Members Phil_The_Rodent Posted August 30, 2014 Members Share Posted August 30, 2014 So, I'm not a "breaker of things"; my skins last between sessions, my sticks last 4-6 months until I toss them, my cymbals are all 15+ years old, etc. But I just got back from a most harrowing gig. We were planned to do a 1.5-2 hour headlining gig... one set. Sound guy is totally pro. Did load-in and set-up... usual jazz... and everything sounded great. I thought my snare head might be slipping the ring, so I brought an extra Remo batter to be safe. After the opening act left the stage, we took little time to get the stage re-oriented and headed into it. Well, everything sounds great, but my snares are off. I threw off the clutch after sound-check so it wouldn't be resonating for the opening act's performance, but when I threw the clutch back up, it was just shell. Horrified. Mortified. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't what I wanted. After the second song, I threw off the bed and pulled it up tight -- real quick. Threw the strainer back on... nothing. All the same. Went through the third song. No snares. I'm checking connections, everything seems stable. then I reach underneath the snare to actually check the contact of the strainers. ONE OF THE RIBBONS HOLDING THE STRAINERS ON WAS CUT RIGHT THROUGH. Panic sets in. Ok. I ask the lead to do a slow intro to song 4 and find a sliver of cloth that I had wedged between my floors to keep them touching. This becomes a new strainer ribbon in about a minute. Tensioned it up, and we're off to the races. Held up for the the show. Not precisely the tension I'd like, but certainly rock and roll enough. After that, I don't think I can leave a strainer ribbon out of my stick bag! Such a stupid thing, a little rectangle, but so vital. Anyone else have emergency items on hand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted August 30, 2014 Members Share Posted August 30, 2014 The thing was going before you got there huh otherwise I'd call sabotage. The only things in my bag besides sticks and brushes are a spare 9 volt, stubby phillips, and a flashlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phil_The_Rodent Posted August 30, 2014 Author Members Share Posted August 30, 2014 Must have been going, but I've never bothered to review the status of my snare strainer before a gig. I've been playing for almost 30 years and I've never seen one go. 9V is a good idea. I also have a spare rosin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted August 30, 2014 Members Share Posted August 30, 2014 For grip I hope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phil_The_Rodent Posted August 30, 2014 Author Members Share Posted August 30, 2014 Sometimes the bassist loses his. I found one of the Rosins he lost and threw it in... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted August 30, 2014 Members Share Posted August 30, 2014 Ok. Bowing cymbals was my next guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cdawg Posted August 30, 2014 Members Share Posted August 30, 2014 tape, man, tape. same thing happened, but i was using one of those plastic pieces instead of string. anyway, it broke , i finished the song w/o snares, then slapped a couple of pieces of duct tape to the snares, to the bottom of the head. not perfect, but plenty of buzz, and it finished out the set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Drumstix101 Posted September 2, 2014 Members Share Posted September 2, 2014 I guess that I'm a little too paranoid about having some piece of equipment fail, so I always am prepared. I keep an extra set of snare wires in my little tool box along with extra string and a spool of grossgrain ribbon. There is also duct tape in that box, along with some cymbal felts, tension rods, pedal springs, washers and assorted tools. In my trunk I have a box that a 22" kick head came in. It has one batter head for every size drum that I have. It sits on top of my spare tire, under the panel that you have to lift up in order to get to the spare. It's out of the way, but there if I ever need it.When I load up for a gig I take an extra snare drum, and a duffel bag that has an extra pedal and hi-hat stand. In 40 plus years I have only run into two problems. One was a link on my hi-hat broke during the first set, and the replacement stand came into play for the second and third set. The other problem that I had was I stopped hearing my snares and thought I lost a string, but it turned out I had a big rip in the reso head. Swapped ot the drum for the next song and was good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted September 2, 2014 Members Share Posted September 2, 2014 The drummer who techs for himself has a tool for a client. OK seriously, for most drummers it does amount to auto tech and should be done that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FitchFY Posted September 2, 2014 Members Share Posted September 2, 2014 Cool question! I should re-evaluate my stick bag for emergency stuff. I do have two strands of snare cord in there, but also have extra ear plugs, Gorilla Snot, Moon Gels, and a drum key in the bag. I keep it in the bag so that I don't take it out just because I was too lazy to dig up another (there's one on my pedal). This is for the "holy crap, I truly don't have a drum key" moments. There's also a little sand paper, always plenty of sticks, aaaaaaaaand back in the day... probably a nip or two and a rain coat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Phil_The_Rodent Posted September 2, 2014 Author Members Share Posted September 2, 2014 All my drum keys work themselves out from my stick bag. I swear, I have at least 20 kicking about and none of them are in my stick bag, even though I always try to put them back there. Some great ideas in here. Gonna add some tape, some more keys, and I realize I should have some chalk-dust in there also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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