Drum set up: Quarantine Edition

Do to New York state regulations, I’m not permitted to use my shared rehearsal space. I actually chose to stop going there a few days prior to the government directive because, frankly, it felt like a risk no matter how cautious I or my colleagues were.

I have NEVER practiced drum set in the apartment I’ve been living in (coming up for two years). I had some mesh heads I bought for my set up in my last apartment (Pearl Sound Off) so I threw them on my Yamaha kit. I had to pick up a head for my 20” BD (Remo Silentstroke) and grabbed another Pearl for a 12” tom.

Previously I had only used mutes for my cymbals, and let me tell ya — they’re god awful. Not only is the sound atrocious, but they feel absolutely miserable. After doing a little bit of research I ordered a 13/14/18 Zildjian L80 cymbal pack from Steve Weiss. I am blown away! The feel is great and they sound is pretty good considering. I especially love the open hats. I often play in small spaces around the city so I may try them out on a gig in the future, whenever that may be. The only thing I’m not crazy about is you hear a significant amount of stick contact. I’m not sure if nylon tips would make it better or worse but I’m going to do some troubleshooting here in the coming days.