For most working class drummers – and even practicing ones – we have to compartmentalize our various sized drum kits to fit the intended stage dimensions. Having a 12X12 stage dimension is gravy for bands these days. More often than not, however, we face strange L-shaped stages situated flat against bar walls, no stages at all leaving us to create one around tables and chairs, or an actual elevated stage that a ventriloquist could barely fit on.

So how do we adapt to ever-changing stage sizes? First, Gibraltar Hardware and other drum hardware companies got smart years ago and innovated the use of drum rack systems, which saves tons of space and lessens set-up time and energy. If you don’t own one and play out regularly, you should definitely at least consider purchasing one.

Before anything else, don’t screw yourself over to accommodate guitar amps. What I mean is if you don’t fight for your rights as a musician, you will lose them. Guitarists sometimes forget that drummers also need to hear the music in order to play well. Unless you have a sound man who understands how to mix all the instruments and vocals into a good monitor for you and you alone, then setting your drum kit up behind everyone else is a mistake.
I have yet to meet a sound man who can mix everything together effectively that way.

My point is guitarists rarely stop to adjust control knobs on their amplifiers while playing songs. Most use their effects pedals and guitar dials to control and change sound. So why must guitarists and bassists set up their amps in front of the drums? The audience will still hear everything fine if the amps are placed against the wall to the left and right beside your drum throne.

My advice is for drummers to get to shows and new practice spaces early and own your space first. Your carpet is king. Let the band build their gear around you, and strongly encourage them not to fear placing amps back in alignment with the rear of your drum set. It will help the mix immensely and provide more actual playing space for musicians. If you are unsure of the stage size, call the club or venue earlier in the week to inquire or go check it out ahead of time.

Enough of my drummer discrimination rant, though I’ll conclude by adding that stringed instrument players should leave their cases and back-up guitars back stage or in the cars just like drummers do. Big space saver. And there’s no need to display five guitars on stage unless you intend to play them all.

Then there’s actual stage sound variations to consider. I’m no soundman, but have found better success with my own band setting up our amps somewhat blowing across stage at each other rather than directly pointing out into the audience. You can control the mix better that way. In very small venues, I have even seen a band leader turn all the amps inward toward the stage to control maximum sound output decibels. Obviously, in that case setting up amps behind the drum kit would be a moot point.

Some bands also run everything through the PA system regardless of stage or venue size. I can’t advise you one way or the other on that front; I only add that for most small to mid-sized clubs – unless you are live recording -you can get away with having only three mics on the drums for your kick, snare and an ambient overhead. That will save a lot of on-stage clutter and time. In many cases, you don’t need any mics and neither do guitarists.

The very worst thing you can do as a drummer is to try to cram a 12-piece Gretsch Renown series into a space not made for it. For one, it will take you twice the amount of time as normal to re-configure your cymbal stand spans, and you’ll end up with too tight an area in which to play. Less is more in that case. Leave half the kit in your car and go basic.

- Tim Kane is a freelance drummer, instructor and writer living in Massachusetts. He writes a regular blog for Gibraltar Hardware.

Possibly related posts:

• November 17, 2011 -- Getting The Biggest Bang Out Of Your Bass Drum Pedal
• August 2, 2011 -- Gibraltar Rack Supports 200 lb. “Drum”
• December 20, 2011 -- Rack it up with NO LEG hi-hat and cymbal boom stands

Custom Drum Hardware Blog, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: clamps accessories, drum hardware, drum kit, drum rack, drum racks, drummers, drums, racks, tips

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Luckily, I was taught to sight-read musical notation live as a young student in grammar school when I played trombone. That early Bass clef knowledge carried over to drums and continued on straight through my college jazz band years. But not everyone is a schooled musician, or even wants to be. The fact is drummers really don’t need to sight-read in most musical settings today, unlike wind, string, piano and brass musicians. After my college band experiences ended, I did not read a single note for more than a decade. I played everything by ear.

My point is not so much having to learn to sight read in order to play in a successful band – unless of course you plan to enter the music industry professionally and attend college where sight reading is a pre-requisite. For most part-time and hobbyist drummers out there – and many full-timers, too – you probably will never be asked to read a chart or define how a 5/4 time signature breaks down.

I stress with my own students that learning how to sight read has a lot more to do with opening up new avenues of musical expression across the entire drum set; discovering cool new rhythms and patterns you would never have played without sight reading them first; and providing yourself with an instant framework to focus yourself during practice. In my opinion, learning to sight-read is as important as playing along to your favorite bands and songs or performing live with other musicians. Your ears and eyes are intrinsically connected.

HOW TO LEARN SIGHT READING

The easiest and best way to learn to sight read, if you don’t want to go out and hire a private drum instructor, is to buy a good music theory and composition book or CD, and definitely check out national drum magazines such as DRUM! and Modern Drummer. Those publications always carry great how-to-read exercises and notation breakdowns in each edition.

Once you understand note and rest values and the mechanics of how they apply to measures, time, dynamics and all of your drum and cymbal “instruments”, the best way to master them is to use your ears. Take several of your favorite recordings and transcribe the drum parts for them on music staff paper (manuscript). Then, ask a musician friend who can sight-read well to grade them. Try to work drum chart transcription – or at least live sight reading – into your regular practice regimen. And if you get stuck when reading music, slow it down to a tempo that’s more manageable or seek help in an online drum forum.

Remember, it’s rare today for a rock band leader to hand you a drum chart at a gig or practice and ask you to sight read it verbatim. Beyond being prepared for something that rarely occurs for drummers outside of recording studios or at more intricate jazz and concert band gigs, learning to sight-read just makes you a more complete and smarter drummer. Happy New Year!

- Tim Kane is a freelance drummer, instructor and writer living in Massachusetts. He writes a regular blog for Gibraltar Hardware.

Possibly related posts:

• November 17, 2011 -- Getting The Biggest Bang Out Of Your Bass Drum Pedal
• November 4, 2011 -- Fuel your drumming technique instead of failing it
• January 27, 2012 -- Size and equality matter when it comes to band stage set-ups

Custom Drum Hardware Blog, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: drummer, drummers, tips

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

My new Gretsch Catalina and vintage Rodgers drum kits rest in a dark studio shed and directly next to a warm boiler in a dimly lighted garage. These are not exactly the most ideal storage locations to bring out the best in your shells’ tones or lifespan, but they serve as a beginning point in our discussion.

Exposed long-term to either temperature extremes below 32 degrees Farenheit or above 90 could spell disaster for your drum shells, not to mention chronic problems with tuning. Your comfort zone temperature wise for free standing or stored drums, cymbals and hardware hovers around 65 degrees with low humidity – like the preferred climate inside your own home.

First, don’t stack drums from smallest diameter to largest on top of each other like they do in some music stores. While many drummers use this stacking method as a space saver – and it does work well while breaking down gear on stage – over time the weight of the drums will begin a waterfall of bearing edge and drum head warping issues.

The best accessory product you could ever invest in for your drums are hard or soft cases to help protect them in storage and in transport. They are many different case styles and price ranges – I’ve found success with relatively cheap soft bags – including a whole line of products offered here at Gibraltar Hardware as discussed in this archive blog post last August.

Locations such as unventilated attics or beside campfires, woodstoves, direct sunlight, over heater vents, or other extreme temperature areas are not so good for drum storage and even active set-ups. Notice a trend? Heat causes your shell’s wood to expand, ultimately affecting its ply construction and outer wrap laminate. Attics in particular can reach 110 degrees during the summer so unless you want bubble wrap instead of your beautiful green glitter laminate, it would be best to avoid them. Dry sheds can work well, too, only if they have insulated inner walls with sheetrock like mine does.

When my wife doesn’t hide the extension cord, my studio shed’s space heater is actually the perfect way to regulate temperature, so long as it is set on medium low and actively monitored to avoid potential for fires. And the other kit in my basement works fine, too, because I use a dehumidifier during damp times to avoid excessive mold and mildew build-up.

Use of car and truck tow trailers for your drums and band equipment are wise investments as well, so long as the trailer is not a permanent storage location. The same temperature and humidity tips above apply to trailers. Strive for storage at about 50-60 percent humidity. And if you have to leave drums, hardware and cymbals in either real cold or hot, humid areas, be sure to clean and inspect them regularly.

If you don’t own cases, the best long-term storage location is a dry walk-in closet with your drums wrapped in heavy moving blankets and then sheet plastic. I do not recommend taking the actual wrap covering off of your drum shells before storing them for long period of time, however. The wrap acts as a layer of protection for your shells and in most cases requires a heat gun to remove, which is best left to a professional.

- Tim Kane is a freelance drummer, instructor and writer living in Massachusetts. He writes a regular blog for Gibraltar Hardware.

Possibly related posts:

• January 27, 2012 -- Size and equality matter when it comes to band stage set-ups
• November 17, 2011 -- Getting The Biggest Bang Out Of Your Bass Drum Pedal
• November 4, 2011 -- Fuel your drumming technique instead of failing it

Custom Drum Hardware Blog, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: accessories, drum hardware, drum kit, gigs, hardware, storage, tips

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

We spent a good deal of time at Gibraltar Hardware packaging our 4600 series hardware together exclusively as a sweet bundle deal with our sister company, Gretsch Drums, for obvious reasons. Because of the 4600 series line’s ever growing popularity, however, we have decided to offer them individually for the first time.

The 4600 series hardware includes a hi-hat stand, snare stand, 1 boom rod and 1 straight cymbal stand, and a kick drum pedal. It was originally designed to give Gretsch drum customers instant kit playability leaving the retail store or delivery truck at a reasonable price, but with the same high quality as our other individual lines. While the Gretsch/Gibraltar hardware packs are no longer Gretsch specific, they still very much pack a punch.

This gear solves several problems for the both the practicing and gigging drummer, especially for those who either are new to the drumming community or looking to upgrade their outdated equipment. First, it’s the perfect way to upgrade to great, low mass double braced hardware to expand your current gear offerings, have back-ups in case of emergency, or to finish off a shell kit purchase. If you don’t place your cymbal positions well above head level or love to thrash hard all the time, then the 4600 cymbal stands (boom stand extension ranges from 30-57 inches tall) are perfect for you. That said, the 4600 series cymbal stands are designed to hold virtually any cymbal weight. It is just a matter of how hard you rock them.

Because the 4600 series cymbal stand bases are a double braced tripod design with hinged height adjustment, drummers can also envision alternative set-up treatments as yet another advantage to owning such components. We’ve seen skinners mounting a tom-tom, cowbell, tambourine, and other percussive devices on these babies with no problems.

As for the 4600 series hi-hat stand, drummers can find an advantage in that the top height extension of 36 inches will certainly make it easier to fit the stand in a standard drum hardware bag without having to collapse it. And its rotating base tripod leg certainly helps provide more foot space for double bass drum players and those fitting a drum kit in tight stage or practice spaces.

The 4600 series snare stand gives drummers the same quality all cast adjustment points, but without the added weight. This may not be the best option for drummers with heavy 6.5-inch deep snare shells, but for smaller piccolo-like snare players and as secondary snare stand option, you can’t beat the price or quality.

And as for the 4600 series bass drum pedal, it is one of the better packaged deal pedals on the market today as a simple and fast pedal, styled with the Wave pedal board and hammer dual surface beater that delivers speed and ease of use. It is the perfect pedal for those learning how to play kick drum, or for old drummers who want a more efficient and transportable piece of gear.

You can see from the product description advantages above why we have decided to break this series out as separate Gibraltar Hardware options. We think you will find the series offering as the perfect individual addition or replacement, or complete line.

Possibly related posts:

• December 20, 2011 -- Rack it up with NO LEG hi-hat and cymbal boom stands
• November 14, 2011 -- Cool Things from Gibraltar
• August 12, 2011 -- It’s In The Bag

Custom Drum Hardware Blog, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: clamps accessories, cymbal stands, drum hardware, drum rack, high hat stands, splash

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Our Turning Point hardware features light weight aluminum based stands. It’s double braced just like our traditional 9606 brake tilter stands and just as solid but much lighter. The stand still has memory locks for fast set ups including a memory lock for the base to memorize leg height.
Included in the innovative design of the Turning Point is our Swing Nut technology. The Swing Nut offers drummers a faster set up and eliminates losing your nuts before, during or after the gig!

Possibly related posts:

• January 27, 2012 -- Size and equality matter when it comes to band stage set-ups
• November 17, 2011 -- Getting The Biggest Bang Out Of Your Bass Drum Pedal
• November 4, 2011 -- Fuel your drumming technique instead of failing it

Custom Drum Hardware Blog, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: cymbal stands, drum hardware, drums, Swing Nuts, Turning Point

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

This is part 2 demonstrating Gibraltar’s new rolling frame for Drum Corps. In this video we show how to set up a 1st tier and 2nd tier rack and how you can customize the design to fit your needs.

Gibraltar’s modular rack design works perfectly for Drum Corps multi-instrument stations giving unlimited mounting options.

A nine-inch regulation locking caster is mounted directly to the rack, making the entire station mobile. Rack stations break down small for storage, and with all Gibraltar mounting accessory options, your set-up can change as needed.

Most Commented Posts

• June 1, 2009 -- GRS-850DBL Double Bass Rack Kit: Custom Rack for Double Kick Setup
• February 1, 2010 -- Gibraltar’s Extreme Hardware Makeover Video
• May 1, 2009 -- How to Set Up a Clean Looking Custom Drum Rack

Custom Drum Hardware Blog, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: custom racks, DCI, Drum Corps, Drumline, rolling frame

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Drum set, percussion and amplifier microphone mounts run the gamut today from simple clip-ons to more heavy-duty claws and just plain old-fashioned vocal stands. The design team here at Gibraltar Hardware has a few interesting varieties of our own specially geared to the demanding musician who does not have time for cluttered hassles and needs longevity from their equipment investments.

What’s ultimately important for musicians that regularly use microphones live and in studio are they’re placement possibilities. We understand that you need to easily maneuver mics to the sweet part of your snare, conga or amp’s sonic atmosphere, and position them in a way where they won’t be hit by an errant stick, overzealous hand, or guitarist’s stomping leg. Then there are the valid concerns we’ve read online about excessive vibrations channeled through some clip-on mic mounts that adversely impact sound quality. That’s one reason why most of our mic holder models have SC-GSM shock mounts installed on their ends. Likewise, the ability to isolate mics enough to separate certain percussive elements in a mix is crucial. To meet those demands, drummers require versatility in product line and we deliver on those expectations.

We’ve chosen eight Gibraltar Hardware microphone clamps and mounts to showcase this week as examples of the innovations we continue to achieve.

For our beloved Gibraltar drum rack owners, the SC-GRMM GIB RACK SHOCK MNT is the perfect assembly with dimensions fitting the same set-up efficiency and agility reasons. The GIB Rack Shock Mount is 16.5 x 16.5 x 1.5 inches and only weighs 1.2 pounds. It slides easily before locking and can be left in tact on your rack for breakdown when your playing time ends. Enough said.

The SC-GMBA GIB BOOM ARM W/SHOCK MNT comes in a cool black finish that attaches to virtually any cymbal stand or small accessory clamp. How many times have the legs of your traditional mic stand tipped over or posed a problem in getting the mic where you need it to be? This product is absolutely perfect for that outstretched ambient cymbal mic and exacting amplifier speaker placement. It also makes for a great replacement when the top portion of your vocal mic stand breaks.

What we love about the SC-GMQC GIB MIC QUICK SET CLAMP is its ability to attach to tubes 1.5-inches in diameter. With tube clamping, musicians can place this baby almost anywhere on a drum kit or percussion arrangement, or even hang it out in the audience off of a rafter or skinny support beam if you want to record a live crowd mix. The best part of SC-GMQC is its two different ratchet adjustments, greatly enhancing horizontal and vertical positioning options. The curved rubber bushing on the clamp itself also makes mounting a breeze and rock solid tight.

For drummers and percussionists who tend to hit their microphones by accident, the SC-JDRMM GIB JAW DBL RATCHET MIC MOUNT lessens that risk big time. Besides its seven inches vertical adjustment of the rod, it also tilts side-to side and backwards. That backward adjustment is an especially nice feature to accommodate different microphone sizes and placement. The rubbery coating on the claw and rubber fitting where the mic attaches eliminates unnecessary vibrations. And we’re proud to say that there are six other varieties in the Gibraltar jaw mount family to secure mics via drum hoops and percussion tension rods.

If height and maximum reach is what you need for mic placement, you should also definitely check out our SC-GMCMA SHOCK MOUNT CYMBAL ADAPTOR. This small but adaptive piece treads on to any standard 8mm cymbal tilter, essentially turning it into a microphone arm.

Same applies with our SC-MMMC MULTI MOUNT MICROPHONE CLAMP. The SC-MMMC is a quick on and off variable size clamp with a gooseneck mount and single wing nut that fits square or round 1.5-inch rack tubes, cymbal stands, marimba frames, any tube or metal piece down to 5/8-inches.

If you require something a bit more permanent in a particular set-up, you may want to try-out our SC-DMM NYLON CLAMP W/GOOSENECK MOUNT. All this nylon clamp needs is a gooseneck and you’re on to tightening the dual clamp wing nut and hex nut down on virtually any piece of hardware.

We’re really excited about this model, too. The SC-GBDIMM BASS DRUM MICROPHONE MOUNT attaches directly to the lug screws inside your bass drum shell to get perfect internal microphone placement – not to mention more pure sound recording and mix production. No more worries about external kick drum boom stands denting your resonate side drum head, or being shifted around during a gig by uncontrollable forces.

When micing a drum kit, percussion set-up, or amplifier, selecting the right mount or clamp can be the difference maker between a great recording and live mix or muddied mediocrity. We would like to think our options are made with high quality sound spirit meets efficient positioning in mind.

- Tim Kane is an independent drummer, instructor and writer living in Massachusetts. He writes a weekly blog for Gibraltar Hardware.

Possibly related posts:

• January 27, 2012 -- Size and equality matter when it comes to band stage set-ups
• December 20, 2011 -- Rack it up with NO LEG hi-hat and cymbal boom stands
• November 28, 2011 -- How to Store Your Drums

Custom Drum Hardware Blog, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: drum hardware

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

LOS ANGELES, CA  – FEBRUARY 9, 2011 –DGC/Interscope Records band Street Drum Corps will grace the cover of DRUM! Magazine’s April issue. The magazine will be available March 14th through April 11th. Drummers featured on the cover of DRUM! in the past year include Travis Barker, Tommy Lee, and Josh Freese.

DRUM! Magazine photographed Street Drum Corps for the upcoming issue at the band’s Big Noise residency at The Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles this past November. The band sat down with DRUM! for an extensive interview backstage before tearing through a set of selections from their latest all-percussion album Big Noise and their first two albums We Are Machines (2008) and Street Drum Corps (2006). You can find the interview in the April issue’s feature story Street Drum Corps “Raw Punk Fury With A Celebrity Sparkle Twist”.

In an era of squeaky-clean, polished production, LA-based Street Drum Corps garnered the attention of DRUM! with their distinctive brand of drumming inspired by sources as diverse as punk rock and the Borundi drummers of Africa, mixing both traditional instruments and found objects with elements of dance for a unique and visually captivating performance.  While staying true to their tribal roots, the band embraces the undeniable call of industrial music.

Be sure to grab a copy of DRUM! Magazine’s April issue. For more information on how to get DRUM! Magazine, visit http://drummagazine.com

http://streetdrumcorps.com
http://facebook.com/streetdrumcorps
http://twitter.com/streetdrumcorps
http://myspace.com/streetdrumcorps

Most Commented Posts

• June 1, 2009 -- GRS-850DBL Double Bass Rack Kit: Custom Rack for Double Kick Setup
• February 1, 2010 -- Gibraltar’s Extreme Hardware Makeover Video
• May 1, 2009 -- How to Set Up a Clean Looking Custom Drum Rack

Custom Drum Hardware Blog, 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Then Paul realized he could customize it! Paul decided to kick his Stealth VMS up a few notches to better match his drum kit. He customized it by using custom 1.5-inch diameter wooded dowels finished in the matching custom burnt orange to match his Gretsch burnt orange drum kit. Nice job, Paul. (note: these are not available from Gibraltar, Paul made them)

Matching Wooden Dowels with the Stealth VMS

Figure 8.1 shows a front on view of the drum kit from the Stealth side. The front T-leg and horizontal chrome pipes of the Stealth VMS (vertical mounting system) were changed out to 1.5-inch diameter wood dowels finished to match the wood of the drum kit. The vertical pipes were left chrome to match other chrome hardware on the kit. Notice cool clean VMS set up with no tripod bases on the snare stand to get in the way. The horizontal wooden pipe runs under the double bass pedal connector nice and clean. The Gibraltar no leg hi hat is mounted to the Stealth VMS with a SC-EA-100 extension arm. (...)
There’s more! Continue reading the rest of this post: (227 words)

Custom Drum Hardware Blog, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: drum kit, Gretsch, wood

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh