Do your drums excite you?

JohnnyG

JohnnyG

Honorary Lifetime CEO
Staff member
Daily I peruse this site looking at old drums, new drums, cheap drums, expensive drums, and for some reason they all "look" better than mine. I have a great looking Gretsch Renown in Cherry Burst finish and a Catalina 16 inch floor tom in Cherry that without knowing appears to be the same finish. I have 8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 toms, they are clean, sound great, dent free, etc., and yet they don't excite me like other kits. I love seeing new drum photos in the Drum section and just drool at times, and yet my drums don't excite me. Is this just me or do others have this same issue? Is this part of the GAS issue that seems to affect us all. Let me know what you think of my issue. I have added a photo of mine just so you can see .....
 

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I think it boils down to the knowledge that, for some application or other, what you have is not the best choice. There's never going to be one drum set that fits all of your needs so you'll always crave something else.
 
Yep it's a beautiful kit-all the sizes you'd need for any application-impeccably kept. But I'm with you-it's like "I sure would like to try _________ different make or model, different wood or construct, etc. It's insatiable. But I love looking so I realize no matter my kit-even my dream one-I'll still likely be dreaming of the "new dream kit" so I think cool your jets sonny boy be prudent. It's like "blow" in you can blow a lot of money and be satisfied for a short time but always seem to be wanting more.
 
I rotate 3 kits over the course of a year so I don't get bored with one kit. I have only had one kit before and I went through what you're going through at the moment. Although I still come here to keep up to date with anything new and have a bit of a bitch, but that's how I occupy bored time in the office.

There are certain kits I'd kill to get my paws on, Craviotto/George Way/Radioking are top of the pile but I've always wanted a vistalite and an old premier and I definitely want my old Superstars back!

I've just had a month away from the kit and just been on the practice pad so I was very exited to get back on the tubs on Tuesday.
 
I have 4 kits and I do the same thing where I am always looking at other drums and getting bored with mine. I think it is human nature. We do it with houses, cars, women and anything else. Always want what we don't have.
 
Oh yea, it's all in your head. Happens to everyone. You said yourself that they sound great. They certainly look fine. Instead of looking to the drums themselves for excitement, it would be much better if there was a "brand new" aspect of your playing that could excite you. Like plan to do something that you always wanted to do, but never actually started. That's all you need. A fresh new "thing" with your drumming, which requires no dough.

So John walk me through a typical scenario when you sit down behind the kit. Let's have some details, you don't talk about your playing much.

Good post Superman, I just saw it after I posted. It is human nature. We are looking outwardly when we should be looking inwardly.

It's really a lot better to want what you have, than to have what you want.

Hey Superman, did you ever have another account under the name Klark Kent?

I haven't seen him around lately....but you're here....Hmmmm.
 
We all get GAS from time to time, but I've mostly settled in as far as kits and snares. I love my Jenkins-Martin Blaemire, and I have an Oriollo copper, BB, Gretsch rosewood, and Pearl 13 piccolo. There's not much I can't do with all that.

Some of the meta-material research going on right now is really promising. I predict we'll have drums that will sound way better in 10 years, better than anything we currently have by far.
 
larryace said:
Oh yea, it's all in your head. Happens to everyone.
Click to expand...

Wait a minute !
I call foul ball.

Considering the drum sets that larryace owns, I don't think he should be allowed to comment in this particular thread. LOL


.
 
Drum-wise, and cymbal-wise, I have everything I want (except for that ovangkol snare) and yes, they do excite me. Doesn't mean I don't look at other gear and think how much I'd love to play it, and if I had more money than I knew what to do with I'd buy lots of stuff I don't need, just because. I doubt if I'd ever really play any of it much though.
 
Hollywood Jim said:
Wait a minute !
I call foul ball.

Considering the drum sets that larryace owns, I don't think he should be allowed to comment in this particular thread. LOL
Click to expand...

Good point. If Larry isn't excited by his drums, there's no hope for any of us.
 
Take your kit completely apart. I mean everything. Heads, hoops, lugs, shells, mounting hardware, etc. Take it all completely apart to it's individual components. Leave no screw un-turned. Then clean and wax it all. I mean everything. Clean out all the old grease from the tension rods and the swivel nuts. Lube everything up with fresh oil and put it all back together. Your shells will shine much brighter, the chrome on the kit will have more depth and the kit will look better than new.

After that, set it up differently. Hang the 12" tom off the hi-hat stand, run a 2up/3down setup and see if it inspires you to play differently. Basically, do this:

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Also, spread the kit out, don't set up your cymbals right in front of you. Pretend like you are going to play an arena gig and you want every fan to see you. Get the stands with boom arms out front, anything without a boom goes towards the back and is for low height cymbals only. Angle all the boom arms at the same angle. If you can, try to keep them all facing the same direction as well. Don't set up one boom arm coming from the left, then another facing forwards and another facing toward the back. Keep the lines consistent. Is it anal-retentive? Yes, absolutely, but you don't get a cohesive looking kit without being a bit anal retentive on how it is set up.
 
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The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. I find with drums that when I have a flashy kit, I long for a subtle understated and classy kit and vice versa. If I set up a 7-piece I realise that there's no need for more than 4, but when I have 4, I long for a 7-piece. I'm lucky enough to have lots of drum kits passing through all the time. plus I own a drum wrap manufacturing business so I can always have the novelty factor.

When I was into motorcycles it was different. The same bike would put a grin on my face for years, same with cars. A long time ago I had a '70 Mustang Convertible. That car gave me a woody at night just from the anticipation of driving around in it the next day.
 
Use your ears. It's sound that is coming from drums that excite me. Listen some new drummers and get inspired from their work.
 
I guess it's like marriage-some folks are happy with the "model" they have and others would like nothing more than to part with it. I guess I do sometimes note other "models" and perhaps get excited some too-but I think cool your jets sonny boy the problem isn't the "model" but me-I forget sometimes just how much "my model" means to me (always been there for me) and I would mourn myself to death over her loss. Funny how that works.
 
It's all in your head, GD. That's human nature for you, we tend to gravitate towards what we don't have, and we're always seeking more or better.

For just a moment, forget about everything you know and are familiar with regarding the internet, and while you're at it, forget about the many avenues where pictures and images and things are so readily at our disposal, now, take another good look at your kit. What do you see? You should see a fabulous drum kit, and with nothing else to compare it to, what a great kit it is! :)

By the way, it really is a beautiful kit.
 
As men, we are so visually stimulated. Maybe you just need to spring for a re-wrap. I get excited playing my Ludwig kit because it's still new and shiny. My other kits are all scratched up, but I don't get to see them as much as I'd like to, so they are like prodigal sons to me and that makes me excited because I love they way they sound and I love playing those kits. Also, each kit has its own cymbal set-up too.

I have to say that I'm pretty content with my drum sets and gear. I just need one more good ride. I won't have to buy anything else for a couple years. That wil give me a chance to save up for a Guru snare. I do have this problem with snare drums though for no apparent reason.

Maybe you just need another kit, like a small kit, you can take out. Get away from using the same kit every time you want to play drums and jam with some other folks using your new compact travel kit.
 
Ya this site makes you look at lots of drum eye candy, somewhat a distraction from the real pure joy of drums for me - playing them.
So when I find myself 'drooling' on pics here as you say, I close my laptop screen and go do something drum related - play the drums, do some rudiments, change my setup, change a head...
Your kit is very nice and has plenty of options for re-setting up.
 
Yes, especially when I get to take them out and play them for folks. I'm blessed to have such a nice kit that's so visually striking.
 
Grunt,

Someone once told me......

"Buy the kit that you'd like to be buried in".

Is your Renown sufficient?
 
Definitely sufficient, but then so is my car.....but new is new and different.
 
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