Sliding drum kits when gigging

Big problem, I was gigging in a hall where the stage was wooden which granted is a very common thing to find, but I had serious problems with the kit I was playing sliding gradually at first, but throughout the set, it got further away to the point that after 4 songs I had to pull the bass drum and the cymbal stands back towards me.

Is there a fool proof (preferably in-expensive) way to prevent ones kit from escaping from the drummer when gigging, and this would be other than using copious amounts of tape across legs and feet of bass drum/stands which doesn't seem to be strong enough!

Any ideas or insights much appreciated!
 
Get some rope and tie your bass drum to your stool.

That way if your bass drum still moves at least you will go with it.

LOL LOL LOL.
 
Buy an inexpensive throw rug. There are threads here about buying them at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc.
Take a piece of 2 x4 wood. Staple a small piece of carpet padding or similar to the wood. Screw the padded wood to the carpet in front of where your bass drum goes.
No more problem!
Link http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57957
 
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I'm 53. When I was 17, my father bought some indoor-outdoor carpeting for the back of his station wagon (old school auto). He bought twice as much as he needed. I cut the thing in half, and made myself a drum rug that I used until I was 46-no lie. I even lost it a couple of times on gigs, and found it next time we played the venue. Found it backstage. I finally lost it for good; left it behind at a gig and had to buy another.

I'm a little surprised by this thread. Every working drummer needs a drum rug. Its a part of your equipment. Go to any place that sells carpeting, and buy a remnant. Something like 7' x 7' is perfect. When you break down your equipment, roll it up and stash it in your vehicle 'til next time. A set of spiked kick drum spurs helps, as well. If you remove the rubber tips of your spurs, they may be spiked. Some companies, like Yamaha and Ludwig, make rubber tips that can be adjusted and set to reveal the spiked tips.

Photo 1 shows my kit on top of a drum rug. This one came from Home Depot or Lowe's where they sell small area rugs. The other photos show Yamaha and Ludwig adjustable spurs with spikes.
 

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I'm a little surprised by this thread. Every working drummer needs a drum rug. Its a part of your equipment.

My thoughts exactly! I know a drummer who never brings a drum stool to gigs, he just assumes he'll be able to find a chair at the venue he's playing at. Most times they're not the right height,, though (hmm...imagine THAT!).
 
Do not buy a thick rug. The commercial grade, small looped rugs are cheap, thin, and somewhat durable. Get one the ENTIRE kit fits on. You shouldn't have to mess around with wood and stuff, just ensure your spikes are sharp and exposed. If they aren't, file them. Also, the spikes on your kick pedal are exposed. I could put my foot through the kick head and my crap still wouldn't move.
 
I also kept the boot carpet out of an estate car that i gigged extensively with....
I still have it... it was out of an Austin Montego !!!!
 
Buy an inexpensive throw rug. There are threads here about buying them at Wal-Mart, Home Depot, etc.
Take a piece of 2 x4 wood. Staple a small piece of carpet padding or similar to the wood. Screw the padded wood to the carpet in front of where your bass drum goes.
No more problem!
Link http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57957

Well, there you go. Another thread on exactly the same topic. Similar advice.
 
We were playing a gig with Kottak and were playing immediately after them. The drum riser already had carpeting on it, so I left my rug at home. Well, after they played, Tommy Lee's sister (Drummer for Kottak) didn't want to remove her kit. None of the other members moved their gear either as they wanted to PARTY NOW!

So, I had to set up on a warped plywood stage. My gear kept sliding and my hi hat stand almost fell over due to the warped plywood.

I always bring a rug with me no matter what now. All you need is one experience and you will never travel without one.
 
I bought one a "roadrunner" brand drum rug and it was the biggest waste of money. its really cheap thin carpet and after about a month it stopped staying down on the ground and rug would bunch up kind of like a fitted sheet.

I ditched it for a rubber backed bar mat I got at the hardware store, it works much better. stays flat on the ground and doesn't move.
 
We were playing a gig with Kottak and were playing immediately after them. The drum riser already had carpeting on it, so I left my rug at home. Well, after they played, Tommy Lee's sister (Drummer for Kottak) didn't want to remove her kit. None of the other members moved their gear either as they wanted to PARTY NOW!

So, I had to set up on a warped plywood stage. My gear kept sliding and my hi hat stand almost fell over due to the warped plywood.

I always bring a rug with me no matter what now. All you need is one experience and you will never travel without one.

It sucks when you forget something and you've traveled to a gig. I did forget my rug once, and had to go to a department store and buy a couple of welcome mats and duct tape them to the stage. Another time, I was on a formal gig and forgot my black shoes. Went to K-Mart and bought a $10 pair of shoes that were actually comfortable for drumming, so kept using them after that.
 
I bought one a "roadrunner" brand drum rug and it was the biggest waste of money. its really cheap thin carpet and after about a month it stopped staying down on the ground and rug would bunch up kind of like a fitted sheet.

I ditched it for a rubber backed bar mat I got at the hardware store, it works much better. stays flat on the ground and doesn't move.

I too have the roadrunner drum rug...but I have had mine for about 3 years and love it...I have never had any problems with it and I strongly recommend it. I even got it on sale back then for $19.99 so I got a steal on it. Before I had the roadrunner rug I had an oriental style rug either 5x7 or 6x9....cant remember exactly and it worked well too.
 
Do I need to be taping this rug/carpet to the stage floor or do I trust the weight of my kit and body on stool on it???

(or is this one of those things I find out for myself!)

Thanks everyone!
 
No need to tape the rug, unless other players might trip over the corners or something. The weight of everything is good enough.
 
If your stool's on it, your body weight will surely do the job.
 
To prevent my bassdrum from moving around, I've mounted 2 wooden blocks trough the carpet in front of the spurs. Wooden, cause I've no tools to make metal blocks .. but they still do the job easily.

Bassblokje1-800.jpg


Basblokje2-800.jpg


The ultimate solution is of course drumplates, but they are expensive. (allthough I heard they are designing a new cheaper version).
 
The rug is absolutely vital. But I've played on ceramic tile floors and then everything moves even with the rug. This is one of the problems with virgin bass drums. The weight of the toms isn't helping to keep your kick drum in place. Here is what I did and it works great....

I bought a bit of light grade rubber coated chain from home depot and some connectors for the ends (like on the end of a dog leash). After I'm all set up and my throne is in place where I want it, I connect the chain to one of my spurs (the one on my right is the one that usually moves) and the other end to one of my throne legs. This never fails.
 
Not to kick this in a skewed direction, but a rack can solve the problem too. My front two legs of the rack are toed in (pointed) in a manner that the front two legs of the bass drum rest against the rack feet and prevent it from forward movement. My slave pedal is the only item not necessarily fixed.

Most places I've played lately, have a carpeted drum riser. The bottom of Axis pedals have velcro so that solves my slide issue. If it isn't, I always keep a moving rug in the trailer, just in case.

That said, keeping a rug/carpet that meets the size requirements of your kit is what I would consider an essential item.
 
If your bass drum legs don't have spikes most likely your BD pedal does. If it doesn't you can drill two small holes in the base plate and nail it down. This only works of course where you have a wooden floor that is carpeted and no one is going to complain about you nailing into it.

Both my DW9000 and 5000 high hat stands are spikeless. I keep two 16 penny nails in my stick bag. The base of the high hat stand has two holes in it in front of the footplate.

If the stage where I'm playing is wooden, I nail the high hat stand to the floor right through the carpeting.

I can't stand when my high hat stand moves forward. Just don't use a ring shank nail or you'll really struggle to get the stand up after the gig.
 
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