Music Den and First Drum Kit ready to go! - Come on in

MaryO

Platinum Member
Well here it is, my first drum kit set up and ready to go! I'm pretty proud of the way things turned out. We tuned the kit (to the best of my rookie experience) and set it all up last night. Even have Ringo hanging right above my throne as my inspiration.

The boyfriend was gracious enuf to let us turn his "man cave" into the Music Den although he's not too upset since he's an avid bass player himself...it all worked out. :)

Thanks to everyone for all their advice and suggestions and let me know what you think!
 

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This is a humble kit but you are so happy with your space and enthusiastic about playing, it has rubbed off on me! I like the classic five-piece configuration. The green is a neat color you don't see too often. As for advice, I don't think there's a thing you need to change. It looks ready to go.

What are the specs - sizes of drums, sizes and types of cymbals?
 
What are the specs - sizes of drums, sizes and types of cymbals?[/QUOTE]

Here's what's what:

GP 4 piece shell kit with 22" bass, 16" floor tom and 13" and 12" toms. The snare is a vintage Tama Imperialstar 14x6.5 with die cast hoops. High hats are Zildjian 10" (used) but great sounding and finally the Ride is a 20" Zildjian ZBT.

Okay, everyone, before I get blasted for the ride..I know it wasn't what any of you wanted me to get but I just didnt' have the money for anything better. I got a really good deal on the ride and the price allowed me to go ahead and buy the boom and a few other small things I really needed. Right now, I'm only a month into lessons and nobody's going to be hearing this setup for a really long time but me. At this point I don't even know the difference between a good and bad sounding cymbal so I could have spent more money and have no idea what I was getting. I need to learn a little more and then when I'm ready to spend a lot of money on a cymbal, at least then I'll know what I like and what I'm actually getting.

. The idea right now was to have something so I could get used to playing a complete kit. I promise that if I ever get to the point to jam with anyone else, a better ride and/or crash will be purchased. As of now, I'm really happy and excited with what I have and will use it to learn from.

Okay, I'll shut up now. Anyways...thanks for all the support!
 
You're good to go. And with a built in/live in bass player ... the birth of a rhythm section.​
 
You're good to go. And with a built in/live in bass player ... the birth of a rhythm section.​

Hmmm....Cincinnati Rhythm Section. That has a ring to it!. lol


And ClassicStar - why, yes, that IS a Sylvania. Of everything int that room, that wasn't exactly the piece I thought might catch your eye...lol.
 
Hey Congrats!!!

I'm glad you're happy. I remember when I got my first kit too.. it felt so amazing, and trust me, it was such a piece of crap compared to yours!!! Also a five piece, all beat up, with no-brand heads and a terrible ride and hi-hat. Still, I would've felt the same if it was a damn Starclassic. :)

After all, it's not about the gear, it's about the player. With time, every year I bought a thing.. one birthday it was a crash, another, some new heads, the next one, a pedal.. I kept that kit for about 5 years and then sold it to upgrade.. to a Pearl Forum! haha.

I knew A LOT of guys who had the ultimate gear after their first lesson, and you know what? Most of them couldn't play shit.. and the rest, they got bored, quitted and sold everything. (That meant cheap new second hand gear for me, haha LOL). :)

Anyway, you've got a great kit right there! Now practice, get some lessons if you can, and have fun!!

You have a metronome, right?

If you don't, get one. And when you can, get a copy of Tommy Igoe's "Great Hands for a Lifetime" DVD. Excellent to start working on building a good technique. ;)

Happy drumming!!
 
Hey Congrats!!!

Anyway, you've got a great kit right there! Now practice, get some lessons if you can, and have fun!!

You have a metronome, right?

If you don't, get one. And when you can, get a copy of Tommy Igoe's "Great Hands for a Lifetime" DVD. Excellent to start working on building a good technique. ;)

Happy drumming!!


Thanks! And I DO have a metronome, and am one month into my lessons with a great instructor. I'll definitely have to take a look at that Tommy Igoe DVD. I'll keep you updated on how it's going and, who knows, maybe in a few months I'll even post some playing :)
 
The only thing I would change are the angles of the two rack toms. I am surprized that no one else mentioned it. Try to get them closer together and flatter in relation to each other rather than facing each other. It will be easier to do fills with the toms on the same plane rather than one tilted left and one tilted right. Look at some of the other sets on the forum and you'll see what I mean. Good luck with the lessons. I found a photo of another set. Just look at the rack toms and you'll see what I mean. bring them closer to you and closer to each other. Then back up your snare and floor tom and you'll be good to go.
 

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And ClassicStar - why, yes, that IS a Sylvania. Of everything int that room, that wasn't exactly the piece I thought might catch your eye...lol.

Well I was wondering because I have that exact same tv lol.

The drums look nice too! I would move the toms down angle wise but hey, whatever works for you. That's the beauty of drumming!
Also when you can, get some new resonant heads. You WILL NOT be disapointed!
 
I think the deal with the rack toms are because they are so deep. I agree, I like my rack toms with just a bit of slant to them, but depending on the diameter of the bass drum, trying to level out the rack toms in her photo, she'll have to sit very high at the kit not to be hitting their rims.

Dennis
 
Nice lookin' room there Mary! You now have no excuses not to be playing when you're not doing other things ;)

As GD mentioned, the toms angles are a little strange, but I was going to hold judgment because you might like playing them that way. But if you get used to them that way, you might be doing something that could be detrimental to your ergonomics in the long run. As GD suggests, to put the rack toms in the optimum position, you would have to raise them up to bring them a little closer together and they'd be a little flatter (hence the term, rack tom - they look like a rack when side-by-side). But if you did that, the drum set would have to come out a little more so you could comfortably play them higher up. You might not want to take up any more space in your den!

But think about that and decide what you like. Some people play their toms that way and it doesn't bother them. Hell, even I think it doesn't matter that much because so much of your playing is based around the hi-hat, snare drum, and bass drum. So if those three pieces are comfortable to you, the rest will follow suit on its own.

I can see you not wanting to raise them up because the toms are so tall to begin with. Short stack toms are still a relatively new thing and not common:
 

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Thanks everyone for the advice. I did come home from work and attempt moving the toms around but as some of you mentioned these toms are really deep and if I straighten them completely out, they are very high and I can't get over the rims. I did move them towards me a little and was able to take some of the tilt out of them as a result. They are still tilted to some extent but I put them where I could reach all the centers of each head with a natural reach without banging the rims. I think I'll keep it that way for a while and then as I get more playing time in, I can see what needs to be moved and changed.

But I do take all of your advice and suggestions to heart! You guys are great!
 
Bo, this has nothing to do with what you said, but I just want to compliment your SC's.
Strangely the thing I love the most about them is the claw hooks on the bass. They look so tough, yet so elegant. The whole kit is great!
 
Okay, everyone, before I get blasted for the ride..I know it wasn't what any of you wanted me to get but I just didnt' have the money for anything better.

I have a ZBT hi hat that I really like for my drum set. I actually bought nearly $300 hi hats and ended up selling them and using the cheap cymbals.

If you're happy with them then that's all that matters lol
 
If you raise the toms up with the main piece (lack of a better phrase) then angle them down with the top adjustment you can get them closer together. I had the same problem half a lifetime ago with the pearl export hardware, looks similiar to what you have.

The donation of the man cave to your kit speaks volumes about your bf, he makes the rest of us look bad.
 
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