Drum or Modern Drummer??

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Which of the the two do you all think is the better rag?? And why. Or another magazine for that matter.

Personally I subscribe to Drum and with a renewal just signed up for Traps (looking forward to that one). I do occasionally pick up MD and enjoy it too. I know in Drum I enjoy the reviews and technical articles, but most of the drummers reviewed (and I'm sure they are very talented) are in groups I've never heard of, nor probably have little or no interest in. Maybe I need to describe to Dinosaur Drum Magazine............lol

Wayne
 
Drum is better than MD, but they both lack a lot. No real depth to interviews, ads>content. I picked up the Stew Copeland issue of Drum when I saw it. Impulse buy. I wasn't blown away after reading thru the issue. I've yet to hold a Traps in-hand so can't comment on it. I've given up on MD a long time ago. Trendy and definitely advertiser-friendly.
 
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Eye Candy both, but shoot me because I prefer MD.
 
i read modern drummer but i think its has been going downhill over the last couple of years, traps is great but hard to get here in australia, i occasionally read drum but i find its aimed more at a younger audience with more flavor of the month drummers. nsmd is great but expensive for me to get and i really enjoyed classic drummer more when it was vintage drummer. if only i spent as much time practicing as reading magazines
 
Between the two, I probably prefer Modern Drummer over Drum, just for the fact that it doesn't focus exclusively on the Lamb of God's and Fall Out Boy's of the music world, with the occasional "Dinosaur" like Neil Peart and Stewart Copeland. There's just more variety in MD, although I do find the snarky writing style in Drum! to be pretty funny at times. And, I feel that the reviews are generally better in Drum!, more comprehensive and willing to actually criticize something that they don't like pretty directly. I like Traps, but it will be the one subscription that I'll wind up dropping as finances continue to tighten up---good mag, but it's only published quarterly. I've never checked out Classic Drummer; no one carries it around here and I like to check a magazine out before I commit to a subscription.
 
Between the two then MD but I seldom ever buy either... MD probably three times a year and Drum maybe once every two years (If I see an article that grabs my eye).


I have bought every issue of Traps so far and I subscribe to Classic Drummer (just got the new CD in the mail today)...both are much more interesting to me than the two you asked about in this thread. If I had to pick just one it would be Classic Drummer. I enjoy NSMD too but usually just pick up all the prior year's back issues at the Chicago show since their publishing schedule seems fitful at best.
 
I'll second the mentions for Traps... don't mean to dodge your question, but I think it's the best drum magazine out there.
 
Like many here, I have multiple rows of old MD and DRUM! in my bookcase, as I was a faithful MD subscriber for over two decades.
But nowadays I seldom do more than a quick skim thru MD or Drum when I'm in a Barnes&Noble for instance.
I have plenty of drumming related activities that consume my life each week, so I don't feel a need for even more information from a special interest magazine, and this forum keeps me abreast of any important drumming news & trends anyway.
NSMD and Classic Drummer are cool too, but I don't bother with mag subscriptions anymore.
 
I cancelled my subscription to MD years ago because I grew tired of the cover featuring drummers from popular bands, and not necessarily well skilled or "pro-level" drummers. I saw it as catering to popular media, and not serious drummers.
 
I'm biased, of course, but it's Classic Drummer for me. Traps is OK, but I don't think they're going to last. Drum is infantile, and MD has gone down the tubes since Ron Spags died.

That British drum magazine is dumb also and too expensive.
 
I've gotten MD since the second issue. Drum was OK for a while, but it just doesn't appeal to me at all anymore. Traps is cool, as is Drumhead. I used to get the British mags as well, but now I find those at the news stand occasionally.I still get Classic Drummer and NSMD too.
 
DrumBob said:
and MD has gone down the tubes since Ron Spags died.
quote]

i agree 100%
within the following months they completely changed the layout, featured drummers became more who could sell the most magazines.
Click to expand...
 
No disrespect intended to the departed, but my take on MD is that it has undergone a quantum improvement in information content since Bill Miller became editor. There is far more substance in its pages today than say, 10-15 years ago.
 
MD for me. But I have been contemplating about getting a subscription to classic drummer. I have also read Drum and I don't really care for it.
 
The only drum mag I ever buy is classic drummer.And I'm not really on pins and needles till the next issue.Trouble is its too short. If I neeed to know something I'll grab an MD back issue for a buck.Traps ,I dunno, Drum, geez these things are like 7 bucks a crack up here in the true north strong and free.BennyK.
 
I also think MD has gone downhill. I remember that in the 80s, the interviews were three times longer and more informative. I still like parts of it though, like David Garibaldi's column
 
I started with the Ludwig Drummer and then let if fall off as I got older ... followed back with MD in the later years.

DRUM is okay and I do like to keep up with who the newer drummers are because I run across that in my private teaching and even on the high school drum lines and jazz bands I work with. It's really more of a topical knowledge thing.

For vintage stuff, Classic Drummer is a nice way to go and I like it ... I also wish it had more info but hey, it's a niche market and it'll take time to grow .... (they got way too many articles by that Cianci guy though !!! :roll: :lol: )

I've enjoyed TRAPS in that it does more in depth articles on the feature artist than either DRUM or MD but then when TRAPS was announced by DRUM it was touted as being more in depth so in that respect they are doing what they said.

I've bought Drumhead but only because sometimes that's the only thing on the shelf .

I also find some good drummer articles in Jazz Times.

But to answer ... if I had to pick one or the other I'd probably go with MD cuz it's family!!



Robb
 
I subscribe to Not So Modern Drummer, and have for a 7-8 years. When I'm at a drumshow, I will buy all of the current year's issues of Classic Drummer from Bruce J. or whomever is at the booth. Those 4 issues keep me busy for over a month.

I've bought MD or Drum in the past, but they are too marketing-laden...
 
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