finding yourself...?

okay so this evening after a fairly productive practice session.. i discover my treasured A Custom has a crack... bummer. so far so what you say? well im due for a gig very shortly with my band and have had to leave myself with a somewhat reduced cymbal set up. hats/crash and ride.not that small you may say but its not what im used to with my band and our material.now, i've seen players blaze over a tiny set up before and whilst wondering if i really needed that crash after all i have perhaps stumbled upon a new set up that really connects with what drummer i am as opposed to what i think i am!

i know this question might seem a purely technical/set up one but ive cracked a cymbal and its left me with a different perspective on my playing all together. weird!

im wondering is there anyone else who has had that moment where they realise maybe what kind of player they really are? or do you think you never find that?

Nick

In the early 80s I was driving to a gig and had a car accident. My mounted tom stand broke so that I had to switch from using two mounted toms to one for the gig (once road service replaced my flat tyre). I didn't really miss the tom and have stuck with one mounted tom ever since.

I don't know whether that meant I found myself, given that my sense of direction is so bad I have trouble finding the kitchen, but it did change things a little. Taking or adding items to a kit can change your drumming perspective, for sure.

Just keep playing it anyway until you replace it. No need to go without. That way, you won't feel weird.

Sort of.

I've always been a fan of bands with large drum kits (Neil Peart, Steve Smith w/ Journey, Keith Moon, Mike Portnoy, etc), and own a large drum kit.

But over the years, I've mostly played a 5pc due it was just more practical, and all but one band didn't really have the need for a larger kit.

So not long ago I set up my large kit, and have been using it. More recently, I was recording music that I thought called for a large kit, and was excited to finally use MORE! But none of the tracks felt right.

Then I had to go back to my 5pc for one day for a video shoot, and wow, suddenly, it felt so much more comfortable. So I re-did my "large kit" songs with the 5pc, and everything came out much better.

I'm not sure if just so many years of playing 5pc it just seems more natural, or if I'm just wired for smaller kits. I don't know, other than I don't know what to do with all these extra toms! ha.

Generally whenever I get behind the kit, I feel that way. What can I change or rearrange to make it easier, more interesting, etc?

The set up I have now is 2 ride toms on a Tama double-tom stand slightly off center of the bass drum. I completely reject the notion of the ride toms must be over the bass drum. I much prefer them slightly to the left of the bass drum so I don't have to struggle to reach the right tom. And I use two floor toms, one 14 x 14 and the other 16 x 16. I continually struggle with the idea that I can play with just a simple 4 piece kit. I've used a 4 piece kit at rehearsals with two crashes and hats and one ride and I am perfectly comfortable with it. So.....6 piece or 4 piece? That battle rages on.......

But that is what I like about having a lot of drums and accessories, you can mix and match to suit how you feel. Twisted, I know, but it seems to work.

i don't think that's twisted at all. i just bought a 6 piece kit just so i could have the extra setup flexibility. i may never set up all 6 pieces at once, but i have a ton of configuration options to choose from.

Seems to be periodic for me. Sometimes I seem to "need" four toms, and sometimes the look of a 6-piece kit disgusts me so I switch to a 4-piece or a 5-piece...
I do "need" a lot of cymbals though. But I can also switch to the bass/snare/hats/ride/crash mode if I have to.

I personally like to switch up my kit set up from 4-piece to 5 to 6 and even change cymbals around. I found for me it helps to keep me on my toes and makes me think outside the box.