My long winded rant about having to play some other dude's kit

diosdude

Silver Member
Okay, last night my band played this bar down here in Miami called Tobacco Road. Place is a damn dive. Built in like 1915, billed as "Miami's oldest bar" but it serves booze til 5am and it has live bands, usually multiple, 7 days a week, everything from blues, rock, reggaeton, Funk you name it. It's also supposed to be on the "A" list of clubs for metal bands, everyone who was ever anyone in south florida who got signed played in this dive many times, so it was supposed to be an important gig. My rant is about the state of the "house" kit i had to play on. A beat up Yamaha stage custom with pitted out hardware, heads like as old as the hills. That i could deal with. What i couldn't deal with was the size of the drums: the 2 rack toms which were mounted to the bass drum were fricken huge. impossible for me to negotiate a tom angle so they pointed a little toward me. The only way to position them was basically pointing straight up. Excaserbating it was the fact that they were super deep power depth toms. Rim Shot city. The ironic thing was that i could have actually set up my own 8 pc rack mounted kit in half the time i took trying to position stands and trying to get tom angles that just weren't happening. And yeah before anyone says "it's not the drumkit, it's the drummer behind the kit", let me just say, we stole the show as normal but it was like jimmie Johnson trying to win the Daytona 500 in a station wagon.

Okay, deep breath. Woo-Sah. Woo-Sah.

Done ranting

Eject
 
Most places , especially smaller ones in large city's where there are multiple bands playing in one night will not even let you use your own kit. Usually the sound guy who's been there for years and has dealt with countless ego's and countless more crappy bands could give a crap wheather or not us drummers like the house kit provided. You don't like the kit , guess what, you don't play. It's even worse when you're showcasing for a label and you're trying to navigate your way around some piece of crap drum set with 20 year old heads and stripped out hardware. You just have to suck it up.
 
Welcome to the "wonderful world of the house kit". Glad your show went well.
 
My band's drummer usually would volunteer his own kit as the "house kit" rather than being subjected to anybody else's nonsense.

(...and now I have a better kit than him, mua ha ha)
 
I love the house kit. I gives me more time to drink .LOL . If the snare, cymbals and pedal are crap on the house kit. I use my own. Most sound guys don't mind. That way everybody is happy. I hate lugging gear.
 
In the past month I have played two other drummers kits at gigs. It wasn't a pleasant experience for me. I found myself having to watch my every move to avoid a mishit. The cymbals on both kits were hideous. I gave one of the drummers a half hour lesson in tuning. We are buddies for life now. It surprises me how many drummers I meet struggle with tuning issues. Many drummers seem to be lacking in the cymbal department. Cymbals are the most important part of the kit and they are the last concern for many drummers for some reason. They tend to have a mismatched selection of pies that they randomly collect that don't compliment the other cymbals in their kit. It is tough to play other peoples kits. Other drummers sit in on my kit on occasion. I'm sure that some of them feel the same way although I have gotten some sincere compliments from drummers that have used my kit. Drums and cymbals are an extremely personal thing !
 
A few times I've played events where Peavey was the sponsor, and I was forced to use one of those funny looking Peavey kits that used to make at the time.

You would think with a major sponsor, the set would be decent, but no. The heads were pitted, the hardware was falling apart, and the whole set up was just awkward. Just awful. And the Peavey reps who where their only knew the amps, and had no knowledge of how their drum sets really worked or was supposed to sound.

But I've played other kits enough times I'm used to it, as long as I can raise the snare and hi-hats to the right height. But if given a choice, I'll always bring my own kit.
 
I can relate, but I have found the best thing to do is to suck it up and adapt, it will make you a better drummer in the long run. Surely you can bring your own snare and maybe your own bass pedal(s)? What about those metal bands that signed with labels, did they also have to use that kit.?
 
I went to a jam night on Sunday. The kit was some kind of off brand (like pulse) with a red wrap.

The throne was a chair, and the crash cymbal stand was a MIC stand.

Yeesh.
 
I went to a jam night on Sunday. The kit was some kind of off brand (like pulse) with a red wrap.

The throne was a chair, and the crash cymbal stand was a MIC stand.

Yeesh.

My favorite is when you're required to bring your own cymbals, but the stands don't have felts or sleeves on them. I've just started bringing some spares of that stuff with me no matter what.
 
ALL drummers need a default switch that is for snare/kick/hats only.

Several years ago, we were auditioning for a new drummer in my band. Two guys tried out, both were psuedo-friends of ours, and one guy beat out the other. Unfortunately, the enthusiasm of the guy we picked waned about as soon as he got the nod.

Anyway, he ended up playing two gigs with us before he quit. The second (and last) gig was for a family friendly festival at a big stadium. We were excited to play, even early in the day, and we thought he was, too. Well, first, he let us know that his car was broken so he had no way to bring himself or his drums. I told him I could pick him up and although I wouldn't have room in my car for his Ludwigs (in addition to my own guitar gear), I could probably fit my 4 piece small kit in there (no reso head on the floor tom so most of the drums can nest). I asked him if he'd bring hardware and cymbals, and he agreed to bring cymbals.

SOO... day of the gig, he walks over to my place with a big duffel that I assume has all his gear in it. We load up and hit the road. Half an hour later, we're at the stadium, get past the security to backstage, and he reveals that he "forgot" cymbals and sticks (apparently the duffel had a jacket and lunch in it). At this point, it's too late to run back to my place, and we're on in 45 minutes, so I ask him to ask another drummer to see if he can borrow cymbals. After much grumbling, he finally agrees and goes to work it out.

15 minutes before we go on, he comes back with 2 hi hats and a splash cymbal. "Couldn't you find anyone to loan you a ride?" I ask.

"Oh, they offered. I just thought I could play with this," he replied. No amount of cajoling would get him to go back and get a crash or ride.

Now I'm just ready to get the gig over with. I scrounge in my car and find a spare pair of sticks. The band before us finishes and we start setting up. I finish setting up my guitar rig and look down backstage to see my rack tom just sitting on the floor. I look up at the drummer, and he's sitting there with just a hat, snare, kick, splash, and floor tom. "I don't want the other tom," he says, "It sounds bad."

I put my guitar down, grab the tom, put it on a stand, and put it on the kit. Then I pick up my guitar, and we played the gig. A more bored, lifeless drum performance has never been heard by human ears. He pushed and pulled tempos all throughout the performance, played 90 percent of the show with kick on 1 and 3, snare on 2 and 4, and eighths on hats. No fills, no crashes (pardon me, SPLASHES)...

Anyway, we get done, get torn down (I end up having to put away my drum kit), and the bassist and I huddle together to discuss the situation. The drummer sees us, comes over, and says, "Hey, I'm kind of tired of this thing. I quit." He then went home with a friend who had come to the show.
 
Okay, last night my band played this bar down here in Miami called Tobacco Road. Place is a damn dive. Built in like 1915, billed as "Miami's oldest bar" but it serves booze til 5am and it has live bands, usually multiple, 7 days a week, everything from blues, rock, reggaeton, Funk you name it. It's also supposed to be on the "A" list of clubs for metal bands, everyone who was ever anyone in south florida who got signed played in this dive many times, so it was supposed to be an important gig. My rant is about the state of the "house" kit i had to play on. A beat up Yamaha stage custom with pitted out hardware, heads like as old as the hills. That i could deal with. What i couldn't deal with was the size of the drums: the 2 rack toms which were mounted to the bass drum were fricken huge. impossible for me to negotiate a tom angle so they pointed a little toward me. The only way to position them was basically pointing straight up. Excaserbating it was the fact that they were super deep power depth toms. Rim Shot city. The ironic thing was that i could have actually set up my own 8 pc rack mounted kit in half the time i took trying to position stands and trying to get tom angles that just weren't happening. And yeah before anyone says "it's not the drumkit, it's the drummer behind the kit", let me just say, we stole the show as normal but it was like jimmie Johnson trying to win the Daytona 500 in a station wagon.

Okay, deep breath. Woo-Sah. Woo-Sah.

Done ranting

Eject
it's just something you have to put up with sometimes. Glad you guys

played well. Try this on for size The band I was in was auditioning for a gig at this bar.

I knew the band and the drummer he had a Pearl Export from the 80's with the original

heads on them. We started the set and right during the first song I broke one of his sticks

probably the original sticks he got with the kit LOL, and the second song I broke the head

on the first tom ugg........... when it was all done I handed him $20 and a "sorry bout'

that" be glad that didn't. happen too you.LOL

Bonzolead

P.S. we got the gig afterall LOL
 
I usually hate house kits but have only had 1 really bad experience, the 5 piece set had the toms and snare taped up with layers of ductape and the kick had enough Linen to make up a hotel room.........Awful sounding but the cymbals were crap so it all worked out..lol.
 
I usually hate house kits but have only had 1 really bad experience, the 5 piece set had the toms and snare taped up with layers of ductape and the kick had enough Linen to make up a hotel room.........Awful sounding but the cymbals were crap so it all worked out..lol.
I never got that! Why would someone think that stuffing and taping drums would make them sound good! I can remember stuffing my bass and taping my toms once when I was a novice. I played my kit all choked up for a while and THE NEXT DAY! I sought out someone who showed me how to tune.
 
ive only ever played on 1 house kit, for anyone from britain it was an argos brand drum kit £80 for the whole thing, (apparently these people think drums are drums they all sound the same) anyways we werent alowed?!?!? to use our own hardware so i thought whatever lets get on with it, anyways there was only 2 cymbal stands and a hat stand. firstly the hi hat stand couldnt open and close properly so i just left them tight since there was just no point. then halfway through our third song the boom stand gives way to my ride (2800g i think) but its completely ruined, the actual boom part had snapped off, luckily i stopped playing to catch my ride. then things got worse since the snare stand probably made of tin foil breaks. (thank god i brought mine). so then our set was over and the guy from the next band some metal drummer takes a first hit to the crash on the straight stand which snapped and the drummer has to go home to get all his cymbal stands. Overall the worst gig ever
 
Drummers of the world, I think that its time that we put our foot down! (pun intended) Im going to Frisbee the next inferior cymbal that I am tricked into playing right into the nearest window! I'm going to go Keith Moon on the next POS kit that I sit behind! If we all unite and protest in this manner the world will finally know and there will be people who will show sympathy for our plight! No one makes a guitar player use a House guitar! I propose that we bring all of the inferior kits that we are forced to play to Washington DC and play them on the National Mall! Let the whole world hear the mixed tones of crappy inferior drums! Let us all throw open our windows and doors and proclaim these words right now. IM MAD AS HELL, AND IM NOT GOING TO PLAY CRAPPY DRUMS AND CYMBALS ANYMORE! Solidarity! That is what it will take! Solidarity! Forget the world economic crises! Forget world hunger! Forget the middle east! This is really important! JUST KIDDING! It is a fun thought though!
 
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Drummers of the world, I think that its time that we put our foot down! (pun intended) Im going to Frisbee the next inferior cymbal that I am tricked into playing right into the nearest window! I'm going to go Keith Moon on the next POS kit that I sit behind! If we all unite and protest in this manner the world will finally know and their will be people who will show sympathy for our plight! No one makes a guitar player use a House guitar! I propose that we bring all of the inferior kits that we are forced to play to Washington DC and play them on the National Mall! Let the whole world hear the mixed tones of crappy inferior drums! Let us all throw open our windows and doors and proclaim these words right now. IM MAD AS HELL, AND IM NOT GOING TO PLAY CRAPPY DRUMS AND CYMBALS ANYMORE! Solidarity! That is what it will take! Solidarity! Forget the world economic crises! Forget world hunger! Forget the middle east! This is really important! JUST KIDDING! It is a fun thought though!

I'll show up with you! How many crappy kits you want me to bring?
 
I'll show up with you! How many crappy kits you want me to bring?
Let us all, Bring All Of Them! Let the whole world see what they have forced us to endure! Bring all the stamped steel cymbals! Bring all the pressed sawdust shells with the covers falling off! Bring all the broken stands! Bring all the foot pedals that have no action! Bring all the Hi-Hat stands that won't lift the top cymbal! Bring it all! We will have a MILLION DRUMMER MARCH! Musicians night will be changed forever throughout the world! Its up to us to present the catalyst for change that will end the atrocities that have plagued drummers for centuries! Let us start a new world drum order!
 
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