What are the house kits like in your town?

I haven't had a house kit for quite a while.

Here in the UK it is expected that each band brings its own drum kit or the band playing last allows the bands playing earlier to use their kit.

I played in Oxford last night- I provided a Yamaha stage custom for the other bands to use.
They brought their own cymbals, snare and throne.
It works well- although I make sure I tell the drummers not to over-tighten any bolts.

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In London it's a bit hit or miss.

Most I'd say are Pearl Exports and that kind of level, the heads are normally in fairly good shape. Have played some real horror kits in some venues though with dead heads and knakered hardware falling apart mid set.

Ronnie Scott's has a couple of recent Yamaha Recording Customs but that's the exception to the norm in the city. Not many venues take great care of the house kits but that's the same in any big cities I'm sure.

Most venues do have a kit though. Very rare you have to take your own.
 
Not too many house kits in L.A., mostly because parking/load-in is pretty easy everywhere and drummers are used to hauling their own drums in their car. But there are some venues that provide drums to help cut down changeover time between bands and maintain fairly close p.a. settings, or in a small chain of clubs/theaters, DW has provided drums for the bands opening for national acts. Headliners are welcome to use the kit as well.

So the handful of kits in town varies, I think all are 4 & 5pc though. Drummers can sometimes just brings their sticks, but more often, they're encouraged or required to bring their cymbals, snare, sometimes a pedal, and I recall one place having to bring my throne! Some kits aren't maintained very well, and for one regular gig I do, I supply fresh heads and hardware as needed for their '80s Rogers kit. But in general, they sound good to great, and in situations where I have the option, I definitely prefer the ease of using the house kit.

Bermuda

Where are you playing??

All the Hollywood venues have backline kits, and most of them are crap. DW or PDP that was good at some point, but not well taken care of, and haven't had a head change in two years.

A few larger places like Canyon Club and The Rose have a nice DW that only a national headliner can use, and a half falling apart PDP with busted heads they make everyone else use.

Most places are just 4pc kits setup but some of them do have at least two extra toms if requested ahead of time.

The places without backline are a HUGE hassle to load in and out of, and the majority of the time you have set up in the parking lot.
 
It's been a few years, but I remember seeing Mapex kits in nearly every bar/venue up and down Broadway in downtown Nashville, TN. I'd say at the time that around 75-80% of the kits I saw were Mapex 4 or 5 piece. Things may have changed, but the proliferation of Mapex made a longer lasting impact than all the good music (and BBQ) did.
 
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