Brought my new Pearl Vision (VBX) home last night! Whohoo!

[haroldo_psf]

It's a 6 piece. I also got a Zildjian ZXT cymbal kit (2 crashes, ride, hihat) for about $300. I am a newbie, been playing for 6 months on an ekit, and know little to nothing about accustic kits.

I know these ZXT cymbals are not the best, but what is the concensus about them? Do people consider them at least decent for the price?

Drumset, hardware, and cymbals all totaled about $1100 out the door. Not bad I think.

Can anyone suggest better ways to place the crashes and ride? I'm having a hard time getting them close enough, specially the ride. What am I doing wrong? (the toms are not set yet, didn't have time to adjust them)

[kissarmyfreak]

I'd personally go grab a double tom holder, put it on that stand with the crash. Then slide the deepest tom to where the middle one is now.
Drop that ride about a foot to 18 inches Just above the bass drum & floor tom.
Just some food for thought. Enjoy the kit & just keep dinking with it. adjust & readjust everything until your comfortable.

[haroldo_psf]

Originally Posted by kissarmyfreak

I'd personally go grab a double tom holder, put it on that stand with the crash. Then slide the deepest tom to where the middle one is now.
Drop that ride about a foot to 18 inches Just above the bass drum & floor tom.
Just some food for thought. Enjoy the kit & just keep dinking with it. adjust & readjust everything until your comfortable.

Thanks! I knew something was off with that ride. Can you elaborate on the double tom holder attached to the crash stand? Why would that be better then the tom holder on top of the bass drum now?

Hey buddy. Nice kit. Personally I would get rid of the bass tom mount, hang the third tom off of the cymbal stand. Pull it in closer to you, and lover the ride to just above the third tom. Then I would hang the first and second tom off of a multi stand that will take your two tom holders as well as a cymbal in the middle, and pull it in to match the third tom.
There is way more flexibility with stand, or a rack, than there is with bass drum mounts. Just play around with it. That is part of the fun for me, is tweaking the kit to your liking. Try to keep everything low and compact, so you don't have to reach. I am putting my pic up just to show you how I kept everything low and tight, even with so much stuff. If you want me to remove it I will. Just say the word. Not trying to be a show off. Just trying to help. :)

[Coldhardsteel]

Originally Posted by haroldo_psf

Thanks! I knew something was off with that ride. Can you elaborate on the double tom holder attached to the crash stand? Why would that be better then the tom holder on top of the bass drum now?

Not only do toms on a stand look more professional, they also gain a bit of resonance. The attachment to the bass drum adds mass to the stuff attached to the toms, messing with the vibrations.

Generally, I'd say lower your kit. Playing a kit that's in front of and beneath you is easier to play than a kit that's around you and above you or at shoulder level.

[haroldo_psf]

Originally Posted by sticks4drums

Hey buddy. Nice kit. Personally I would get rid of the bass tom mount, hang the third tom off of the cymbal stand. Pull it in closer to you, and lover the ride to just above the third tom. Then I would hang the first and second tom off of a multi stand that will take your two tom holders as well as a cymbal in the middle, and pull it in to match the third tom.
There is way more flexibility with stand, or a rack, than there is with bass drum mounts. Just play around with it. That is part of the fun for me, is tweaking the kit to your liking. Try to keep everything low and compact, so you don't have to reach. I am putting my pic up just to show you how I kept everything low and tight, even with so much stuff. If you want me to remove it I will. Just say the word. Not trying to be a show off. Just trying to help. :)

Holy million cymbals, batman! :)



That's incredible! Very cool, I love it.

So, everyone is telling me to ditch the bass drum tom mount. If I do that, should I remove the rods all the way out and leave two holes on the top of the BD?

I may have to wait until I get more mounts, stands, etc. Wife will kill me if I buy anything else so soon

[Fuo]

Yea. imo, I wouldn't worry about buying more mounting hardware just yet... its nice to have, but give yourself a month or so to tinker with what you have now before going out and buying more stuff...

Originally Posted by Fuo

Yea. imo, I wouldn't worry about buying more mounting hardware just yet... its nice to have, but give yourself a month or so to tinker with what you have now before going out and buying more stuff...

Fuo is right. There is no rush. See what works for you not us. If and when you do go away from the bass mount, take those nasty big awkward tubes out of the drum and just leave the chrome mount there. Take your time and have fun.

[jim_gregory]

You dont need to go away from the bass mounted toms ever. The amount of difference it makes is negligible. And you probably will, like almost everyone, use pre dampened kick heads anyway so what's the point. They are there, use them. This is not a particularly Pearl friendly site but I love Pearls. Congrads on the new kit!
Try something like this pic for now. My old indestructable sessions beater, spilled drinks and all! I like everything at hand and flowing smooth. You may want the crashes higher but I like em low.
It's pretty comfy to play. Set up the memory locks on the tom arms and it makes for an easy setup at a gig.
You must be totaly stoked and rightly so! It's beautifull!

[haroldo_psf]

Originally Posted by jim_gregory

You dont need to go away from the bass mounted toms ever. The amount of difference it makes is negligible. And you probably will, like almost everyone, use pre dampened kick heads anyway so what's the point. They are there, use them. This is not a particularly Pearl friendly site but I love Pearls. Congrads on the new kit!
Try something like this pic for now. My old indestructable sessions beater, spilled drinks and all! I like everything at hand and flowing smooth. You may want the crashes higher but I like em low.
It's pretty comfy to play. Set up the memory locks on the tom arms and it makes for an easy setup at a gig.
You must be totaly stoked and rightly so! It's beautifull!

Hey, thanks man! Let me ask you this... When you are sitting at your throne, foot on bass pedal, heel up: what is the angle of your knee, and is your knee directly above your heel or slightly behind it?

I ask because I tried to have my throne high enough so my knee angle is slightly greater than 90 degrees, and my knee is slightly behind my heel. When I do that, the rack toms feel to be a little far, causing me to reach. I am not sure if this is normal and I should just get used to it or if I should sit closer to the bass drum and sacrifice these angles I just described.

[Fuo]

Originally Posted by haroldo_psf

I ask because I tried to have my throne high enough so my knee angle is slightly greater than 90 degrees, and my knee is slightly behind my heel. When I do that, the rack toms feel to be a little far, causing me to reach. I am not sure if this is normal and I should just get used to it or if I should sit closer to the bass drum and sacrifice these angles I just described.

You use your bass drum like 10000% more than rack toms, so I would give my foot preference. As others noted above, there are plenty of more flexible mounting options available if you decide later on that you can't find a comfortable place for them with what you have.

[haroldo_psf]

Originally Posted by Fuo

You use your bass drum like 10000% more than rack toms, so I would give my foot preference. ............

Oh man, that's a great point! thanks

[harryconway]

Basically, move stuff around, until you find something that works. Jim_g has a nice, tight 5 piece "traditional" layout. S4d, on the other hand, just pick "any" 5 drums ... those could be positions you might wanna try.

My kit, a basic 5 piece, in a rather "non-traditional" arrangement.

[Fuo]

imo, the best way I've heard of figuring out how to setup is to go one one piece at a time, in order of importance:

throne
bass/pedal
snare
hihat
ride
toms
everything else

put the piece down, play it for 5-10 min and adjust as-needed, then add in the next piece. never go backwards (ie change a high priority position to accommodate a low priority one).

[jim_gregory]

Originally Posted by haroldo_psf

Hey, thanks man! Let me ask you this... When you are sitting at your throne, foot on bass pedal, heel up: what is the angle of your knee, and is your knee directly above your heel or slightly behind it?

I ask because I tried to have my throne high enough so my knee angle is slightly greater than 90 degrees, and my knee is slightly behind my heel. When I do that, the rack toms feel to be a little far, causing me to reach. I am not sure if this is normal and I should just get used to it or if I should sit closer to the bass drum and sacrifice these angles I just described.

I sit pretty high so well above 90 degree..prolly 95. Shin bone about plumb. You can slide the toms quite forward and may find that they sound a little better out near the end of the adjustment. I like the center of the toms even across the bass drum. Well I did. Now I play my masters and sessions with just the 12 inch toms up and 16 down.