Drums at PP

spag

I am a leaf on the wind
Sep 18, 2006
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36
Everywhere and nowhere
Maybe this has come up before, but I didn't see a thread about it.

I noticed that at PP, all the bands used the same drum set. I'm assuming for setup time reasons, but maybe shipping costs for the travelling bands. In my limited knowledge of band members though, their drum setups are usually very personalized, and I was surprised to see the different drummers use the same setup. Or was there actually a lot changed between sets that I just couldn't see?

Just wondering.
 
spag said:
I noticed that at PP, all the bands used the same drum set. I'm assuming for setup time reasons, but maybe shipping costs for the travelling bands. In my limited knowledge of band members though, their drum setups are usually very personalized, and I was surprised to see the different drummers use the same setup. Or was there actually a lot changed between sets that I just couldn't see?


Yes. There is actually a lot changed between sets that you couldn't see. Our drum sponsor is Pacific Drums & Percussion - a subsidiary of Drum Workshop. They provide full kit consisting of five toms, two bass drums, a maple snare, a birch snare, and a hand hammered brass snare along with a gigantic rack (which is basically a clone of the large DW rack) on which everything is mounted. Sabian is our cymbal sponsor, and they provide us with a VERY wide range of cymbals, including various hats, crashes, rides, splashes, bells, chinas, etc. Basically, everything you could ever ask for. We do allow the drummers to bring along favorite cymbals or snare drums if they have a preference. But they all use the same toms and kicks.

The difference from one band to another consists of the actual setup which each drummer prefers. Some want two of the rack toms and two floor toms. Some want only one floor tom and three rack toms. Some want all of the toms. Some want two china cymbals, some want one, some want none - and so it goes with all of the various cymbals. Some use two bass drums and some only use one - even though we leave both on the riser for cosmetic reasons and because it's just easier. So yes, the setup is quite different for every drummer.

Not to pat ourselves on the back TOO much, but we have gotten drum changeovers down to just a matter of minutes. To be completely honest and in all fairness to us as drum techs, most of the really lengthy delays between sets these days come down to PA issues and getting the various interfaces hooked up properly. Electronics (especially keyboard rigs) have become exceedingly complex. And when you add in samplers with vocals "flown" into the mix and sending click tracks to various musicians, just the wiring alone can become very time consuming. Without question, the longest delays come down to making sure that all of the various audio feeds are right and everyone can hear what they need to hear onstage.

Also, it's important to understand the logistics. At PPUSA we have very little staging (offstage) area and a rather small stage. By comparison, the very large festivals such as Wacken have a HUGE staging area. They also use at least two (and often more) drum risers mounted on retractable wheels. So their techs can set up one kit offstage while another band is playing and when that set ends they simply roll the one riser off stage and roll the other one on. Then they just set the mics and off they go. This makes for relatively fast changeovers AND it allows each drummer to use their own kit and cymbals and tweak everything to their heart's desire. Due to space limitations and stage layout, that kind of thing is simply not possible at PPUSA. If you're interested in reading more about this kind of thing, Mark Frink (an editor at Mix) has written an excellent article about the ins-and-outs of festival stage logistics.

http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_stage_off_stage/


So there you have it. Everything you never wanted to know about drum setups at PPUSA from the horses mouth - or ass depending on who you're asking and on what day. Hope this helps.
 
MeTuLHeD said:
Yes. There is actually a lot changed between sets that you couldn't see. Our drum sponsor is Pacific Drums & Percussion - a subsidiary of Drum Workshop. They provide full kit consisting of five toms, two bass drums, a maple snare, a birch snare, and a hand hammered brass snare along with a gigantic rack (which is basically a clone of the large DW rack) on which everything is mounted. Sabian is our cymbal sponsor, and they provide us with a VERY wide range of cymbals, including various hats, crashes, rides, splashes, bells, chinas, etc. Basically, everything you could ever ask for. We do allow the drummers to bring along favorite cymbals or snare drums if they have a preference. But they all use the same toms and kicks.

The difference from one band to another consists of the actual setup which each drummer prefers. Some want two of the rack toms and two floor toms. Some want only one floor tom and three rack toms. Some want all of the toms. Some want two china cymbals, some want one, some want none - and so it goes with all of the various cymbals. Some use two bass drums and some only use one - even though we leave both on the riser for cosmetic reasons and because it's just easier. So yes, the setup is quite different for every drummer.

Not to pat ourselves on the back TOO much, but we have gotten drum changeovers down to just a matter of minutes. To be completely honest and in all fairness to us as drum techs, most of the really lengthy delays between sets these days come down to PA issues and getting the various interfaces hooked up properly. Electronics (especially keyboard rigs) have become exceedingly complex. And when you add in samplers with vocals "flown" into the mix and sending click tracks to various musicians, just the wiring alone can become very time consuming. Without question, the longest delays come down to making sure that all of the various audio feeds are right and everyone can hear what they need to hear onstage.

Also, it's important to understand the logistics. At PPUSA we have very little staging (offstage) area and a rather small stage. By comparison, the very large festivals such as Wacken have a HUGE staging area. They also use at least two (and often more) drum risers mounted on retractable wheels. So their techs can set up one kit offstage while another band is playing and when that set ends they simply roll the one riser off stage and roll the other one on. Then they just set the mics and off they go. This makes for relatively fast changeovers AND it allows each drummer to use their own kit and cymbals and tweak everything to their heart's desire. Due to space limitations and stage layout, that kind of thing is simply not possible at PPUSA. If you're interested in reading more about this kind of thing, Mark Frink (an editor at Mix) has written an excellent article about the ins-and-outs of festival stage logistics.

http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_stage_off_stage/


So there you have it. Everything you never wanted to know about drum setups at PPUSA from the horses mouth - or ass depending on who you're asking and on what day. Hope this helps.


Thanks! I always wanted to know how that worked!
 
Damn, why don't you just leave out a few details! I love the ins/outs and behind the scenes shit. It's the stuff people don't see that makes it all so cool!
 
Heehee...according to that article...PPUSA is a "generic" festival and not a "real" festival...what a tool!

While I understand that the author is attempting to make a certain distinction, his verbiage is a bit odd, I think.

Many continued wishes of success for your generic festival, Glenn. Maybe one day it will be a real one...ha!

Rock on!
 
MeTuLHeD said:
Yes. There is actually a lot changed between sets that you couldn't see. Our drum sponsor is Pacific Drums & Percussion - a subsidiary of Drum Workshop. They provide full kit consisting of five toms, two bass drums, a maple snare, a birch snare, and a hand hammered brass snare along with a gigantic rack (which is basically a clone of the large DW rack) on which everything is mounted. Sabian is our cymbal sponsor, and they provide us with a VERY wide range of cymbals, including various hats, crashes, rides, splashes, bells, chinas, etc. Basically, everything you could ever ask for. We do allow the drummers to bring along favorite cymbals or snare drums if they have a preference. But they all use the same toms and kicks.

The difference from one band to another consists of the actual setup which each drummer prefers. Some want two of the rack toms and two floor toms. Some want only one floor tom and three rack toms. Some want all of the toms. Some want two china cymbals, some want one, some want none - and so it goes with all of the various cymbals. Some use two bass drums and some only use one - even though we leave both on the riser for cosmetic reasons and because it's just easier. So yes, the setup is quite different for every drummer.

Not to pat ourselves on the back TOO much, but we have gotten drum changeovers down to just a matter of minutes. To be completely honest and in all fairness to us as drum techs, most of the really lengthy delays between sets these days come down to PA issues and getting the various interfaces hooked up properly. Electronics (especially keyboard rigs) have become exceedingly complex. And when you add in samplers with vocals "flown" into the mix and sending click tracks to various musicians, just the wiring alone can become very time consuming. Without question, the longest delays come down to making sure that all of the various audio feeds are right and everyone can hear what they need to hear onstage.

Also, it's important to understand the logistics. At PPUSA we have very little staging (offstage) area and a rather small stage. By comparison, the very large festivals such as Wacken have a HUGE staging area. They also use at least two (and often more) drum risers mounted on retractable wheels. So their techs can set up one kit offstage while another band is playing and when that set ends they simply roll the one riser off stage and roll the other one on. Then they just set the mics and off they go. This makes for relatively fast changeovers AND it allows each drummer to use their own kit and cymbals and tweak everything to their heart's desire. Due to space limitations and stage layout, that kind of thing is simply not possible at PPUSA. If you're interested in reading more about this kind of thing, Mark Frink (an editor at Mix) has written an excellent article about the ins-and-outs of festival stage logistics.

http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_stage_off_stage/


So there you have it. Everything you never wanted to know about drum setups at PPUSA from the horses mouth - or ass depending on who you're asking and on what day. Hope this helps.

Also, Ralf farts on the snare drum.
 
Flavio CotM said:
Last year for Angra they changed the kick drums front heads, & stratovarius used their own set i believe


For Angra, the front heads were changed out. Achilles has a Mapex endorsement and he insisted on it. But that was a relatively simple thing to do and took up precious little time.

Jorg (Stratovarius) did indeed use his own kit. As did Petter (Therion). But they also had their own drum techs there to set up and tear down their kits. The PPUSA drum techs had zero involvement in the drum setup for those two bands. Hell, I watched most of Strato's set from the control room of the recording suite. :-D
 
Not to pat ourselves on the back TOO much, but we have gotten drum changeovers down to just a matter of minutes.

And the Crowd thanks you for THAT!

Having worked numerous shows myself I can tell you that the drummer is always the first one on stage and the last one taking gear off!

Even a few change overs to a standard backline can take a good amount of time. So yeah for you and the crew!

-Metal