RockNGrohl
Senior Member
I've always wondered about just having kick, snare and hats. Never tried it but in theory who needs the toms? You can play all the areas of the snare to get different sounds.Or turn them off. With hats, a crash is an open washy hit with the cymbals halfway open, and a ride is playing the bell of the top cymbal when fully open right? Or is this going too far? If you used big enough hats or even 16" crashes as your hats.. hmm...
I have experimented with minimalist setups when practicing, but have never been brave enough to try at a gig.
But there are many indie bands who try weird things. The drummer who uses no toms but one huge bass drum and only a huge ride cymbal. The guy who sits so low he uses a milk crate (yes, a milk crate) to sit on and can't imagine using an actual throne because he'll sit too high. The guy who plays every piece of his four piece kit including cascara on the drum shells, ride patterns on the cymbal stands, and uses both the reso and batter sides of each drum as he "circles" his kit. Anything is possible if you are willing to be adventurous.
I have experimented with minimalist setups when practicing, but have never been brave enough to try at a gig.
But there are many indie bands who try weird things. The drummer who uses no toms but one huge bass drum and only a huge ride cymbal. The guy who sits so low he uses a milk crate (yes, a milk crate) to sit on and can't imagine using an actual throne because he'll sit too high. The guy who plays every piece of his four piece kit including cascara on the drum shells, ride patterns on the cymbal stands, and uses both the reso and batter sides of each drum as he "circles" his kit. Anything is possible if you are willing to be adventurous.