Advantages of low placed snares

Yeah Phil Collins really buggered up his neck and back over the years. The discussion and consideration of ergonomics weren't so prevalent in the 1970's as they are now.

Look how Steve Smith's changed his drum position and posture from 1980 to 2020
 
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This guy's snare is barely above his knees.

ringo-starr-the-beatles.webp
 
cbphoto said:
This guy's snare is barely above his knees.

ringo-starr-the-beatles.webp
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that was definitely in a day where the equipment forced you to play to it...
 
Tamboreter said:
I would end up with a lot of back pain and I'd probably be damaging some heads too. Perhaps Steve has a physical limitation that requires him to play in that position? :unsure:
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I wonder if that is why he uses that thick Evans head with the dot? He also at one point makes a comment about using loud snares with a nice crack due to the way he sets up. Regardless of lower back pain, his drum parts are really tasty in that video. Never heard of that band before.
 
cbphoto said:
This guy's snare is barely above his knees.

ringo-starr-the-beatles.webp
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Looking at this, what initially comes to mind isn’t that his snare is too low. It’s that his throne is way too high. There’s really no need to be in a nearly standing position. Then again, this is coming from someone who hates sitting high, so I might be a bit biased.
 
TK-421 said:
Looking at this, what initially comes to mind isn’t that his snare is too low. It’s that his throne is way too high. There’s really no need to be in a nearly standing position. Then again, this is coming from someone who hates sitting high, so I might be a bit biased.
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Great point, which I forgot to mention... yea, if his throne was at a more "ergonomic" position, the snare wouldn't look so low. Same with Ringo in the pic above... his throne looks high, IMO.
 
That looks like a photo-op shot of Ringo, not one where he's playing the kit (I don't see a bass drum pedal). So, maybe he didn't normally sit that high, and did it just for the shot. If, however, he did normally sit that high, I would agree that it seems too high... even though I sit pretty high up as well.
 
JimmyM said:
Yet it seems so many place the snare much lower, with some placing it well below their thighs.
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Perfect visual when performing Garth Brooks' Friends In Low Places.
 
beatdat said:
That looks like a photo-op shot of Ringo, not one where he's playing the kit (I don't see a bass drum pedal). So, maybe he didn't normally sit that high, and did it just for the shot. If, however, he did normally sit that high, I would agree that it seems too high... even though I sit pretty high up as well.
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The beginning shows how inept the venue crew was. And no one came out to help Ringo until he asked. Then a mic fails. oof. But, at 5:30 you get a great view of Ringo's hi-hat swipe technique.
 
TK-421 said:
This may be a little off topic, but how many of you noticed the cowbell? I probably looked at this photo 10 times before I saw it.
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I had to go back and really look before I found it, lol.

Definitely a photo shoot. Ringo's swishing hi-hat strokes would never have worked with a cowbell there. 😂
 
Iristone said:
Phil Collins infamously broke his back by playing a low-placed snare drum. He probably was making room for his high toms, but most multi-tom drummers do it much more ergonomically.
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This is a myth. It’s true he had poor drum posture but His really serious back problems started with a fall. He describes this in his autobiography.
 
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