I pretty much knew after my conversation with John that working with Thumper Custom Drums was going to work out just fine. I had seen one of John's drums in a local music store but didn't realize at the time that he was less than a 5 minute drive from my house. Being so close to the process of the building of my kit was very, very cool. John's passion for what he's doing is inspiring. Thumper is truly a custom shop. John's experience & research into what makes a drum sound great will give any potential customer confidence in the experience. For my kit, I was wanting to move to a 20" kick after years of using a 22". John was very helpful in determining a way we could experiment with depths & was far more accommodating than larger drum companies could possibly be (Thanks, Jim for suggesting the idea!). As an independant artist that is often called on for various styles of music, my 20 x 20 is perfect. It's a simple matter of tuning & the drum can cover many different gigs. The drums sound & look great. John's commitment to perfection is displayed in every piece he makes. He is simlpy not happy unless it is perfect. And even if it meant turning his whole house blue in the process, he quickly rose to the chalenge of matching the color I had chosen (We call the finish Carl's Wicked Blue!). I can't wait to get these into the studio!!! John & Pamm...Thanks for the great kit & for your friendship. (& thanks Pamm for the chocolate chip cookies & goodies). I anticipate a long affiliation with John & Pamm at Thumper Drums.