however the bottom two tension rods are normal,
however the bottom two tension rods are normal, What kind of drums typically have these? pearl masters? is it typical of higher end kits or lower end
Exactly. Bass drum usually only needs tuning once each gig, so the "advantage" of T rods was always lost on me. It's just extra metal to haul, & a regular snagfest!its not like bass drums need to be tuned so often.
ive never seen a kit like this with like built in drum keys at each tension rod. Are you guys familiar with this?
is this uncommon? what is the purpose of this? is it good or bad?
Sounds like Gen Y alright! : )Can I take it you're not over 30?
Yes, I'm familiar with them.
They are very common.....depending on the make/model of bass drum.
The purpose is to tune the drum.
Good in that you don't need to find a drum key to do the job. Bad in that sometimes they can get caught on the opening of a bag or case.
"T" rods would never be a deal breaker on a good sounding set of drums. I have them on three of my kits. They're great if you need a quick tweak, where using a drum key might pose a slight problem when sitting behind the kit. I inevitably drop drum keys when trying to adjust a bass drum when reaching around the other drums on the kit.
Dennis
Other than some 80's drums (and older, of course) on eBay, you never really see bass drums with them anymore.
Not on anything new in shops. I changed all mine over to key rods years ago too.
They are easy, but it's easy to knock the drum out of the tuning you set, and they did get caught on stuff a lot.