The Quietus - A new rock music and pop culture website

Books

Give The Drummer Some: The Instruments Of Jaki Liebezeit
The Quietus , January 25th, 2020 07:28

In an exclusive extract from his new book, Jaki Liebezeit: Life, Theory and Practice of a Master Drummer, Jono Podmore takes us through the instruments that contributed to the former Can drummer's unique sound and playing style

3

Floor Tom as Bass Drum
The hole in the middle of the Molton allows the stick to strike the surface of the skin, giving more attack to the sound.

Drummers such as the Velvet Underground’s Moe Tucker have often experimented with damping drums with towels and cloth, but Jaki took this to a more sophisticated level. Traditionally, many African drums have the animal hair left on the skins to produce a similar effect.

The two drums shown here are a standard 16-inch tom, and smaller 15-inch that Jaki was particularly proud of. He had managed to get it directly from the manufacturer without the usual holes drilled into the shell for fittings and hardware. This meant he could lace the skins using his own method.