Setup times

The Gedge

The Gedge

Member
I was wondering how long it would take the average drummer to setup my drumkit.
In terms of drums I have a snare, a single pedal kick and 2 toms (1 up, 1 down), all of which are Pearl.
In terms of cymbals I have Pearl CX-200 hats, crash and ride, a Zildjian custom splash and a Meinl Headliner Crash-Ride.
Hardware for drums includes Pearl snare stand, pedal, floor tom legs and the Pearl rack tom "integrated suspension system" which attaches to the bass drum.
Hardware to hold cymbals includes Pearl H-790 (for hats), Pearl boom arm cymbal stand (for Pearl crash), Pearl non-boom arm cymbal stand (for Pearl ride), Pearl CH-70 combined arm and clamp (for Meinl crash-ride; attaches to Pearl crash stand) and Yamaha clamp and arm (for Zildjian splash; attaches to Pearl ride stand).

I timed myself after taking it down into what I considered would be a portable condition.
Setup is that of a typical four-piece; from right to left the cymbals go Hats, Crash-Ride, Crash, Splash and Ride.
I know it's a large chunk of information, I'll try and get some pictures up but I can't guarantee it'll work.
I also know that this is not an exact science, so just give me some approximations.
 
At a brisk pace without distractions and so forth, about 10-15 minutes.

At a leisurely pace including fine tweeking. 30 minutes.

Weird question.
 
If you have the memory lock L-arms, you should be able to set it up in around 20 min. I have a Pearl Forum I use occasionally and that's what it takes me. Do you keep the FT legs on the drum or separate? I allow about 45 min. to an hour for my Zickos kit. I have one more tom, two more cyms, music and a music stand. My big problem is that, if I don't get started early enough, the guys in my 17pc band don't leave me enough room or access to my spot (in the back).
 
Depends on the circumstances at the gig. How far is it from the car to the stage? Do I have room to take them out of the cases inside or do I have to unpack them outside? Are the other band members already there and getting in my way? One place I play, I park 10 feet from a side door off the stage. I don't bother taking cases to those gigs and I'm set up in 10 minuets. Another place I play has no parking anywhere near the club and the stage is a pain to get to once you are inside. That place can take me 30 to 45 minuets.
 
From un-casing to set-up I can do it in 15 minutes. I've done my 5-piece in less and in pitch black darkness backstage. You'd be surprised how good you get at it when you do it blind ;)
 
DrumDoug said:
Depends on the circumstances at the gig. How far is it from the car to the stage? Do I have room to take them out of the cases inside or do I have to unpack them outside? Are the other band members already there and getting in my way? One place I play, I park 10 feet from a side door off the stage. I don't bother taking cases to those gigs and I'm set up in 10 minuets. Another place I play has no parking anywhere near the club and the stage is a pain to get to once you are inside. That place can take me 30 to 45 minuets.
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Good point. You have to figure access into set up time.
 
I do my best work in the dark ... (someone had to say it).

15 min is pretty fast. I would need at least 30 at my stage of the game. WHy are you asking OP?
 
When I travel around with my 5-piece kit in cases, I can get the whole thing on my Rock n Roller cart and transporting from the car to the stage is not a problem. I've learned my lesson after years of driving to gigs and then finding that once you unload, you still have to go move your car. I'd rather just go park somewhere and roll in - this lesson is best learned when you drive into a busy city with no parking!
 
Set up and tear down time is VERY important to our band ...

Ten to fifteen minutes is about right, for a 4 piece or 5 piece set, having the gear bag organized help a lot.
This is what I use every thing ... rug, throne, pedals go right in the bag, and no folding is required it all drops right in.

Bag100.jpg
 
The Gedge said:
I was just curious, and also wondering how much time I could expect to have if I started drumming for money.
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Hmm. Usually, when I get a start time from a client, that's the time of the downbeat. Meaning that's when the music starts. So whatever you gotta do to be set up for that downbeat, that's what you do. As the drummer, I'm always a little earlier than everybody else because I have to claim my piece of stage real estate. If it's a wedding, you have to make sure you look good before you start too.

Once you start getting paid all those 'job' things come to mind, and literally, your problems are NOT the clients problems. They're paying you to make them happy, so you have to be pleasant as well, even though you may have run a couple of red lights and gotten a ticket on the way there. You can see this opens up a whole 'nother can of worms if you plan on being a successful working musician (which, to me, means that you at least get to work as one!).
 
I can get it done in 15 minutes if I hustle. Unless it's a bar gig where 5 bands are playing that night, I like to show up to a gig way before the rest of the band to set-up so that I have plenty of time. For some reason, singers, guitarists and bass players can really get in the way when you're trying to set-up. They seem to want to get their amps and gear and cords as close to me as humanly possible, and if I don't claim my area early, I'll be stuck constantly negotiating for space to my cymbals stands. That, and I don't like being jammed up against a wall behind me, so I have to have my bass drum and cymbal stands out there before the other band mates start setting up.
 
I can set my 5 piece Export or Master's kit up in about 20 mins. That includes two boom stands, one straight stand and highhat.

Actually setting up is not a problem....it's tearing down and packing up afterwards.
 
It's funny how us drummers end up fighting for enough stage space often. I even get this in the practice room. We have to negotiate for how much elbow room I'm allowed.
 
Like a lot of others,about 15 minutes,can do it in 10 if no one gets in my way.

Like the others said,stake your claim early as far as stage area goes,guitarists will expect you to move your whole kit 6 inches to the left when they have 6 feet to place a 2 foot wide amp in,it's like suddenly they have turned into a wife you did not know you had,and you are hanging pictures and moving furniture around under their "loving direction"


I hate it when male musicians fell they have to nest.
 
Is there ususally a time limit between bands etc? so you have a deadline that you feel like you have to make or someone will be upset (from the venue etc)?

I would imagine this is different everywhere and most of the time no one is going to be mad as much as everyone just wants to get going asap.
 
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