How I roll the Starclassics part deux

[Bo Eder]

I thought I'd start another thread about this because I'm so happy with these new drums, that I've even gone to using less of them, and sorta' re-configuring how I use the basic four-piece (which doesn't have much to do with the drums themselves).

As you know I jumped on the Starclassic B/B black oyster 5-piece kit, and have been quite happy with it. A few weeks ago I went down to a four-piece configuration. I went to a band rehearsal with the four-piece but only used one cymbal in addition to my hi-hats. I liked it so much, I'm rolling the kit this way for most things now.

I recall reading old interviews with Billy Joel's drummer, Liberty DeVito, and back in the day when he was playing arenas on a nightly basis, he said that nobody could tell what specific cymbal you were playing. All the audience hears is a crash, or a ride, or hats. This explained for years why he only used two crashes (both 18" mediums), along with a ride and a pair of hats.

I've adopted that attitude during my time on the kit by using only a ride and a crash most of the time. Well, I've finally got brave enough and brought only my 20" K Custom Dark Ride and a pair of 14" Quick Beats to a band rehearsal where nobody knew who I really was, or knew if I could actually play their music. And you know what? They were happy, everything worked out, and my ride cymbal handled double-duty as washy ride and explosive crash better than I expected.

Again, it was one of those instances where people hear "crash" or "ride" or "bell" or 'hats". Only drummers seem to know when another drummer plays his "splash" or "thin crash" or "medium ride" or "china type". Hell, some guys are so attuned to what other people are playing that they even have an idea what brand it is and would even have an opinion on whether or not it actually fits the music the other drummer is playing (ok - that's probably an unfair exaggeration).

So I was looking at my kit today and realized that, if you were a drummer used to having alot of stuff to hit, it might be a little intimidating to play. You look at a four-piece kit and usually the owner will have a few cymbals and other things to hit, so I would venture to say that even with only four drums, most drummers wouldn't feel naked behind it. I look at mine, and I got the feeling I was looking at a blank piece of paper. Like in composition class when the teacher says, "write me a creative story on ten pages. Go!", and then you're utterly terrified because at that point it's just you and these blank sheets of paper - you have to put stuff on the paper! It's worse when they also say "you also have one hour to get it done".

I know there are a few of us here who play really minimal kits, I just wanted to share a couple of pictures of how I roll the Starclassics and if you see the same blank sheet of paper I see, perhaps we're on the same wavelength!

There will be an additional cowbell on the kit, I'm just debating if I should mount it on a bracket with the cymbal stand, or actually old skool and have it on the bass drum hoop. Decisions, decisions.....and at no point did 'double pedal' ever enter my mind ;)

EDIT: Please note I got the tom mount base plate off of the bass drum and used chrome through bolts to fill the holes - you can hardly see them, but the drum looks alot cooler now. I also have the 12" tom being held by the tips of the snare basket and not actually sitting in the basket - it seems to resonate better (I saw Steve Jordan do this and thought I'd try it).

Perhaps we should all post pictures of our kits with only ONE cymbal....

[keep it simple]

Bo, believe it or not, I'm with you to quite a degree. Back in the day, I worked a band for 6 months worth of gigs with just bass drum, snare, hats, & a crash/ride. It was both liberating & challenging. I did that because the music allowed me to roll that way. Last week, I took the same setup to a band practice, but added 1 crash & a floor tom. Although I could get through the numbers without too many issues, it was tough in that setting. Ok, a bit more time with that setup would probably allow me to find suitable substitutes for the flavours I usually put out on the 6 piece, but it still wouldn't be the same. Melodic stuff especially, benefits from a wider palate, both in drums & cymbals.

I'm very open minded when it comes to setups, & certainly appreciate the player who can tease more out of less. I accept that my skills aren't good enough to cover every style with a minimalistic setup, but even if they were, I still believe that certain styles or vibes require different instrument choices. If the music you're playing is very groove orientated, then bass drum & snare with hats & crash/ride is all you'll ever need, but if part of your brief is melodic and/or orchestrated support, then you can do a better job with more choices.

Next you will be showing a pic of a set of Bongo's. ?

[alparrott]

You've seen pics of my mongosso setup back in the days. Well, last year our band booked a number of coffeehouse/winery/restaurant gigs where I would just bring a stripped-down kit. Bass, snare, hats, crash-ride, plus a cowbell and a block for the latin stuff. I'd be playing rods or brushes.

You know what? It was a fantastic way to learn the songs in a whole new way and really get creative with parts... including more sparse playing or choosing to drop out altogether when the song called for it. I still love taking the 6-piece out to gigs, but I do downsize often, and thanks to this experience, it's not a scary concept.

[Davo-London]

Bo, soon it'll just be a drum throne and air in front of you.

Anyways, your kit looks fab with only one cymbal.

Davo

[Bo Eder]

Originally Posted by Davo-London

Bo, soon it'll just be a drum throne and air in front of you.

Anyways, your kit looks fab with only one cymbal.

Davo

The thought of becoming the bands' interpretive dancer had crossed my mind ;)

[TTNW]

I like the 4 piece set up Bo.

I have the 8" Aronoff Meinl Cowbell with the bass drum mount. Sounds fantastic and looks even better. Meinl makes a 5 inch version too.


Along the lines of minimalism, I would probably only add one crash just so I had more crash textures between the ride and crash (or the hats too, if you're a hat crasher).

I regularly go back and forth between a 4 piece and a 2 up 2 down 6 piece. I sort of regard my clean palette/blank sheet differently depending on the music. Maybe a little more so on looking at the larger set up as more of a blank sheet. I have been getting very disciplined on not overplaying the larger set up and many nights I pretty much play it like a 4 piece.

So far, I don't mind lugging the extra gear but I can relate to the minimalist ethic.

Hmmm. How about putting back the tom mount on the bass. Flying your ride off of it and one stand and crash?

[Bo Eder]

Originally Posted by TTNW

I like the 4 piece set up Bo.

I have the 8" Aronoff Meinl Cowbell with the bass drum mount. Sounds fantastic and looks even better. Meinl makes a 5 inch version too.


Along the lines of minimalism, I would probably only add one crash just so I had more crash textures between the ride and crash (or the hats too, if you're a hat crasher).

I regularly go back and forth between a 4 piece and a 2 up 2 down 6 piece. I sort of regard my clean palette/blank sheet differently depending on the music. Maybe a little more so on looking at the larger set up as more of a blank sheet. I have been getting very disciplined on not overplaying the larger set up and many nights I pretty much play it like a 4 piece.

So far, I don't mind lugging the extra gear but I can relate to the minimalist ethic.

Hmmm. How about putting back the tom mount on the bass. Flying your ride off of it and one stand and crash?

I have no hole in the bass drum that would allow any mount to go down into the drum. However, I'm not a big fan of hanging stuff off my bass drum anyway, especially something heavy like a ride cymbal that will be constantly played - toms fare much better since they're not played all the time. Perhaps I should try one of those Sabian Omni's at this point. Or may find an older El Sabor... But my K sounds great.

[TTNW]

Originally Posted by Bo Eder

Perhaps I should try one of those Sabian Omni's at this point. Or may find an older El Sabor... But my K sounds great.

I had the chance recently to give the 22" Omni a good workout when borrowing it from a friend and playing it for about 4 hours on my kit. Very versatile. It's easy to get a lot of good sounds out of it.

Not so sure about the 18" version though. I played around with it at a GC for about 10 minutes and I didn't really care for its ride sound. The crash was nice though.

Does that K ride have a short crash sound?

[KarlCrafton]

Like the kit a lot Bo!
Really slick looking and really, by the time mic's are put up and cords are running, a "smaller" set up doesn't really look that small when you are in an audience anyway.
It doesn't look like anything is missing is what I'm getting at.

I'm leaning towards 2 cymbals in my latest band.
I have 3 on the kit now, but I don't use one very much so I may just ditch it (2 cymbals was my intent in the first place for this band anyway).

I do ride the 2 main cymbals, and I like having all the sounds I can get from them.
Having a loose top hi-hat cymbal adds a lot of sound too. Great for crashing once you get used to the cymbals being looser and swinging with the stick. I actually really like that part.

It's true, mainly you hear "crash", "bell", "ride". It's noticeable in many 60's and 70's songs--there's one "crash" sound. Does it make any difference? No, the song sounds good, and that's what matters.
More drums and cymbals got really popular in the 70's and 80's, and I had the Neil Peart and Tommy Aldridge set up's too, but I have just as much fun, and think my "less" kits are just as cool as my old "more" kits.

The thing about "getting over being afraid" to really use less is true also. I wanted to use less stuff for quite a while before I actually did it.
...............

The 22" Omni is a really cool cymbal. I wish they offered 21", 20" & 24" models as well.
A 24" Omni would be insanely cool. The 18 doesn't really do it for me, but it made for a cool sounding set of hats!

I really like having less cymbals on the kit, but, I'm still not giving up my 3 floor toms... or my gong haha!
The bands like the gong too :-)

[Bo Eder]

I don't think my K has a short crash sound, I just make it sound that way. Thanks for liking the kit the way it is. I do rather like this set-up. At one point greenbriar music (or somebody on eBay) actually had Omni's in 19, 20, and 21 sizes as special one-offs. Maybe if the demand is there Sabian would do it again.

[THC]

That's the exact set up my drum instructor has in his basement that we play on. All my leesons are on that same set up, and it's just an old no name kit his dad bought him 50 some years ago when he was a little kid. It's amazing what he can do with just those few pieces.

[Bo Eder]

Originally Posted by KarlCrafton

Like the kit a lot Bo!
Really slick looking and really, by the time mic's are put up and cords are running, a "smaller" set up doesn't really look that small when you are in an audience anyway.
It doesn't look like anything is missing is what I'm getting at.

I'm leaning towards 2 cymbals in my latest band.
I have 3 on the kit now, but I don't use one very much so I may just ditch it (2 cymbals was my intent in the first place for this band anyway).

I do ride the 2 main cymbals, and I like having all the sounds I can get from them.
Having a loose top hi-hat cymbal adds a lot of sound too. Great for crashing once you get used to the cymbals being looser and swinging with the stick. I actually really like that part.

It's true, mainly you hear "crash", "bell", "ride". It's noticeable in many 60's and 70's songs--there's one "crash" sound. Does it make any difference? No, the song sounds good, and that's what matters.
More drums and cymbals got really popular in the 70's and 80's, and I had the Neil Peart and Tommy Aldridge set up's too, but I have just as much fun, and think my "less" kits are just as cool as my old "more" kits.

The thing about "getting over being afraid" to really use less is true also. I wanted to use less stuff for quite a while before I actually did it.
...............

The 22" Omni is a really cool cymbal. I wish they offered 21", 20" & 24" models as well.
A 24" Omni would be insanely cool. The 18 doesn't really do it for me, but it made for a cool sounding set of hats!

I really like having less cymbals on the kit, but, I'm still not giving up my 3 floor toms... or my gong haha!
The bands like the gong too :-)

I got a chance to play the Paiste 80-inch symphonic gong that Disney rented for a special event. I think I warmed it up and gave it a good strike at 4PM in the afternoon, and it was still quietly ringing at 10PM in the evening!

You don't happen to own this gong, do you?

[Nodiggie]

Thanks Bo,

I have a jam this weekend and was wondering what to take. This will be perfect!

Love the kit man, I love the unique sound they bring over all Maple or Birch.

[Bo Eder]

Originally Posted by Nodiggie

Thanks Bo,

I have a jam this weekend and was wondering what to take. This will be perfect!

Love the kit man, I love the unique sound they bring over all Maple or Birch.

Did you want to use my kit? I'll drive it out to you if you need it ;)

[KarlCrafton]

Originally Posted by Bo Eder

I got a chance to play the Paiste 80-inch symphonic gong that Disney rented for a special event. I think I warmed it up and gave it a good strike at 4PM in the afternoon, and it was still quietly ringing at 10PM in the evening!

You don't happen to own this gong, do you?

Nah, it's just a measly 28" Wuhan Wind Gong....

[Bo Eder]

Originally Posted by KarlCrafton

Nah, it's just a measly 28" Wuhan Wind Gong....

Well, I suppose if you had the 80-inch gong, you'd also have the forklift that we used to unload it. Imagine a 100-inch SQUARE wooden crate Nd much that weighed......