Setting the Kit Up.

[zed32]

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....

24 of those answers would be "what? "

 

[ez_willis]

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.

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.

Do you sit pretty high up above the kit?

 

[zed32]

here's some pics of my cousin's kit, he's a kick ass drummer and he tilts his drums

here's a pic of my kit on the day i bought it, i took it home and set it up downstairs just to test it out. driver's seat view:

so you can see my setup has evolved a ton over the past few months hehe

 

[ez_willis]

Oh, and I have my drums set up. They're a little different than before I tore them down, but it seems like I'm able to get a more solid hit out of them.

 

[ez_willis]

and -

 

[ez_willis]

And my kit is up against the wall, too. This was all I could manage-

 

[Dogman]

After seeing Greg's pics, I did drop my throne a bit, and found I wasn't reaching for the kick as much, and used it a bit more. I had to move the hat, and snare to accomodate, but I also was playing better right away...just fit me better.

 

[zed32]

Do you sit pretty high up above the kit?

i do. i started with a pretty low seating position, then slowly raised it up as well as my snare height and even the hi-hat height. but yeah i sit pretty tall on the kit even though i'm a short dude. my right leg is maybe just a bit past parallel with the floor.

the way i sit has a lot to do with my setup too, now that i think about it. i've seen some drummers that sit pretty much on the edge of their seat, but i don't have the seat very close, and i sit waaaay back on it to where my arse almost hangs off the back. and when i'm playing i sit up straight, actually almost to the point where i'm kinda leaning back. that's also why i prefer a longer than normal drumstick. if i slouch in, then i start hitting the rims and hitting the cymbals on accident when i do tom fills. if i sit up straight, i get full extension downward on the drum heads without having to get a lot of stick height, which allows me to keep the cymbals closer down and everything's relatively compact. but that's just me!

 

[zed32]

After seeing Greg's pics, I did drop my throne a bit, and found I wasn't reaching for the kick as much, and used it a bit more. I had to move the hat, and snare to accomodate, but I also was playing better right away...just fit me better.

yeah dude, there's so many variables involved. like i said in my last post, the way you actually sit on the throne will have a lot to do with how your setup is. sounds like you're more comfortable playing lower, so you would definitely need some angle in order to not hit the rim every time you do a tom fill. i just like to sit higher up and play downward instead of sitting low and playing forward.

 

[zed32]

one more thing i'll add is that even though my thighs aren't parallel to the floor, my shins are still pointing straight up and down because i play heel-up and with my foot a bit more than halfway back on the kick pedal. if i put my foot all the way up on the pedal, then i'd be reaching, but i actually prefer the feel of having my foot farther back. i dunno if thats good or not, but all that stuff plays into how i sit (up and away) and how my drums are set up.

 

[ez_willis]

one more thing i'll add is that even though my thighs aren't parallel to the floor, my shins are still pointing straight up and down because i play heel-up and with my foot a bit more than halfway back on the kick pedal. if i put my foot all the way up on the pedal, then i'd be reaching, but i actually prefer the feel of having my foot farther back. i dunno if thats good or not, but all that stuff plays into how i sit (up and away) and how my drums are set up.

I haven't even begun to focus on technique. I got good enough to track the drum parts with a consistant meter and hitting the drums properly, and sort of got content with that.

I play barefoot and pretty much use the tip of my toes to give it all the power I can muster. Always liked Tony Thompson, regardless of his crappy meter, and Bohnam is a rock drumming god.

 

[Dogman]

I play barefoot and pretty much use the tip of my toes to give it all the power I can muster.

I played barefoot one night, and the beater bruised the top of my foot....guess I should adjust that sucker...

 

[Bulls Hit]

Here's mine. Not a great angle, sorry

 

[Greg_L]

Lol. Here's my drums. They're not that tilted, you homos.

 

[Blue Groove]

...

Toms should be close, almost touching, and they should tilt in some, but not drastically (15-20 degrees at most).

It helps if there is a slight descent as they get bigger, only half inch to an inch for your high toms then more as you drop to floor toms.

My setup is based on suggestions for movment and ergonomics. Based off of a doctors (I really trust him after 14 car accidents with no residual effects) suggestions as I set up. He showed me the natural movements of the body and I adjusted the kit to fit.

Check to see if your arms tuck into your body when you hit your floor tom.
Move it as stated in my first post if they do.

Check your wrists if you play "closed", if they (or your sticks) cross, move your hi hat until they don't. *CAUTION* killer backbeats may occur!

Last, for now, your knee should be SLIGHTLY below your thigh. Only two or so inches.

 

[ermghoti]

Post #7



There is no absolute right way to set up a kit, if you're comfortable, it's fine.

 

[Blue Groove]

...

Just because it seems comfortable now doesn't mean that it isn't doing long term damage. Ergonomic setup will even make great drummers better. It's all about the mechanics of the human body. Machines will work wrong, but something will break. Efficiancy is lost due to extra movement.

 

[ermghoti]

What you said. I meant to include efficiency/ergonomics in my definition of comfortable, but my post kept growing to a half page of sactimony, so I trimmed it aggressively.

 

[ez_willis]

Just because it seems comfortable now doesn't mean that it isn't doing long term damage. Ergonomic setup will even make great drummers better. It's all about the mechanics of the human body. Machines will work wrong, but something will break. Efficiancy is lost due to extra movement.

True, but your formula doesn't include variances for body types. I have long leg/short body syndrome,, so my kick drum has to be about 3' away from me.

 

[Greg_L]

Just because it seems comfortable now doesn't mean that it isn't doing long term damage. Ergonomic setup will even make great drummers better. It's all about the mechanics of the human body. Machines will work wrong, but something will break. Efficiancy is lost due to extra movement.

Wouldn't setting it up so it's comfortable be the very definition of "ergonomic setup"? There's no extra movement if things are easily within reach and at a comfortable setting.