Setting the Kit Up.

  • Thread starter Thread starter ez_willis
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ez_willis

ez_willis

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If you can, post a pic from behind your kit, from the perspective you see when you sit down to play.

I am self taught, and learned on a kit I bought and setup without the help of someone that knows what they're doing. After setting my kit up after a couple of months of overdubs and house projects, I wonder if I position the toms in such a way that it impedes my already suck-ass ability.

I'm curious to see what others do with their rack toms. Flat? Angled? Right next to each other or spread apart? One rack, two?
 
here is a couple of shots of mine,
but if probably wont be the right setup for you,
you just have to find a setup that feels right.

Try pearldrummersforum.com, they have a - Show Us Your Kits! thread, with lots of pictures,
if you do a search, there is a lot of info on setting up your drums there as well.
 

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Here's where mine are at right now.
 

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Here's mine....

Without the 16" floor tom. Just reverse the pic.

bwsscontest.jpg


somewhat flat tom angles not angled in with a slight drop from one to another so if I move my torso I'm hitting the middle of the drum, really flat on the 16" (not in pic)
cymbals tilted slightly in (so I don't ram the stick into the edge) so if I move my torso I'm hitting the same spot on the cymbals.

Billy Ward has a great video with a sound setup technique called "Big Time", it also has alot of other great points for any musician, not just drummers.
 
this is my '68 ludwig kit. i always set up the floor tom and snare next to each other and sit back a little.

000_0086.jpg
 
ez_willis said:
If you can, post a pic from behind your kit, from the perspective you see when you sit down to play.

I am self taught, and learned on a kit I bought and setup without the help of someone that knows what they're doing. After setting my kit up after a couple of months of overdubs and house projects, I wonder if I position the toms in such a way that it impedes my already suck-ass ability.

I'm curious to see what others do with their rack toms. Flat? Angled? Right next to each other or spread apart? One rack, two?
Click to expand...

It's horses for courses, bro.

There's ways that look better, but as far as correct setups, as long as it's comfortable and you're not hitting the rim when you mean to be hitting the skin, it's all good.

For recording, I like to keep the cymbals higher to prevent as much bleed into the snare/tom mics as possible. You may want to set up your hihat a little higher than you would normally for the same reason.

Since nobody can see you, ergonomics and comfort are king in this situation.
 
i had a friend of mine who was a drummer for like a couple years when he got his frist decent kit. the way he set it up was ridiculous. it was a Pearl with the 2 mounts on the kick for the toms, and he had them each pointed completely outward, with the toms fully spread left to right and tilted about 45 degrees downard. i was like DUDE how can you even play that? and i could tell he would struggle with his tom fills because the toms were literally like 3 feet a part. and the heads were all dented from the angle. he let me set up the drums for him once and was surprised how much faster it let him work. :rolleyes:



anyway here's sorta how mine is set up, although this is an old, old pic.

drums00020c.jpg


these days, the hats are a little closer, the snare is a little higher, and the toms are moved slightly more to the left. especially the 3rd tom, which is now up higher and closer to the 2nd one (and i got a sweet new Iron Cobra hi hat stand). :D i play with the throne up pretty high, and i gotta pay attention to my posture because if i slump over, i hit the rims alot. if i sit straight up like i'm supposed to, then everything's nice and smooove.
 
zed32 said:
i had a friend of mine who was a drummer for like a couple years when he got his frist decent kit. the way he set it up was ridiculous. it was a Pearl with the 2 mounts on the kick for the toms, and he had them each pointed completely outward, with the toms fully spread left to right and tilted about 45 degrees downard. i was like DUDE how can you even play that? and i could tell he would struggle with his tom fills because the toms were literally like 3 feet a part. and the heads were all dented from the angle. he let me set up the drums for him once and was surprised how much faster it let him work. :rolleyes:



anyway here's sorta how mine is set up, although this is an old, old pic.

drums00020c.jpg


these days, the hats are a little closer, the snare is a little higher, and the toms are moved slightly more to the left. especially the 3rd tom, which is now up higher and closer to the 2nd one (and i got a sweet new Iron Cobra hi hat stand). :D i play with the throne up pretty high, and i gotta pay attention to my posture because if i slump over, i hit the rims alot. if i sit straight up like i'm supposed to, then everything's nice and smooove.
Click to expand...



Nice rig, zed.
 
ez_willis said:
If you can, post a pic from behind your kit, from the perspective you see when you sit down to play.

I am self taught, and learned on a kit I bought and setup without the help of someone that knows what they're doing. After setting my kit up after a couple of months of overdubs and house projects, I wonder if I position the toms in such a way that it impedes my already suck-ass ability.

I'm curious to see what others do with their rack toms. Flat? Angled? Right next to each other or spread apart? One rack, two?
Click to expand...

The most important thing about setting up drums should be how naturally your limbs can move around the set.

A good technique to find the natural motion is to sit on your throne, close your eyes, and play "air drums." Then set up your drums where your hands want to hit.

Another common recommendation is to try to have all the rims on all of the drums about waist high.

As to the angle of the drums, when you play you want to "play through the drum." Like baseball where you have to follow through with the bat, you should do the same thing when you hit a drum. (Allow the stick to rebound properly though.) So I wouldn't suggest angling the drums too much.
 
Okay, this is another question with no "real" answer, but I'm going to ask anyways.

Is there a right/wrong posture, as far as throne heighth? I heard(I think) that the quadriceps(front of the thigh) should extend horizontally instead of at an angle, and the lower leg should drop vertically to the pedal, rather than extending outward.

And thanks for everyone's efforts.
 
Dogman said:
Why? :confused:
Click to expand...


cuz of the severe angles. you should really consider flattening out your cymbals because angles like that can wear em out prematurely because of the way the stick hits em. also theres pretty good distance between 1 and 2 toms. maybe try lifting the mount tube up, and then you can swing em closer together. that will also keep them angled more toward you instead of being angled "inward" toward each other. those shells look pretty deep though, so it might end up kinda tall. but yeah if you can get your toms closer to the middle, that will get you a little more distance from your cymbals, which could also allow you to lower and flatten them without having them too close to your toms that you would hit em on accident.

but seriously, if you feel good playing on em like that, then by all means leave it alone! sometimes messing with the setup just makes things worse haha, so stick with it if you're comfortable. i'm STILL fiddling with my drum setup every now and then and it's been 7 months since i got it.
 
OK here's some pics i took today now that i'm at home. the kit is up against the back wall so i can't really get a good driver's seat pic, so i kinda had to take it at an angle.

drums00022.jpg

drums00021.jpg


i guess i like em kinda flat. which is why i like having the smaller shells, it allows me to keep them low and flat at the same time so it's good for my short arms.
 
zed32 said:
cuz of the severe angles. you should really consider flattening out your cymbals because angles like that can wear em out prematurely because of the way the stick hits em. also theres pretty good distance between 1 and 2 toms. maybe try lifting the mount tube up, and then you can swing em closer together. that will also keep them angled more toward you instead of being angled "inward" toward each other. those shells look pretty deep though, so it might end up kinda tall. but yeah if you can get your toms closer to the middle, that will get you a little more distance from your cymbals, which could also allow you to lower and flatten them without having them too close to your toms that you would hit em on accident.

but seriously, if you feel good playing on em like that, then by all means leave it alone! sometimes messing with the setup just makes things worse haha, so stick with it if you're comfortable. i'm STILL fiddling with my drum setup every now and then and it's been 7 months since i got it.
Click to expand...

Well, I did that after visiting a drummers forum....and then I saw pictures of Greg_L's setup....which is way more tilted than mine.....and his drums sound great. I guess if looks, and expensive equipement mean something to somebody, I lose....
 
Dogman said:
Well, I did that after visiting a drummers forum....and then I saw pictures of Greg_L's setup....which is way more tilted than mine.....and his drums sound great. I guess if looks, and expensive equipement mean something to somebody, I lose....
Click to expand...


i was gonna bring that up too, cuz Greg_L's drums are way crazy tilted! and he rocks. and so do you. ;) :D

but also his drums are huge, so if he flattened them out they'd be like up to his chin or something, haha

he said something about how angling the drums is more manly. i'm practically a girl scout in that case. :o :cool:
 
zed32 said:
i was gonna bring that up too, cuz Greg_L's drums are way crazy tilted! and he rocks. and so do you. ;) :D

but also his drums are huge, so if he flattened them out they'd be like up to his chin or something, haha

he said something about how angling the drums is more manly. i'm practically a girl scout in that case. :o :cool:
Click to expand...
I haven't a clue what I'm doing...but if you ask 5 drummers how they set their drums up...you get 25 answers.... :D
 
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