TAMA Starclassic Bubinga Hyper Drive kit in Natural Cordia

You guys just don't get what I am talking about. Why bother explaining. You see it as some superficial thing, trying to make your kit look its best. We do it with cars, and bikes, and houses. Why can't you do both. Play great and have a really nicely laid out kit. Are you guys telling me you just sit there all day and play your kits, and never have time to sit and admire them. My drum kit is a work of art to me. Maybe many of you don't get that. That is fine. Just don't tell my my priorities are misguided and all that garbage. I love to look at my kit. Yes I can play pretty well. I am not going to be Neil Peart, and I have come to terms with that. Anyone that has actually looked at my kit knows that all my stuff is beautifully set up so that you can reach everything very well. Just because I turn my tom so you don't look at the mount does not mean the placement of the tom is any different in relation to where I sit. I just took the time to actually work it out. You say nobody cares except other drummers. Dah!, those are the people we want to care. They are the ones that actually know what we had to go through to do it. I have had more people tell me how much they appreciate the amount of time I took to actually lay out my kit on the rack. Not just throw it on there so it is ready to play. Everyone must feel threatened by my extra care or something. If you guys want to show off your mounts than go for it. Not sure why, but be my guest. When did nice work become a negative quality. People think I am a weak drummer, or one that does not spend the time on rudiments because my kit is so well thought out. Maybe I put the same care in my drumming that I put in my drum kit. Did you ever think of that.

mediocrefunkybeat said:

To be honest, if everyone looking at my kit is looking at the shells and badges, I'm not doing my job right. The only people that care about these things are other drummers and there aren't that many of them who particularly care, either. If you want to set your drums up so that all the badges are showing, then you have far too much time on your hands and the priorities are all wrong.

That is a beautiful Tama though, all the same. It doesn't matter that I can't see the badges - it's a Tama.

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If you don't get it now, you never will.

Pass.of.E.r.a. said:

Exactly!! Someone with good technique will make any kit sound great, you shouldn't need a badge to tell people how great the kit sounds.

-Jonathan

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It has nothing to do with telling people how good you drum. Don't read into my stuff man. Have you ever had a nice car or bike, or anything you liked to look at and be proud of.

Bo Eder said:

This is akin to someone seeing me and my cameras and proclaiming, "your photographs must be awesome".....

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Can you guys help me out. Where the heck did I say that having a nice setup says you can play well. Stay with the tour boys.

Man. I go out to dinner and a movie, and this is what I come home to. These forums boggle my mind some days. It is like a mob mentality. Is this not supposed to be a community.

Those Tama Cordias were always a favorite of mine when they were first released in the 80's...just beautiful drums. I see where the OP placed the "badges" under the tom support rings. Who cares? A beautiful kit is just that. I'm sure the OP plays well too. If he doesn't, who cares? Badges in, badges out, 4 piece, 14 piece...no concern to me. Live and let live. That is one gorgeous kit and I would love to own a kit like that one day. But for now, I am more than happy with my "new" Pearl kit I located on CList a month ago. It's all about the player really. "Show your gear" and enjoy it while we have it. Lighten up ladies. Let's have some fun instead...

Ok, I'm friendly with most of the protagonists here, but I'm taking some side with Sticks. Lighten up guys! You really are reading too much into sticks's stance and coming to conclusions that suit your preconceptions. He's proud of his gear, & takes time to get the detail right. He gets pleasure from the results of that attention. Problem?

I'm somewhat in the same boat. I like things to be right too. I'm not anal about the detail, & I don't regard it as the most important factor in either my performance, or my pleasure in the craft, but it does have a place for me. What you regard as important may seem of low priority to me, but I certainly won't make ability or performance judgements of you on that basis.

I've often had local drummers scorn at my gear. The initial assumption is that it's a crutch for my inability to play. Most of them shut up once I start making music, & the ones that don't, I usually find later to be opinionated hacks who couldn't encourage applause in a chimp enclosure. I'm not a great player, I know that, but I can knock out a tune in time and with some presence. For most audience members, that's job done. I also turn down 90% of the muso work/projects I'm offered, so this severely limited & past it rock drummer must be doing something right.

Such stereotypical conclusions & jibes should be delivered with transparent levity, if so, I have no issues. I like a good humored pissing contest as much as the next guy. However, if you're making a point of some gravity, please consider the perception of the recipient before taking the populist default safety POV.

I don't have an issue with having drums set up 'to look nice' what I take exception to is being told that I need to take a lesson in how to display badges. I don't. It's that simple.

I think your kit looks great Andy, but I'm much more interested in hearing how you sound - which is also great. No issue there at all.

mediocrefunkybeat said:

I think your kit looks great Andy, but I'm much more interested in hearing how you sound - which is also great. No issue there at all.

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I know Duncan. The slightly stiff part of my post wasn't aimed at you, or indeed anyone else here. More of a mini vent about my occasional interaction with local bedroom drumming heros that regard my gear as a skills mask. I'd almost accept that from some uber player, but not some little smartass who's never gigged but thinks he's a god because he captured 20 seconds of acceptable playing from 6 hours of recording himself.

sticks4drums said:

I just need to run a class to show everyone how to set their toms so that the drum and badge is showing instead of the mounts and hardware.

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mediocrefunkybeat said:

I don't have an issue with having drums set up 'to look nice' what I take exception to is being told that I need to take a lesson in how to display badges.

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AtomicFlapjack said:

Haha, you are obsessed with badges Sticks

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sticks4drums said:

I just knew someone was going to say that. How about, "why we buy our drums in a particular finish". So looks don't play a part in your drums at all? Come on now. We hear it all the time on these sites, "I love your finish"

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Just as a note, I will no longer be holding a class to show people how to show off their drums instead of their mounts. It seems everyone likes their mounts better. Class is cancelled.

I often turn my badges towards me instead of the crowd, since I think the wood is more pretty than a little metal thing with a serial number on it... Usually I don't really pay attention to that. More worried about the sound than form.

But really. I don't need no steenkin badges.

sticks4drums said:

Harry. Get over it. My point is and always will be, if you can make the drum shell, even if it doesn't have a badge on it, get over the badge thing already, stand out front, instead of some stupid ugly, which most of them are, drum mount then why not. I seem to be the only one to figure this out, so why not learn from me. Everyone has something to pass on don't they. Is it ok if I do something a little bit nicer than someone else. At least agree that the shells look better than the @#$##$#ing mounts. Is that too much to ask.

The only time this gentleman posts anything, is when he buys a new kit to show us. Kind of like the guy that has the amazing videos, and they jump all over him. He has a very nice kit but even he can improve upon it, can't he. Holly crap. Almost time to go again.

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Honestly, I never noticed your mounts were cleverly hidden.

As many times as I looked at your kit, if you asked me to set it up for you, I'd be putting it up the way 99.9% of the world does it, with the mount in front.

How it's mounted is not that important. I don't think it affects the overall at all. Part of a cool set up is all the shiny chrome.

If not one wants to learn your method, no need to force the issue. It's not that important, and clearly, most people don't care.

I don't think Harry's post exactly required that kind of condescending lecturing - irrelevant of whether I agree with him or not. He's got nothing to 'get over'.

Incidentally, I actually quite the look of well-constructed mounts. Sonor seemed to agree with me when they made the 'Designer' series. I spent most of this afternoon looking at machinery at a museum because I like the way it looks.

White flag. I surrender all ready. I promise to never mention it again. Honest. Do what ever you want to do. You are going to anyways. It was just a huge waste of time on my part. I could of been doing para-diddles or something more important. .

mediocrefunkybeat said:

I don't think Harry's post exactly required that kind of condescending lecturing - irrelevant of whether I agree with him or not. He's got nothing to 'get over'.

Incidentally, I actually quite the look of well-constructed mounts. Sonor seemed to agree with me when they made the 'Designer' series. I spent most of this afternoon looking at machinery at a museum because I like the way it looks.

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You mean like the one you gave me about getting my priorities in order. Come on man. You spend half your time on here lecturing people.

Well, you seem to spend all your time obsessing over gear. I'm fairly sure that's not the point of playing the drums.

mediocrefunkybeat said:

Well, you seem to spend all your time obsessing over gear. I'm fairly sure that's not the point of playing the drums.

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Just think how good we both would be if we didn't hang out talking about nothing all day on these sites.

I can't practice because of living circumstances. I can assure that it's no fun at all.

OK, shake hands and make up,....good GOD already!