About Eric Sooy

Dynamicx Drums are designed by Black Swamp and Drum Foundry President Eric Sooy. That would

be me. I have over 30 years of experience in instrument design and manufacture. Way back in my early

teens I was a poor bloke, so I fabricated my own cymbal stands and drum rack system. I was lucky to

have a father who was skilled in a lot of trades and had a well-appointed workshop for me to use and

abuse. I also did silly things like turn my Synsonics drum pad into a full working electronic kit with

trigger pads and bass/hi hat trigger pedals. Later in college I made my own 4 1/2 octave marimba frame

and resonators, augmenting the extra bottom marimba bars that I made with 4 octaves of bars from one

of my other marimbas. In 1994 I started a little business called Black Swamp Percussion. Today, BSP

is the world's most respected concert percussion company.

In 2005 I established Drum Foundry which is known for quality, innovation, and superior service. I

designed a full range of professional drum building tools and put up the internet's most complete (and

free) drum building tutorial library. Drum Foundry serves customers ranging from home hobbyists to

major drum companies. You've probably seen our work and not even known it!

In between all that I've played drums and percussion forever. Name a type of gig and I've probably done

it on drumset or percussion. As part of my masters degree in ethnomusicology I travelled to Bali

Indonesia to study gamelan with I Wayan Suweca and the backwater of Ghana to study Ewe drumming

with the late master drummer and cultural ambassador Godwin Agbeli. Since 2001 I've been a

percussionist with the Grand Rapids Symphony. The variety of music we play and the amazing artists

we share the stage with keeps things interesting. Oh, they move all the gear too. I've also consulted

with other companies helping them with production processes and specialized machinery. I never met a

tool I didn't like. I mean the non-human type of course.

My Dynamicx Drums adventure allows me to congeal many of the ideas I've had over the years and put

to use the skills I've developed. One of my father's many interests for the past 50 years has been

collecting and repairing antique clocks. At one time I counted over 100 clocks lining the walls of our

modest house. He also collected Japanese art objects, most notably jade, carvings, and cloisonne. So,

my design aesthetic has very much been influenced by the house I grew up in. What you see on the

site now is just the beginning. Game on.