Chad Wackerman

Independent

Chad Wackerman

About

Paiste Artist Since
August 1982

Nationality
United States

Main Affiliation
Independent

Other Affiliations
James Taylor
Allan Holdsworth
Frank Zappa

Website
www.chadwackerman.com

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„I’ve played Paiste cymbals for almost all of my professional career. These cymbals are part of my own sound and my own voice.“

Setup

Videos & Pics

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PAISTE CYMBALS - Chad Wackerman (Studio Session)
video
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Biography

A phenomenally skilled jazz and rock drummer, Chad Wackerman’s professional career began in 1978 with the Bill Watrous band. Since then, he has amassed a remarkable body of work that includes a seven-year association with Frank Zappa, with whom he toured the US and Europe and recorded 27albums, including the London Symphony recordings. Wackerman has recorded eight albums and toured with guitar legend Allan Holdsworth, performed on Barbra Streisand’s One Voice album, and recorded and toured with artists as diverse as Steve Vai, Andy Summers, Men at Work, Ed Mann, Albert Lee, Colin Hay, Banned from Utopia, Dweezil Zappa, Terry Bozzio, Robbie Krieger, James Taylor, Steven Wilson, Jane Getter, John Patitucci, Mike Miller, Joe Sample and the World Drummers Ensemble. As a band leader and composer, Wackerman has four critically acclaimed CDs: Forty Reasons, The View, Scream and Legs Eleven and Dreams Nightmares and Improvisations, plus the DVD realize Chad Wackerman Trio: Hits Live. He has written music for the television series The Dennis Miller Show, as well as composing music for Allan Holdsworth’s Secrets, Wardenclyffe Tower, and The Sixteen Men of Tain CDs. Chad is launching a new website in 2020 with multiple online masterclasses via chadwackerman.com

Setup Cymbals

  • Details

    Sizes: 20", 21", 22"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Medium

    Sound character: A fusion of darkness, energy, projection and brilliance. Very wide range, complex, musical mix. Responsive feel, extremely controllable. Woody, silvery, spanky ping over crunchy, thriving wash. Extremely versatile, flexible ride for wide ranging application in modern blended music styles. Mark I: Tends to be a bit quieter, darker and drier. This manifests itself in the overall sound character and in particular in the bell and ping sound.

  • Sounds
  • Details

    Sizes: 16", 17", 18", 19"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Light

    Sound character: Dark body, full frequency spectrum, brilliant highs. Very wide range, complex, pleasing musical mix. Immediate, sensitive response, strong attack, controllable spread, even, layered fade. This crash combines silky, soft qualities with energy and projection for an incredibly versatile application range. Also extremely well suited as suspended cymbals and for mallet rolls.

  • Sounds
  • Details

    Sizes: 14", 15"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Medium

    Sound character: Rich, warm, lush, deep. Wide range, complex mix. Giving and responsive feel. Broad, warm open sound. Compact, lush chick sound. Extremely versatile hi-hat, perfectly suited for dynamic, articulated playing in a wide range of styles. “They are just chunky enough, but not overpowering. They are a little more chocolaty than the classic 602s”, describes Vinnie Colaiuta.

  • Sounds
  • Details

    Sizes: 18", 22"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Medium

    Sound character: Dark, warm, strong, exotic, sizzling, earthy. Wide range, slightly complex and dense mix. Fairly soft, responsive feel. Great for explosive, strong, dark accents. Complex, washy ride sound. A modern China cymbal with a wide spectrum for various musical applications. “The China is nearly smooth”, states Vinnie Colaiuta.

  • Sounds
  • Details

    Sizes: 14", 15"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Medium

    Sound character: Full, rich, energetic with a definite dark side. Crunchy, with a meaty bite. Very wide range, very complex mix. Extremely balanced, very responsive feel. Full dark, rich, shimmering, biting open/closed sound. Beautiful, fat, meaty, crisp, cutting chick sound. Fast, responsive, articulate with excellent feel and playability. An immensely versatile hi-hat that combines finesse and articulation with raw energy and cutting power.

  • Sounds
  • Details

    Sizes: 20", 22"
    Volume: Soft
    Weight: Light

    Sound character: Dark, warm, smoky, breathy. Fairly wide range, complex mix. Soft feel with a quick response. Very well crashable. Controllable, peppery stick sound over a dark layered oriental, smoky wash. A ride cymbal that can easily be used in a small jazz club setting and flourish in other styles such as blues or country music.

  • Sounds
  • Details

    Sizes: 16", 17", 18", 19", 20"
    Volume: Medium
    Weight: Light

    Sound character: Dark, warm, smoky. Medium wide range, complex mix. Buttery, soft feel with quick response. Rich, dark, mystical crash sound with tender clarity. Extremely lively cymbal for broad accents and crashes in intimate to semi-loud settings. Well suited for delicate ride patterns or mallet swells. «For those guys who really appreciate just having a cymbal that can do everything, the larger Dark Crashes can do anything. Very crash-able, and if you want to ride on them, they will give you all the ride patterns in the world.» - Gregory Hutchinson

  • Sounds
  • Details

    Sizes: 14", 15"
    Volume: Soft
    Weight: Medium

    Sound character: Dark, full, soft, multi-layered. Medium wide range, complex mix. Soft, responsive feel. Velvety sizzling open sound. Rich, dark chick sound. A sensitive hi-hat perfectly suited for light to medium heavy use within Jazz, Blues, Country and other acoustic music styles.

  • Sounds