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Thread: No Matter What

  1. #1

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    Default No Matter What

    Why, no matter what I do, is my setup not feeling like a fit? Is it my kit? Is it the stands? Is it me? At first I thought that it felt awkward because I'm new to this and in time I would adjust. Now, after reading varied sources regarding drumming, and putting many, many hours into practicing, I think it's my kit......

    My latest frustration: My rack toms are hard to reach. So, change that I thought......well no...they're mounted to the bass drum. Some pictures I looked up showed those toms fixed to the bass, however, they were fixed off sides, situated closer to the throne....not mounted in the middle like mine. I had a hard time getting the snare and the hi-hat where I needed them, in part, because of the difficulty of trying to weave all the feet of their stands with each other, while avoiding compromising my access to the kick pedal.

    Any suggestions would be most welcome. Please and thank you!!! LOL And on that note, I'm going to sit in my favorite spot and practice..............

  2. #2

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    It might be worth starting from scratch. Start with the bass drum, snare, and hihat stand. This is the heart of the kit. Place these three items where they're comfortable and build up the rest of the kit from there.
    Mmm... Saturns.

  3. #3

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    Some pics would help. I run a basic 5pc setup with the toms mounted on the kick, Im not a tall guy but I can adjust everything to be quite comfy.




  4. #4

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    After looking at your kit and set up, I'd like to offer the following suggestions:

    In my humble opinion, I think there's too much gap between the rack toms as illustrated by the red lines that I've drawn over the kit. You can decrease this distance by merely bringing in both rack toms closer together. The center of the drum is the ideal area to use as a reference point.



    There's too much distance between your crash and hihat stand. This distance makes it difficult to quickly get from the hihat to the crash if you want to accent your playing with the crash cymbal.



    If you look at the way your drum teacher had her kit set up, you'll notice that the 1st crash cymbal is directly in front or near the hihat and rack tom and the distance is very short (red arrow). The yellow line represents where you currently have your crash cymbal set up. By moving it over, you'll have a better shot at hitting it without loosing an arm.



    Both kits have the crash located next to the hihat stand and the distance between the crash and hihat is very close:

    Last edited by late8; 06-02-2014 at 05:04 PM.

  5. #5

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    AJ, when you first start, you really have no idea how much the setup effects your playing. As you improve in your playing, you begin to realize that things could be placed better, and the dance of the drumset begins. You'll change the positions for the various pieces, you'll change heights, you'll move things closer together, or father apart. All this because you are looking for the setup that is the most comfortable to you (and when you find it, everything will be fine, unless you learn something new and realize that another slight tweak - that's tweak, not twerk - will make things just that little much easier). Late8 gave you some great suggestions, and I would start there. You might also see if changing the height of your throne (up, or down) makes you any more comforatble in reaching things.

    I remember that when I first went to using a rack (I had lots of cymbals, and a 6 piece kit), I got everything just the way I liked it, and it just felt awesome to sit down and play. When did I last tweak? 3 weeks ago, when I raised my floor toms a bit.
    Quoting gonefishin: Just have some bacon with ya when you go pick her up..........youre an instant chick magnet.





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  6. #6

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    continued....

    Get rid of the clutter around your feet. Move the music stand.



    I always start out with the throne height and position. Once I find a comfortable sitting position, I drop my feet and note where they land (circled in red). Once my pedal(s) is set, I start building the kit around them:

    #1 Hihat stand
    #2 Snare
    #3 Kick
    #4 Ride




    A big kit is set up exactly like a small kit. How? I always follow the same set up method: throne, pedals (feet) first then this:

    #1 Hihat stand
    #2 Snare
    #3 Kick
    #4 Ride

    In my opinion, 1-4 should be the 'bread and butter of any kit. The rest is "icing" on the cake. If you have any questions, by all means, ask! Good luck and I hope this helps...

    Last edited by late8; 06-02-2014 at 12:09 PM.

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by late8 View Post
    continued....

    Get rid of the clutter around your feet. Move the music stand.



    I always start out with the throne height and position. Once I find a comfortable sitting position, I drop my feet and note where they land (circled in red). Once my pedal(s) is set, I start building the kit around them:

    #1 Hihat stand
    #2 Snare
    #3 Kick
    #4 Ride




    A big kit is set up exactly like a small kit. How? I always follow the same set up method: throne, pedals (feet) first then this:

    #1 Hihat stand
    #2 Snare
    #3 Kick
    #4 Ride

    In my opinion, 1-4 should be the 'bread and butter of any kit. The rest is "icing" on the cake. If you have any questions, by all means, ask! Good luck and I hope this helps...

    Wow. You people are incredibly generous with your time and effort to help others. Thank you. I read these responses, and know they'll be very helpful. I just finished practice session one, and have to go for a loooong hard run. Then I will return to move things around according to all of your tips, and will give you feedback on your suggestions. Again, thank you so much. Maybe practice session two for the day will be much easier. :-)

  8. #8

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    Quote Originally Posted by *arabian*jewel* View Post
    Wow. You people are incredibly generous with your time and effort to help others. Thank you.
    My pleasure! We as drummers stick together!!

  9. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by pastor_bob View Post
    that's tweak, not twerk

    Did someone say twerk?



    Quote Originally Posted by *arabian*jewel* View Post
    Wow. You people are incredibly generous with your time and effort to help others. Thank you. I read these responses, and know they'll be very helpful. I just finished practice session one, and have to go for a loooong hard run. Then I will return to move things around according to all of your tips, and will give you feedback on your suggestions. Again, thank you so much. Maybe practice session two for the day will be much easier. :-)
    AJ, Good luck with it.......................it will take some trial and error...................I'd also talk with your instructor and see what she may suggest.

    Rich.......................your selfless time and effort to help people out is truly inspiring.......................great stuff brother

  10. #10

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    One small detail I'm noticing. If you pull the tripod legs of your stands about half way up they won't stick out so far. This will make them tons easier to integrate with each other.
    Specifically I noticed your snare stand is completely flat. If you raise the locking part similar to your hi-hat you'll find more space there, too.
    Signature here

  11. #11

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    FYI: not all stands need to have their legs spread as wide as possible, just enough to be balanced with the cymbals or snare drum(exception is the hat stand). 14" snare drums don't need the stand legs spread out so much they interfere with you foot positions at the hats and kick. Eventually you will re-position things as you get better. You may even want to try just one high tom instead of two to get used to reaching and playing. Otherwise everything Late8 said is a start.
    SONOR 6 pc Special Edition 3007's red maple, old Pearl Brass 14x6 FF snare, Yamaha Tour Custom maple 8 pc., Tama 4 pc., honey amber B/B, Ludwig Supralite chrome 14x6.5 steel snare, Paiste, Saluda & Zildjian
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  12. #12

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    Rich is spot on! Great illustration and explanation, Rich. AJ, take his advice. Great tips there.

  13. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by slinglander View Post
    FYI: not all stands need to have their legs spread as wide as possible, just enough to be balanced with the cymbals or snare drum(exception is the hat stand). 14" snare drums don't need the stand legs spread out so much they interfere with you foot positions at the hats and kick. Eventually you will re-position things as you get better. You may even want to try just one high tom instead of two to get used to reaching and playing. Otherwise everything Late8 said is a start.
    I must need to investigate more than I have....I thought if I were to narrow the base of the stands by bringing the 'feet' closer together, it would raise the height of my snare and my hi-hat? I'll have to go check it again. Can you make them less spread out, but keep the height the same?

    Feeling stupid. HA!!!!! Laughing with blueberries in my mouth......multi-tasking.......

    Off to move things around.....and practice........back soon....again you humans are very cool.

    Oh, and I laughed so hard at other stuff here......must comment soon.......

  14. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by *arabian*jewel* View Post
    I thought if I were to narrow the base of the stands by bringing the 'feet' closer together, it would raise the height of my snare and my hi-hat? Can you make them less spread out, but keep the height the same?
    Yes. By using the pic below as an example, if you bring the legs in, you can lower the snare basket to adjust the height of the snare stand. Don't rely on spreading the feet to adjust the height of the snare. Spread the legs of the snare so it fits between the hihat stand and the bass drum pedal, then adjust the height of the snare by loosening up the locking wing bolt (#1A in pic)

    Last edited by late8; 06-02-2014 at 03:42 PM.

  15. #15

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    Julie, listen to Rich (late8) the man knows what he's talking about.

  16. #16

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    Never have understood why people use the term "I run", as in "I run Evans heads on my kit" . Who came up with that?

    OK. Sorry for the distraction. Back to what you were doing.

  17. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by late8 View Post
    Yes. By using the pic below as an example, if you bring the legs in, you can lower the snare basket to adjust the height of the snare stand. Don't rely on spreading the feet to adjust the height of the snare. Spread the legs of the snare so it fits between the hihat stand and the bass drum pedal, then adjust the height of the snare by loosening up the locking wing bolt (#1A in pic)

    You're awesome. The whole lot of ya, but especially talkin' to you right now. So. I am gonna go act like a dude in my drum room right now......I'm gonna act like I wield tools like a pro on a regular basis, and stuff, and such-- just like a dude. LOL Let me at that kit.....I'll get it cranked about into order, so help me God!

  18. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by *arabian*jewel* View Post
    You're awesome. The whole lot of ya, but especially talkin' to you right now. So. I am gonna go act like a dude in my drum room right now......I'm gonna act like I wield tools like a pro on a regular basis, and stuff, and such-- just like a dude. LOL Let me at that kit.....I'll get it cranked about into order, so help me God!
    LOL.....have to add.......in my high heels and dress.......right now. Hilarious.

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by *arabian*jewel* View Post
    LOL.....have to add.......in my high heels and dress.......right now. Hilarious.
    Pictures or it didn't happen. Wait, that's just for drums, right?

    You should take some before and after pictures of the set up just to see what you did.
    Signature here

  20. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by longgun View Post
    Rich.......................your selfless time and effort to help people out is truly inspiring.......................great stuff brother
    Thanks Butch...

  21. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by *arabian*jewel* View Post
    You're awesome. The whole lot of ya, but especially talkin' to you right now. So. I am gonna go act like a dude in my drum room right now......I'm gonna act like I wield tools like a pro on a regular basis, and stuff, and such-- just like a dude. LOL Let me at that kit.....I'll get it cranked about into order, so help me God!
    LMAO!! Ya..go act like a dude and grab only the tools...and keep your hands off of anything else us dudes wanna grab...

  22. #22

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    [QUOTE=late8;595611].



    Looking at this pic of your set up it seems to me like you are attempting to position both your 2 rack toms and your floor tom as close together as possible and at the same level. Although this may seem like a good idea at first I think you will quickly realise it isn't - it places your rack toms too far away and you will need arms like an orangutan to reach them.

    If I were you I would start from scratch.

    First place your throne, sit on it, put your snare on the stand in front of you where it is in a comfortable position and height. Play a few basic rudiments to see if you are striking centre comfortably. Like others have said - you don't need the tripod legs splayed out that far. Adjust them so it is stable and then loosen off the locking nut that holds the two sections together and lower the stand - adjusting the tripod legs closer together will increase the height - lower the top section to compensate. (Remove the snare from the stand when adjusting - this will make it much easier).

    When you are happy with snare, place the bass drum so the pedal is in the position your right foot would be when seated comfortably. Play on the snare a bit and try using the kick on every count to ensure it is comfortable - make sure your leg or knee isn't brushing against the side of the snare drum - if it is move the bass slightly to the right so it is comfortable.

    Position the hi hat in a similar way and do the same - many people prefer having the hi hat slightly closer (Something I do myself), but position it where it is comfortable for you. Make sure its not too far away from the snare - which may cause you to miss or only just hit. (I'm sure you know what I mean by that one).

    Then position your toms - looking at the photograph they are too far away from you. Reposition the toms one at a time - loosen off the locking/adjusting wing nuts (support the toms when you loosen them or they will drop onto the top of your bass drum and mess up the finish) Start with the smaller drum first and move then so they are kind of hanging over the back of the bass drum - or as far back as they will go. Do the same with the second tom. Try to get them both at the same height and at the same angle (sloping towards you). Stand in front of the kit - it will look right if it is!

    Finally your floor tom - personally I would not try to keep it at the same level as your mounted toms. Place it to your left side, leave a similar sized gap between your snare drum and the floor tom as you have between the opposite side of the snare drum and the chromed centre tube of your hi hat stand. You should have plenty of room for your right leg so you are not banging your leg against the floor tom. Try setting the height at the same level as your snare, adjust to preference later. Pick up a stick with your left hand, sit on your throne and strike the drum, the centre of your floor tom should be where the tip of your stick naturally lands. Then try with your right hand. If you are striking the rim lower it a little - if you are striking your leg raise it. Simples.

    Take a look at the Picture Northern Redneck has posted earlier in this thread to see how he has positioned his toms and floor tom. He's done this for a good reason and this is what you should be aiming for.

    Once you have all your drums and hi hat positioned, then place your cymbals - again they should be easy to reach without overstretching and positioned so they are angled towards you. You should be able to strike them comfortably without the stick biting into the edge of the cymbals - if you get into this habit your cymbals won't last long.

    After doing this you will still be making minor adjustments for weeks (and possibly months to come) this is normal and all part of the fun!

    Good luck

  23. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by inthpktplayer View Post
    Never have understood why people use the term "I run", as in "I run Evans heads on my kit" . Who came up with that?

    OK. Sorry for the distraction. Back to what you were doing.

    I think it's because they don't know how to spell the word use.

  24. #24

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    Quote Originally Posted by late8 View Post
    My pleasure! We as drummers stick together!!
    Love this!

  25. #25

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    [QUOTE=crispycritters;595693]
    Quote Originally Posted by late8 View Post
    .



    Looking at this pic of your set up it seems to me like you are attempting to position both your 2 rack toms and your floor tom as close together as possible and at the same level. Although this may seem like a good idea at first I think you will quickly realise it isn't - it places your rack toms too far away and you will need arms like an orangutan to reach them.

    If I were you I would start from scratch.

    First place your throne, sit on it, put your snare on the stand in front of you where it is in a comfortable position and height. Play a few basic rudiments to see if you are striking centre comfortably. Like others have said - you don't need the tripod legs splayed out that far. Adjust them so it is stable and then loosen off the locking nut that holds the two sections together and lower the stand - adjusting the tripod legs closer together will increase the height - lower the top section to compensate. (Remove the snare from the stand when adjusting - this will make it much easier).

    When you are happy with snare, place the bass drum so the pedal is in the position your right foot would be when seated comfortably. Play on the snare a bit and try using the kick on every count to ensure it is comfortable - make sure your leg or knee isn't brushing against the side of the snare drum - if it is move the bass slightly to the right so it is comfortable.

    Position the hi hat in a similar way and do the same - many people prefer having the hi hat slightly closer (Something I do myself), but position it where it is comfortable for you. Make sure its not too far away from the snare - which may cause you to miss or only just hit. (I'm sure you know what I mean by that one).

    Then position your toms - looking at the photograph they are too far away from you. Reposition the toms one at a time - loosen off the locking/adjusting wing nuts (support the toms when you loosen them or they will drop onto the top of your bass drum and mess up the finish) Start with the smaller drum first and move then so they are kind of hanging over the back of the bass drum - or as far back as they will go. Do the same with the second tom. Try to get them both at the same height and at the same angle (sloping towards you). Stand in front of the kit - it will look right if it is!

    Finally your floor tom - personally I would not try to keep it at the same level as your mounted toms. Place it to your left side, leave a similar sized gap between your snare drum and the floor tom as you have between the opposite side of the snare drum and the chromed centre tube of your hi hat stand. You should have plenty of room for your right leg so you are not banging your leg against the floor tom. Try setting the height at the same level as your snare, adjust to preference later. Pick up a stick with your left hand, sit on your throne and strike the drum, the centre of your floor tom should be where the tip of your stick naturally lands. Then try with your right hand. If you are striking the rim lower it a little - if you are striking your leg raise it. Simples.

    Take a look at the Picture Northern Redneck has posted earlier in this thread to see how he has positioned his toms and floor tom. He's done this for a good reason and this is what you should be aiming for.

    Once you have all your drums and hi hat positioned, then place your cymbals - again they should be easy to reach without overstretching and positioned so they are angled towards you. You should be able to strike them comfortably without the stick biting into the edge of the cymbals - if you get into this habit your cymbals won't last long.

    After doing this you will still be making minor adjustments for weeks (and possibly months to come) this is normal and all part of the fun!

    Good luck
    This is wonderful. The part about the rack toms, especially validating. I dragged the drums further into the center of the room, because I'm tired of risking a wheelchair fate, or worse, getting inside there....every.single.time. I play. I shall have to photograph what I've done, to show you guys and see if I got it somewhere in the ball park of acceptable, or playable. :-)

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