"There is no wrong way to set up a drum kit"

IBitePrettyHard

Senior Member
...except maybe this one.

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It looks absurd, but it also seems to be working out well for him.

The indie rock dude with the one crash cymbal about seven feet in the air, however...
 
It's not actually wrong. The reasoning for drum angles is that you want the stick to hit the drum at as flat an angle as possible. So if you're going to set them that low, they should be angled away from you. I don't know what he's doing with those further-away drums, but the basic concept is not wrong.

OTOH I don't know what's up with the super-high crash cymbal. I saw Ches Smith w/Marc Ribot and he had one of those. Seems dumb.
 
Are we now seriously saying to Daru Jones that his set up is wrong..??

For everyone who agrees on that, go sit behind your "normal" set up and try to groove like this..:


 
Don't let that cymbal fool you, John Stainer's groove will melt your face off (and he'll be perfectly in time while doing it). If you absolutely can't get over the visual aspect then I HIGHLY suggest you watch this... You're welcome:


On his far right, that's a Zildjian Earth Ride he's crashing
 
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There's also Damon Che:
Soooooo, the founding member of John Stainer's band Battles (guy with the cymbal from above) is the OG guitar player for Don Cab :)

Damon Che exclusively used exports and sabian B8s. He doesn't believe in expensive gear and loves the bright cut of the B8 line.
 
Just because it sounds good....doesn’t make it right!

lol
 
That's the thing. Just because it's been done a certain way for as long as it has, really has no relevance. If it works for you, that's the point of ergonomics correct? I don't care how someone's drums are setup. It's about how it works for them.

Hopefully I'm not sharing a kit with them though!
 
when I was 7-25 years old, there would have been a "wrong" way to set up a kit to me....then I spent 15 years playing other peoples kits at gigs, and that mind set changed. In the past 10 years, I have experimented with many different kinds of set ups...some were completely wrong for me, some were brilliant. Currently, I am "back" to a normal set up. But I know that I will get bored this summer and change it around
 
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