What's the most shallow-minded thing you do in regards to playing or owning drums?

I'm the same way...and I do it because I'm married (and she's way out of my league) so mingling too much after shows leads to problems.

Wise man. The best way to avert trouble is to avoid situations that promote it. I've been married twenty years and have walked the straight and narrow throughout. My life is sane and pleasant as a result, and home is my favorite place to be.
 
Wise man. The best way to avert trouble is to avoid situations that promote it. I've been married twenty years and have walked the straight and narrow throughout. My life is sane and pleasant as a result, and home is my favorite place to be.

Couldn't agree more.

I've made some mistakes along the way to get where I am now - but I wouldn't trade what I have for the world so I tend to be a band-mom and a bit of square on the road these days...however - no complaints from anyone on anyside about it haha.
 
In order to preserve RH-LH stick order - eg when taking a short break during practice - the sticks get stored on top of the snare, LH stick on the left, RH stick on the right, both pointing in the same direction, tips away from me.
Same here and I'll use the same practice sticks until their toothpicks
 
I avoid drum solos at all costs, there's a band I play with that does 'Wipeout' and I really don't like playing it.

I'd rather play Peggy Sue which is wipeout with words attached!

I am the same with solo's, both on drums and bass. I have never played a drum solo at a show. I don't work on soloing at home...it is just not my demeanor.

I like listening to other people solo in the correct setting, but the introvert in me does not need the opportunity. My Zen is in the big picture
 
I'd rather focus on playing well than playing a solo.

Besides, a lot of the time, all a drummer really has to do to solo in a crowd-pleasing way is keep playing while the rest of the band stops, and then throw in a big build to the downbeat. ;)


imo, of course.
 
Same here and I'll use the same practice sticks until their toothpicks
What kinda heads are you playing? The last time I took sticks to their splinter stage I got dimples. This is besides the fact I had to use wood glue to push them even further.
 
What kinda heads are you playing? The last time I took sticks to their splinter stage I got dimples. This is besides the fact I had to use wood glue to push them even further.
I practice alot of hi hat patterns , I should of stated that
 
I won't play any other cymbal than Zildjian...mostly b/c of my dad telling me that they are the best, and all others are copy cats back in my formative years. I still hold on to some of this mind set today. Even though I KNOW it is not legit, I still can't bring myself to buy other cymbals.

And I do think that they are still the best.

I also can not play with socks or shoes on. I have got in trouble for this before in bands, and at work, and I am sure it is psycho-somatic, but I just won't do it.

I also rarely socialize at gigs. I tend to set up, and if I can, I just sit behind the kit and play on my practice pad. This is more the introvert in me. I just can't bring my self to hold pointless conversation with drunk people. I run the merch table for my metal band, and that allows me to seperate if I want to. Before set up. or after tear-down, I am fine with it, but as Odd-Arne mentioned about "The Zone", once the kit, or amp (for when I play bass) is up, I sort of hyper focus on playing
I guess I'm much the same and actually prefer audiences where I know no one. I have unintentionally diss'ed some band fans because I'm bad at remembering names and faces of people met in such a casual way.
I don't consider this shallow but my Arbiter Flats are shallow, in a way.
 
I'm in this boat too. I dont spend hardly any time in the your playing section. I dont seek out videos on YT or anywhere else just to veg on the drummer. I could care less what Jojo, Vinnie, Terry, or anybody else is doing/has done, just like they dont care what I'm doing. When I pick up sticks, it's me, no one else. Trying to be a copy of someone else is pointless. Might as well dress and talk like them too.

Amen Brian, Amen.
 
If I think the logo is garish or too big or in some way not aesthetically pleasing, I’ll most likely pass, even if I like it otherwise. Hence no newer Sabians, which I suppose isn’t a big deal since I play Zildjians anyway. But I do have a 7” Sabian splash—with the old logo—only because Zildjian doesn’t make a 7” splash.

I also won’t even consider budget gear of any kind, as I feel it’s beneath me (plus it nearly always sounds bad). Does that make me shallow?
 
...it might.
I was the same way until I found a cheap thing that turned out to be good and useful. A few of these later, and my opinions changed.
Not all cheap gear sounds bad, and some cheap gear offers an opportunity for guilt-free modding and experimentation.
I've learned that some good gear can be hidden in cheapness, and the finding can be rewarding.

Also, not all expensive gear is worth the asking price, ime.


I also won’t even consider budget gear of any kind, as I feel it’s beneath me (plus it nearly always sounds bad). Does that make me shallow?
 
All my cymbals are all A Zildjians, but it gets much pickier than that - I don’t mix up different series or finishes.

I have three sets of cymbals I use for different types of gigs. For the 50’s band its traditional A Zildjians. For jazz and the surf band its a set of Armands, and for the big cover band/corporate band its a set of Brilliant finish A’s.

I hate using mismatched looking cymbals. I own a couple of K’s, but never use them for gigs because I don’t have a full set.
 
...it might.
I was the same way until I found a cheap thing that turned out to be good and useful. A few of these later, and my opinions changed.
Not all cheap gear sounds bad, and some cheap gear offers an opportunity for guilt-free modding and experimentation.
I've learned that some good gear can be hidden in cheapness, and the finding can be rewarding.

Also, not all expensive gear is worth the asking price, ime.
Hmmm, so give us some examples of cheap gear you think sounds good (no pressure!)

BTW, I didn't say cheap gear, I said budget gear. There's a difference. Cheap merely means inexpensive. For example, I remember playing on a 6.5x14 Yamaha steel snare on sale brand new for $99, and thinking how surprisingly good it sounded.

Budget gear on the other hand is made as cheaply as possible, with minimal regard to sound or durability. Something like a Gretsch Blackhawk kit. I love Gretsch, but not cheap s*** like that. They don't even make it, they just slap their name on it.
 
I stick choke my crashes sometimes, won't break 'em if you do it right
I pass my left hand backbeat stroke through the path of my hi hat cymbal flow right hand, between hats and stick.
 
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I guess I'm much the same and actually prefer audiences where I know no one. I have unintentionally diss'ed some band fans because I'm bad at remembering names and faces of people met in such a casual way.
I don't consider this shallow but my Arbiter Flats are shallow, in a way.

oh yeah...I am sooo bad at remembering names. I remember people, and their stories, but sometimes not their names. And back in the day, I DEFINITELY got blackballed b/c I don't party. I never went to after hours stuff b/c of that. Lots o people thought I was a narc...


If I think the logo is garish or too big or in some way not aesthetically pleasing, I’ll most likely pass, even if I like it otherwise. Hence no newer Sabians, which I suppose isn’t a big deal since I play Zildjians anyway. But I do have a 7” Sabian splash—with the old logo—only because Zildjian doesn’t make a 7” splash.

I also won’t even consider budget gear of any kind, as I feel it’s beneath me (plus it nearly always sounds bad). Does that make me shallow?

I thought the same way about budget stuff - and still do for the most part - but I got a 12" Wuhan China cymb as a gift one time, and put it up on my set, and actually really liked it
 
I can’t leave my drum tuning alone. I get them perfect, they sound great from behind and in front of the kit. Come down the next day and think, uh, maybe single ply heads. A few days later clear heads. Then the coated doubles go on. If I played them as much as I play with them, I’d be great by now. But hey, I enjoy doing it. Thank God for my drill bit drum key
 
I have been known to go down into the basement, especially at night when everyone is asleep so I can't play, and I'll just stare at my drums and walk around them eyeing them lovingly. I'll sit behind them and take in how it "feels" to sit there, every so often moving something to make micro adjustments in the placement of drums and cymbals. And I'll also fantasize about ways that I can make the kit "better". Yes, it's sad.
I too have my drums in the basement, which is also where my office is located. When I have a conference call, I'll often just turn and stare at my kit the entire time.

It's also vaguely possible that sometimes as I pass them on the way to my desk, I'll murmur, "hi, baby."
 
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I had to look it up to be sure I answer correctly.

Bandmates that don’t rehearse and practice the band’s tunes before band rehearsal do not care about others’ time and efforts to make good music. I’d say I’m very rigid about this, and call out others who don’t have their sh*t together when the band convenes for practice.

Die cast rims for toms. Always. I don’t care what DW drums says.

If a drum company’s mounted tom system doesn’t make it easy to quickly tune a mounted tom, the system is garbage.

There are only two things that will make my drums sound better:
Me practicing consistently every day, and me exploring new gear to try out. Heads, sticks, clamps, mounting brackets, muting tools, electronics, mic’ing methods, etc.

Grow or wither. Coasting Is decay
 
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