Settle an argument please

Hey all,

I'm hoping I can get a consensus here to help me settle a friendly disagreement I have with another drummer. I drum on the weekend in a small gospel band at a church. When I can't make it there's another regular drummer that sits in.

He has this habit of disengaging the snares on the snare drum when he finishes playing the service. I come in the next weekend and usually start playing a song with the snares off before I realize that I have to flip them back on. His rationale for disengaging them is it extends the life of the snares and the bottom head. The snares and the head are likely 12 or more years old to begin with.

Is there any truth to this? Does anybody here do this?

Also does anyone disengage their top hihat when they're not playing to save the high hat stand spring?

Thanks
 
Hey all,

I'm hoping I can get a consensus here to help me settle a friendly disagreement I have with another drummer. I drum on the weekend in a small gospel band at a church. When I can't make it there's another regular drummer that sits in.

He has this habit of disengaging the snares on the snare drum when he finishes playing the service. I come in the next weekend and usually start playing a song with the snares off before I realize that I have to flip them back on. His rationale for disengaging them is it extends the life of the snares and the bottom head. The snares and the head are likely 12 or more years old to begin with.

Is there any truth to this? Does anybody here do this?

Also does anyone disengage their top hihat when they're not playing to save the high hat stand spring?

Thanks

HI

I throw the snares of between songs at our church.

The buzz is annoying. I throw the snares off all the time. Not to save the snares, but rather to save my ears. I never leave them on during the message.

:-D

-K
 
I'm hoping I can get a consensus here to help me settle a friendly disagreement I have with another drummer.
What's to argue about .... he has a way of doing things. For whatever reason. You know that, so expect it, and deal with it. Simple.​
What I, or anyone else does probably isn't gonna change what he does. He's probably been doing it for years. It becomes habit. There is no wrong or right.​
I do both. Drop the hat and turn off the snare, when I'm done playing. Been doin' so, for 45 years.​
 
I never do either of them. I don't know if it helps the snares and head last longer. If it does it is only marginally, and you should probably replace your head anyways. I've had the same high hat stand for about 6 years and its still working just fine.
 
I do both. A snare buzzing when someone is speaking, or another muso is playing solo, annoys me like nothing else. I believe it would extend their life to a small degree. But you should be replacing them before that becomes an issue anyway.

I release the hats because I don't like them clanging together if I, or somebody else accidentally knocks them.

If you don't realise your snares are off until you start the first song, something else is wrong. Surely you give everything a tap to check things sound ok?
 
First off, how long does it take to realize the snares are off?

Secondly, you don't hit the snare a couple of times before playing?

And thirdly, get in the habit of shutting them off wen not playing. A million things can make them buzz and it's annoying.
 
More importantly, someone is doing something that annoys you and you had to ask on here about it? It's probably best you avoid ever getting into a relationship with a woman/man, the amount of disagreement might just tip you over the edge.
 
If you discover the snares are off unexpectedly, simply play cross stick and throw in a few Caribbean-sounding fills on a drum that's now ideal for giving a reggae vibe to whatever the band happens to be playing


;0)
 
I do keep my snares off when the drum sits idle for any length of time. Most anything will cause more wear when it's under tension and I really hate hearing snare buzz through the PA when the bass player cranks it up. I was taught this way more than 50 years ago and still believe that it's a good idea.

Dennis
 
Is there anything to be settled?

If a drumkit is used by more than one drummer, it's very likely that something might not be to your exact liking, just check the kit before playing, no real issue here as far as I see it :)

The other user(s) might think the same as you, why do you leave the snares on and hi-hat open?

I leave the kit in the setting it happen to be when I finished playing, snare's wires might be on or off, it depends, but I always check before playing on my next session :)
 
I always turn my snare off, and drop my hi hat clutch. Springs should be left at rest for most of their lives. They will retain their proper coil longer. Putting a inexpensive drop clutch on your hat makes this very easy to do each time. I have them on all my hats.
 
I don't do either, and I've never noticed any ill effects on either my snares or my hi-hat springs. But I also don't get upset if I find communal drumkits with the snares off and the hi-hat loosed. I would say that the difference such actions make is negligible, and might add up to significance if you own the same stand or snare for more than thirty years without ever making any changes to it.
 
Ive never heard that about extending the life of the snare/bottom head, but I usually disengage the snare when I leave practice just as a common courtesy to the band we share a practice space with so they dont get the annoying buzz and have to turn it off when theyre rehersing.
 
Is there anything to be settled?

If a drumkit is used by more than one drummer, it's very likely that something might not be to your exact liking, just check the kit before playing, no real issue here as far as I see it :)

The other user(s) might think the same as you, why do you leave the snares on and hi-hat open?

I leave the kit in the setting it happen to be when I finished playing, snare's wires might be on or off, it depends, but I always check before playing on my next session :)

Henri nailed it
........
 
Puresound states on their website that engaging and disengaging the snares shortens the life of the wires by 23 ten thousandths of a second with every strainer release.


:)
 
It's more a matter of etiquette. It's just good manners to turn the snares off when the drum is not in use, and the sympathetic rattling might bug other people. It should be routine- as should checking it before you start playing, turning them on silently if they're off. The hihat is up to you- normally you would not release them in the course of a performance without a good reason.
 
I always turn my snare off, and drop my hi hat clutch. Springs should be left at rest for most of their lives. They will retain their proper coil longer. Putting a inexpensive drop clutch on your hat makes this very easy to do each time. I have them on all my hats.

+ 1
Im a firm believer in this concept.

F
 
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