How O.C.D. are you guys with your drums?

Scottie15

Senior Member
In terms of dents, scratches, etc.? I am always curious because I find myself bummed out every time my stick accidentally makes contact with the shell leaving a small dent or scratch. Figured there would be more OCD people out there considering the cost of some flagship kits nowadays. Thoughts?
 
In terms of dents, scratches, etc.? I am always curious because I find myself bummed out every time my stick accidentally makes contact with the shell leaving a small dent or scratch. Figured there would be more OCD people out there considering the cost of some flagship kits nowadays. Thoughts?

I'm kinda like the construction guy who, when a new truck is bought will go and hit it with a hammer "just to get it out of the way". The first ding is always the most hurtful one!

While I won't actually use a hammer, I'm not going to get all bent out of shape if something puts a tiny ding in the finish. My drums are workhorses and they will eventually show some sense of wear. :D
 
I can tell you every ding or scratch on all of my kits. It's bugs me to no end when I get a new one.

I'm so finicky that my all badges must face exactly the same way, including the snare, the head logos must always be in the same place (12 o'clock position for the rack toms, and 3 o'clock for the floors), and have been known to mess with a boom cymbal arm adjustment for 15 minutes because its 1 or 2 degrees different on the horizontal plane than the others.
 
I'm not happy about dings and scratches and I certainly don't go out of my way to try and aquire them, but I'm also aware that it doesn't pay to be too precious with something that is set up, torn down, hit with sticks, dragged from one dingy bar to another, thrown in the back or vans, cars and trucks etc as much as a drum kit is.

I exercise all due care with my gear, but if life has taught me anything, it's that you can't wrap the things in cotton wool. They're designed to be played, so I see little point in leaving the things at home too fearful of damage to the finish. I case 'em up and ensure they're not misused, mishandled or otherwise deliberately abused.....but all in all, they're meant to be played too.
 
I suppose that you may you may need medication if you had to play my Tama superstar/Tama imperialstar/Ludwig/Slingerland kit,that has Tama/Ludwig/Premier hardware . Add Zildjian/Sabian/Paiste and Mannys(house brand UFIP) cymbals.Drum heads are clear and coated mixed,Remo/Aquarian/Evans and Original Slingerland calf skin.Every drum is a different finish from mahogany lacquer,Oyster blue pearl,dark blue wrap,whie marine pearl and the occasional red lacquer.

There condition ranges from 9 out of 10 to rode hard and put up wet.

But,it sounds great .They have medication for OCD.:):):)

Steve B
 
These items are to used, moved and played soft and hard! I try to protect them but shit happens. Drums are a tool and get worn...Denis
 
Heads and rims are meant to be hit, but not the shell. Anytime I drop something even close it angers me. I am of the opinion that someday I will have to sell them and dings cost money. I am very cautious
 
Drums are like cars. If you operate them correctly they will slowly become aged through normal use. That is of course unless a, "Mayhem" like creature from a TV Insurance Company ad appears and totally destroys them. If that happens you are totally screwed!
 
Heads and rims are meant to be hit, but not the shell. Anytime I drop something even close it angers me. I am of the opinion that someday I will have to sell them and dings cost money. I am very cautious


The good news is nobody expects a used drum kit to be cosmetically perfect, no dings, that would be an anomaly, a rare instance. So the first few well placed dings; are free IMO.

I feel your pain tho GRUNT, when I take delivery of the 2014 STAGE CUSTOM in white, even tho it's officially relegated to 'beater set' status b/f it arrives, Im going to feel those first few dings.

Better it than my hi(gher)-end kits, which already have dings, The STAGE CUSTOMS will be flawless by comparison, but not for long, as in it gets put in the game to take the hits, ironic.

Therein lies the joy (well supposed to be anyway) of a beater kit, you don't care what happens to it cosmetically, its a stress free relationship on that level.
 
I'm just picky about how they are arranged when I play them. Scratches, dings and such....whatever. When changing heads, I do line up the logos on the heads with the shell badge, cymbals flat, toms close. If that's OCD then whoopee count me in.
 
Having to work as a food server to pay my way through college and other expenses, I was able to save up enough cash over the years to purchase my first high-end Mapex kit. I still own my old Rockstar Kit, and now that I have a newer kit, I don't mind dings and dents on the Rockstar. But, I do get insanely annoyed when playing the Mapex, and my technique gets a little lazy and my sticks hit the shell, leaving a small dent/ding in the lacquer. THAT is what really annoys, because as Gunter said, those parts of the drums are not to be hit.

I don't mind abused drumheads, logos facing the wrong way or anything like that/ It's just dings, dents, and scratches on my shells and hardware that annoy the crap outta me. Every time one of my sticks makes contact with the tom shell when doing a fill, I know right away that it's going to leave a mark (a permanent one at that) and THAT does not stop bothering me.
 
I exercise all due care with my gear, but if life has taught me anything, it's that you can't wrap the things in cotton wool. They're designed to be played, so I see little point in leaving the things at home too fearful of damage to the finish. I case 'em up and ensure they're not misused, mishandled or otherwise deliberately abused.....but all in all, they're meant to be played too.

My sentiments exactly. I've also seen the same discussions on guitar forums. Funny thing in the guitar world is, you have guitars deliberately "aged" (works of art, in the case of some Les Pauls) or even "relic'd," meant to be sold new that way for "instant mojo;" a guitar that looks 30, 40, or 50 years old right out of the box. I guess the concept wouldn't quite transfer over to drums...
 
just out of curiosity how do you manage to hit your shells when you play?

I have my kit set up right-handed, but lead with my left hand. That sometimes leads me to be sloppy with my fills and my stick will hit the underside of the rim (the shell) on accident. I have long arms that are disproportionate to my body and my technique isn't the most refined. Again, this doesn't happen all the time, only occasionally. It could also be a lack of focus or concentration when doing fills. Between the head of the top and the head of the snare is about 4/5 inches of space that my stick can sometimes hit the shell.
 
I sold my kit on Sunday, caught a great deal on a 1 up 1 down homebrew Keller kit on Monday and got it today. Set it up and am very happy with it. Smaller foot print. The up tom is mounted on a snare stand. Kept my cymbals but I did let a spare ride/crash go and my old hi hat stand with cymbals. Used Zilj's New Beats also showed up today.... Today was drum day.

Picking up a kick peddle and some odds and ends tomorrow. The snare shows up on Monday. Missed a week of playing. Not too bad.

O.C.D. on drums... they're tools and get banged around. I fix as needed.
 
My sentiments exactly. I've also seen the same discussions on guitar forums. Funny thing in the guitar world is, you have guitars deliberately "aged" (works of art, in the case of some Les Pauls) or even "relic'd," meant to be sold new that way for "instant mojo;" a guitar that looks 30, 40, or 50 years old right out of the box. I guess the concept wouldn't quite transfer over to drums...

That whole "relic" craze is poser driven. I build/assemble Tele's and Esquire's, people want them dinged up I tell them DIY. Worn to me comes with time and elbow grease, sweat, and wear. I wipe 'em down with a red shop rag, use a degreasing window cleaner on the poly and shine 'em up with a lemony furniture polish. Poly can take it... the guitar world has a lot of cork sniffers.
 
I'm not too picky about dents or scrapes, within reason of course. It happens... My kit gets moved around from gig to gig, jam space to rehearsal, etc... And it happens. I don't get mad about it, unless something ridiculous happens; a drum gets dropped, falls over, etc.

Make no mistake, my kit is in excellent condition, but she shows her use in a few places.
 
Back
Top