Letting other drummers use your kit at a show.

My band is splitting 2 nights at a local bar with another band. There's only room for one drum kit. The other drummer is bringing his 1 night. I'll bring mine another night. What's your take on having the other drummer move your setup around so he is confortable. I worry about things like the toms hitting the bass drum or the snare hitting the bass drum hoop and scratching the finish while adjusting. Also, what about cymbals, would you play your own or just share them?

I checked out the other drummers kit and his setup is no where near how I set mine up. His toms ore spread far apart and far away. I like mine close together and real close to me. His cymbals are high, mine are right above my toms. I would have to move his around for me to be confortable. However I am very careful and anal about moving things around to not hit anything into anything else.

Any ideas, suggestions....

Jay Jay....

I would say, just talk it out with the other drummer. I have the same issue...I hate sitting behind a kit that is not set up comfortably. He may have the same reservations.

Often, the other drummer will have the same thought. To protect your equipment, you both can always help with set up and tear down, which will decrease the chances of incidental damage.

Personally, I always play my cymbals and snare.....just because.

When you start sharing things.... either you allow movement......or you just straight up looking him directly in the eye............. slowly say, You can play my kit as it sits, but nothing is getting rearranged. You want to raise the throne, thats fine. You want to raise the snare, thats fine. But I have my own set up and do not want it impacted. Of course, that means you play his kit without moving everything around.

Thing is guy, .............this other drummmer is probably thinking....... that freak, has everything so close it rattles when he plays, its going to purely suck playing something so tightly packed up. And the cymbals are all too low, and the ride isnt where I need it...........

This goes both ways here.

As far as cymbals go, it wouldn't be that hard to interchange them, so i don't see that as being a problem.

As for the toms, unless the music is so insanely hard that neither of you can play on each other's sets, that should not be a huge problem either. Though if you need to, you could supervise your set if he needs to alter it, that way you can make sure he does not ruin or reck havoc on your drums.

This is a hard decision when playing in small places. A lot of times we make space and I just set my kit up in front if we are opening. However when I have to share I ALWAYS use my own Snares and Cymbals or make the other drummer(s) use theirs. As far as moving toms or cymbals, it sucks but in the end it more than likely wont happen. In almost the same amount of time to move all my stuff back to where it needs to be. I can set up my entire kit in 3 minutes flat with my rack. I have seen some people take 25 minutes to set up less equipment than I have. Give a shot though, it can't hurt to talk about it first.

I don't think there's any need to be anal-retentive about this unless the guy starts treating ur kit like his own (ie when he starts tuning ur toms) I mean moving it back to your original set up can't that tough right? Unless your set's like terry bozzios or sth.. then no worries because he CAN only raise the snare and the throne. haha

my principle is this (though it shouldn't be): respect the guy as far as he would allow it. if he starts disrespecting u and saying hey you should be putting ur tom here etc, just ask him to f:evil::evil:k off hahaha. either that or ask him to bring his own kit

Placement is one thing I could usually work around to some extent. My biggest gripe when playing someone else's kit was always over-damping/under-tuning. I played so many others' kits that sounded and felt like I was hitting bed pillows. I'd have to catch myself to prevent just playing harder and harder due to the natural inclination to coax some projection out.

I've been in plenty of situations where there was a shared kit. (either mine or another drummer's) Assuming nobody is being a jerk and bashing the drums, it usually works out fine, although, I do think it's a good idea for people to bring their own cymbals. (and often snare)

I'm a lefty though, and that sucks for everyone involved...

Actually, that's part of the reason I started playing a really stripped-down kit.

I wouldn't share my kit with anyone else in the first place. Period. And I wouldn't be shy about it. It's a funny thing about drums, for some reason, it's the one instrument that everyone feels they can treat like a park bench. Not mine! Can you imagine a guitarist sharing his prized stratocaster with some other dude just because they were gigging different nights at the same joint? Say no. Plain and simple.

If the other drummer isn't a douchebag, I'd be OK with it, especially if they're from out of town. Even then, they'd have to play it with the mountings the same - I hate getting my toms "just right"...

But, if it's some hoser, NEVAR!

Cymbals are another story - no way!

Insurance will cover busted drums or hardware - but it won't cover busted cymbals, unless I can prove it was dropped

Understandable, I guess...

bring your own cymbals and snare, because those are pretty defining sounds for a drummer (especially the snare!)

maybe your own pedal, as well

definitely talk to him--like everybody has said, it goes both ways; he probably has the same reservations as you. If I were you guys, I would arrange it so you could move each others' stuff around--nobody can play on a kit they're uncomfortable with

Ditto, especially on you two bringing your own cymbals. That way, if one of you happens to crack a cymbal you'll have a lot less gnashing of teeth.

personally i think its fun to play sets that arent set like mine but i wouldnt want to for a show and i wouldnt want to move things around. i have before and its a pain in the butt. you can never get it back right where you want it. even if you have marks.

I don't mind playing on another drummers set , but if I don't know you , your not playing my drums. Even if I do know you , you've only got a 50-50 shot.
I've got nice drums and a big monthly payments.
Unless you Know........
you just don't know

I've played lots of jam sessions, and had a fair number of drummers sit in on my kit. I always tell folks to move things around however they need to, and I have never had a problem (well, except with one guy who was a lot drunker than I thought, but at least he didn't damage anything other than an old stick). Yeah, it's a bit of a hassle when a lefty sits in, but being part of the music community in my town, being cool with other drummers, is worth some hassle. Of course, some dude who wanders in off the street is another story, but I've rarely had to deal with that.

At jam sessions I often have to adjust the snare and maybe the ride cymbal angle, but I ask first.

Cool, I guess I'm being a little to concerned cause my kit is only about a month old. But then again, the other guys kit is fairly new too. I'll just be aware and 'help' him set up my set for him to be comfortable. I've already been told I can move the other guys around.

I agree on cymbals. I'll bring my own and tell him to bring his. It would suck having to replace a $200 cymbal.

Thanks for the feedback....

For the future, find some crap kit from the 60s in a cool color, put nice heads on it, and bring that to doubtful shows. Just something you can make sound good, but drop out of the truck on the road without slowing down to cry over.