The Story
Every instrument has its story that’s much more than the mere investment itself, which usually lends itself to its character. With each piece in the arsenal, the Mapex M-Series is no exception. The first demo recordings for the Good God Father single, [[Waves]], were actually done on another kit altogether, with many of the same pieces that managed to survive the fire that burned away much of the foundational equipment. That kit was a dark red Gretsch Blackhawk kit with some random Sabian cymbals, or even just some stock cymbals. This was the drum sound for [[Waves]], with the Rhythm Trader 14" snare that managed to survive along with the 20" Sabian crash and the 14" hi-hats.
This was all set up at the old studio, which was a 50-year-old restaurant where it was tracked on a [[Pro Tools HD 1]] system through an [[Allen & Heath GL4]] 32-channel mixer. The kick was miked with an AKG D112, Sennheiser e609 on the snare, Audix OM2s on the two rack toms, an OM3xb on the floor tom. For the overheads, there were my pair of Oktava MK-012-01 pencil mics, and to capture the room, an Electro-Voice RE1000. It’s a really simple setup that’s pretty manageable for getting the job done and worked to bridge the gap when the limitations came after the fire burned it all to ash.
Mysteriously, many of the pieces that end up in the arsenal are donated gifts from others who didn’t have any interest in the instrument, yet knew that those instruments would be put to good use by Sean Lewis, aka Xwan Solo, the central figure behind the Good God Father project. The now-discontinued Mapex M-Series kit is no exception, coming from a former Poison Idea drummer, Gordon Scholl. It’s four pieces of blue/gray finished maple with beveled rim mounts: a 22" kick, 10" and 12" rack toms, and a 14" floor tom. The toms are mounted with Evans white coated heads, and the kick uses a clear Remo head and an Evans front head with a hole cut.
The snare is from a different kit, also donated by a friend, which was a rare item lost to the flames—a birch kit from a local drum company out of Portland called Rhythm Traders. The details of the whole kit are now lost; however, the snare remains a part of the Good God Father sound, mounted with a white coated Remo head.
Current Setup
As it is currently set up in the studio, the top is miked with a Sennheiser e609, and the bottom with a Shure SM48.
Sound Characteristics
By and large, the toms are effective for filling out the sound for whatever tracks come to the table. Ideally, there would be another 16" or 18" floor tom to get a little more boom; however, with the tuning just right—with not much tension on the resonant head at all—there’s plenty of jungle sound to go around. While the snare doesn’t have that snap of the Supraphonic, it’s definitely a warmer, woodier tone, but it does give off the low end that provides a heaviness that sounds really anchored in the mix, especially in songs like Prince of the Air and Lord God. There’s most certainly a more ideal sound out there; however, this project isn’t riding on any big sponsors or financing. It’s always functioned as a “grip it and rip it, work with what you have” ethos, and what we have is what we’ve got.
So the result is a pretty balanced sound that’s consistent, resilient, harmonic, and musical. It’s more than any poor pizza delivery drummer could ask for, with no tax on tips. It’s a testament to the adage, “Where God guides, God provides,” and what He’s provided to the Good God Father team is a useful tool for producing perfectly usable results for building strong mixes that, although they may or may not be competitive, it’s a desirable sound for musicians that may not be interested in running in the rat race, but simply wish to make a joyful noise to the Lord.
Additional Components
The rest of the pieces that make up the kit include the 14" hi-hats, 20" Sabian medium crash, an 18" Dream cymbals crash, an 8" Sabian splash, and a 22" Zildjian A Custom ride. Eamon Lewis, the Good God Father drummer, uses Vic Firth 5B sticks, a DW 3000 kick pedal, and hardware from another donated Pacific drum kit.
