Fellow drummers out there,

you know about the thing while gigging, that your guitarists and bassists are much more familiar with their own guitars and basses like any other instruments, borrowed by musicians you play with. It's quasi impossible to change their very own axe to another and feel good. The musician and his instrument is an unity. Even your singer would take his own microphone to the gig, rather than to take anything else. But the drummers share their drums with each other, mostly because it's much more extensive work to change all the sets during the gig with several bands. So, you take your snare drum, your cymbals, your pedal, and maybe your hi-hat stand and some specials with you, and you have got to arrange with the rest of the set.

But how does it feel?

Do you get comfortable with another set but yours - same number of drums, same sizes, but different wood? And if both drum sets, yours and the allocated one, both are birch (e. g.), same heads, but different manufacturers, how do you feel then playing them? Does it make a difference? Maybe you even felt better anyhow while playing a different set, because it was something new to you? Something interesting, passionnant? Or was it uncomfortable? Or even pain?

And if you think you really are associated with your particular drums and cymbals, what is it, that makes it so special to you?


Many, many questions... I know.. but interesting to get your inputs..!!


Cheers, cloth

Hi tinker!

Thanks for your feedback!

Yes, sure there is a 'feel'! And sure, it's all about your own set, and your own set-up. As you did, a spent much time on set up all those parts of my kit to be satisfied with it. I have got two sets, and they are really different in sizes (especially rack tom depth, and a rack 14" vs. a floor tom 14") and number of drums (just one rack tom vs. two), and it is a changeover everytime I play the other kit. But it's easy to feel comfortable with both of them.

When gigging and sharing drums on stage like I mentioned before, sometimes it's really hard to accept what you get and should play on... Man, I had things there.. One time, a drummer allocated his set for several band respectively drummers to play on, but brother, I can tell you.. this one was not to play on! all tom holders were defect, no change of angles possible, heigth of toms wasn't changeable, seemed to be glued or something... sick! You know, I usually play a 20" BD, and normally when be given a set to play on it's a 22" Bass Drum, and this is really differnt. And, this given, imagine you can't change anything then?!

Already when I think about snare drum stands.. How long I searched for the right one, depending on the right angle and height adjustment... Finally it was the Tama Road Pro (surprise? - ha,ha) !!

Once I played a set in a rehearsal room, and I didn't like the drums, not the finish, not the set-up, not the sound... but the bass drum pedal was a revelation! I don't know anymore what it really was, but it led me to the DW 5002 - but I chose the 'Accelerate' one.. Well, should have chosen the 'Rolling Glide' type, think I'd play it still. But so I came to the old Camco double pedal, and that's it for me - still!

And I remember a set I played, it was a Sonor Lite 5 pcs, and this one sounded really, really great! At that time (about 10 yrs. ago) I played my old Superstars, but I really was astonished about what to hear there! I knew: I need new drums! This led me to my Starclassic Maples...

When ever possible, I go to play MY drums when gigging, this for sure, and if this is no option.. well, I don't think I feel that comfotable I would with my drums. My drums are mine, because they are the only right ones for me. In any matter - number of drums, sizes, choice of wood, and yes, sure: the finish... My drums are beauties!

I think it's something about love. And love is about more than beauty.

I have plenty of experience with sharing drums on stage and it's both good and bad and all that learned me a very important lesson. Leave nothing to chances. No-thing! The simplest thing can be a setback. I remember this one time. I was playing in a club, and the club owned an actual Starclassic Bubinga. Something you don't get every day, so I figure - I'll get my snare, a few cymbal stands, my double pedal... All I take as usual which is more or less nearly everything but the shells ... And the failure then? The iron cobra hi-hat stand. See, I place my left crash a bit more on the left and it's basicly behind the hi-hat. The hi-hat stand's rod was much longer than mine and it was above the cymbal, so whenever I tried to crash the crash (:P) my stick got stuck there. It was the weirdest problem, but it was one, so... I carry a lot of stuff.

Another bizzare case was when I played a Premier kit for a show. It had it's tom holders mounted on the kick drum. The toms were rather big in size and as a result the toms pushed the snare towards me...