Yesterday I my new(ish) kit had its first outing at a @theriverkicks rehearsal. That meant packing it all up. I have not got proper drum bags yet, so I improvised with a holdall and a grocery bag. The bass drum had to go 'naked'. The hardware mostly went in a large wheeled suitcase. I managed to get it down to six things I needed to carry. Luckily I could park near our venue in Hitchin. There were seven of us there including three other Hivers: @daniellemurray, @purplesinger and @anna-newkey.
Setting it all up again did not take too long. I have had the rug for a while. It is specifically for drums with a rubber backing and gives the spikes on some of the kit something to grip on whilst protecting the floor. You do not want things sliding around. I have a mount for my tablet on the microphone stand so that I can see all the tunes. Even when drumming I need to see lyrics and I can also keep track of how long the tunes are.
When I found this kit I was looking for something compact and I think it is ideal for our folk band as that does not require a big rock kit.
Hanging off the floor tom is my stick bag. I took a selection of implements with me, some of which are new.
I am still figuring out brush technique, but they can be good for some jazzy tunes. The soft mallets are good for atmospheric cymbals and there is one of our tunes in particular where that is needed. You can flip them around to use as regular drumsticks. Next are some 'rods' that are made from bundles of thin dowels. These are a bit quieter than regular sticks and that is a factor when playing in this situation as we cannot be playing really loud there. I do not want to drown out the other musicians. I am working on playing softer anyway. You may see that there are cushions in the bass drum that muffle the sound a lot.
The yellow circle is a Drum Honey. These are sticky gels that dampen the drums a little. I find the snare 'rings' a fair bit and the floor tom tends to resonate, so these help to control that.
When I bought the kit it came with some high hats and a ride cymbal that I suspect the previous owner had bought used. I felt I needed a crash cymbal too and so bought this fairly cheap one. I have to say the sound is not exactly what I want. It is more of a 'clang' than a 'tish'. I will look into getting something else, but I will probably have to spend a bit more. Cymbals can cost hundreds of pounds with some being mostly hand made. The material varies too with cheaper ones being brass and the better ones variants of bronze. The choice is vast, so I need to try some. I knew that I want going to have to spend more money to get a decent setup and I have a wish-list.
The session was great fun and I hope it sounded good to the others. There will be recordings, but I will have to see if the others are happy to share any of those. I found I was playing a bit louder than I do at home and I am finding lots of variations I can do with the high hats. By opening them to various degrees there are different sounds to be had and you can snap them closed to create accents. I am developing the ability to keep them going with my left foot whilst playing other parts of the kit.
I hope this is the first of many outings for my kit. I shall be looking for opportunities to play.
Rock on!
