Bo Eder
Platinum Member
Today was the first day back with my show choir as we gear up a new show that will run from January to May. And as expected, I'm traveling about with the new Pearl Reference Pure kit (but I have to insist in using my trusty Supra snare drum). But with it cooling down a little here in sunny Southern California, I did a crazy thing: I used no hard cases, and just put the drums in the back of my open bed pickup truck and went flying down the freeway to get to rehearsal. I then proceeded to stack them on top of each other on my Rock n Roller cart to get them into the rehearsal hall. I have a small trap case already there that keeps a collection of hardware, so I really only show up with the drums, cymbals and sticks when we rehearse.
Of course, I wouldn't do this if it were raining. But it always struck me as odd that if you have an expensive-built-for-the-road drum kit, you do everything you can to baby those things. Then we turn around and buy a cheap Export- or Rockstar -type kit, and treat it like dirt, and wonder why it doesn't last as long? Today I decided to throw caution to the wind and just use the drums as I intend to and get my money's worth out of them. I'm not saving them to be sold later, I'm going to use them on a majority of my gigs now. So if they get scuffed up over time, so be it. For the money one spends on these high-end kits, they should be expected to take a few bumps and grinds, so if the weather is favorable, I'm gonna do it.
But for some reason, I can't bring myself to treat my Ludwig Classic Maples like that though. Those will get cased up and handled with gloves. Maybe I have some emotional connection to those. In fact, they are set-up in my computer office so I can practice on them. Who knows if they'll ever see another one-night-stand gig.
I know Larry used to leave his DW kit in his van 24/7 sans cases, and part of me wishes I had a van of some sort. But not having to pack everything up in its own case was quite liberating in a way. If I have any stories of my drums flying out of the back of the truck on the freeway without cases, it'll be entirely my fault
Of course, I wouldn't do this if it were raining. But it always struck me as odd that if you have an expensive-built-for-the-road drum kit, you do everything you can to baby those things. Then we turn around and buy a cheap Export- or Rockstar -type kit, and treat it like dirt, and wonder why it doesn't last as long? Today I decided to throw caution to the wind and just use the drums as I intend to and get my money's worth out of them. I'm not saving them to be sold later, I'm going to use them on a majority of my gigs now. So if they get scuffed up over time, so be it. For the money one spends on these high-end kits, they should be expected to take a few bumps and grinds, so if the weather is favorable, I'm gonna do it.
But for some reason, I can't bring myself to treat my Ludwig Classic Maples like that though. Those will get cased up and handled with gloves. Maybe I have some emotional connection to those. In fact, they are set-up in my computer office so I can practice on them. Who knows if they'll ever see another one-night-stand gig.
I know Larry used to leave his DW kit in his van 24/7 sans cases, and part of me wishes I had a van of some sort. But not having to pack everything up in its own case was quite liberating in a way. If I have any stories of my drums flying out of the back of the truck on the freeway without cases, it'll be entirely my fault