Does a drum rack save you time?

PorkPieGuy

PorkPieGuy

Platinum Member
Does a drum rack save you time? I’m thinking of possibly trying one out. I would have two rack Tom’s, one or two floor Tom’s, two crashes, a ride and hats. What do you think? Do you think this would save me some time?
 
I had two stealth racks. I had a snare basket for the snare, a no leg hi-hat attached to the rack. I used to have boom arms for the cymbals. It didn't save time for me, only floor space by my feet. It cleaned up the kit and allowed for repeatability when setting up. I used a carpet and traced the rack legs with a sharpie as well as the bass pedal. There was no more fiddling during set up, it was always exact. I had to make a couple of trips because the stealth racks while small, are not easy to maneuver through a crowded bar. There is the option to take the racks apart all the way so you have a bunch of tubes but that was not something I wanted to deal with each night. I stopped using them mainly because it made my kit a lot wider than it needed to be. They worked well, just not for every venue.
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Yes, it saves time. Just like Ron Popiel says: "set it, and forget it" I could set up a 3 up, 2 down rack with floating snare basket, remote high hat, and 5 cymbals in about 10 minutes, and have everything exactly where I want it. Gigged this set-up for 6 years without issue. Never forgot a stand, or anything for that matter.


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I tried the Hex rack from Yamaha but I stopped using racks because I don't think they really match drum kits. They look like industrial scaffolding, also everything the rack can do for my 4pc setup can also be done with stands. So no. But if you have a larger kit then I see the use.
 
Fritz Frigursson said:
I tried the Hex rack from Yamaha but I stopped using racks because I don't think they really match drum kits. They look like industrial scaffolding, also everything the rack can do for my 4pc setup can also be done with stands. So no. But if you have a larger kit then I see the use.
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I graduated (pun intended) to this set-up the last year. Lessened the visual impact of the rack. It also has a smaller footprint than it would with stands.


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PorkPieGuy said:
Does a drum rack save you time? I’m thinking of possibly trying one out. I would have two rack Tom’s, one or two floor Tom’s, two crashes, a ride and hats. What do you think? Do you think this would save me some time?
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If you look at the picture in my avatar you can see that I have a lot of cymbals (11 as of now) having the rack I can fold it can carry all the assembly (minus cymbals) and basically just open it up and ensure everything is leveled and all I have to do is just add the cymbals and drums, so it definitely saves time. but a lot of people don't like the look of racks in front of their drums. I personally don't like to have a ton of stand legs and crap taking all my space. Just four legs and the snare and hi hat stands. Of course you can get a stealth Gibraltar rack that still gives plenty of options to mount stands but doesn't block the view of your beautiful drums... and with the setup you describe it would be your best option.
 
Initially configuring a rack setup can be time-consuming and annoying, and still, but less so, when making smaller changes/improvements, until you're done. That's when the time-saving kicks in. Mine saves a little setup time by having everything memory-locked and not everything disassembled (only holders come off the bars, except my double tom holder stays on, and bars are detached, but every clamp stays on the bars), eliminating micro-managing stand positions. (Added bonus- the setup is exactly the same at every setup.) It saves A LOT of footprint space. It saves no weight, but if I ever add more stuff (no plans for that currently), it'll save me weight by not requiring more tripod stands.

My current gig setup is a 5 pc. kit plus an aux snare, hats, 2 crashes, 1 ride, 2 chinas (one is splash-sized), 1 splash, cowbell & tambourine. Gibraltar rack. My ride and mounted FT share a holder. The rack toms are mounted on a double tom holder that's mounted on a vertical bar. One crash is mounted with a holder at the top of the same vertical bar. Small china and aux snare share a holder. Cowbell and tambourine share a holder. Everything else has its own holder & clamp. Horizontal bars and the FT/ride holder are memory locked; nothing else is, and without having to crank down clamps like a pro wrestler, nothing slips, ever. Occasionally, for the sake of getting on/off stage during a multi-band lineup, I can assemble it off-stage, mount everything, a bandmate & I carry the whole thing (easily- it's not that heavy) to its spot, then I put the BD, snare, & hh into position. Opposite after the set. Easy-peasy.

I'm considering converting it to a stealth rack situation, since I don't really need the vertical bar going over my bass drum. The only thing mounted in a clamp over it is a china that I can boom over from the right-side stealth rack. This would add some weight because the extra clamps required for another vertical bar & its "foot" bar would weigh more than the shorter vertical bar. (The bare bars don't weigh much at all; most of a rack's weight is in the clamps.)

I have the complete drum/cymbal/percussion setup duplicated in my rehearsal rig, on stands. It takes 4 stands, not including the same snare & hat stands as with the other rig. Everything is more shaky/wobbly- all the stands except the mini-china/aux snare stand are double-braced, minimum medium-duty- and it takes up a lot more floor space. (Bandmates are always kicking or tripping on stands 'cause they're used to them not being there on stage.)
 
It depends on your setup.

The bigger and more complex the kit, the more a rack makes sense IMO.

For simpler setups with fewer drums and cymbals, racks are more work than stands.
 
mine saves time, but in many of the places I play, it is hard to get from the set up area to the stage, so in those cases it doesn't...especially if the club is full.

I use mine if i know the place I am playing; if I don't, I have a "less cymbals" floor stand option

also, in some of the places, my rack set up would take up the whole "stage"...
 
It can save a lot of time, size and weight depending on the size of your setup.

If you play a 4-piece and 2 cymbals, probably not.
 
PorkPie you've been playing a 4 piece forever it seems-what's with expanding the kit-you join another band? I know it's Turkey season but what's with adding "Toms" :D
 
GetAgrippa said:
PorkPie you've been playing a 4 piece forever it seems-what's with expanding the kit-you join another band? I know it's Turkey season but what's with adding "Toms" :D
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"Toms" is an autocorrect on my phone. :)

Also, my practice space has a 5-piece kit with two rack toms, and I've gotten used to it. I REALLY like it a lot, especially playing some classic country. The fills are fun and more diverse with that extra rack tom. I'm also concerned with set-up time these days.

I've, once again, decided against having a rack after considering it for a few reasons:

1. Within the next few months, the kits I take out may consist of either a 20, 22, or 24" kick drum depending on the venue. I don't want to adjust the height every time I use the rack.

2. Cost is a factor as well. I'd have to buy the tops of boom stands to put on the rack. I don't want to use my existing tops of my cymbals stands in case I have a gig where I only need a couple of pieces.

3. Right now, I have three different kits I take out. My rack tom for each kit sits in a snare basket. However, if I used a drum rack, I would have to change out tom-mounting hardware every time I changed drums sets OR I would have to buy the same mounting hardware for each rack tom.

4. A lot of people say that they save on footprint space. I play a lot of super-tight places, and I just don't know if I can squeeze what I need inside of a tighter space every time if all of my hardware is on a rack.

5. Most important reason of all? My wife hates the way they look. Looks like I'm staying with traditional stands, boys!
 
Odd-Arne Oseberg said:
It can save a lot of time, size and weight depending on the size of your setup.

If you play a 4-piece and 2 cymbals, probably not.
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I agree. I believe there's a certain threshold as to whether it actually saves time or not. I don't think I've crossed it yet.
 
I've struggled with this concept over recent years...and I've talked to and watched friends assemble/disassemble theirs. I'm not seeing a way for it to save me any time.

The biggest potential issue I struggle with is having to disassemble the racks to transport them. (Which is what I've seen my friends have to do.) Doing that would take much more time then folding up my stands and packing them in their rolling case.

I suppose if I could just pick up the rack and put it in a truck, mostly assembled, then it would save time. My gear gets packed away in the band trailer, so that isn't an option, it would need to be torn down enough to put in a travel case of some sort.

I keep looking at different drummers set-ups, and scheming about how it would work for me. The stealth racks look like the closest answer, but I would probably have to have a bigger, rolling trap case to break them down enough to transport. Fun thoughts to wrestle with...
 
I thought long & hard about a rack when seeing drummers following us on a multi-bill show set up off stage, then just pick up the halves, bring them up & mate them together.
Multi-piece kit set up in about 10 minutes for a show.

Then I saw what it took for him to break it all down & put in the van.

Nope...

Seeing all this sold me on just leaving what I did alone. I'm the guy who shows up WAY early to a venue to set up as I know I take the longest.
 
PorkPieGuy said:
1. Within the next few months, the kits I take out may consist of either a 20, 22, or 24" kick drum depending on the venue. I don't want to adjust the height every time I use the rack.
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You wouldn't have to; adjust it for the 24", everything else fits under it. Besides, if you raise/lower the rack tom height, then their angles would have to change also, but there's no need for all that. Keep 'em where you like 'em, relative to the 24".
 
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