THE JAMES BROWN BREAKBEAT SOUND - Restoring a Vintage Vox Drum Set

For a brief period in the '60s, Vox Amplifiers offered a line of drums made by the West German company, Trixon. A pair of those drum sets in Red Croco finish found their way onto the backline of the James Brown Band (along with Vox instruments and amplifiers for the other musicians), where they appeared in countless shows and recording sessions - including, most likely, the "Funky Drummer" session at King Studios in Cincinnati, where Clyde Stubblefield created one of the world's most famous breakbeats.

In this video, I restore a vintage set of Vox drums in the same configuration (although my kit is Gold Croco rather than red) and update some important elements of the hardware to function in a modern recording studio.

For more on my quest to recreate the legendary "Funky Drummer" breakbeat, visit https://www.creatingthesound.com/bund....

Photo of James Brown with Clyde and Jabo courtesy Alan Leeds Archives

Find me at http://dylanwissing.com/