One Less Thing to Worry About
Don't miss a beat with these drumming tips. Article written by Donn Bennett Back to Cover
I have to admit. I can be a little ________
scatter-brained sometimes. On more than one occasion I’ve arrived at a gig without a key piece of my drumset. When my band-mates hear that I was asked to write this article they will die laughing. Still, one way or another, I always manage to get through the gig. Sometimes I impress myself with my resourcefulness but ultimately this is not the kind of excitement that anyone wants before a show. Since I’ve come to grips with my slightly air-headed tendencies (the first step is admitting you have a problem), I’ve come up with a few ”safety nets” to make sure I never arrive at a gig unable to do the job. Here are few things that have saved my butt more than once.
An ounce of prevention…
Impact pads - Nothing will stop your show dead in its tracks better than a broken bass drum head. It’s a good 10-15 minute procedure to change bass drum heads (assuming you brought a spare head). Buy a couple packs of them. They’re cheap. Replace them when they start to wear through. You _
Kickpad for bass protection
can virtually guarantee that you’ll never break a bass head if you use an impact pad. They also work great as a short term patch for any broken head. If you catch a split head before it completely tears you can usually patch it with an impact pad long enough to get you through your set and replace the head.
Gloves - I’ve resorted to wearing gloves. If you ever get blisters, gloves will definitely solve the problem. They can also help control the sweat which means, less drops.
Advil - Here’s a tip worth its weight in gold. Take an Advil or Aspirin BEFORE you start playing. Your hands won’t be stiff or sore the next day. I wish I figured this one out years ago.
Back up - Most touring
drummers take back ups for virtually every piece of their drumset. This
is not practical for most Weekend Musicians. It’s a good idea to
bring spare parts to repair broken gear on the spot, but unless you want
your whole show to stop while you repair your broken gear, it’s
best to bring spares of SOME things so you can keep your show moving.
___........___spare snare
A snare drum is an accident waiting to happen. It takes more abuse than anything on your whole kit and there ______
are more things that can break on it than on your whole kit put together. Bring an extra snare. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just enough to get you through the set in case something goes wrong. I carry a “loud” and a “quiet” snare drum. Which one I use as my main snare depends on the size of the room we’re in. The other is my spare. If something breaks I can quickly change snares during the set and make the repairs on the break.
Bass pedals also take a lot of abuse. Most modern pedals are pretty much indestructible but they can still break. A spare pedal is your best bet. If something breaks you can just change pedals. You don’t want to stop your whole show while you perform a repair.
Hi-Hat clutch. If your clutch goes south your whole gig won’t be far behind. It’s so much easier to replace a clutch than to attempt to cobble something together with duct tape and a pipe clamp off your car's air conditioning hose. Bring a spare.
Hi-Hat clutch
Emergency kit - It’s small. I keep it in my snare case. Unless I forget my snare (OK it HAS happened) then I’m always certain to have this stuff just in case something goes wrong. Here’s what I have.
1. Top and Bottom Snare heads. One of each. Even if I have to resort to my spare snare drum I have heads ready _
to replace a broken one as soon as there’s time to switch.
2. One pair of sticks. I always keep several pairs in my stick bag but this pair is like my back up, back up.
3. Tuning Key, again there are several in my stick bag but here’s a back up just in case.
4. Impact Pads. These guys can save your life.
5. Snare Strap.
Last but not least….
6. Mr. Grip. It’s a perforated aluminum tape - this stuff can save your life if you strip a screw or bolt on a piece of your hardware. Just cut a small strip and place it in the screw hole, then replace the stripped screw. Mr. Grip fills the gap and gives the stripped screw something to grip onto. I’ve never actually had to use this but just knowing I’ve got it gives me one less thing to worry about.
I guess that’s what this whole thing is about, “one less thing to worry about”. It’s extremely rare that I break anything on my kit but just knowing that I’m covered lets me focus on playing the gig and having a good time.
I really hope this helps.
Donn Bennett
MEET THE WRITER - DONN BENNETT
Teaching in the area for over 30 years, Donn has a knack for finding rare and unusual drums which he displays and sells out of his shop in Bellevue, Washington. Donn has become well known throughout the world with some of the world's most famous drummers. Currently, Donn is the drummer for Free Rain, a cover band near Seattle and puts on a yearly benefit "world record drumming event" called Woodstick. .