2 up players...So where's your ride?

I am actually 3 up, mine is sort of like Nicko McBrain's, but not as "flat"....it hangs over the upper part of my 3rd tom.
 
Same 👍🏼 And would be pretty much where it is now with a two up 👌🏼

yep. I tried it in some other positions, but nothing felt ergonomically correct.

My students and friends call it The Sky Ride b/c it is abnormally high
 
yep. I tried it in some other positions, but nothing felt ergonomically correct.

My students and friends call it The Sky Ride b/c it is abnormally high

I can see where in two up or in three up being there is a stretch for some, but at a little over 6’1 with long lurch arms it’s no problem for me . It allows me freedom with left hand to work all the Tom’s . I’d probably like it over the first tom more and ride with my left and do have one there but my left hand is far weaker and less independent for some things , which is why I added one to work on that some more and working my hats with my left. Been using the left more with everyday things to aid in this also .
 
I can see where in two up or in three up being there is a stretch for some, but at a little over 6’1 with long lurch arms it’s no problem for me . It allows me freedom with left hand to work all the Tom’s . I’d probably like it over the first tom more and ride with my left and do have one there but my left hand is far weaker and less independent for some things , which is why I added one to work on that some more and working my hats with my left. Been using the left more with everyday things to aid in this also .

about 2 summers ago, I also tried the "Carter Beauford" LH Sky Ride for a minute. It was fun, but was also just an experiment....
 
I could use this setup on my Ultra Oyster White DW set, but I think it looks out of balance with the two toms off to the left. I can play with two toms on the bass drum, but because my ride cymbal is too far away, it's not comfortable.
 
Should be here any second now.

If there's a distance issue try raising your throne a little bit.
 
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I could use this setup on my Ultra Oyster White DW set, but I think it looks out of balance with the two toms off to the left. I can play with two toms on the bass drum, but because my ride cymbal is too far away, it's not comfortable.
For me having my rack toms on the bass drum would feel awkward since my bass drum sits at an angle to my bodies center, depending on the angle between my legs, which is around 45°. So the center of my chair creates a straight line with my snare stand and the tom stand, while hihat and bass drum are sitting at an angle of around 22° left and right. So the front center of my drum set isn't the bass drum, but the tom stand.
 
For me having my rack toms on the bass drum would feel awkward since my bass drum sits at an angle to my bodies center, depending on the angle between my legs, which is around 45°. So the center of my chair creates a straight line with my snare stand and the tom stand, while hihat and bass drum are sitting at an angle of around 22° left and right. So the front center of my drum set isn't the bass drum, but the tom stand.
I do this too.

If I play two or three toms, I just place them accordingly.
 
I'm not a 2 up guy but I've recently seen an influx of drummers using 2 up toms with no floor tom and the ride set very low and close in the floor tom position. My shoulder is all jacked up which is why I don't typically use any toms "up", it sucks reaching forward all the time, but it's a very interesting set up. It seems to be more metal drummers from what I've seen.

Iggor Calavera is a more notable drummer using this type of set up.
 
My main Ride never moves from the classic 4-piece position, no matter how many toms I add on.

Up or down, to the left and to the right, no tom ever diminishes the value and role of the ride cymbal, nor moves its placement. So the main ride always keeps its optimal, ergonomically available and rightful place, hanging over my right side of the bass drum.
same for me I have 3 kits two 5 piece and one 7 but one of the 5 piece is about to become larger.
 
No matter when the photo is taken, @alstrange your kit looks absolute perfect. I don't even see any stick marks on the heads....are you sure you actually play these things or are they simply for show? :ROFLMAO: Hmmm???:unsure:

I can't tell from this angle, is that a two legged IC HH stand? And what side snare do I see lurking in the left foreground?
 
Interesting question! I've actually been experimenting with this lately. I play mostly 4 piece, so my ride is in the standard "second tom" position, fairly flat and low, just a little higher than the mounted tom. When I play a two up, I used to keep my ride low and fairly flat, just like the four piece position, but just moved further over to my right so that it just barely had enough clearance for the second tom. It was basically in line with my floor tom. I use two crashes, so the crash position was unchanged compared to the four piece (For 4 piece-first crash in the standard position, second crash just to the right an higher than the ride). Recently, I have been experimenting (for 5 piece positioning) with putting my ride in the 2nd crash position, higher and angled towards me more (vs. flat) above the second rack tom, while my second crash is now at the same height, but is to the right of the ride instead of to the left of it (2nd crash is in line with the floor tom-basically swapping the ride and 2nd crash positions for 5 piece). I don't like reaching up further to play the ride (although it's mot mounted very high), but I do like keeping the same "left to right" positioning as a four piece setup (crash/ride/crash) vs the old 5 piece way of crash/crash/ride.

I can honestly play either way, but to me, having the ride above the 2nd rack tom makes a little more sense. Even though I was comfortable playing the ride low and to the right of the 2nd rack tom, it always felt and looked a little strange, if that makes sense, even though it felt fine.
 
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Depends on if i have the toms over the bass drum or offset. Toms offset i have the ride in the typical low position next to the toms. When i have the toms over the bass drum i have the ride above the largest tom (most of the time a 12"). When i started i had the ride hard right above the floor tom, but eventually found that it plays much more comfortable when i have ride higher and more to the left.

Pics of my setups in the sig below!
 
I've been playing a 4 piece for about a year now but prior to that throughout all the years my ride cymbal was just slightly above my floor Tom and under the left side of my biggest crash I'm left handed so it would be on my left side.
 
It's never really seemed that hard to me. It's just over a maybe 12-18". Nothing that causes any ergonomic problems. That said, depending on which band, I also play a 4-piece with the ride in "standard position".

20220209_184134.jpg20220904_153614.jpg
 
No matter when the photo is taken, @alstrange your kit looks absolute perfect. I don't even see any stick marks on the heads....are you sure you actually play these things or are they simply for show? :ROFLMAO: Hmmm???:unsure:

I can't tell from this angle, is that a two legged IC HH stand? And what side snare do I see lurking in the left foreground?
Cheers mate! Yeah, it’s a Tama HH905D Iron Cobra Lever Glide…all my photos are old now mate (@Drumdame called me out on that last year!:ROFLMAO:), I took the pics a good while back when I changed the heads so they look at their best…it’s not a snare on the left, it’s a 14” ft with a coated Aquarian Performance II head! :) (y)
 
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