...something mass produced drums just don't do as well. Obviously, personal preference is a driving force in making your choice. Andante, Premier, Remo, Pearl, Clelland are all good drums....how you set them up and tune them is what really makes a difference.
I've yet to find a drum that can be taken out of the case and played without any attention...but that's just me.
Imagine doing that with a set of pipes...then again, listen to all of the pipe bands in a parade and I'm sure you'll hear some players that do just that. :bleh:
I like the Hosbilt harness because it distributes the weight so well. I have lower back troubles and the harness has helped me a lot.
Check it out at
http://www.mc-pro.com/hosbilt/product1.html :thumb:

[John MacDonald]

Dear readers

This pecception of Base sound comes from a Piper!!

This sound has so caught my attention that after much attentive listening to Base drums in differing Grades I have come to the overwhelming conclusion that this Hosbilt definately has the Egde in BASE sound.

I was so confident of this from listening to recordings that I went about looking out a physical Drum in the UK.

However it appears that there may only currently be 2 such BASE DRUMS in the UK and one of them has been dampened to such an extent that that lovely Resonance does not exist.

This summer I took my daughter IONA to Scotland in order for her to compete at some Highland Ddancing Competitions.

At Inverkeithing I found a Hosbilt played by the Maple Ridge Pipe Band and their Base drumer allowed me to handle it.

It was extremely light for a drum of its Size. It also still had that lovely resonance. The Base drummer stated that this drum was the easiest he had ever had to set up!!

Today, I looked up HOSS (Craig Cohouln) at the Worlds in Glasgow. To my great AMAZEMENT /RELIEF AND JOY; he informed me that he was having his Base Drum produced to his Specifications by Premier. Voila -there was an example on the Premier Stand!!!!

So very shortly there will be 3 such Drums in the UK. I now need to ensure that our Base Drummer is up to the Challenge

John

[Donnie Smith]

Premier Purchases Hosbilt Brand
Will manufacture line of drums to original specs

Premier Percussion Ltd. of England has bought the rights to the "Hosbilt" brand name to manufacture a line of bass and tenor drums to the original specs set out by the Kincardine, Ontario-based company.

The new Hosbilt Series was introduced at the World Pipe Band Championships by Shotts & Dykehead and the 78th Fraser Highlanders, the band for which Hosbilt's founder, Craig "Hoss" Colquhoun, plays bass.

Shotts was awarded Best Bass Section at the event.

Premier will reportedly work directly with Colquhoun on further research and development for the new series and, potentially, new models in the future.

Just a snippet of info taken from piper and drummer
I play an Andante. I found that gives a nice resonance, side on, but nothing front or back.
Quite a few Scottish boys swear by the wooden shell premier

[Kevin G]

Originally posted by mike o:
i would go with a full hosbuilt mid-section and either premier hts700s or andante reactors. my band has had a lot of trouble with premier tenors.
cheers :smokin:

[Kevin G]

Hey mike Maybe you just dont know how to set the premiers up? Any drum (EXCEPT PEARL ) can be tuned to pitch with a little work I think the premiers are great

[Drew McPheeters]

Originally posted by Kevin G:
Hey mike Maybe you just dont know how to set the premiers up? Any drum (EXCEPT PEARL ) can be tuned to pitch with a little work I think the premiers are greatAnd shots were fired.....

[Davies]

I've heard a rumour that because of a backlog with production, premier is just putting hosbult hardwear on their old bass shells.

What type of shell was Craig using on his custom drums? Self-made or purchased and modified? How many ply?

Come to think of it, what about the "old" style premier washtubs...not like I can find and info on their website :rolleyes:

Chris :banana:

[HepcatBob]

I emailed Craig and he IS still making his harnesses even though Premier's building the drums.