Just a little rant about house kits

[PorkPieGuy]

[rant]I hate the fact that it takes me longer to adjust certain house kits than it does just to set up my own drums. If you are going to have a house kit, just do the basics - one up, one down, and take off those stupid memory locks.[/rant]

I feel better now. Thanks everyone!

 

[Fritz Frigursson]

if you consistently have had bad experiences with house kits maybe it’s time to bring your own kit around? just sayin

 

[NouveauCliche]

[rant]I hate the fact that it takes me longer to adjust certain house kits than it does just to set up my own drums. If you are going to have a house kit, just do the basics - one up, one down, and take off those stupid memory locks.[/rant]

I feel better now. Thanks everyone!

Oh lord - Memory locks.

And bad form to whomever actually uses them on backlines haha.

 

[PorkPieGuy]

if you consistently have had bad experiences with house kits maybe it’s time to bring your own kit around? just sayin

It doesn't happen often, but it happened last night (It was an empty venue. We were shooting a video.). I was trying to be accommodating because it's already set up and mic'ed. I walked it to a 6-piece drum set that apparently is played by this guy, very short legs with long arms.

If we play there when the venue opens up, I'm gonna tell the venue to tear down that kit, and I'll bring my own. To add insult to injury, I was pretty sick, and I also had to set up my in-ear monitoring rig and a Roland SPD-SX, and there was very little room (I'm re-thinking my rig right now). I used my cymbals too. When I asked if I could make some adjustments, the person at the venue was a little prickly about it. He didn't know any better because he's a guitar player.

 

[PorkPieGuy]

Oh lord - Memory locks.

And bad form to whomever actually uses them on backlines haha.

I played another short guy's kit about a year and a half ago at a concert where we shared a drum set. I offered my drum set, but he INSISTED we play his. No problem. Once again, sky-high cymbals and rack tom, and super-low floor toms. Floor toms were suspended, angled (I like mine flat) and worst of all, on a Pearl rack that's not easily adjusted. I just dealt with it. I mean, I'm 6 feet tall which is not unusual. When I went to Forks in Nashville last year, every kit was set up perfect for me. Big kits, small kits, a variety of sizes. It didn't matter. People in there playing them didn't have any issues either. No one had to adjust anything. I have a good friend who plays who is probably like 5'8". I play his kits, and yes they are set up lower, but proportionally speaking, I would have to raise everything about 3" and it would be perfect.

Oh well. Once again, this is just an informal rant. Definitely 1st world problems here.

 

[someguy01]

That short guy precedes me at every kit. I always have to raise the throne and the snare.

 

[MrInsanePolack]

I walked it to a 6-piece drum set that apparently is played by this guy, very short legs with long arms.

Lol when I played the Milwaukee Metal Fest the kit was shared. It was a 2 up 1 down with 2 massive (maybe 24s, probably 26s) kicks. I swear it was Paul Bunyans personal kit. I like all my stuff low and in front of me. I felt like I was trying to paint a ceiling the whole time.

 

[Rattlin' Bones]

If I'm playing a backline, I still bring my own kick pedal, throne, cymbals, and snare.

That short guy precedes me at every kit. I always have to raise the throne and the snare.

 

[NouveauCliche]

I played another short guy's kit about a year and a half ago at a concert where we shared a drum set. I offered my drum set, but he INSISTED we play his. No problem. Once again, sky-high cymbals and rack tom, and super-low floor toms. Floor toms were suspended, angled (I like mine flat) and worst of all, on a Pearl rack that's not easily adjusted. I just dealt with it. I mean, I'm 6 feet tall which is not unusual. When I went to Forks in Nashville last year, every kit was set up perfect for me. Big kits, small kits, a variety of sizes. It didn't matter. People in there playing them didn't have any issues either. No one had to adjust anything. I have a good friend who plays who is probably like 5'8". I play his kits, and yes they are set up lower, but proportionally speaking, I would have to raise everything about 3" and it would be perfect.

Oh well. Once again, this is just an informal rant. Definitely 1st world problems here.

That short guy precedes me at every kit. I always have to raise the throne and the snare.

I am that short man.


Kidding aside though - backlines are just one of those things...we did a showcase for APAP at this legendary theater in NYC last year and the backline was specifically only for me that whole night ....we had tech riders, all that - and I get there it's this ancient blue tama with ONE CYMBAL STAND AND NO TOP CLUTCH FOR THE HATS.

ridiculous.

(However - two nights before I got to play Jimmy Cobb's kit at Flushing Town Hall so I guess Yin and Yang haha)

To your point @PorkPieGuy - I just make it work and try to keep a bag full of backline essentials. Festivals are the absolute worse for this....5 minutes of changeover time and heaven forbid the person that plays in front of you helps do ANYTHING haha.

 

[PorkPieGuy]

I am that short man.


Kidding aside though - backlines are just one of those things...we did a showcase for APAP at this legendary theater in NYC last year and the backline was specifically only for me that whole night ....we had tech riders, all that - and I get there it's this ancient blue tama with ONE CYMBAL STAND AND NO TOP CLUTCH FOR THE HATS.

ridiculous.

(However - two nights before I got to play Jimmy Cobb's kit at Flushing Town Hall so I guess Yin and Yang haha)

To your point @PorkPieGuy - I just make it work and try to keep a bag full of backline essentials. Festivals are the absolute worse for this....5 minutes of changeover time and heaven forbid the person that plays in front of you helps do ANYTHING haha.

That sounds crazy about that festival!

Just like everyone else on here, I don't really care how others set up their gear. We definitely all have our preferences. However, when the house kit is a monster, and there's memory locks on everything, it's a little intimidating. One little thing that I do that helps is mentally say, "Ok, I'm not going to play those 4 extra toms or try to hit that cymbal. I'm just going to play the kick, snare, hats, and this one cymbal right here the whole time."

Maybe if I wasn't having to sing, run the tracks, and the metronome, it would be little pressure off of me.

 

[CommanderRoss]

I've learned depending on the gig length to adjust me over wrestling with their kit. I'll move a few things around, but if it's clear that the time it'll take to fit the kit to me isn't worth it, then I'll just play what's there for the short time & dip on off the stage.

 

[No Way Jose]

I guess I'm the guy that fixes the house kit. I replace the drum heads when they wore out. I replaced the snare stand when it wore out. I bought drum sticks that have since disappeared. But it's worth it to be able to meet up with local musicians once a week.

 

[Rhythm666]

Been true all the above too and also that the house kit has all old skins on the set and you can barely get some decent sound out of them, or no muffling in the bass drum, stands that the wingnuts or adjusting nuts are lame

 

[Sakae2xBopster]

My kit doesn't even leave the house and I came home one day to find that my brother-in-law had adjusted everything. I mean EVERYTHING. Even tuning. Next time he comes I'm going to take a roll of police tape and put it around the kit.

 

[Odd-Arne Oseberg]

Going to school and working in schools I've sort gotten used to it.

The issue comes up when essential parts of the kit aren't in working order.

 

[toddbishop]

Worse than memory locks: when they wrap duct tape around the posts at their desired height.

The randomly missing critical items are fun too. And when the thing is just a pure, laughable disaster.

 

[mrthirsty]

I played house kits at Casinos, one thing that never ceases to amaze me is guys are always stealing the cymbal felts and cymbal stand wingnuts. The hi hat clutch usually looks like it's been run over by a car.

I now have to carry replacement felts and wingnuts if I know I have to use a house kit. Amazing how some drummers treat equipment that doesn't belong to them.

 

[Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX]

for me, the house kit better not have jenky hardware...ESPECIALLY cymbal stands/booms. That is the worst. i can deal with everything else

I got used to playing on every odd ball, crap set up you could imagine when my surf punk band would tour. A LOT of the time, we would get to a show and I would be requested to play the headliners kit...many times this was a hunk of junk that was barely holding together.

And there were the 2 times that i had to play on a lefty set up kit, and the guys would not let me change anything around...thank god for all of the left side independence work I had done up to that point. Those gigs were actually sort of fun given the challenge

 

[Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX]

Lol when I played the Milwaukee Metal Fest the kit was shared. It was a 2 up 1 down with 2 massive (maybe 24s, probably 26s) kicks. I swear it was Paul Bunyans personal kit. I like all my stuff low and in front of me. I felt like I was trying to paint a ceiling the whole time.

well, you were in Wisconsin...he lives real close!!!

 

[mrthirsty]

for me, the house kit better not have jenky hardware...ESPECIALLY cymbal stands/booms. That is the worst. i can deal with everything else

I got used to playing on every odd ball, crap set up you could imagine when my surf punk band would tour. A LOT of the time, we would get to a show and I would be requested to play the headliners kit...many times this was a hunk of junk that was barely holding together.

And there were the 2 times that i had to play on a lefty set up kit, and the guys would not let me change anything around...thank god for all of the left side independence work I had done up to that point. Those gigs were actually sort of fun given the challenge

They wouldn't let you change over a lefty setup? Sounds like they don't play nice or believe in co-operation.