Flea Puckett specializes in designing and creating custom drumstick bags. “Roll-It-Ups” Custom Drumstick Bags are handmade, and therefore, completely customizable! Flea picks out the fabrics, designs, cuts and sews them up. Each “Roll-It-Ups” drum bag is completely unique! She admits that she may use the same fabrics on some, but each one is different in design.

In her own words, she has a serious addiction to fabric. I love the signature line in her email: “Some People Would Throw Away Those Pants, I Made a Quilt Out of Them!”

Flea was nice enough to send me one of her “Roll-It-Ups” Custom Drumstick Bags to try out. I tied it around my 16 inch floor tom, and I LOVE it!!! It’s soft, with no metal or zippers that would scratch the finish on my drum. Absolutely brilliant!

I gotta say, these are absolutely perfect for any drummer, especially a working drummer! I don’t know how many times I dropped a stick playing a show with sweaty hands. Sure, I kept extra sticks handy, but I really had nowhere to store them. I usually would just have them sitting on the ground nearby. Come on,… How professional is that? Not too convenient either.

Flea’s “Roll-It-Ups” Custom Drumstick Bags are simply beautiful, and a necessity for any serious drummer! Each “Roll-It-Ups” measures approximately 24 x 18 inches with 8 pockets for your drumsticks; 4 on each side of a larger pocket that I use for my drum key, a sweat rag, powder bottle, and cell phone.

When it comes to packing things up to transport, these bags are awesome! All you have to do is just leave your sticks in their pockets, start on the side with the short tie, and begin rolling it up. Once its rolled, just wrap the long tie around it so its easy to carry. That’s it!

I truly believe every serious drummer ought to own one of Flea’s custom drumstick bags. Head over to her Etsy shop (link below) and order one! Don’t worry, they’re quite affordable. Plus, she’ll custom make yours any way you want it.

At the time of this post, Flea’s “Roll-It-Ups” Custom Drumstick Bags are now available in several local music stores in Knoxville, Tennessee. Plus, They’re available in her Etsy shop here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/FleaPuckett?section_id=7903822.

In the next few months, she will be visiting east coast drum shops to start offering her “Roll-It-Ups” in larger cities.

Check out her recent exposure in Tom Tom Magazine:
http://tomtommag.com/2011/12/flea-puckett-the-crabby-crafter-of-roll-it-ups/

You can learn more about Flea Puckett on her Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Flea-Puckett/189129934506759?ref=tn_tnmn

This is a guest post by Steve Williams on the Roland TD-15KV Electronic Drum Kit. As you know, I’m partial to the Alesis DM6, and from what Steve says, the Roland TD-15KV sounds pretty good too! As with anything, you should always do your due diligence before purchasing anything, but you already know that, right?

The Roland TD-15KV is the newest announcement by Roland from the V-Drum range. As you’re probably aware the V-Drum range has become a firm favorite of digital drum by a vast amount of drummers world over due to their amazing replication of acoustic feel and tone but with the added features that come with digital kits.

Out of the two TD-15 models, I will be concentrating on the more expensive and feature rich TD-15KV which aims to further improve on the already superb range with a whole list of new and exciting features. Even the most stubborn of acoustic drummers will have to sit up and appreciate just how special the TD-15KV really is.

Both TD-15s have had a serious upgrade with the introduction of the infamous SuperNATURAL sound. This was originally designed for the upper-range Roland Pianos but has been adjusted and introduced to the V-Drum range; one of the main advantages of this is the authentic and natural correlation between the sounds when the dynamics are changed.

Partnering this technology is “Behavior Modelling”, which gives a faster and more accurate response to the drummer’s actions. All this results in a more authentic playing experience, something that was previously only found in the higher-range and more expensive TD-30.

You’ll be glad to hear that the Roland TD-15KV is loaded with a vast library of songs to drum along to, with the option of transferring tracks from a USB device. This isn’t exactly groundbreaking stuff, but now you can change the volume and tempo for more convenient practicing to suit you’re ability and mood.

On top of this you can now loop and repeat sections for that awkward bit you can’t quite get right, and with the on-board coaching feature that surpasses any I’ve ever used, will help you fine-tune you’re technique and all-round drumming ability.

A new and surprising feature is the ability to connect the unit to your iPhone through Air Recorder and V-Drums Friend Jam apps through a wireless via a wireless adapter. It was only a matter of time until we saw this, and now it’s arrived, yet another bonus for iPhone owners.

So what’s the difference between the TD-15KV and the cheaper TD-15K I hear you ask? Well, the answer is not that much really. The 15K has the PDX-8 And PDX-6 pad configurations whereas the 15KV has new and updated pads. They both share the same cymbals but the TD-15KV has an upgraded hi-hat and toms. There is a fairly significant difference, in feel rather than tone, but if you want ultimate authenticity, my advice is buy an acoustic kit, simple enough.

Its great to see that Roland has produced yet another benchmark digital kit, but now at a more affordable price. Watch the video below for a great example of the authenticity of the SuperNATURAL technology.

I think it’s the perfect kit for practicing and fine-tuning at home, but I wouldn’t recommend anything more. It is of course a great kit, and I can see a lot of beginners and intermediates purchasing this as a practice kit.