What are some of your best cost-saving measures (drum related)?

I buy heads/sticks when sales present themselves. I take great care with purchases and sell rather rarely so losses are not taken. I change heads instead of drums for different sounds

The real trick though is to buy as many drums as possible and rotate through them regularly. By the time you play any one drum enough to damage it or wear out the head you will probably be done playing period... lol
 
Or the dumbest. Now I think of it, they don't do anything else productive around the house, so really I'm just paying for the world's most expensive iso mounts.

I saw a meme the other day that said, "Hey kids, between your schedule of doing nothing and doing nothing, can you empty the dishwasher?"
 
Just thought of another one I've done before. If you already have 14" and 13" hi hats, you never need to buy a trashy set of hats to get that sound. Just use one cymbal from each pair!
 
For those who use gels, there is a super-cheap way to accomplish the same thing and utilize larger sizes than the popular blue gels.

Use window clings that are available at the 'dollar' stores and other discount stores (Big Lots, etc.) The blue gels are shown for comparison, and while some of the cheap gels are small or shaped weird, there are also larger clings (great for floor toms!) The Big Lots flag gels are really cool because of their length to curve around the edge of a head.

BIG difference between $1.25-2.00 for a package of clings, and $7.99+ for 4 small blue gels.

gel_assorted.jpg
I went to the Dollar 25 store this morning to get some of these. Thanks for the tip!
 
I don't break sticks

or heads

or cymbals

i only replace heads when they break. The current batter head on my main snare was put on on Jan 2nd, 2001.

when i bought cases years ago, I got unpadded ones, and just "sink" my drums down into towels or blankets that I put over the top of the open case

I resist the urge to buy more gear by being poor
 
Please don't tell me this! Next thing you know, you're gonna be telling me that it costs money to fish.

Your point is well taken. If truth be told, if I choose to gig somewhere, it means I'd happily do it for free; and sometimes I do. I play drums for fun, not for money. Some of the local guys with talent equivalent to mine always crack me up. They're in there 50's and 60's and think they're on the cusp of fame and fortune!
 
Your point is well taken. If truth be told, if I choose to gig somewhere, it means I'd happily do it for free; and sometimes I do. I play drums for fun, not for money. Some of the local guys with talent equivalent to mine always crack me up. They're in there 50's and 60's and think they're on the cusp of fame and fortune!

I'm pretty sure I felt this way too when I was in my 20s, but somewhere in my early 30s, I gave up the idea of ever doing music full time, and I'm glad I did. The stars in my eyes left a looong time ago, and what's funny is that I'm in the most popular band I've ever been in. With that said, I know guys that are like whom you speak about the same ages as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: A J
I use small hose clamps from the hardware store as memory locks on floor tom legs and sometimes on vintage tom arms.
 
Gotta say... just went to the supermarket. A whole pile of things I normally buy jumped as much as 10% in the last month. I edited expletives from this post, so I don't get booted. I'm thinking I'm going to have to port the 26" bass and let it double as a chicken coop. I think I can use some of these orphan floor toms as planters for potatoes... If I had some Vistalites I could try some fish farming like Keith Moon...
 
I stopped playing gigs way out in the middle of nowhere.

Saved me a fortune.
 
I stopped playing gigs way out in the middle of nowhere.

Saved me a fortune.

now if I could only stop joining bands who practice in the middle of nowhere.....

the gigs are usually closer to home than the practice....:unsure:
 
now if I could only stop joining bands who practice in the middle of nowhere.....

the gigs are usually closer to home than the practice....:unsure:

I took it one step further and just stopped playing in bands.

Now I'm as rich as an astronaut.
 
Another thing I’ve done is I use long, heavy duty rubber gloves from harbor freight to store my floor tom legs in the same case as my floor tom. They work really great protecting the finish from scratches, but I probably need to research if the rubber from the gloves will have a reaction to the wrap.

IMG_0190.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Another thing I’ve done is I use long, heavy duty rubber gloves from harbor freight to store my floor tom legs in the same case as my floor tom. They work really great protecting the finish from scratches, but I probably need to research if the rubber from the gloves will have a reaction to the wrap.

View attachment 149698
With the sweet drums you tote, I don’t know if I’d want to take the chance!
 
Back
Top