Bernard "Bingo" Deslauriers

Considered one of the busiest drummers in the province of Quebec, Bernard “Bingo” Deslauriers is the long-time drummer of blues legend Bob Walsh. Bingo studied music in school and had taken lessons privately with Joe Porcaro, Jacques Masson, and Bernard Primeau, before making it to the blues touring and festival circuit in the 80’s. Since then, Bingo has found himself behind the kit for Bob Walsh, Celine Dion, Chuck Berry, Marjo, and Bob Harrison to name a few. You can find his drumming in over 30 albums, and is a regular at the Montreal Jazz Fest, Montreal FestiBlues, and Tremblant International Blues Festival.

Bingo’s Saturn Kit

“Having a versatile sound is extremely important for me. I play a lot of blues, big band, rock, and dance music, while my gigs include corporate contracts, music festivals, teaching, and studio recordings. My Mapex drum set is the Saturn Series in Electric Blue Sparkle. The reason I chose the Saturn Series is for their ease of tuning, the wide range, and the sound. I get high tone from the maple plies and mellow tone from the walnut interior plies. The non-penetrating ITS tom holders enhance the tom’s resonance and sustain. In the studio, the snare has a rich sound and is very sensitive and precise. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that this color is absolutely beautiful under stage-lighting! Live, I use the Birdseye Maple Black Panther snare. This snare gives me the dynamics I need for blues, rock, big band, dance etc. The die-cast hoops give a rich cross stick sound and volume. I also use the single Janus bass drum pedal with my bass drum for its power and adjustability.”

“My main set up is a kick, snare, 1 rack tom and 2 rack floor tom. I use 12”, 14” and 16” as toms for most of my gigs. I like to tune my toms to actual notes. The 12” tom has the tone for any style. Live, I tune it between a Bb and D. I tune the 14” between D and F#, and the 16” between C and D#. The 10” I use as an effect tuned between D and F#. I prefer only one tom on the Bass drum because it is easier to play the ride cymbal. “

“In the studio I use all 4 toms. I use the 12” as the main tom (on my left). The set up looks like: 12-10-14-16 or 12-10-16-14. The bass drum is 20”x18”. This small bass drum is so versatile and perfect for every style of music I play. The kick gives me great attack and bass, but sometimes when I want to augment the bottom I use a matching 22”x18” bass drum.”

“Overall, the Mapex Saturn Series is exactly what I need to perform at my best at every gig!”