Gigs

[tilinmyowngrave]

I havent started gigging (or recording... or even being in a band... but hopefully that will change by december) but I always hear about people bitching about carrying around their drum sets, even if its a simple 4 or 5 piece set with 4 cymbals... SO I wanna know, what do YOU people take to gigs? What cymbals, drums, hardware, etc.?

[Tim Brown]

Well, if I'm playing out, I carry the 6 drums (2 kicks, 3 toms, snare), a hi-hat, 4 crashes, a china, a ride, and my ddrum2. (I normally trigger the kicks at a minimum).

It does get to be a pain at times. If I were trying to play clubs for a living, I would carry the bare minimum I could get away with....I would definitely use 1 kick and a double pedal....to be honest, most of those gigs don't require any double bass anyway. In that type of circrumstance, I'd use a 20" Kick, with a 12" rack, and 14" and 16" rack toms as "suspended floors". and try to mount it all on a 2-sided/L-shaped rack. That way I could have the exact same set up every night.


Tim

[tilinmyowngrave]

Originally Posted by Tim Brown

Well, if I'm playing out, I carry the 6 drums (2 kicks, 3 toms, snare), a hi-hat, 4 crashes, a china, a ride, and my ddrum2. (I normally trigger the kicks at a minimum).

It does get to be a pain at times. If I were trying to play clubs for a living, I would carry the bare minimum I could get away with....I would definitely use 1 kick and a double pedal....to be honest, most of those gigs don't require any double bass anyway. In that type of circrumstance, I'd use a 20" Kick, with a 12" rack, and 14" and 16" rack toms as "suspended floors". and try to mount it all on a 2-sided/L-shaped rack. That way I could have the exact same set up every night.


Tim

Im curious... hwat cymbals do you have?

[my2cents]

those people are ALL crybabies. unless you have to take the subway there is nothing to bitch about.

for gigs i take:

20' bass drum
13" tom
16 floor tom
14" snare drum (all drums in canvas padded cases)
hi-hat
ride
2 crash (all cymbals in one cymbal bag, which has my stick bag in the front pocket)
a grand total of 5 stands
drum throne
milk crate full of miscelaneous stuff...cowbell, wood block, bass pedal, old crumpled set lists that should have been thrown away, a bunch of crap i've never used, etc.
crappy old rug to set up on.

i can fit every bit of this, with the exception of the bass drum, in the trunk of my hyundai. it's never taken more than ten minutes to get all of this stuff into the car or from the car into the venue. set up takes five to ten minutes.

i really don't know why anyone would gripe about bringing their equipment to a gig.

[MadAudio]

Yeah, as much work as it is, I'd much rather have my own kit than have to share one (which I now only do if I absolutely have to).

I haven't taken my current set-up to a gig yet, but it's not much different than what I used to carry.

Gretsch kit: Kick, 2 rack toms, 1 floor, Pearl snare, cymbal case (3 crash, 1 china, 1 ride, 1 pr. hats), hardware (got a new Gator bag for that), kick pedal, throne, stick bag.

I recently incorporated my drumKAT back into my set-up. Here's the new stuff I have to carry: drumKAT (in Anvil case), stand, mixer rack (includes mixer and Alesis DM5 module), MIDI cables, footswitch, kick pedal w/ trigger attachment.

Whew, I'm starting to sweat just thinking about it!

[tilinmyowngrave]

Can people tell me their cymbals et ups? I fidn it itneresting. Especally if u use Paiste.

[my2cents]

Originally Posted by tilinmyowngrave

Can people tell me their cymbals et ups? I fidn it itneresting. Especally if u use Paiste.

i have two sets, one at home and one at my guitarist's house (which is my gig kit):

gig setup:

13" hats (mismatched set. "new beat" on bottom. not sure what the top is, but they're both zildjian)
20" medium thin zildjian crash probably from the '70s.
22" zildjian ride (from the '70s, not sure which model it is)
18" paiste alpha crash

home setup:

13" crappy camber hihats
20" '60s zildjian ride w/ 4 rivet holes (used as crash and ride...i like big crash cymbals, apparently)
21" zildjian special dry ride (records like a dream)
18" zildjian thin crash

[Tim Brown]

Originally Posted by tilinmyowngrave

Im curious... hwat cymbals do you have?

I've got a dozen (well, 14 plus a hi-hat) Paiste Cymbals; Signatures, Sound Formula, some 2002's, and a 22" Rude Ride that I bought in 1981.


I didn't realize you wanted an actual cymbal list, here's the basics of my set.

http://www.geocities.com/jaxmetal/drumfiles/drums.html

Oh, and I can't forget the 32" Paiste gong!




Tim

[tilinmyowngrave]

Originally Posted by Tim Brown

I've got a dozen (well, 14 plus a hi-hat) Paiste Cymbals; Signatures, Sound Formula, some 2002's, and a 22" Rude Ride that I bought in 1981.


I didn't realize you wanted an actual cymbal list, here's the basics of my set.

http://www.geocities.com/jaxmetal/drumfiles/drums.html

Oh, and I can't forget the 32" Paiste gong!




Tim

AWESOME!!! I'm gonna post a pic of my set when I get the new drums... too bad I dont have a gong :-(

[Tim Brown]

You want to by mine? LOL It's leaning against the wall in the attic above my garage. I never use it.... I just held onto it because my brother told me, " You already own it - if you sell it, you know you'll never have another one." And of course, he's right...so I just held onto it because I already have it; if I had to go price and buy another one - I'd never do it...they are around $1,000 now...and it's just not worth it to me.

Think about it this way: A Gong costs between $500 and $1,000 (depending on the diameter, and if it's new) - it typically gets used once or twice - at best- per night. If you're in a band that plays out 12 times per year (once a month is probably more than average for most bands that only play originals) figure out the cost of the gong. LOL It's costing you $50 to $100 per gig if you play 12 gigs a year.

Basically, I got the gong because I was playing in a band that was going to become a "Led Zeppelin Tribute band"....and you can't be Bonzo without a gong!



Tim

[tilinmyowngrave]

Gongs take up too much space... and its hard to put them ina song, I prefer crashes.

[my2cents]

Originally Posted by Tim Brown

LOL It's costing you $50 to $100 per gig if you play 12 gigs a year.




Tim

so that's $25, minimum, per gong hit.

sell it to a chinese restaurant and cut your losses.

[msmales555]

20" 2002 heavy ride
18" 2002 crash
18" 2002 medium
14" 2002 SE hats

- sometimes i throw up an 8" or 10" 2002 splash and a 19" 2002 crash

[mikeh]

I freelance with 3 bands consistantly and another 6 or 7 bands on an as needed basis - the type of gig dictates what I haul. A rock or fusion type may require a larger kit, a country or jazz gig may be a smaller kit.

On the large end, I haul either a 5 piece birch kit (20", 10", 12", 14" & snare) or a 6 piece maple kit (22", 10", 12", 14" 16" & snare). These kits normally are supplemented with a set of mini timbales and varius percussion (chimes, jam block, cow bells, etc).

On the small end, I use a 4 piece mahogany kit (18", 10", 12" & snare)

I have several snares and normally bring a couple both to choose which is best for the room and as a back-up if needed). I also always bring a back-up kick pedal!!!

Cymbals again depend on the gig.

A small gig:
20" Sabian HH Duo Ride
17" Sabian HH Thin Crash
15" Sabian HH Thin Crash
10" Sabian HH Splash
13" Zildian K HiHats

A bigger gig may also include:
18" Sabian HH Thin Crash
16" Sabian HH Thin Crash
14" Sabian HH Thins Crash
12" Sabian HH Splash
8" Sabian HH Splash
20" Wuhan China
14" Wuhan China

On occasion (mainly rock gigs) I replace the 13" hats with 14" Zildian A's or replace the 20" ride with a 40 year old 24" Zildian Ride. On jazz gigs, I sometimes also use an 18" Sabian flat ride.

Hauling gear is a pain - but that's part of gigging!!!

[mrface2112]

hauling drums was the major reason i didn't want to play drums in the band i'm in. i've been there, done that, and really DON'T want to do it anymore. but i did for a while, until our bass player left, and then i got to go back to playing guitar again, which is what i want to do.

i gigged with a pearl export kit with 10, 12, 13, 14, 16in toms, 22in kick and 14x5 ludwig snare. cymbals were 14in hat, 20in ride, 3 or 4 crashes (14, 2x 16, sometimes 18), 10in splash, and a 12in wuhan crash. i hated schlepping the shit.....yet i couldn't bring myself to play a smaller kit (i get bored--need more stuff to smack!).....besides.....seeing all that stuff on stage just plain looked cool!

setup and breakdown took 30-60 minutes depending on if i had to do the FOH stuff as well.

these days, i walk in with my guitar, a bag of cables and a small amp or two (champ or vox pathfinder) and we stick an sm57 in front of it and roll. my setup and breakdown is all of 10 minutes, if that. MUCH happier. the only time i'll ever gig as a drummer again is if i have a roadie to handle all that crap for me......and that'll never happen!


cheers,
wade

[shortness]

depends on gig...when there is plenty of room

22kick
10, 12, 14 tom
14 snare
double kick pedal
2 crash, 1 splash, 1 china, hi-hat, ride

if there is not plenty of room

22 kick
14 snare
double pedal
1 crash, 1 splash, ride, hi hat.

the smaller kit sho nuf easier to set up and break down! both are a blast to play...in regards to paiste 'til', i've got an 18" sig fast crash and an old 20" paiste rude ride.

[tilinmyowngrave]

Originally Posted by shortness

depends on gig...when there is plenty of room

22kick
10, 12, 14 tom
14 snare
double kick pedal
2 crash, 1 splash, 1 china, hi-hat, ride

if there is not plenty of room

22 kick
14 snare
double pedal
1 crash, 1 splash, ride, hi hat.

the smaller kit sho nuf easier to set up and break down! both are a blast to play...in regards to paiste 'til', i've got an 18" sig fast crash and an old 20" paiste rude ride.

Fast crashes r nice, but I prefer the full and power crashes. Rude rides, though, dont have the cleaniness of the signature rides.

[shortness]

Originally Posted by tilinmyowngrave

Fast crashes r nice, but I prefer the full and power crashes. Rude rides, though, dont have the cleaniness of the signature rides.

yeah, no doubt regarding the rude comment ..... on my list is a new ride, i like the sigs, but a ride to me is a heck of a lot harder to pick out than a crash??? i've done a fair amout of a/bing and i see things i like in some and things i llike in others ...got my rude during the early 80's heavy metal dayz...had an 18" too, dang thing was LOUD!

[mrface2112]

Originally Posted by shortness

i've done a fair amout of a/bing and i see things i like in some and things i llike in others

this is just fate telling you that you need several rides! seriously, my main ride is a 20in K Custom, but there are definitely times where i want a 22in ping ride.

i suppose it's like snare drums, or guitars.....you want the sound that the production calls for, so you need to have an arsenal of tones in your bag.


cheers,
wade

[Brad_C]

I never bring the drums they are brought to me already set-up.

[tilinmyowngrave]

Originally Posted by mrface2112

this is just fate telling you that you need several rides! seriously, my main ride is a 20in K Custom, but there are definitely times where i want a 22in ping ride.

i suppose it's like snare drums, or guitars.....you want the sound that the production calls for, so you need to have an arsenal of tones in your bag.


cheers,
wade

I have to agree. There are many times when I feel my Dry Heavy Ride is too overpowering and I want a Dark Energy Mark I Ride... but those things are so expensive! And about the snares... I have 2, and Imperialstar steel snare for when I want a sound that is al snares and no overtone, and a bronze black panther for when I want to hear the ring.

[mikeh]

Brad C,

What do you mean? Do you use cartage? Do you contract with a band that provides the drums? Do you have drums techs?

Whatever the case, you are in a more enviable position than most!

[shortness]

Originally Posted by mrface2112

this is just fate telling you that you need several rides! seriously, my main ride is a 20in K Custom, but there are definitely times where i want a 22in ping ride.

i suppose it's like snare drums, or guitars.....you want the sound that the production calls for, so you need to have an arsenal of tones in your bag.


cheers,
wade

thanks!!! yeah, it probably is a good idea to have a few rides for different styles of music...something clean and zingy for one style, something with a great bell on something...and so on!?!?!? just need cash!!

[shortness]

Originally Posted by Brad_C

I never bring the drums they are brought to me already set-up.

i want some of that

[mawtangent]

Hey I'm no drummer but reading this thread made me think of the Stray Cats...In the 80's videos the drummer is playing while standing up and it looks like he has maybe a bass drum, a snare drum, and one cymbal (maybe two)...it looks like he could pick up the whole set and walk off with it...I don't know if that is the setup he used in the actual recording of the songs but the visual "minimalism" of it impressed me...of course it was an 80's band doing 50's music so that may have little application in this discussion.