Drum Related

So, you’ve seen these drummers with all these weird and wonderful looking kits and you’re wondering what’s best for you. Well let’s hope so otherwise writing this has been a complete waste of time!

The answer to the question “what set up is best for me” can be found by answering the following:

1. What stage am I at now and what stage do I want to get to?
2. How often do I / will I take it up and down?
3. What sort of places am I gonna be playing it?
4. What sort of sound do I want from my kit?
5. How much space do I have for it?

I’m sure there could be more questions but let’s start with those.
Now, if you’re a beginner right now, looking to play purely for enjoyment and to progress as and when then you need nothing more than a low budget standard 5 piece “rock” or “fusion” set with one set of hi hats, one or two crashes and a ride. The difference between and “rock” and “fusion” sizes are usually the following:

Rock:
Bass  22”
Toms  12” 13” 16”
Snare  14”

Fusion:
Bass  20”
Toms  10” 12” 14”
Snare  14”

Of course things CAN vary, but for the most part those sizes are accurate.
Basically, fusion kits are slightly smaller and give a slightly smaller sound. Rock kits are obviously bigger and therefore give a bigger sound! (It’s not rocket science!)

If you’re at an intermediate level and you have ambitions to, or are already gigging, then you’ll be needing a set up with much more durable hardware. This is very important for the gigging drummer. The drums themselves don’t have to be of fantastic quality as long as you take care with them, but if you’re taking the hardware up and down a lot then it’ll need to be something solid. Cheap hardware sticks all the time when you try to take it up and down and it can rust much more easily. The general rule is that the heavier it is the better quality you get.

If you’re gonna be playing big venues and you’re going for a big sound then you’ll be looking at “rock” sizes with some bigger cymbals such as 14” hi hats, 17” & 18” crashes and possibly a 22” ride.
If most of the venues you will be playing in are smaller and if you use drum mics then you can get away with a smaller kit. Cymbals can be smaller and brighter so as not to drown out the rest of the band.
As far as size of kit in terms of how many drums and cymbals, well it IS obviously down to you, but if you’re gigging quite frequently then you don’t really wanna be carting round too much gear, so maybe just two toms and two crashes should suffice.
I’m currently gigging with a disco band and for the most part I only need my hi hats, snare drum, bass drum and two crashes. Occasionally I’ll use the splash but in a bigger room it gets lost if the cymbals aren’t amplified. The same applies to toms, if they don’t have mics, they’ll get lost in the front row of the crowd and it’ll sound like you’ve stopped! Also remember that a lot of places don’t have endless amounts of room on stage, so even if you have a great big impressive looking kit, it may not be practical to use.

Playing a BIG kit in a small room sounds nasty and playing a small kit, not amplified, in a big venue can’t really be heard. So take that into consideration. Remember, bigger sound doesn’t always mean better sound! So pick your kit carefully for what you require from it.