The very important position of the ride cymbal.

Lunar Satellite Brian

Senior Member
So, the question here is quite simply, where is you ride on you set and why?
I place mine half way on top of the bass drum(like the old jazz 4-piece sets) with the rack toms off centered, I find this is very comfortable and it allows me to hit any other drum or cymbal with my left hand while my right is on the ride.

And I know what a lot of the respected members of this forum are going to say"Ride over the hi-hats are omnipotent, you should do that." so I'm going to say this right now, I've tried my ride there, I don't like it.

Also, I apologize, I'm sure this has been discussed before, but it's a good discussion so, why not again?

I suppose I should supply some photos(excuse my many colored drums.)
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.ne...939904_100001422392884_692888_116677356_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.ne...28357_100001422392884_638531_2007484977_n.jpg
 
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I always put mine between over the floor tom next to the right tom in a 5 pc set up. I also use it for 7 and 4pc configs.

DSCF1097.JPG
 
which one? :)

if it's 1 up 1 down to the right over the bass drum and partially over the floor tom.
If it's 2 up 2 down, partially over the mid rack tom high, (second ride below it partially over the high floor tom)
and I try to keep a 3rd ride over by the hats.
 
HEY Zickos! Love the old school coil-style stick holder on your bass drum hoop!!! How long have you had it? Is it very old?

I have a bit of the old cross-dominance: left handed and right footed....so where most cats put their primary crash is where I have my ride positioned. I have one crash above my timbale (where the second rack tom "usually" goes), and another to the left of my ride (at the 9 o'clock side of the ride). I keep the stand set low, with a slight downward tilt towards me, very comfy. Love my ride...20'' K, I use it for EVERYTHING!!! I named her Fatma, a popular Turkish girl's name.
 
All 3 cymbals I set up are rides, my main ride sits next to my floor tom and is not used as a crash like the others. From left to right are my hats, 16" cym. 1st tom, 2nd tom, second cym. fl. tom, main ride. Very simple set up pretty tradional other than the ride being placed in front of my fl. tom. Its easily reached sometimes its flat just above the fl. tom other times I raise it up and tilt it down. The rest are kept fairly flat and very low. Doc
 
I'm a bit of a beginner and still experimenting all the time to find what fits me best. I'm always trying new configurations and seem to re-arrange my kit more often than I shower; but the most comfortable position I've found so far is like this.

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The only thing I haven't tried yet is on the left above the hats. I might have to give a try that this afternoon just for the heck of it.
 
I use two types of Ride arrangements on my set: 1st - right close to the bass drum about half way on it and 2nd - about a quarter over the floor tom.
 

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This is the position of my ride.
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inneedofgrace; I see that you have a PDP X7, are you happy with it? I'm thinking of buying one myself. Would you recommend it?
 
Even though I usually only play one up, I still like the ride more over the first floor. This could be some hold-over from when I used to normally play 2 up, but I also like having full access to my 1st floor while playing the ride - with the ride over my kick, too often I end up hitting my right hand with my left stick... ouch!
 

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Even though I usually only play one up, I still like the ride more over the first floor. This could be some hold-over from when I used to normally play 2 up, but I also like having full access to my 1st floor while playing the ride - with the ride over my kick, too often I end up hitting my right hand with my left stick... ouch!

Mike, nice setup. Those look like Bonham sizes. Is that your studio space??
 
This is the position of my ride.
1159-4-b-eliteefx2.jpg


inneedofgrace; I see that you have a PDP X7, are you happy with it? I'm thinking of buying one myself. Would you recommend it?
Interrupting the train of thought to answer the PDP X7 question I wasn't asked. I have both an X7 (double bass) and a DW Collectors. The difference between them is very, very small. The X7 toms are wonderful, but my X7 kick drum lacks the special oomph of the DWs.

Back to the train.
 
inneedofgrace; I see that you have a PDP X7, are you happy with it? I'm thinking of buying one myself. Would you recommend it?

I'm pretty happy with the sound of the PDP X7. They project well, and the bass has a nice THUMP to it. There are two downsides to the kit, however:

1) The snare took a lot of work to get sounding anything like what I wanted. I replaced the snare strip and heads, and spent a lot of time tuning it properly. Still not the greatest snare.

2) The mounting hardware is okay, but not great - the system isolates the toms well, but the clamping system isn't the greatest, however, it's not a fatal flaw.

I bought the kit used for half the price of a new one, and the kit was only 1 year old and not played that much. It also came with the hardware and a set of Sabian B8 cymbals, which I now use for practice. For the price, I got an incredible value. This is the kit I use when I play gigs, and it sounds pretty good, and looks impressive!
 
Mike, nice setup. Those look like Bonham sizes. Is that your studio space??
Thanks, I like it. They're not quite Bonham sizes. More like Bonham *lite* (13/15/18/22 in the pic - but I have a 24" kick now).

I wish that was my studio space! That was just a room big enough for me to get a pic of my full kit!
 
My ride is either on a stand that get's it right next to the shell (flat base), or on a mount that is on the side of the shell.
I used to have it more on top of the shell (Rich, Morello, etc...), but it's more comfortable over a bit.

I've had the ride more on the side when I had a 3 up 2 down set-up, and that was fine, and it's been up just above the 3rd rack tom as well.

For the last 20 years, I've used all my cymbals as a crash and a ride, and in the last 4 or 5, I've had the cymbals lower to really get into riding on them, so the "crash" in position over the hats doubles as a ride a lot.

drumfreak: that stick holeder on Zickos' kit would be an LE-13245-H Hoop mount stick (available from Ludwig). I have a couple and it's very handy. Inexpensive as well.
 
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