FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) about ADC

1. When will my order arrive?

If it's in stock and we receive payment before our sending cut-off point of 2.00pm, we aim to send out the same day (Weekends Excluded). If your item is sent by courier, you should receive your item within 48Hrs (barring if your order is dispatched on a Friday for Monday delivery), though some areas of Mainland Scotland where deliveries are not made daily can take longer. Items small enough for post go via Royal Mail recorded delivery. We cannot guarantee performance of the Royal Mail and have no control over their suggested time-scales for delivery.

2. How do I open an account on your website?

Easy! Start by adding items to shopping basket and when you're ready, click go to the checkout. Checkout stage 1 is for new or old customers. New customers simply enter their email address into the box provided and click the "Proceed" button. You are then taken through the registration process during payment for your items.

3. My delivery seems late, where is it?

If we don't think we can turn an order around within 7 working days, due to stock availability, we will email you to let you know beforehand and offer you the chance to cancel. If your item has been sent via recorded post and is delayed for reasons beyond our control, the Royal Mail will not consider the item lost until 15 WORKING DAYS have passed since date of posting. Therefore, we are unable to launch a claim for failed delivery until that time period has passed. Should your item run out to be lost, we will of course replace it. If an item has been sent by courier, you should receive it within 48Hrs, unless you live in a remote area where courier deliveries are not made daily.

4. Why don't you deliver at weekends?

It costs too much.

5. Why can't you specify an exact time of delivery?

We have no control over items sent by Post. If you want to pay for small items to be sent via a guaranteed postal-delivery service, please ring us to pay the extra cost. The courier service we use do not give an exact delivery time between their operating hours of 8.30 - 5.30. If you wish to have your item sent to a place of work/friend elatives house, please let us know with your order.

6. Why is delivery free to Mainland UK only?

When items are too big to send by normal post, we have to send via courier. Unfortunately, courier costs go up dramatically for non-Mainland UK addresses. If you are located in Northern Ireland, Isle of Wight, Orkney Islands, Isle of Man or similar, ALWAYS CONTACT US FOR A QUOTE BEFORE YOU BUY!

7. How much does it cost to ship to non-mainland UK addresses?

Tell us your postcode first, and then we can quote.

8. Do you ship internationally?

It depends....email first.

9. Why haven't you answered my email/phoned me back yet?

We are not just an Internet shop; we also have a walk-in store. There are occasions (usually seasonal) when we get so busy, that it's not always possible to provide a fast turnaround to your query. Orders are always processed before enquiries are answered, so please bear with us if you are waiting to for us to reply.

10. Will you buy my drum gear?

Maybe, if we think we can sell it and the price is right. We say “maybe”, because there are times when we don't have the space to take in second-hand stock. Once again, it is up to the customer to bring their items to us and to know how much money they want. Unfortunately, we don't have much shop-time to devote to buying in used gear so please bear these points in mind before getting in touch. THESE TRANSACTIONS ARE SOLELY UNDERTAKEN BY ANDREW DWYER.

11. Do you do P/X?

Yes, depending on condition of the item and if we can use it. All P/X deals must be done in the shop, with the onus on the customer to bring their items to the shop. We can do loose valuations if you send us a photo via email. P/X VALUATIONS ARE SOLELY UNDERTAKEN BY ANDREW DWYER.

12. I'm buying a number of items from your website; can I haggle and do a deal?

No. Our prices are set for online purchasing.

13. Can you send me a brochure or describe to me in detail about a product I want to buy?

These days, companies are stopping big distribution of paper brochures and prefer to rely on the Web to inform customers about their products. The only brochures we receive are for dealer purposes only and we are unable to send these out.

14. Do you do drum lessons?

Yes, please phone Julian Marsden on 0151 220 7137 for further details.

15. Why haven't you got the item I want in stock?

Various reasons: No.1 is, like every other UK retailer, we rely on the stock of UK distributors (UK manufacturing is dead and we are a Nation of importers). If they've got it in stock, we can get it. We have a small shop and cannot possibly keep every single product we advertise in stock, though we try to keep to products that have a regular UK distributor stock. Furthermore, we like to provide our customers with in-the-box products free of shop dust, fingerprints and stick marks.

16. Can I combine postage for items from your eBay shop?

As long as you follow the combined postage procedure displayed on all our items.

17. You say - "Our Website prices are often more competitive than our showroom prices. In order to benefit from these discounts, orders must be placed online". Why is this?

When you buy online, you pay an "in the box" price. You do not pay for staff time or demonstrations or any associated extra costs. It's like buying a flight from Easyjet. Buying online from their website is cheaper than going to an airport or travel agent - you pay more for the human interaction!

18. Can I track my order online?

Unfortunately, at the time of writing, we are not able to offer our customers this facility forpostal items sent by Royal Mail. We can of course supply you with a recorded delivery item number which can be used at the Royal Mails website, www.royalmail.co.uk . Regarding items sent by courier, as long as you supply us with a valid email address with your order, we can submit this into the courier delivery system so you can receive email notifications about dispatch. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee the accuracy or reliability of third-party services and we will not be held responsible for the performance-failure of any such services

Yes, we are throwing in some freebies when you buy from any of these following limited offers:

Buy a Pearl Sticks Selection Box and get a FREE stick bag thrown in! BUY HERE NOW!

Buy a Chad Smith Signature Snare Drum and get three pairs of Vater Chad Smith sticks completely FREE! BUY HERE NOW!

Buy a Paiste Stewart Copeland Bluebell Ride Cymbal and get three pairs of Vater Stewart Copeland sticks completely FREE! BUY HERE NOW!

Buy a Pearl Joey Jordison Snare Drum and get a FREE Remo 13" coated Emperor replacement batter head. BUY HERE NOW!

Buy a Pearl EX Rock kit and get a set of soft cases thrown in FREE! BUY HERE NOW!

The proceedings opened with a very funny warm-up by Master of Ceremonies, Greg Potter (www.myspace.com/gregpotter and if you get a chance to meet him you're guaranteed not to stop laughing!) who prepared the audience for Cindy's arrival. When Cindy Blackman hits the stage, the ‘wow' factor becomes immediately obvious. For a woman who is approaching her fiftieth year on planet Earth, she could easily pass for thirty. Without further ado, Miss Blackman removed her jacket and seated herself behind a very modestly sized set of Gretsch drums and Zildjian cymbals – one of which turned out to have been previously owned by her hero, the late Tony Williams. Within the first thirty seconds of notes played, everyone was in no doubt that they were about to be lifted out of their seats…

Her first solo was based around a Tony Williams feel (naturally) after which, she explained how he was and still remains a massive influence on her whole approach to the instrument. Talking further, she revealed that her early days were spent under the very strict regime that seems prevalent in American High School Drum Corps. Apparently, she had a Regiment Master who would place a 3ft metal ruler above the snare drum at different increments to make the rudiments (or "rudd-iments" as ADC customer Ormskirk Stan refers to them as!!!) accurate and precise. This was of course demonstrated in blistering fashion with sticks engaged so close to the head in a battery of the most crisply executed single stroke rolls that you're ever likely to hear.

Cindy then explained about her education programme and what got her to where she is today. After witnessing a Tony Williams clinic which was obviously a life-changing experience for her, she did not do the usual "I'll never be that good" rant that seems to be the ritual for dispersing crowds of post-clinic drummers. Instead, she moved herself to Boston to study at the famous Berklee College of music under the tutelage of one of Tony Williams' old teachers, Alan Dawson. At the age of 23 she was offered a gig in New York which without hesitation, she moved to "because that's where all my heroes were". For the second time in her life, she had uprooted herself to find opportunities, which is something we regularly remind several of our customers about who moan and rant about their lack of opportunities in spite of how good they think they are. If you really want to do the gig, then you have to go to it. The phone will not ring by itself. You have to make yourself noticed. This attitude reaped early rewards for Cindy as she was able to meet Art Blakey in New York where he invited her to see him at one of his gigs. Naturally, Cindy thought she would be sitting somewhere in the audience to watch, but Blakey had a far more useful seating arrangement for her…next to his Hi-Hat stand!

"So here I am sitting on the stage watching this incredible jazz performance and the audience must be thinking "who's that girl at the back, what does she play?"! Art then did this amazing Hi-Hat trick so I asked him whilst he was receiving the audiences applause, "How do you do that?" to which he answered me with a knowing little smile and a wink!"

From this point, Cindy explained about what is undoubtedly her most famous long-time association with Lenny Kravitz, starting with her initial audition…

"My phone goes and I'm in New York and it's Lenny Kravitz in L.A. He says to me…"

"Can you audition for me?"

"Sure, give me a couple of days to get things together before I leave?"

"No, now!"

"What now? On the telephone?"

"Yes, do you have a kit in your house?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Can you play?"

"What? Down the phone?"

"Yeah!"

So Cindy plays for thirty seconds and Lenny asks her to come to L.A. immediately, which meant her leaving the next day. After being picked up at the airport by Lenny and expecting to go straight to a studio, a rather confused Cindy is left for two hours in the company of Kravitz's mother – a woman whom she has never met before in her life! Eventually, Lenny turns up and they continue their journey to where they are staying in preparation for the proper audition the following day. However, it turns out on audition day that she isn't the only drummer on the list as there are thirty other drummers waiting around…

Kravitz tells his manager that he just wants Cindy to play and all the other guys can go home, but the manager insists that they've got to try them all. So Kravitz agrees and goes through the motions, from which, a shortlist of four drummers are picked. Cindy of course, gets the job, as Kravitz no doubt originally intended, thus proving that Artist and Management can often run on entirely different agendas in this business.

Story time over, Cindy closed her clinic with a solo to beat anyone's, playing with such sheer intensity, that her floor tom fell over. Not once during the proceedings was anyone in doubt that this Lady couldn't deliver the goods in what is predominantly, a Male pursuit. Thanks must go to Cindy Blackman for a very educational afternoon and reminding us all that music is there to be played and shared by all.

"Who the hell is Dave Pritchard?" you may ask. Well here at ADC, we decide who’s drummer of the month and this time it’s going to be our Dave!

A huge Keith Carlock fan is Mr Dave, and you’ll never find him far away from You Tube looking for recent live footage of Steely Dan on tour! Having decided to throw himself into a similar practice regime as Carlock, Dave has decided to take things one step further with what must be, dedication to drumming over and above the call of duty. Just check out the picture we have here of Dave and his beloved Koby Kustom Kar Kit. Believe it or not, Dave will drive down to New Brighton beach, park himself up for two hours or more and beat-off to his hearts content with a set of Aquarian graphite sticks on the Koby Nano pad – amplified in surround-sound through his car stereo!

"Is he barking mad?" we hear you say. No! Dave’s not mad; he’s just into his drumming a bit more than the average Joe! After all, no one questioned the sanity of Mark Brzezicki when he used to take his whole drum kit in a transit van and park it on a busy lay-by to practice, did they? So don’t diss the Dave until you can prove that you can go one stage further! You never know, you might even end up as another ‘Drummer of the month’ on this very website...