Using What You Have - Very Important In Todays Economy

by Gabe

Drum Tuning, drum set selection, and head choice should compliment your next gig. Re-tuning drums, varying cymbals continuously, and using various drum sets for each song is not a luxury that we have in live situations. Certain options must be taken in to consideration to get a set up that fits the vibe of the music, and the venue of gigs. Working with what you have is a necessity for the gigging drummer.

My first gigging drum set was a $1000 Sonar birch kit with a 20" Kick and fusion size toms. I had to borrow the money from my grandparents which I paid back with my gig money. I bought the fusion size kit because it was affordable and I needed to use it for jazz, big band, and rock gigs in bars. For the jazz gigs I used coated ambassadors on all drums and tuned everything relatively high. I would then tune them to a medium level tone for big band. For the rock gigs I would put on clear emperors and tune the drums really low. Since I only had one snare (the 14"x5" birch that came with the kit), I tuned it to where the drum sounded good in itself. I also adjusted the strainers to get a fatter or crisper sound. Sometimes you just gotta do what ya gotta do!

As I got more gigs, and thus more money, the changing of heads and constant drum tuning became a real pain. I bought a be-bop kit for a grand and I reserved my sonar kit with clear heads and rock drum tuning. The be-bop kit is made up of 10" and 13"toms, 18" kick, and a Gretch snare. It's a good kit but I think I paid too much considering they were used. This set allowed me to get the bop sound I wanted for jazz gigs. This set also enabled me to play quiet for those gigs where people are eating dinner two feet away from you. To keep my drums hushed I used coated ambassadors on the top and bottom.

Later in my career, I received additional jazz gigs as well as better top 40 and horn band gigs. I needed a high quality rock kit that wasn’t costly. I found an all maple Pacific LX set with a 22"x20" kick, fusion toms, and a 14"x5" snare. This kit is great because it has the same shells as a maple DW. It is just assembled in Mexico. Cheaper labor = cheaper price. Again, $1000! On the bass drum I use the Aquarian super kick II head. I go back and forth between coated and clear emperors on the toms, and a coated emperor on the snare.

I currently play a DW kit with a 22"x18" kick, 10, 12, 14, and 16" toms. I still use the super kick set-up and I am using coated pinstripes on the toms. I also switch between three snares. I usually have a Nobles & Cooley piccolo to the left of the high hat. The drum tuning is cranked as high as it will go. I use it for that electronic snare sound that's on many of the songs coming out today. Sometimes I flip it over and play the snare side to get a different sound. As my central snare I either use a 14"x6.5" maple DW with medium tuning or a 14"x6" steel DW tuned relatively high. Next, I plan on buying the Steve Jordan signature snare!

I share this to hopefully give some of you some ideas on how to use what you have to get through your gigs. There are so many mid-level kits out there that are perfect for the bars and clubs that most people play. You really don't have to spend too much money. We all have our wish lists but you shouldn't spend 10k on a custom kit if you don't have the gig to go with it.