Weckl started playing his first set of drums at age 8 in his spare room along with records. He later played in the living room, sometimes with his father on piano. Weckl studied at the University of Bridgeport. Starting out on the New York fusion scene in the early 1980s, Weckl soon began working with artists such as Paul Simon, George Benson, Michel Camilo, Robert Plant, and Anthony Jackson.[2]
He was with the Chick Corea Elektric Band from 1985 to 1991. During this time he performed on many albums and also appeared with Corea’s. He said he “augmented his work with Corea by continuing his session work and appearing often with the GRP All-Star Big Band”.Weckl has released a series of instructional videotapes. His first recording as a leader was in 1990 – Master Plan, for GRP. This was followed by Heads Up in 1992, and Hard-Wired in 1994. Later on, Weckl recorded and toured with guitarist Mike Stern.
Yamaha Drums and Hardware
- 10×7″ tom
- 12×8″tom
- 14×13″ floor tom
- 16×15″ floor tom
- PHX studio kit
Dave’s studio setup is a Yamaha PHX-Phoenix kit. It was developed and handcrafted after four years of extensive research at Yamaha’s new drum laboratory. Working with world-leading artists, sound engineers, and drum technicians, the aim was to build the best possible sounding drum kit. Using Yamaha’s 40 years of craftsmanship know-how, they completely redesigned and improved all the elements of the drum to create the ultimate in quality and in appearance.
The shell of the drum is a hybrid of three materials; Jatoba, Kapur, and Maple. In our studies into the vibration of a shell, we understood the need to have different strengths of materials to enhance the vibration. The centre ply of the shell is made from Jatoba, a very hard material from Japan providing the core of the sound and is the strength of the shell. Either side of this is Kapur from Brazil. Kapur is a softer material than Jatoba which contributes to the body of the sound with warm mid-low range frequency. Finally, Maple from North America adds good response and balance. The shells are finished in either Maple or Ash, making the drums 11-Ply in total.
The PHX also uses the YESS mounting system. It is mounted to a wooden plate using rubber parts attached to the shell, this system allows the shell to vibrate freely and keep the resonance and sound within the shell.
The new Hook Lug is designed to take the majority of metal away from the shell to allow the drum to resonate. Using our deep understanding of the Nodal point, the new Hook Lug is mounted at a very special point of the shell to control unwanted shell vibration and overtones.
Dave also has a long history of creating signature snare drums with Yamaha. They featured dual snare strainer designs with 8 lugs (14″) and 6 lugs (13″), making them unique with amazing sound control.
These snares are no longer in production, but they are highly sought-after and can sometimes be found on eBay, etc. Drums that have been produced include:
– Original 5×14 and 5×13 “see-through” maple snares from the early ’90s
– Aluminum shell 5.5×14 and 6.5×14 from the mid ’90s
– 30th Anniversary limited edition snares included a brass shell 5.5×14 drum plus a 5.5×13 maple (2014)He recently substituted a 16″ floor tom next to the hi-hat where a 13″ snare drum was once used. An LP timbale is sometimes used to the right of the 14″ floor tom