Andy
Honorary Member
There's been a lot of talk here over the years about 4 piece kits (& less) being all that's needed to get the job done. In most cases I agree. There's even a train of thinking that to use anything bigger than a 4 piece somehow shows a lack of skill & inventiveness, & that such kits are often a crutch of sorts. As a drummer of limited ability, I agree that to be the case sometimes, & has certainly applied to myself in the past.
I've been thinking about this quite a bit recently. Now, I like a 4 piece as much as anyone & I use a 4 piece for rehearsal most of the time, but my gigging kit is a 6 piece. Put simply, it's what I believe is right for my gig, & more importantly, it's what the band feel is right, & have said so quite firmly.
So, I looked back over some drumcam footage of last night's gig. Just out of curiosity, how much do I actually use 3 or 4 toms in sequence. I was surprised just how much I do use those toms. OK, there are some bits that could be accommodated on two toms. I know this, because I transpose this myself in rehearsal, but there's no doubt that it takes away from the melodic flavour. I counted at least 20 occasions in a two hour set where I use 3 or 4 toms in sequence, & another 20 occasions were I use a range of toms but individually according to the pitch I think fits best.
Now, of course, this is dictated largely by the type of music I play, & our band's interpretation of that material. I've concluded that my current setup for this band is the right choice. I'm now satisfied that my gigging kit is not a crutch, & there is a time & place where using a larger set is an appropriate musical choice.
Anyhow, here's some examples I pulled off the camera from last night in support of my claim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbE4rOmfj9U&feature=youtu.be&hd=1
.
I've been thinking about this quite a bit recently. Now, I like a 4 piece as much as anyone & I use a 4 piece for rehearsal most of the time, but my gigging kit is a 6 piece. Put simply, it's what I believe is right for my gig, & more importantly, it's what the band feel is right, & have said so quite firmly.
So, I looked back over some drumcam footage of last night's gig. Just out of curiosity, how much do I actually use 3 or 4 toms in sequence. I was surprised just how much I do use those toms. OK, there are some bits that could be accommodated on two toms. I know this, because I transpose this myself in rehearsal, but there's no doubt that it takes away from the melodic flavour. I counted at least 20 occasions in a two hour set where I use 3 or 4 toms in sequence, & another 20 occasions were I use a range of toms but individually according to the pitch I think fits best.
Now, of course, this is dictated largely by the type of music I play, & our band's interpretation of that material. I've concluded that my current setup for this band is the right choice. I'm now satisfied that my gigging kit is not a crutch, & there is a time & place where using a larger set is an appropriate musical choice.
Anyhow, here's some examples I pulled off the camera from last night in support of my claim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbE4rOmfj9U&feature=youtu.be&hd=1
.