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We're a fan site for custom shop original Orange County Drums from 1995 to 2011

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History

BAM Magazine, August 1997 Gear & Information. -Written by Greg Gaylord

In the early 1980’s, West Coast Drum purchased the remainder of Ludwig’s cymbals, which were being made by UFIP. The cymbals were in large containers weighing several hundred pounds each. John Machado was hired by West Coast Drum to help deal with the large amounts of cymbals. He soon found himself repairing their drum building equipment and ended up staying with West Coast Drum for nine years.

West Coast Drum also hired on an energetic youth, Daniel Jensen. John says the persistent Daniel would continually ask him " when are we going to open our own drum shop?" Well, guess what? It wasn’t long before Orange County Drum & Percussion was on its way.

O.C.D.P. was originally a retail drum store, offering a full range of services, including lessons, repairs, and custom drum building. It was the custom drum building that would prove to be the mainstay of O.C.D.P. The retail portion fell by the side and the company emerged as a custom drum company. Orange County Drum & Percussion is now a small California based custom drum company with 10 full time employees. They are a small company with big ideas and a big reputation to back up those ideas. Between John and Daniel, they have over 25 years of drum "crafting" experience, and when it comes to customizing a kit, experience is exactly what you need to get the job done right. Daniel has extensive experience as a stage/recording tech. This is why Daniel feels he can understand the needs of a performer, and then can begin the pursuit of the ideal drum (sound) for that individual.

The individual is truly the focus of O.C.D.P. There are no assembly lines, just personalized service. The offer virtually unlimited drum set configurations. A drummer can choose from hundreds of colors and finishes, including, acrylic urethanes, wraps, high-pressure laminates, metal finishes, exotic wood finishes, and animal prints and textures. O.C.D.P.’s "anything goes" attitude applies to lugs and hardware as well. If you want it, they’ll do it. Die cast lugs or vintage style brass tube lugs are no problem for these guys.

The Snare Drums

If there is one thing that makes O.C.D.P. stand out from the plethora of other custom drum builders, it has to their vented snare drums. These snare drums are the creation of Daniel, who says the drums are acquiring a reputation for their loudness and sensitivity. O.C.D.P. uses 100% maple Keller shells, but if you want something thicker than a 12-ply shell, they add the extra plys themselves, as well as reinforcement hoops. Don’t like large holes? How about lots of smaller holes, say a couple of dozen thumb size holes, perhaps? I have to admit, cosmetically it would take some time getting used to all those holes. According to John, the average size of these large vents is between 2-1/4 and 4 inches in diameter, and the average number of vents are four to six. These vented drums are drier sounding, have less resonance and are louder than other drums, due to this venting. John also says that the drums are more sensitive, which comes from a combination of venting and their precision cut snare bed. The precision cut snare bed is not a dip like traditional snare drums, but is totally level, resulting in drums that don’t buzz.

The Bottom Line

When people think of custom drums, they think of high prices. I was very curious about the cost so I asked John about the prices. He told me they are "cheaper than the top line drums" of the big companies. A typical wrapped five piece kit will list for between $3500 and $4000 (which means it will sell for under $3000). That sounds reasonable enough to me, given the cost of kits from Drum Workshop and other "big" companies. The list of endorsers that John sent to me was quite impressive. I don’t think the likes of Adrian Young of No Doubt, Chad Sexton of 311, and both Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters would be playing and buying (yes they have to pay for their drums just as you or I would) O.C.D.P. drums if they weren’t top quality drums in both sound and performance.