New Kit: What to Look For When Delivered

Scottie15

Senior Member
Hello all,

If you were getting a new drum kit delivered, what would be the first things you look for to ensure the kit is the way it should be? I.E. measure the roundness (proper diameter), check bearing edges, etc.
 
First, make sure every piece has been included. Conduct a careful inventory of all drums and hardware. Second, inspect all parts for blemishes. There should be no obvious nicks or scratches on a brand-new kit. Third, confirm that all components are in working order. Ensure that tuning lugs and tension rods function appropriately, check all hardware adjustments, and so on. I would then set them up and play them. I wouldn't trouble myself with bearing edges unless I intended to remove the stock heads immediately, but that's just because when I get a new kit, my priority is drumming, not writing a review of the product.

Most important, enjoy your drums!
 
Look at the bass drum shell seam (where the plies are joined), Have seen drums that had things stacked on them in shipment which caused the seam to split. Less unlikely if shipped with heads and hoops installed!
 
Check all screws with a screwdriver, for example: the screws that attach lugs to the shell. Even high end pro drums sometimes have a loose screw.

If anything is wrong what so ever, no matter how major or minor, notify both the company you got it from and the manufacturer immediately. Doesn't matter if the kit cost $300 or $3,000. All too often people get a lower end kit and just accept flaws as part of the low price.
 
2 things that happened To me :
A slight colour difference between shells, and a crack in one of the floor Tom shell next to the leg mount.
 
2 things that happened To me :
A slight colour difference between shells, and a crack in one of the floor Tom shell next to the leg mount.

It always seems to be the floor tom leg mount, I wonder why? And that's not a brand specific thing, I just hear/read that frequently.
 
Yes it wasn’t the first I heard about that. Maybe the mount are too close to the cardboard box sides ? It was a Tama Silverstar. No high end but very then shell.
 
If it’s new, not seeing the boxes trashed is a good sign. If they double box them, that’s even better. Good advice given already, but the box thing is big. If the FedEx driver delivers disintegrating boxes that I’m gonna sign for, you know he’s staying until I open that box to determine if they stay or go back.
 
If it’s new, not seeing the boxes trashed is a good sign. If they double box them, that’s even better. Good advice given already, but the box thing is big. If the FedEx driver delivers disintegrating boxes that I’m gonna sign for, you know he’s staying until I open that box to determine if they stay or go back.

Hopefully your fed ex drivers are better then mine! If no signature is required they set the box by my door and literally run back to their truck without even a knock on the door. If it requires a signature they quietly sneak up to my door like a friggin Scooby doo cartoon and place a signature requirement tag on my door (without knocking or making any attempt to actually obtain my signature) then run away. In my area USPS and Amazon drivers seem to be the only reliable ones unfortunately.
 
Definitely - no one has the time to wait 15 minutes. Drivers have a terribly tight schedule. Online shopping has gotten bigger over the last years but the pandemic has made things a lot worse for the drivers: they should avoid contact and deliver even more things in a day because people don't want to go the stores. It's a tough job!
 
Hopefully your fed ex drivers are better then mine! If no signature is required they set the box by my door and literally run back to their truck without even a knock on the door. If it requires a signature they quietly sneak up to my door like a friggin Scooby doo cartoon and place a signature requirement tag on my door (without knocking or making any attempt to actually obtain my signature) then run away. In my area USPS and Amazon drivers seem to be the only reliable ones unfortunately.
A new thing I’ve been doing whenever I ship something is to take a picture of the box with the printed tag too. I send that to the buyer so he knows the condition it was in when I left it with the shipping company. If m communicating through eBay, then all that becomes part of the record for the transaction. I haven’t had any problems yet, but I figure any way to protect myself couldn’t hurt.
 
Definitely - no one has the time to wait 15 minutes. Drivers have a terribly tight schedule. Online shopping has gotten bigger over the last years but the pandemic has made things a lot worse for the drivers: they should avoid contact and deliver even more things in a day because people don't want to go the stores. It's a tough job!

That was my thought. No way the driver is going to wait for me inspect every part of the drum.
 
That was my thought. No way the driver is going to wait for me inspect every part of the drum.
No, I meant if a box shows up obviously damaged, then we’re gonna have words, or at least I’m gonna find out what office he came from and who his supervisor is so I can take it there myself and do a formal complaint. Of course I could always refuse the shipment and let the sender take care of it as well.
 
No, I meant if a box shows up obviously damaged, then we’re gonna have words, or at least I’m gonna find out what office he came from and who his supervisor is so I can take it there myself and do a formal complaint. Of course I could always refuse the shipment and let the sender take care of it as well.

Both good ideas. With the pandemic putting lots of stress on the shipping companies, I've heard lots of recent nightmares about damaged packages, lost drums, horrendous experiences with FedEx claims departments never resolving their issues.

I'm a bit paranoid, but hoping for the best
 
Both good ideas. With the pandemic putting lots of stress on the shipping companies, I've heard lots of recent nightmares about damaged packages, lost drums, horrendous experiences with FedEx claims departments never resolving their issues.

I'm a bit paranoid, but hoping for the best
If it makes you feel any better, even during these times I haven’t had anything show up damaged, and the shippers in my area are stupid busy (SoCal area). Things might be a day later but that’s ok. It’s tough work so I’m cool with them. One driver caught me at home so he was surprised when I gave him an ice cold bottle of water. People can be jerks to each other so I try not to be that way. I always think it’s karma on stuff like this - my father-I -law always seems to be arguing with somebody about something and consequently bad things always happen to him. I wonder when he’s gonna figure it out ?
 
If it makes you feel any better, even during these times I haven’t had anything show up damaged, and the shippers in my area are stupid busy (SoCal area). Things might be a day later but that’s ok. It’s tough work so I’m cool with them. One driver caught me at home so he was surprised when I gave him an ice cold bottle of water. People can be jerks to each other so I try not to be that way. I always think it’s karma on stuff like this - my father-I -law always seems to be arguing with somebody about something and consequently bad things always happen to him. I wonder when he’s gonna figure it out ?

Yea agreed. I'm pretty cool with our local delivery guys. Always offer them something to drink, but they're typically in a hurry to finish their routes.
 
Yea agreed. I'm pretty cool with our local delivery guys. Always offer them something to drink, but they're typically in a hurry to finish their routes.
I had a friend who worked for UPS loading the planes at the airport, and he said they are literally throwing boxes into the planes, and when they finish one plane, another truck comes up and another plane.....back-breaking work. You definitely have to be in your 20s for that!
 
Back
Top