Ep. 47 Drum Set Ergonomics for the Gigging Drummer

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Quality drum sounds are super important under just about any circumstance though your setup (before you even take out a drum key) may have far more to do with the sound you’re creating than you think. In Ep. 47, we provide an overview of setup ergonomics for the gigging drummer- how to deal with the house kit.
Recommended book: "Anatomy of Drumming" by John Lamb
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Hosted by: Cody Rahn
Production: Ben O'Brien Smith @ Cadence Independent Media
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[@JeffRandallDrumming]

2:02 So true man. Even if the hi hat stand has a clutch it’s usually missing felts and other bits and pieces as well. Bringing your own clutch is key. I always bring a kick pedal as well. Lord knows how the backline pedal will be setup.

[@thunderfoot11]

Cymbals, pedals, keys, sticks and the "emergency tool kit" (clutch, felts, washers, lugs, and such). Drummers' express kit - don't leave home without it.

[@owencurtiswilliams9763]

I once had to improvise a ride cymbal stand by put the ride cymbal on a spare clutch, took my belt of and hung the clutch on my belt that I attached to a broom laying across two bar stools. It worked!

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

That’s some MacGyver level drum tech work right there! 🙌🏼

[@thunderfoot11]

You win the MacGyver drum challenge - please tell me you have a mullet. lol

[@clikens86]

This is awesome!

[@bigkickleo]

WHY in the Fck does anyone give this a Thumbs Down when all SLAD is trying to do is HELP?! Ridiculous!! FWIW - My Fly Date/ Backline rig includes: Kick Pedal w wrenches and 2 diff beaters (yes, you can bend or break a beater rod), 2 tuning keys in pedal bag; Cymbals (often backline cymbals don't work for your type of material, for ex: 16" Metal crashes for an intimate singer songwriter set; Hi Hat Clutch (even if they have one, if I am going to swap my Hi Hats, I don't want them keyholed by the crappy clutch with no felts); AND I also include Lug Locks and Tama Quick Release Cymbal Mates (6mm and 8mm) and Cympad Washers!! Thanks for the video guys!! 👊🏼

[@daneeehhhh]

In regards to seating and posture I learned the rule that no joint should be less than 90 degrees at rest position. That applies to forearms, shoulders, ankles, knees and hips. I started seating higher after understanding that and started noticing how common it is for drummers to seat low and stress all these limbs

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

That's an interesting rule of thumb to reference! -Ben

[@jonashellborg8320]

mentioning John Lambs “The Anatomy Of Drumming” - great, necessary book, and i’m not surprised this channel know about John. You are awesome, people!

[@rjs1188]

I actually have a tiny keychain tape measure in my stick bag, and in a note (and in my phone and memorized anyway) I have the height of things from my kit - seat height which is measured from bottom of leg at seat edge to account for seat cushion "squish", bottom hi hat felt, snare rim where left stick crosses - those 3 are the critical ones for me that let me get a kit going in pretty short order. Pressure and adrenaline have impaired my judgement many times, so it's the engineers way for me.

[@artpereira]

This scenario is absolutely every single gig here in South Africa. No one ever brings their own kit but because of a lot of what you brought up we all bring our own hardware. Makes setup faster and better for the drummers. I can imagine New York would be tough to bring your own hardware. Worst cases I've had with backline kits, I broke through the kick drum head multiple times. Tom mounts breaking. Vocalist having to put a foot on the kit to stop it from moving. All expected stuff over here. Keep up the good work.

[@pyroeuropa]

In my opinion the seat is one of the most forgotten part ,when it comes to technique and comfort... before you move around the kit, be sure that you sit comfortably

[@davidperez5089]

Omar Hakim once said its THE most important part.

[@meekoloco]

Physically I’m the largest drummer I come across, my seat ALWAYS goes with me

[@thepluggy1]

I remember watching Andols Herick from Chimaira said to always have your cymbals in touching distance,without moving your body forward. it was great advice and i adjusted my own setup to that advice, it made playing so much better.

[@pawelmorrison]

If youre playing on a house kit, or any other kit that isnt yours, then please, loosen the nuts before you adjust any heights and angles

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Always! It seems like a no brainer but you've gotta treat the gear right so it's still standing when the next drummer comes through. -Ben

[@InternationalYogurt]

Amen to that. There's nothing more frustrating than a Tom arm that won't stay in place because people moved it without loosening the nuts first.

[@bigkickleo]

@@InternationalYogurt Or worse, one you can't adjust because the last gorilla just HULKED it into place and clamped down with a wrath!! Jeez

[@danyvet1]

@@bigkickleo yes!!!! made that experience last week... no chance to adjust the floortom, that was actually not a floortom, but a rack-tom in that case, fixed (and I mean FIXED tight!) to a tom-stand ;)

[@skylarbrillante2756]

Big Kick LEO if you ever run into that problem, clamp your drum sticks on either side of the wing nut and use them as leverage to crank it loose

[@paulkennedy4920]

The importance of having the kit on a good, heavy rubber backed rug or mat cannot be overstated. I bolted a chock to my rug and I keep it in my car, so I'm always covered regardless of the kit I use. A few of the clubs where I live have those little kitchen rugs and they're useless. Keep one with you at all times and you'll have one less thing to worry about.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

It's especially important to be cognizant of the surface your drums are on. Unfortunately, bringing a rug around New York just isn't at all realistic so you end up having to get creative with ways to anchor the drums if the floor surface isn't sufficient. -Ben

[@hansheld467]

Great video - sitting right is one of the most underrated topics in drumming...

[@owencurtiswilliams9763]

Also memory locks are good to have on you to stop things moving around, especially stripped out hi hat stands. I hate it when the bottom hat starts to creep down

[@HHGdrums]

Man this was great. Love your content dudes!!

[@c.r.blankenship9040]

I've never had to play on a backline kit so far, but I did have to play on someone else's kit. My band had a gig a couple years back where we had a friend on drums, but I was on drums for the first song. He had his kit set up differently than mine, so it was kind of an adjustment. We ended up using elements from both our kits: he had his shells and most of his hardware (cymbal stands, throne, snare stands, etc), but we used my double pedal, my Octapad, and my cymbals (we needed to not be overwhelmingly loud, so we used my Gen16s so we could be quieter). We also had my floor tom on stage as well for some extra ensemble drumming stuff.

[@mr.anderson70]

These detailed setup videos are great for new drummers too. One of the nagging things that rattle around in my head is getting used to a bad setup and ingraining that so deeply that later I'll have to spend time retraining myself. Snare and Hi-Hats are the most confounding things to set up. I envy anyone who has their Hi-Hat rod cut. They don't even have to play a beat and I'm in awe.

[@crimsun7186]

If you play traditional, setting your snare flat and low will put your spine in a bend it doesn't want to be on and will force your spine to support one half of your upper torso without any help from the other half, as the traditional side will be under tension and the other side will be relaxed. This also affects your balance and forces your left foot to hold onto the ground with more force. People who do that have to understand that traditional grip is not a symmetric grip and trying to make it be like that is not the solution. Another good resource on that is Ryan Alexander Bloom's video series on the subject.

[@nbruc3392]

Beyond relevant for a gigging drummer.. especially in NYC. Awesome as always!!

[@garysmith3173]

As always another superb video. I think I love you!!!

[@plasticgodzilla1]

I play traditional and matched grip equally often. To find that sweet spot where both work is kinda though. So most of the time I keep adjusting the snare stand for all over the show and end up with an ok positioned snare when the show is over... Btw. you guys complement my tv dinner after rehearsals nicely. Keep up the good work!!

[@allancueto22]

Haha i love this... I have learn all this things trought the years but it's really cool that someone take care of talking about it, keep the good content 🤘

Sweet video as always. Open face match player here so it's always a fun game of ergo-where-go-my-drums on house kits. :D

[@Gretchluver1]

+1 for the Yamaha strap drive pedals. Very cheap yet very smooth as well. So good, I got another one as a backup!

[@StartdrummingDe]

Great Video, as allways! And I can remember simmilar situations with backliner kits! My clutch is allways wit me! ;-)

[@MrStingraybernard]

A lot of great tips , specially for a newbie like me

[@DrummingMan1]

Traditional grip? Amazing! Me drummer! Need hands! Just call me a matched grip barbarian! As usual there is a nugget of excellent information for me in your videos! Love the cow bell holder tip! I have a very old Premier kick pedal that I believe is compression spring loaded and has a very cool toggle to attach to hoop. Never fails on any hoop configurations! Thanks guys for all that you do! Cheers… Keith

[@yelltempus]

Great stuff! Seat height pretty much determines everything else so, always top of the list. Bringing a clutch, abso-freakin-lutely. Sometimes you're stuck with what you got because there's no time. Louie Bellson told me, "If you can't reach it or, play it comfortably, don't play it."

[@karlspear6729]

After playing many open mics and using the house kit over the past 50 years, I have learned to adapt to the set as much as adapting the set to me. I'm left handed so I just change the snare, hi-hat and floor tom around and leave the tom(s) where they are. I might raise a cymbal, or move a stand, but nothing that will make the drummer have to rebuild the set afterward.

[@Calrou2000]

This man said “you’re kinda boned.” That’s joke of the week

[@alanduncan1980]

It takes me a while to set up. As soon as I get the kick, snare and hats set up I start playing. When the other guys in the band start giving me the stink eye I know I should probably get the rest set up. I find that tearing the kit down is more enjoyable than setting it up.

[@funkdrummer]

I would love to see a part 2 on this, maybe with an actual backline/house kit. This video is great info, and only scratches the surface. I find the ball and joint tom connections are typically only usable at one angle due to drummers over tightening, and thus eating a hole into the ball part of the joint. Then, there’s gaff tape on the L mounting arm to keep the tom in position due to over tightening. I have learned to expect the worst with backline kits in New Orleans.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

That's an excellent idea! I think there's a lot we could dive into with this topic. Thanks for chiming in! Be sure to turn on notifications so you don't miss any upcoming releases. Cheers! -Ben

[@PabloJ1968]

Awesome as always!

[@SKragseth]

Good morning everyone! Thanks for this video I needed it. I have been sitting too low. Hey what sticks do you use?

[@mrmisfit635]

Thanks, this is a great video!

[@ianmuessig]

Great video, I was actually just revisiting this topic after drumming for the last 17 or so years. I did think it was going to be about alternative set ups from the 3pc/center hats pic but maybe next time haha. I have been dealing with the backline kit thing alot lately and it frustrates me because I only use a 2pc kit with 1 cymbal... It takes me longer to rearrange a house kit then set up mine. Also, a venue/sound guy would never hand an electric guitar player an acoustic guitar and say "Here, this is the house guitar. You have to play this." What about metal guys? "Here is your 4pc, good luck! Oh, you play double bass....SOL buddy" What about fusion guys using electronics? It's a crock really. I started telling people "my doctor suggested I always this a specific set up" and they give in 99% of the time.

[@JCYoo]

Thanks for the video! Helpful as always. Looks like I'll need to find me a cheap Yamaha pedal.

[@sega.milkis]

You can use a bass drum anchor. From Gibraltar for example

[@AlmostReady504]

Besides my cymbal bag, snare & kick pedal. I carry clutch, key, felts, wing nuts , a roll of tape and a rag I can cut up bc so many backline kits seem to be wide open. No muffling. A wide open kick can make for a miserable gig. (For me)

[@funkdrummer]

Bryan B lucky!! I experience the opposite, where there’s an entire comforter in the kick and tons of gaff tape on all drum heads. The snare head is cranked and the wires are choking the sound to death.

[@davidperez5089]

Don`t leave home without your blanky!

[@NoslenLRac]

Great advice, everyone. I will typically bring my cymbals, too. Most of the backline kits I’ve played usually have cheap cymbals and untuned drums, so (with permission) I’ll tune everything up and can be sure I’ll have decent sounding cymbals. How about dealing mic placement? Do you check with the house before adjusting anything or just adjust and reset the mics yourself?

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Absolutely, bringing cymbals is a must. Re: mic placement, I find that generally sound engineers don’t appreciate having the mics adjusted so I usually don’t get into that unless the placement is getting in the way of playing. If something is wildly off I might adjust a little after the first song :) - Cody

[@patrickfarley8036]

I'm a lefty, so I tell the "sound guy" as soon as I know what slot we're in so he has a heads up he's gonna have to earn his money that night! Usually buys my guys a few extra minutes to warm up as well. 😉

[@a.j.wilkes6352]

[Watches Video] [Immediately messes around with John Stanier cymbal height]

[@ianmuessig]

Haha, I thought the same thing. Doofy placement or not... That guy is a friggin' monster though. Check out Tomahawk, if you aren't already familiar.

[@a.j.wilkes6352]

​@@ianmuessig I feel like if you have that placement, you have to be a monster. That would be completely unacceptable.

[@zacdrake]

Prior to today, I hadn't heard of John Stanier, so I had to check it out. He's definitely unique. An ergonomic nightmare!! I saw an interview where he said it started off as a joke and now he can't lower it because it would piss people off!! lol. But, hey! It worked and people noticed!

[@hiptoalieu]

DUDE!!!!! i'VE USED THE COWBELL HOLDER DEAL ONE TIME WHEN I FORGOT both OF MY Kick drum legs!!!!

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Nice! Hope it worked out well for you. -Ben

[@KCElstun]

Great vid, thank you!

[@sidmarks265]

Great review and thank you so much. Can you do a recommendation for the ergonomics of cupboard drumming please? I've been banished by my wife to a cupboard... three blocks away. The old women who owns the house is deaf and partially sighted and, as yet, hasn't cottoned on to my presence. She has though, sat on my lap a few times, so perhaps I've mistaken the lav.for the cupboard. It can really be a messy business drumming but I'm determined, and so is my lawyer, to keep on drumming. How can one, or two, resolve the conflict between the hi-hat and snare? I cannot for the life of me set them up without catching my sticks together and how they can travel so far is beyond me. If I could replicate the bounce on the snare I'd be called Vinnie. (note to self: must replace neighbor's fish tank)

[@Thatvermonterdrummer]

I played a gig where my cymbal fell off the stand multiple times so embarrassing

[@THESLOWDEATHHOOKS]

nice video

[@johnlamb7309]

Thanks for the shout out! @12:00 LMK if you have any questions :)

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Hey John! We love your work. Would love to talk further about some collaboration, as you bring some unique expertise to this space. Let us know what would be the best way to get in touch. Thanks! -Ben

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Thanks man! Your book has been a huge help to me personally :) -Cody

[@remygaron8311]

Awesome like always👏👏🇨🇦🇨🇦🥁🥁🥇

[@rubenspoolder3567]

Great video, however it is videos like this where I would like to see you play a bit. Maybe before and after adjusting the kit to see how changing it physically impacts your body.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Thanks! We didn't really think that demonstrating playing would have much impact as these effects are much more dramatic when felt firsthand. Even better to try it out on your own. Cheers! -Ben

[@craigshewchuk9018]

Rimshot is Earnest P Warrles dog name my dude

[@davidsuprenant893]

I've always dreaded when I would have to do a jam session on someone else's kit.was always problems.No fun.

[@pedroahets]

👌

[@danyvet1]

Haha, this comes one week too late for me :D I have been playing drums now for one year and had my first gig last week. On a house kit. Well, I've learnt my lesson... I had almost everything in my car, except a second boom stand, just one (I play 2 crashes and 1 ride, the house kit had only 1 stand for ride and 1 for crash), and I left my pedal, my seat, my snare stand and hihat stand in the car because when I arrived at the venue I saw that all these things there looked fine. Haha. Ok, they actually had 2 boomstands (1 for crash, without extension arm, just straight, and a second one that was fixed to the tom stand, so I could not move it away from or closer to me, also without extension arm), both were lacking felts and one had no sleeve. Luckily I had some spare felts with me and a quick release wingnut (that has a sleeve). But the latter is for 8mm and the house boom stand had a 6mm thread, so the wingnut could not be fixed, it got loose with every crash hit. I fixed it with a duct tape :D The hihat stand had a clutch, but it took me a few minutes to check out how that worked, because I haven't seen one like this before (had a kind of bayonet lock). The kick pedal had a rather slicky surface, so my foot was on the verge of slipping off it (what I hadn't realised during sound check, only after the first song of our show - lol). The seat was perfect, the shell set and the snare stand, too. So I only took my cymbals, my boom stand for the ride and my snare. Next time I will bring ALL my hardware :D

[@maba5219]

Cowbell mount. Hot shit.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Simple but super effective in a pinch! -Ben

[@maba5219]

@@SoundsLikeADrum genius sir

[@johncollins5552]

I don't think a tom rimshot is a good sound, on the snare sure, is it just me or is that a strange sound?

[@patrickfarley8036]

I agree, but maybe it's a 'jazz' thing? I don't like, listen to or play jazz so I'm only guessing but in my world, not a pleasing sound.

[@coreyw5981]

Ha what about my left hand issue?

[@coreyw5981]

@@SoundsLikeADrum well normally nothing unless i have to ever use a house kit. They aint gonna let me flip everything around

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Gotta get the kit set up the way you like. Swapping things around shouldn’t take too long.

[@SoundsLikeADrum]

Man people definitely flip it around here. I literally had a chat with a friend today about that very thing. Gotta do what you gotta do!

[@wintersummers3085]

I HATE it when people say "I talked about it in the last video" without linking it. Yeah, like I'm going to slog through your videos to find the one that happened to be before this. If you can't be bothered to add a link to the description to a video that you referenced, then I'm sure your content is lazy and crappy as well.