The 5 Reasons Why You Are Cracking So Many Crash Cymbals
Makes me angry. Photo credit: Photomishdan
It happened again.
"I just spent a week choosing a great sounding crash cymbal, paid $300 for it and it cracked." Sound familiar? This has happened to me a couple of times and it's so frustrating. The first time, it turned out that the cymbal was defective and I got it replaced free of charge by the manufacturer. The second time I wasn't so lucky.
So why does it happen? Is it the cymbal's fault? Or are you doing something wrong? I have found that these are the 5 most common reasons why you are cracking your crash cymbals:
1. Flat cymbals
Setting your cymbals up flat so that you are hitting them directly on the edge is a sure way to crack them. Set up your cymbals so that they are pointing down toward you a little. If you really like the way they look flat then
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Which Drum Cases Are Best For Gigging?
Its taken 10 years, 3 strained shoulders, 2 near death experiences and a cracked cymbal...
but I've finally figured out the best cases you can use to gig. This combination of cases will give you the maximum protection, maneuverability and packing space that you need to get out and gig worry free. Leave your own suggestions and opinions in the comments below.
Drums
Use hard cases. Definitely hard cases. Your drums are fragile and expensive so you're going to need to invest a bit of money to protect them. But if you get some good cases they will outlast your drum kit (I've had mine for 6 years).
Why you should use hard cases
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How To Set Up Your Hi-hat Stand
The hi-hat stand and the bass drum pedal are the most complicated parts of the kit to set up. Not only that but they also come in lots of different varieties which makes learning how to set them up even more of a headache.
Anatomy of your hi-hat stand
Basically, your hi-hat stand will come in about 6 different parts:
Base
Pole
Tube
Support
Felt
Clutch
Spread the bass as far as it will go to make the stand more stable. Screw the pole into the shaft in the base. However, sometimes the pole will screw into the pedal of the hi-hat itself.
Once the pole is in place,
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How To Set Up Your Drum Kit In 7 Minutes 20 Seconds
In this video you'll see me set up my drum kit from its cases onto the stage in 7 minutes 20 seconds. Sounds crazy but it can be done. It's all about practise. I actually think I could've done this faster but our bass player's daughters packed away my equipment at our gig the night before. Although they did a great job, things weren't where I expected them to be so this added on a bit of extra time.
Listen to the commentary I made for this video to get even more valuable information about setting up your kit at gigs.
From watching the video you will learn:
- How you should prepare the stage for your set up
- The correct order for
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How To Set Up Your Hi-Hat Clutch In 7 Simple Steps
Photo credit: Alotor
A lot of drummers ask me how to do this and to be honest I had no idea the first time I had to do it. But its really very simple to set up your hi-hat clutch.
Usually your clutch will have 5 different parts to it:
- Main body of clutch
- Washers x2
- Felts x2
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How To Set Up Your Bass Drum For Maximum Stability And Sound
Photo credit: Glen Bowman
The most important thing to achieve when you're setting up your bass drum is to make sure it does not slip. The second most important thing to achieve when you're setting up you bass drum is to make sure it really does not slip at all. If you've ever had your bass drum slip away from you while you're playing you'll know how important this is and why I'm repeating myself.
If it slips away while you're practicing then its slightly annoying but if it slips while you're gigging then its a catastrophe. Once your bass drum starts slipping at a gig, it will keep slipping until you can't reach it anymore. Not cool and very embarrasing. Usually the only remedy to this is to put something heavy in front of the bass drum. The guys at Rainbow Music told me a great horror story of someone actually having to
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How to Set Up Your Bass Drum Pedal - 3 Practical Ways You Can Improve Speed, Power and Sound
Photo credit: cod_gabriel
When you're setting up your bass drum pedal, the first thing to check is that the spikes on your foot plate are screwed out so the sharp tips just stick out past the footplate. These help achor the bass drum pedal to your mat. Warning: These may rip a normal house carpet and will not work on a smooth floor.
After you're confident that your pedal will not slip away its time to start adjust it to optimize your speed and power.
There are 3 main ways to adjust your bass drum pedal
- Spring tension
- Beater height/rotation
- Distance of beater from bass drum
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Why You Should Only Use 1 Rack Tom And How Best To Set It Up
Photo credit: hylom
Right lets get the controversial part out the way first. Here's why you should only 1 rack tom:
- Its easier to set up
- It gives you more room for the rest of your kit
- Its less to carry to a gig
- It looks cool
- Its less work for the sound engineer at your gig to do. He will thank you for it. I guarantee it.
A lot of people don't agree that you should only use 1 but hey it works out fine for me. The other thing that people may not agree with is that you should never
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2 Things To Radically Increase Comfort Behind Your Kit
Photo credit: dml82
If you really want to feel confident playing your drum set then you're going to have to spend some time getting comfortable sitting at your drum set. Think about when you're hanging out with friends. Everyone scrambles to get a seat on the couch, everyone want to sits shotgun in the car. Why? Its the most comfortable place. So you get to relax fully and really enjoy hanging out.
The same is true when you're playing with your band. If you're thinking about how awkward your set up feels or how uncomfortable your stool is then you're not really focused on what you're playing. To have the best time hanging out with your band you're going to have get comfortable behind your kit. So how do you get comfortable? It all starts with
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