I just need to get this off my chest.

Just curious, what national act uses a local opener’s kit?? Backline used for a headliner is normally provided by a rental company.

That's what I thought, but alas, I'm lending out my Rogers and COB Supraphonic (and very clearly, no cymbals) tomorrow night to a British funk band who shall not be named. They had a whole specific list of backline gear specifically naming Ludwigs or Gretsches in sizes, a whole slew of As and/or Ks, Ampeg SVT/810E... the list goes on. With the amount of time they spend on this side of the Atlantic, I'm surprised they haven't invested in having a whole B rig for them with all their stuff they want, or that they wouldn't just rent that exact stuff from SIR or something. Surely they must have to play some real dogs on tour.
 
A good reason to NEVER let anyone you don't know touch your drums. I use a firm 'no' whenever asked.. I don't care if they are rock legends (and I've turned down a few) or a supposed 'hot drummer' (who turns out to have no sense of time). If they really are rockstars - they would either bring their own kit or have the backline provided. It's usually the organziers that come up with these kind of cheapo requests.. and if you push back they suddenly find some money to rent a backline kit!
 
I had my first custom set of drums...ply birch Eames...built in 1982. The next year, I lent them to a local drummer that was really hot at the time in my area. It was through him that I found a pivotal teacher, because I asked him where he learned to play so well. Anyway, I had this Eames bass drum built with no front head or lugs, to A save money, and B, I thought I would never want a different BD tone than a 1 headed weighted muffled bass drum tone lol.

Anyway, I visited this drummer friend I lent them to while he was using them on a gig because I wanted to hear what they sounded like with a great drummer playing them. To my horror, since there was no front head, I could clearly see that there was a completely bare CINDERBLOCK inside my bass drum, directly touching the once pristine urethane finish.

So after I got out of jail....

I still have that set, visually they are beat and scarred to hell but still completely useable. I'm saving them for a refinish/restoration project someday not soon which should be a blast. I had them built with 12/13/14 racks and a 15 floor, with a 22 x 15 BD. I'm really good with those sizes today and I will definitely be putting a front head on the bass drum when I do restore them. I used Gretsch lugs and it's finished in a color that looks a lot like Gretsch's walnut finish, so I guess I was going for the Gretsch look. I used an even amount of lugs on the racks because at the time I wasn't even aware of Gretsch's 5 lug rack tom thing. Those drums are coming up on 40 years old, so the wood is nice and dry and resonant. They were very precise shells when they were new. Maybe I'll restore them when they are 50.
 
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For the last time.... NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, E V E R let anyone else use your gear.

That's also my policy on a local basis unless I know the drummer, and that they won't cause damage to my kit, and that they're responsible if something happens. On tour, I don't recall it ever being a question, it's been 35 years since we had another band open for us! But any problems caused by another drummer to my kit could jeopardize my performance, so the answer would have been a flat no.

Bermuda
 
I don’t have to deal with kit sharing often due to playing in a pub band. But if I was on the originals circuit where this was considered the norm I’d buy an old used bulletproof kit (Export, APK, Stage Custom) strip,clean and reassemble with decent if not top line expensive heads (Remo UTs?) and proactively “sell” its availability for rental before anyone asks to borrow a kit. It would be very hard for an organiser to ask for a lend of something if when you’re approached for a gig your answer is “yes we’ll do that gig, shall I provide a rental kit and hardware for £50 or is everyone fetching their own gear?”. You could email a brief a description of the gear provided to all bands on the bill and point out that because it’s your kit but a rental, everyone is free to adjust heights and angles to their hearts content.
All that being said, whether I paid £100 or a £1000 for a kit I’d still be livid with anger if someone stood on the bass drum.
 
I don’t have to deal with kit sharing often due to playing in a pub band. But if I was on the originals circuit where this was considered the norm I’d buy an old used bulletproof kit (Export, APK, Stage Custom) strip,clean and reassemble with decent if not top line expensive heads (Remo UTs?) and proactively “sell” its availability for rental before anyone asks to borrow a kit. It would be very hard for an organiser to ask for a lend of something if when you’re approached for a gig your answer is “yes we’ll do that gig, shall I provide a rental kit and hardware for £50 or is everyone fetching their own gear?”. You could email a brief a description of the gear provided to all bands on the bill and point out that because it’s your kit but a rental, everyone is free to adjust heights and angles to their hearts content.

£100 with a £100 returnable deposit if the kit comes back in the condition you gave it.

Beater kit or not I wouldn't let folk adjust heights or angles to their hearts content. I had some cretin put a hole through the finish of my newly re-wrapped Hayman because he was some bedwetting Coldplay listening indie boy who put the tom rim on a 26" bass drum and then ran off after he'd finished. That was the last time I let anyone near my kit.
 
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Didn't Rogers have a kick with a metal support like this?
 
This could spawn a new product....some kind of super slippery material covering the bass drum shell that would make it a fiasco if someone attempted to lay a foot on the bass drum. I could rig bass drums with flashing lights and loud alarms if someone tries to mount it. Or make some kind of super sharp spikey mat with animal feces on the spikes to drape over it.
 
If you are going to get into supplying equipment, do it like a business...just like your drumming!

Consult a lawyer, get contracts for all regions you will supply to that have varying laws, get money up front including a deposit for potential damage.

Keep receipts, deduct the depreciation...get the business running( a nice LLC for equipment provision might make some $)

Have insurance.

Do not under-price yourself.

(Note, if you are not doing these things for yourself as a performer as well, you may want to consider it)

If you do not have the proper paperwork in order you run risk of $ loss.

I do not suggest loaning/sharing equipment to anyone unless you do this...and are rigid with having things signed and money deposited BEFORE you make the equipment available.

I think running that low profit business is not worth it so I do not get involved with anything where one of the tag lines is "...by the way, you will be supplying the kit for the night."

Also, keep a video recording device running (put a clause on contract with your lawyer that allows it for equipment monitoring ONLY...no re-use of footage/sound allowed) as courts want to see who damaged what and how bad.
 
Install spike strips like the police use to flatten tires during auto chases. The talk to her like the child she is and express the money you spend as compared to her maybe buying a microphone.
 
I allowed a "friend" to use my kit at a party because his was . . . uh, shall we say, junk? Anyway, as the gig progressed, he became more and more incensed that the bass drum kept creeping away in the middle of songs. But, he found a fast and effective way to secure the bass drum by NAILING MY BASS DRUM TO THE STAGE FLOOR!!!!!!!! Yep. Just like that and I had a bass drum with a new anchoring point provided. The offending guy offered to have my bass drum replaced - until he sobered up the next day and realized what he had done.

GeeDeeEmm
"Until he sobered up next day" - and realised you'd nailed his tongue to the toilet seat.
 
This could spawn a new product....some kind of super slippery material covering the bass drum shell that would make it a fiasco if someone attempted to lay a foot on the bass drum. I could rig bass drums with flashing lights and loud alarms if someone tries to mount it. Or make some kind of super sharp spikey mat with animal feces on the spikes to drape over it.
???
Bass-drum grease - repels all boarders.
 
This general theme is the impetus behind my generosity of donating a nice set of A Zildjians to my church. Last year I was gone one week and asked to drop off some cymbals for my replacement drummer. Seems he didn’t want to play the church’s ZBTs either!
 
I think this incident exposes a deeper issue. I think that in general most venues and some, if not most musicians don't view drums as a musical instrument.

I think your right. How many times have we used a rehearsal room kit and have to spend time sorting it only for the guitarist to stand there looking like we're wasting their time....
 
Not to bore you with old school stories but that's why I liked gigging in the late 60's, 70's and early 80's. Anybody who was anybody had roadies and used their own stuff. Even the bar bands. Usually the only time somebody else used my gear was if it was a friend of the band sitting in. There were a couple of cases where some national act guys asked to jam with us having turned up after their big hall concert.
 
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