Ep. 21 Drummer Survival Kit
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- Опубліковано 30 лип 2018
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Over the years we've amassed a collection of "must-have" items when going to a gig or session in order to be prepared for Murphy's law, "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." In this episode we outline some obvious and not so obvious items that always get packed with the gear regardless of the situation. These are our gig essentials.
Hosted by: Cody Rahn
Production: Ben O'Brien Smith @ Cadence Independent Media
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Got something in your gig survival kit that we didn't include here? Let us know!
Great episode. Unless I missed it in the video, I also always carry an extra pair of snare straps and a spare Danmar bass drum beater patch which can be used on any head in an emergency.
Painkillers for headaches and stuff.
Almost identical to what's in my survival kit. I always bring a set of Allen keys with me. Saved me a couple of times :) Love your vids.
I like to carry moon gels and an extra bass drum spring in my bag
Great videos man!
An extra snare drum head always in the snare drum bag.
10:05 a drummer friend educated me years ago about this. he told me that he carries extra guitar strings, 9v batteries, a tuner, and bunch of other guitar gear in his drum hardware bag. i adopted that same thing and have been carrying guitar stuff in my drum bag for years. now, if a guitarist has a dead 9v, i can pull out a fresh battery, save the day AND get a call when the next gig or project comes up.
oh, also one thing you don't have listed but i always bring to a gig no matter what is a piece of carpet or drum rug/mat. I learned early on that most stages are the enemy of keeping drum hardware stationary. there's always a piece of carpet in my trunk for that reason.
I actually am the guitar player in my band, but if I weren't, I would absolutely do this.
Sharpies, paper, towel, deodorant (the fans will thank you after a gig), screwdrivers (phillips and flathead), Allen wrenches in standard and metric, extra snare cord (when that stuff breaks it's a pain to fix on the fly), extra tension rods in various sizes, and - maxi pads (yes those maxi pads) - this was a trick I learned a long time ago - they are made of cotton like fibers and have a pre-attached sticky side - great for emergency dampening just peel, stick and remove at the end of the night.
Nice list you have there. Being an old-timer, I would also add: bass drum pedal springs, headphone jack adapter, Kleenex/bath tissue, paper toilet seat cover (for typically dirty club restrooms), hand lotion, Sharpie, pen, pencil, small manual pencil sharpener, extra set of in-ear-monitor buds, retractable utility knife razor, foam plumbing/pipe insulation to fit between your bass drum pedal post and batter head, snare weight, small adjustable wrench, small right angle LED flashlight with magnetic base (and/or LED headlight is even better), extra mic cable, extra mic, etc.
A long bungie cord to keep your bass drum from moving. Hook each end to bass drum spurs and wrap around your throne in an emergency. Love the channel
I carry memory locks. They come in handy when you show up to a gig and one of the stands on the house set is loose and slides down, like the hi-hat, snare stand or throne, those suckers come in handy.
Also some Remo rings, a lighter to remove dents on drum heads, and a rug--$15 at Walmart.
Tension rods, a screw driver, and snare straps to name a few. All of it goes in an old tackle box I got from my great great grandfather.
I always bring at least extra batter and snare heads. Also have extra snare wires and straps. You can get through a gig with just about anything broken, except your snare drum.
Bass drum spring! Just to be safe. If it breaks your done. Even worse than losing the hat clutch imo.
Sharpie to mark the stands especially if someone else is using them and you get to them first...dollar store gels instead of 8$ moongels...heat gun in case heads have pock marks...,I like o rings in case you have to set up quick and don't have a lot of time to tune drums..plumbers tube pipe for cymbal stands....shoelaces in case snare wire snaps off,pink gaff tape so you know it's yours..no one else uses pink color..except to mark stage arrows to green rooms...chip clip for in ears if you lose your clip..drill and tension rod bit for changing heads quicker
7:18 Two words: work gloves. Around here you find'em at hardware stores, they're the light / thin kind, with rubberized palms and woven tops. Saves the skin on your hands from minor scrapes, and keeps sweat away from your hardware & cymbals, and for a measly couple bucks a pair, it's a no-brainer.
Another great one. I would highly recommend bringing your own drum rug too. It's very often to have a drum with a marathon bassdrum runner LOL
Good stuff. I like about other band members carrying other small stuff for each other.
This channel is life-saving. Some of the best videos out there.
Thanks for the kind words!
One thing that I don't have that I would add is a small drill equipped with one of those drum key attachments in case you need to change out a drumhead real quick (I'm seeing a lot of folks recommending bringing an extra snare head).
A notebook and good sharpies! Also brushes rods and mallets
Very useful video, thank you! Allen keys for the bass drum pedal saved my life once, when the part that holds the spring got loose. Also, I use work gloves to set the drums up. Protects my hands and the instrument from sweaty fingers.
RE: Drum keys - Mapex used to, maybe still do, offer a drum key which has an 8mm threaded handle - meaning it doubles up as a cymbal wingnut AND means there's always a drum-key on my kit to hand...
Those are great! Evans used to make a set of them as well. -Ben
Sounds Like A Drum ah yes, just checked mine and it's an Evans, not Mapex
Great topic. And one that sadly gets overlooked by most drummers. Until they get burned that is.
If I have my kit at the gig, I always have these with me...
- spare snare drum and stand (setup on stage and ready to go, to the left of my hats)
- spare bass drum pedal
- spare bass drum head
- spare hi-hat clutch
For any gig...
(stuff always in my gig bag)
- kick pedal spring
- hi-hat clutch
- Aquarian Kick-Patch
- 3 pairs of sticks (minimum)
- drum keys
- spare IEMs
- tools (multi-tool, screwdrivers)
- cymbal felts / washers
- a towel
- a t-shirt
- moon gels
I always have a bunch of random tension rods of all sizes that I bring, just in case of a backout.
I typically try to keep a bass drum felt pad that I can stick onto a back line kick if the head is cracked - could keep it running until the end of the set/night....also keep a spare snare head (doesn't have to be a new one) just in case of a break and don't want to be stuck without that drum. better to have a 3-5 min break to swap drum heads than be without completely.
Your content is second to none. There are so many 'drum' channels on YT, but your angle is different, refreshing, and super important. Keep up the direction you're taking this, because the fact that your angle on drum content is different, is what makes your channel top notch! Thank you!
Thanks so much, Josh! We aim to produce a series unlike anything else that's been available in the past. It's great to receive feedback like this that affirms our mission. Cheers!
Great video, as usual. I have a small, very lightweight, folding music stand that I always keep in the trunk of my car. It also comes with a little attachable lamp that's very convenient. It's not particularly sturdy, but it was inexpensive, comes with its own bag, and gets the job done for this semi-pro drummer who only plays out a couple times a month.
Great video! I always carry around paperclips. They come in handy when hi-hat chains snap and you need a quick and secure fix to hold the chain links together. Saved me once during a session.
This is scary close to my go-bag even with both the felt and red wood Danmar beaters. A few things that are life and death for me are a spare iPad charger so it doesn’t die and I don’t lose my charts, my own 6’ power supply, my own headphone extension gaff taped to a carabiner to stay clipped on my belt loop and I always keep a small box full of Moon Gels, Drum Tacs, Slapkatz, etc. This is good stuff! Happy to watch people who are intelligent with drums. You guys are excellent. Keep it up! 🤙🏼
I like to carry "seasonal window clings" from the dollar section. They work great as a substitute for moon gel. I generally prefer to leave a drum unmuffled, but sometimes a house kit leaves you know choice.
I also like to have a couple tension rods and a replacement snare strap.
Johnny Scott from CHVRCHES used Halloween stickies on the Love Is Dead Tour to set the mood!
I always carry a Sharpie, a screwdriver, terrycloth wristbands, and a small, clean towel. You're spot-on about the flashlight. It comes in VERY handy when trying to find stuff in the dark pockets of my stick bag!
Nice video! Thanks!! What about video about riveting your cymbal? :)
Great list! I carry most of that, also a push button/quick release cymbal screw topper (instead of wing nuts, since it's not threaded it fits them all). For pedals I also carry a spare spring, paper clips (which is just wire you can use to replace a broken spring end, or do various other odd jobs - the leatherman/pliers are super helpful with this) and also a few pennies which can act like shims under pedal clamping screws and along with tape can be used for all kinds of small fixes, even dampening cymbals and heads).
Great suggestions! I split my survival kit between my stick bag and a small tackle box that is part of my habitual loadout. I have a folding set of allen wrenches that live in my stick bag next to my multi-tool - great for pedal adjustments or that one thing that needs an allen wrench to tighten or adjust unexpectedly. I keep wingscrews of various sizes in the tackle box to deal with the missing or stripped ones on house kits. My flashlight is actually a headlamp - so useful when tearing down or setting up in poorly lit spaces. I keep spare batteries, XLR cables and 1/4" cables in my bag with my personal mixer, plus an extra vocal mic and mic stand clips. I keep a spare snare head and an emergency set of sticks in my car in my spare tire stash space. And one of my drum keys is my prized Ludwig Sta-Set which has a screwdriver, 1/2" hex wrench, and a wingscrew tightener plus the drum key all in one. Better to have and not need, than need and not have, I always say!
And how did you *or* I forget to mention gaffer tape?! You have a roll in the video and you don't mention it ... and I always have a roll in the tackle box!
I always bring an extra SNARE DRUM (piccolo, lightweight 14x3 steel snare), just in case... hehehe heads broke, even snare wires broke ocasionally.
Yes! As a percussionist, you have to be part mechanic, part MacGyver! Often frustrating, but also an interesting challenge to work with what you have. I'm a piano technician by day, so I always have tools in the car, and it has frequently saved me. My one recommendation, besides +1 to all the great ideas here, is the Hex-Plus L-keys by Wera, instead of standard Allen keys. A touch more expensive, but the tip shape is unique. It helps grip the inside of damaged screws, and holds better to prevent stripping them in the first place. Small hex screws are easily stripped when adjusting a backline kit in a hurry, or if the last drummer used an SAE key in a Metric screw!
I always bring a spare drive shaft and allen key set just in case the cam comes loose. I also bring a few extra pairs of sticks because I play high-impact, high-volume music, and my preferred stick (Promark 747BW), while sturdy, has a tendency to break at the most inopportune times. Also starting to pack extra mallets cuz I had a head fly off recently lol
I have this Swiss Army knife thing that has a drum key, Alan wrenches, and screw driver. That one little tool that fits in any pocket has saved my (and even my band members’) ass(es) plenty of times.
I cannot leave my house without moongel.. especially when playing a backline kit
Nice one, I keep all my “gubbins” in a jumbo pencil case that is made of clear see though PVC so that I don’t have to dig around for stuff can just see it all there, also painters masking tape as it can be peeled off easily without leaving sticky residue on other peoples kits, and a retractable pencil with eraser on the end and small note pad (hate having to ask to borrow a pen or pencil, feel like I’m back at school!)
I always have some replacement springs for my drum pedal with me.
Kai-Ole Buuck This was something I didn't think I'd ever need to carry.. Until I did
allen keys set, man. always have one.
Learnt the hihat rods not being the same the hard way. Good points.
Yeah, that's a rough one to discover at a dig. Thanks for watching!
Very cool!
I love this channel!!!! I carry everything you mention plus pliers...a towel for sweat..a small fan..allen wrenches..a rug..leather gloves.😁👍🇨🇱🥁🥁🥁
I'm just digging every video you put out. So applicable. Keep it up dog
Thanks for the videos ! This vid is super crucial for drummers!
Another great video. Extremely helpful. That’s a lot of stuff to bring with you when your playing . All a must to have with you. I’m gonna re vamp my survival kit . Thx as always for the help and suggestions
Great topic. I carry mostly everything you mention, including guitar pics. A few things I also carry around are: additional tunning screws, additional little screws for holding the cams and linkage bar of my double pedal, additional wires/strands to hold the snare wires in place.
I always bring snare straps that I cut out of old heads. They work really well.
Bicycle clips. The trousers on my band's suits are so baggy that the bass drum beater often gets caught in them when it swings back. Nice vid BTW.
I bring most of this stuff. With the pairs of sticks I usually bring 4 to 5 pair. I bought a Vic Firth marching snare double stick bag, and I Velcro it to the 4 tension rods closest to where I hit rim shots right in front of me. I keep 4 or 5 pairs of sticks in the bag so that way if I drop one or break one I can just reach out in front of me and grab one.
I dig your videos always informative. I keep and extra snare head in my cymbal bag.
I learned the hard way about Yamaha clutches. I now carry a DW with me as well. Thanks for the video!
Adding WD40 White Lithium grease is nice to add too. Sometimes you can get lug rods, or hardware screws that just won't budge. This is especially the case on back line kits. They are usually in horribly poor condition and thise kits are never really maintained outside of changing heads.
I keep an extra phone charger, lug rods of various lengths, extra moongels. Which are kept in a clear flat case with various little compartment sizes..Some tools like pliers, a crescent wrench, and a retractable razor, guitar cable, etc...
It's a good to have a padlock in there too, because you just never know if you need to lock up any gear in a trailer and the lock is missing...lol
I keep all of my stuff in tool box with a mini heavy duty combination lock on it, and keep it in the trunk of the car. If it's a club gig I can run out to the car and get what I need. Bigger places I'll bring it inside.
It takes time and some unfortunate bad experiences to add to your own survival box for your individual needs. Everything in this video is dead spot on center as far as the basic essentials needed and just build up from there. My wish list item is a battery operated compact drill with a drum key bit to change a head quickly.
But the most important is that dag nabit high hat clutch! Hell, pack and always keep 2 or 3 of those suckas with you..lol.
I would suggest to bring some moon gel, or any gel dampeners.
A cymbal stack video could be fun.
That's definitely something we'll get into when we kick off the cymbal series of videos later on. Cheers!
Great tips here. I buy really cheap carabiners and clip a key to each cymbal bag and drum case that I own. I also keep some dampening gels, a sharpie, and a pad of legal paper in my cymbal bag. The pad and sharpie have really been a life saver for making new set lists or changing the set lists last minute.
I have a Tama Multi drum tool in my case. I put everything in an empty car emergency case. I've also ordered the Tama Classic Hardware set which will probably be good for such occasions (wonky house kit hardware) as mentioned in the video. I'm going to order the Remo clutch and DW cymbal felts/washers to add to my survival kit as well. Thanks for the idea.
Awesome stuff. My only addition is that you must have a square of carpet in your car waiting for "that gig". That gig is the polished wooden floor. The sliding hi-hat/bass drum of doom is the worst! Great channel - love this channel ;)
There's this new product called a Kick Strap that might be another solution to that same problem!
I have a couple of dusters in my stick bag, these can act as mufflers, cleaners, and also placed on a cymbal stand (without the cymbal insulator) they protect any cymbal.
Great video as usual. It is interesting to see, but I feel like the best thing about this video is gong to be the comment section (just needs time). I always bring a set of hex keys/allen wrenches, in case the kick pedal needs adjusting. Most of the time I don't need to use it, but it seems like there's always some screw coming loose on the guitar, and suddenly I'm mr. popular =)
I will start packing band aids and those DW sleeves with glued-on felts!
thanks for a great video!
The hive mind of the community is an excellent thing when everyone contributes positively with ideas of their own. We look forward to seeing what everyone else brings to the comment section. Cheers!
This might not be 100% relevant to the video, but having your own drum carpet with the exact positioning of all stands marked on it (either tape or a marker pen) helps you set up your drums comfortably and consistantly every gig
Great as always guys! I’ve played the hero at several gigs and rehearsals with extra earplugs! Also, a couple of guitar chords for my pals who always seem to have broken one! Finally three different memory locks for those crappy Tom set ups as well as the beat on hard hi hat stand! Nothing worse than a slippery hi hat dude! Nothing!
Tylenol, excedrin, ibuprofen is in my toolkit. I carry a couple of the headband flashlights. Keeps your hands freed up if you have do anything in poor lighting. I don't smoke, but I carry a couple of lighters.
this survival kit is like a more elaborate version of mine! but for my beater set up, i always just use a dual surfaced beater (DW, Gibraltar, or Tama Iron Cobra ones) & a sweat band for the vater vintage bomber sound
Flashlight for the drum key 😂
So many times I've cursed the previous drummer in a rehearsal room for vice gripping the cymbal stands. Pliers save the day. Also plasters incase of injury. Not sure what you call them in the US Elastoplast maybe.
You can also use two sticks either side of the wing nut to act as a longer lever for undoing stands that have been done up too tight!
Fantastic videos as always. Do you think you guys could do one on virgin kick drums vs. drilled? I think a lot of us in the drum community would appreciate that
Thanks! If we can find two identical bass drums but one with a mount and one without, we can definitely make such a video. That being said, such things make can make a borderline imperceptible difference depending on tuning/muffling.
Always, always always cotton gloves in my cymbal bag, stick bag, snare bag etc. Mainly used when setting up cymbals of course. My fingerprints should stay on my fingers. But that's Swedish sticklerism for you.
A spring for your pedal
Snare straps :)
Great Video, and a lot of useful stuff!
I would definetely include some more things, while some I bring are just personal preference/experience
- Snare Straps (actually had one break mid gig)
- Paper towels
- WD40
- A few extra tension rods
- Extra washers for tension rods
- Kick pedal spring
- Moongels
- Small patches cut out of old heads, with gaff tape they work as sort of a bandaid for kick drum heads
- A few memory locks for cymbal stands/tom arms: Helps to hold up floor toms if the threads in the mounts are stripped
- Batteries
- Audio adapters of all sorts, especially when I'm playing with inears
I carry all the stuff in a cheap toolbox: It has a bunch of small compartments for all the small items, and then two big ones where I just put in all the stuff I don't need that often.
Snare strings ALWAYS break. At a gig.
Moongel for sure! I've had so many times where there's barely any set up/sound check time and the toms sound really not that great
Also, WD-40 & Channellocks will never fail to unstick the most hopelessly locked up bolts
Fluorescent sharpies!
great stuff !!..is there anything you didn't include? , hahaha / no wait you forgot witch hazel!
Always got a tub of moon gel
Do you have any experience/recommendations on bringing equipment on planes. If so, what did you take and what was the experience like? Thanks!
Extra snare drum head and headphones if your in-ears go out!
Any chance of a list of URLs where we can get some of this stuff? (Lug locks in particular)
My bandaids are for dry skin. When it splits on a joint it makes playing MISERABLE without covering.
What size sticks do you use?
Hey, awesome videos. Wish I had youtube when I played drums : ) A silly question: what about super sizing bass drum beater head? Would that give an even bigger tone?
Hey there! It’s fair to say that the larger the surface area of a beater, the more air is gonna get moved inside the drum. The difference between the standard round felt and the square one is pretty dramatic just because of that change in surface area that is contacting the head directly. I once needed a fluffy/warm kick sound on a session and only had a regular felt beater, so I put a fuzzy windscreen from a microphone over it and it worked out great :)
Maybe the result of bigger beater than the square would only render a louder volume? Looking forward seeing upcoming vids...
Yeah man. Love Danmar!!! Shame about their website though...
Yeah, about that. Was just on there today to see if they had an Instagram. Forgot that the website was still stuck in the 90's...
right!? It's ridiculous. Also, I keep my emergency kit in a toiletries bag from Timbuk2. It's super tough and has a nifty little mesh pocket inside that holds a bunch of sharpies, a pen, and a small notebook. I love these videos btw, you're crushing it.
Floor tom legs. I've found myself miraculously needing those over the years. Also, for all you fellow marchers out there who also play drum set, a roll of stick tape can come in handy on top of all the things he listed in this survival kit. If you find yourself just short of having enough functional cymbal sleeves(although highly unlikely, I'm just really unlucky and wasn't smart at the time), wrapping the threads of a stand with your white stick tape and throwing a piece of felt on there could do the trick just fine.
Could you add a link to that 100 pack of plastic lug locks? I'd LOVE to know where you get 100 for $5!
Yeah I didn't think so..
Great stuff. You're videos are spot on. If I were on tour for weeks on end, I'd definitely bring all the extras. In fact, I used to bring a little backpack with just about all that stuff. But I've reached the point of hating to take anything that I don't have to. If you're on the road for weeks then it's a must. But for 2-3 day runs either regionally or traveling, I've been just taking the essentials...gaffers tape (I have big rolls and take a bunch off and wrap around an old stick which helps on space), multi-tool (without blades, got one taken away at security once, never again!) and a little tube of Loctite for loosey goosey tension rods. All of which fit in my stick bag along with my keys and gel. My little sandwich baggie of felts, springs, sleeves, cords, etc fits in a little pocket in my hardware bag. If its a regional backline gig, I always play the better safe than sorry card. Outside of the obvious (cymbals, snare) and space is available, I bring kick pedal, snare stand and sometimes throne. For most gigs I do, if there's an issue with the kick pedal or snare stand, I'm effed.
Allen wrenches
So you're in NYC, right? Ever play any gigs with Adam Neely or other "youtube famous" musicians?
Is that a black eye?...or maybe a shadow?
Haha, nope. Just a shadow. We usually shoot from the opposite angle but kept this setup since we filmed this episode at the same time as the episode demonstrating how to dial in your bass drum pedal. Lighting stayed the same, so there are some different shadows.
Box of 100 Lug Locks for $5? Where???
I second this! My local music stores charge an arm and a leg for an eight pack.
Alas, the last time Cody bought these was about ten years ago at a shop in Seattle. We did manage to find a mildly sketchy mail order site offering 100 for $40 but the best bet is probably the 6 pack of Gibraltar lug locks for $3.96 on Amazon.
An extra snare just in case I break a head on the main snare.
Could lighten the load a bit by just carrying some extra heads. One less drum to worry about at load in/load out (especially if you're using a house kit).
Those dw felts are useless. They completely choke the cymbals. They are too Hard.
That hasn’t been our experience but to each their own.
@@SoundsLikeADrum i really enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work 😊