I’m interested in any drum kit setup methods or “tricks” folks have discovered that have had some sort of impact on your playing / technique.
I am familiar with the general ergonomic theory of drum kit setup - sit relaxed and neutral on your throne, pedals under your feet, snare in front and build from there - this thread is not intended to be about that…
That said, here’s my example…
I used to have my hi-hat setup relatively high so I could really lay into the edge of the hats - why? I suppose it’s most likely that I didn’t know any better, and at some point habit and familiarity lead to staying with a specific setup. As a result my sticks would get chewed up and I was restricted on how easily I could apply certain hi hat techniques. However, these days my hi hat setup has changed in 2 ways:
1. The height of the hats is lower - holding my arm at a right angle I can point at the edge of the hats. This allows me to hit the top bow of the hats with the shank of the stick as my “neutral” type of stroke. I can easily adjust the stroke up or down to hit the top of the hats with the tip or the edge of the hats with the shank. Much more versatile playing position. Thanks to this Steve Smith video for helping me:
2. I have my hi hat stand setup with the bottom hi hat cymbal seat angle adjuster facing me, this allows the top hat to overhang bottom hat slightly and saves wear and tear on my sticks. My stand is 2 legged so I can also adjust the overall “tilt” of the stand so the hats are still flat. This video explains it:
So anyway, I’m curious about any setup tricks folks have discovered that have impacted your playing and technique.
I am familiar with the general ergonomic theory of drum kit setup - sit relaxed and neutral on your throne, pedals under your feet, snare in front and build from there - this thread is not intended to be about that…
That said, here’s my example…
I used to have my hi-hat setup relatively high so I could really lay into the edge of the hats - why? I suppose it’s most likely that I didn’t know any better, and at some point habit and familiarity lead to staying with a specific setup. As a result my sticks would get chewed up and I was restricted on how easily I could apply certain hi hat techniques. However, these days my hi hat setup has changed in 2 ways:
1. The height of the hats is lower - holding my arm at a right angle I can point at the edge of the hats. This allows me to hit the top bow of the hats with the shank of the stick as my “neutral” type of stroke. I can easily adjust the stroke up or down to hit the top of the hats with the tip or the edge of the hats with the shank. Much more versatile playing position. Thanks to this Steve Smith video for helping me:
2. I have my hi hat stand setup with the bottom hi hat cymbal seat angle adjuster facing me, this allows the top hat to overhang bottom hat slightly and saves wear and tear on my sticks. My stand is 2 legged so I can also adjust the overall “tilt” of the stand so the hats are still flat. This video explains it:
So anyway, I’m curious about any setup tricks folks have discovered that have impacted your playing and technique.