Drum Gear I Dislike/My opinions

Sticks Of Fury

Senior Member
Hello guys!
I'm going to give you some of my opinions on drum gear. I know that most of you won't care. And no, I'm not trying to annoy anybody or start fights or whatnot. And I'm certainly not telling people what gear to use. You can use whatever gear you want ultimately. What's right for me may not be right for somebody else.

24 inch ride cymbals: I would think that a 22 would be big enough for most drummers. A 24 just seems like it would be way too heavy and bulky.

Cymbal companies that make 3 different lines of budget cymbals

Cymbal companies that have too many lines of cymbals

Dark colored bells on cymbals

Those new cymbals with the pre-drilled holes or other shapes cut in to the cymbal. Okay I'm not really against those, I'm against the price. Should be cheaper in price because they took out some of the metal of the cymbal. Less metal should equal less price.

Cymbals that are any other color besides gold or have some type of tattoo artwork design on them

Tattoo artwork on drum heads

3 floor toms on a kit. In my opinion you only need 2.

16 inch high hats

26 inch bass drum. What, a 24 is too small?

LP Percussion being too pricey

Ratchet-style tom arms

Black or gold colored hoops, lugs and bolts. This stuff should always be silver.

6 inch toms are too small. They should have just started at 8. The 6 is too small to hit accurately in my opinion.

Tama Octobans are way too expensive and always have been

Ludwig Vistalite kits are too expensive. $4000 for a Bonham-style kit? What are you nuts? I don't think so. I don't care how awesome they sound or look. 4 grand is a lot of money.

I might add more stuff to this list in the future. Thanks. Take care. And also, Rock And Roll Forever!!! :)
 
24" ride: Has a unique sound you won't get out of other cymbals that are smaller. Some people like bigger cymbals also.

I'm fine with your second one

Third one possibly, but it is cymbal companies trying to reach out to different types and put out more variety.

Holes already in the crash are added for extra effect. It will take longer and is more complicated to drill them. So yes they will be more expensive.

Artwork is for the drummer to have customization on his heads or cymbals. It is what they want it to be.

3 Floor toms? I would love 3 floor toms. If you set it right it would be awesome.

I hear big hi-hats are actually pretty awesome.

A 26" inch bass drum is a very awesome kick. It gives an awesome visual effect while giving it a deep powerful thud.

I have black rims and lugs on my set, I don't care if people don't like them, but the only problem I can see is after a long time there will be marks on the rims.

I have never played a 6" tom, never will either but I am sure there is some use for them.

If people can afford it, and people will pay it, then the price is not too high. Besides, upper line proffessional sets can get really high.

I am not bashing you, but you see that there is a reason for most of the stuff you don't like. You may not be able to use it, but someone can and someone will like most all of the things you listed. There are things on here I agree with you on, but I still see a point to it. You can respect things you don't like, because you see there is a purpose.
 
I agree on a lot of this but after thinking about it a minute, it seems like lots of it is rooted in the cost of things. There is too much crap in this world but lots of it is nice, but expensive. .

Ever play a 26? Love me some 20" kick but a 26 it is not.

I want some vistalites.

I dont like the look of cymbals with dark bells either (some sound great though) even though they are expensive.

Sounds like you are a traditional guy really.
 
Hello guys!
Those new cymbals with the pre-drilled holes or other shapes cut in to the cymbal. Okay I'm not really against those, I'm against the price. Should be cheaper in price because they took out some of the metal of the cymbal. Less metal should equal less price.

They start life as cymbals without holes, so obviously it's the labour cost of cutting the holes that you're paying.

As for the rest... variety is the spice of life.
 
Wow. You certainly have given a lot of thought to what you dislike. I hope you've given at least twice as much thought to what you DO like. Do you have that list available as well?

I agree. Maybe you should just concentrate on what you like. Too much negativity is bad for your health. You gotta let it all go and do your thing. People are attracted to positive people. Don't be that guy in the barbershop that's always complaining - that guy never has any friends.
 
How much experience do you have actually playing the multitude of things you don't like though?

You certainly have the right not to like something. But unless it's qualified by some level of experience, it becomes less of an informed opinion and more like someone just talking out of their arse for the sake of it.

Of course, you have the right to both approaches. But I also know which approach lends more weight to your opinion and may even result in getting taken seriously.
 
I like any piece of drum equipment that helps me sound good. If you don't like the sound or price of a piece of equipment then you don't have to buy it. I don't care what it looks like only what it sounds like.
 
Oh, what the heck. Here goes...

24 inch ride cymbals: I would think that a 22 would be big enough for most drummers. A 24 just seems like it would be way too heavy and bulky.

You should try out a 24" Zildjian K Light Ride and a 24" Paiste Giant Beat. They will show you that 24" cymbals don't have to be "heavy and bulky"

Cymbal companies that have too many lines of cymbals

What's wrong with variety? From the company standpoint, there are more products to offer. From the purchaser standpoint, there are more options to choose from.

Dark colored bells on cymbals

I only know of a few bells that are colored, like Pitch Blacks or the Stewart Copelend ride. What's actually really cool is when you have an unlathed bell, like on some of the HH and HHX offerings.

Those new cymbals with the pre-drilled holes or other shapes cut in to the cymbal. Okay I'm not really against those, I'm against the price. Should be cheaper in price because they took out some of the metal of the cymbal. Less metal should equal less price.

Some of the cost is materials, and some of the cost is for labor. It takes more labor to make a cymbal and then drill holes in it than it does to just make a cymbal. Also, they don't just pick up those metal cutouts and throw them back into the big smelting pot, because of the impurities resulting from the manufacturing process. So, they essentially are using the same amount of metal.


Tattoo artwork on drum heads

I used to draw tribal designs on drumheads.

3 floor toms on a kit. In my opinion you only need 2.

If you look back through the history of drumming, you will find that most of the greatest drumming in history occurred on drum sets with only one floor tom. Believe it or not, there were quite a few years where drum sets were offered/sold without floor toms.


16 inch high hats

26 inch bass drum. What, a 24 is too small?

You get different sounds from different-sized drums and cymbals. People have preferences. Drum and cymbals aren't one-size-fits-all.


Black or gold colored hoops, lugs and bolts. This stuff should always be silver.

Whatever you do, don't look at Mapex Mydentity kits...your head will explode.

Tama Octobans are way too expensive and always have been

Ludwig Vistalite kits are too expensive. $4000 for a Bonham-style kit? What are you nuts? I don't think so. I don't care how awesome they sound or look. 4 grand is a lot of money.

People are going to buy what people are going to buy. If something is too ridiculously expensive, it will never sell, and either the manufacturing company will go out of business, or they will lower their prices, or another company will sell a similar product for less. The fact that both of these items have sold for 30+ years shows that there are people willing to pay money for them. If it's too expensive for you, buy used. If it's still too expensive, you can build it yourself for cheaper. If you can't build it yourself for cheaper, then you're just griping for no reason.
 
I think that it's great to whittle down some of your choices when purchasing equipment, I do agree that you should have some kind of experience with the "don't likes" before adding them to your list. I agree with many of the items that you mentioned only because at some point in my life I used them and they just didn't quite work out for me. I also have a definite like, dislike criteria, but once in a while it can get skewed a bit.

Dennis
 
24 inch ride cymbals: I would think that a 22 would be big enough for most drummers. A 24 just seems like it would be way too heavy and bulky.

I have a 20" that's probably heavier than any 24" you'll find, but bigger cymbal, bigger sound, go for it. it'll sound thick and awesome (same applies to 16" hats), though I prefer hats and rides on the smaller side myself, people like big ones, so let 'em have it.

Dark colored bells on cymbals

I love this, wish all my cymbals had this, makes the bell cut so much more

Those new cymbals with the pre-drilled holes or other shapes cut in to the cymbal. Okay I'm not really against those, I'm against the price. Should be cheaper in price because they took out some of the metal of the cymbal. Less metal should equal less price.
Start with the cost of a full cymbal, and add the cost of labour for drilling

26 inch bass drum. What, a 24 is too small?
yes, I have grown tired of my 24" kicks, and wish to upgrade to 28"s

Black or gold colored hoops, lugs and bolts. This stuff should always be silver.
aw HELL no, I HATE chrome I HATE IT SO MUCH! chrome just screams "beginner level" and it's not what the original material looks like anyway, it's a layer of chromium electroplated onto the piece. Give me the plain unfinished metal and let it patina.

I'll add any "burst" or "fade" finish. I am so sick of that.
Give me either plain old wood, give it a light stain, or fade both edges to black (so a burst). I like bursts.

Things I hate:

Chrome (see above)

Wraps. My drums are made of wood, why would I want to make them look like they are made of plastic? keep that crap off my drums. I'll take knotty, cracked, wood full of filler over a wrap any day.

I guess more specifically solid colour wraps, I can live with a sparkle or an oyster, something fancy, but I'd still prefer wood.
 
If you changed "I dislike" to "I wouldn't purchase", I agree with everything here with the following exceptions:

1. I know nothing about Tama Octobans.
2. I haven't even seen ratcheted tom mounts in years.

I do dislike burst finishes, especially tobacco.

I also like it when people give their honest opinions on things. Drumming has always been prone to short-lived fads that don't stand the test of time, and if more people were honest about what they really like, or don't like, maybe some of these fads could be avoided. At the very least, some guys might feel more comfortable getting something that fits them rather than following the crowd if they knew that not everyone was into the latest fad. Back when I was in high school, power toms and concert toms were "in" and it was considered "uncool" to play traditional grip. Does any of that sound cool now?
 
I want a picture of Sticks drum set. I need to know what he likes.
 
6 inch toms are too small. They should have just started at 8. The 6 is too small to hit accurately in my opinion.

I don't agree with lots of your points, but I can see where you're coming from with several of them.

But really, its too hard to hit a 6" circle?? I don't have a 6 on my set right now, but I've played them before. I played a full set of tenors for 4 years in a marching band, and I've never met anyone who had problems hitting the 6. If you can play relatively in the center of a snare then you should be able to hit a 6.

Now you could say that 6's on drumsets sound a little weak and underwhelming. Especially if the heads aren't kept really fresh. Have you every heard a 6 with an old head on it? Its a wimpy little thud.
 
aw HELL no, I HATE chrome I HATE IT SO MUCH! chrome just screams "beginner level" and it's not what the original material looks like anyway, it's a layer of chromium electroplated onto the piece. Give me the plain unfinished metal and let it patina.
Really? Pot metal/zinc - got to be about as unattractive as it gets. Good luck with rusty carbon steel stands too. Brass looks cool unfinished though.
 
Don't be that guy in the barbershop that's always complaining - that guy never has any friends.

And what do you have against crotchety guys in barber shops anyway? Everyone has one. Otherwise it wouldn't be a barbershop. :)

p.s. And I don't like the fact you spend your hard earned thousands on a new kit and the maker gives you inferior "stock heads" that suck and you have to spend even more money to change them out. I just don't get that.
 
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