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Drummer Issue
- Thread starter REV
- Start date
So, if you get to that point, a bit of advice. Don't fire the drummer while all your gear is in his basement. Or in the drummer's girlfriend's basement. Yes, I speak from experience - had I known we were at that point, I think I would have talked to the rest of the band about a plan to get our gear out BEFORE we fired the guy.
Step 1: Buy some old junker amp and bring it to practice. Sing its praises then proceed to roll off volume on the bass 3-4 times every 2 hours while playing. Pretend to tinker with the amp head for 15 mins or so, then turn up volume again. Make sure you do this right after he gets the snare going again.
Step 2: Repeat step 1 as needed. Drummers are stubborn.
Step 2: Repeat step 1 as needed. Drummers are stubborn.
I wouldn’t even try to pretend it wasn’t a completely obvious issue. I’d simply tell the guy that his snare looks like a great fixer-upper, but it’s not ready for prime time and that he needs to stop wasting everyone’s time with his busted drum.
Agree ahead of time with band mates to start the next song whether he’s ready or not. And do that every time. Act like it’s normal.
Also, someone should call or text him before the next rehearsal to "remind" him to bring another snare, "you know, so when that one breaks down we don't waste a lot of rehearsal time with it." He will get the hint.
JeezyMcNuggles
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- Feb 23, 2018
- 14,723
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Tell him his snare's a peice of #$&%, he got ripped off, and he knows it.
Seriously. Thanks for the replies. I spoke to others in the band and we all agree he gets one shot with the Radio King and if it craps out he needs to replace it with a working snare.
Quote: “He has a number of perfectly good snares he could use but he insists on using the Radio King and so far hasn't been able to keep it sounding good.”
This thread reminded me of something that happened years ago.
In the seventies I was in a group that had a 12 string guitarist who liked keyboards, but wasn’t really a keyboard player to speak of at all.
However, he had a particular fascination for Mellotrons and actually had one and it was an instrument he was totally devoted to. It was a sort of “seventies” thing.
We were in a well-known recording studio, making the groups first album and the Mellotron broke down. Luckily, we had a brilliant recording engineer, who after an hour or so, taking it apart, was able to resurrect it, so to speak.
The producer, a very widely experienced individual, said to me as time ticked by: “every major studio in Europe has a Mellotron. They are always stood in a corner these days, no longer used. They break down all the time, and are a complete and utter waste of time.”
Some gear is genuinely more trouble than what it’s worth.
This thread reminded me of that.
I went to a Hank Marvin (a British guitarist) concert once.
He had used Binson Echo units for years, they were a part of his signature sound, and he was completely devoted to them.
He scoured the world for working units to replace his aging ones, and bought broken units to cannibalise and remove parts from, to keep his existing units working.
Although he disguised it well, talking to the audience for a while about: "how important it was to ensure the reverb and delays were always adjusted and set perfectly". It was obvious to me, familiar with him, that his existing units, had regrettably failed, in concert.
Soon thereafter he moved towards digital units.
Rehearsal time, like studio time is extremely precious, should never be wasted and should be utilised efficiently. Not fixing equipment that is simply no longer up to the task it was originally designed for.
There’s a time to actively dispense with older or well used equipment that is now failing in the task for which it was intended.
It happens to the best people in the business, at some point, eventually.
That’s the reason, someone got rid of the Radio King snare.
And why the drummer got it, for a bargain price.
This thread reminded me of something that happened years ago.
In the seventies I was in a group that had a 12 string guitarist who liked keyboards, but wasn’t really a keyboard player to speak of at all.
However, he had a particular fascination for Mellotrons and actually had one and it was an instrument he was totally devoted to. It was a sort of “seventies” thing.
We were in a well-known recording studio, making the groups first album and the Mellotron broke down. Luckily, we had a brilliant recording engineer, who after an hour or so, taking it apart, was able to resurrect it, so to speak.
The producer, a very widely experienced individual, said to me as time ticked by: “every major studio in Europe has a Mellotron. They are always stood in a corner these days, no longer used. They break down all the time, and are a complete and utter waste of time.”
Some gear is genuinely more trouble than what it’s worth.
This thread reminded me of that.
I went to a Hank Marvin (a British guitarist) concert once.
He had used Binson Echo units for years, they were a part of his signature sound, and he was completely devoted to them.
He scoured the world for working units to replace his aging ones, and bought broken units to cannibalise and remove parts from, to keep his existing units working.
Although he disguised it well, talking to the audience for a while about: "how important it was to ensure the reverb and delays were always adjusted and set perfectly". It was obvious to me, familiar with him, that his existing units, had regrettably failed, in concert.
Soon thereafter he moved towards digital units.
Rehearsal time, like studio time is extremely precious, should never be wasted and should be utilised efficiently. Not fixing equipment that is simply no longer up to the task it was originally designed for.
There’s a time to actively dispense with older or well used equipment that is now failing in the task for which it was intended.
It happens to the best people in the business, at some point, eventually.
That’s the reason, someone got rid of the Radio King snare.
And why the drummer got it, for a bargain price.
I'd approach this in a constructive fashion but keep in mind I'm 1/2 diplomat and embrace a dry sense of humor as others will attest. Hopefully, the conversation will go like this:
Me: "Hey, that's really neat...what is it going to take to coax some semblance of stability? It appears to be frustrating".
Drummer: "It's that dog-gone dephlostigactor which keeps loosening".
Me: "I hate it when that happens. Here's an interesting thread I ran across: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]"
Drummer: "You know I have trouble with the big words".
Me: "No problem. I know a couple guys who know the RK's inside & out. This would be my go-to guy for guidance and/or direction: Russell Scarborough".
As you may guess, it really ticks me off when a bandmate has a defective piece of gear and makes no effort to remedy the situation. How much homework has he really done? FWIW, the two links above are legit and merit investigation.
Riis
Me: "Hey, that's really neat...what is it going to take to coax some semblance of stability? It appears to be frustrating".
Drummer: "It's that dog-gone dephlostigactor which keeps loosening".
Me: "I hate it when that happens. Here's an interesting thread I ran across: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]"
Drummer: "You know I have trouble with the big words".
Me: "No problem. I know a couple guys who know the RK's inside & out. This would be my go-to guy for guidance and/or direction: Russell Scarborough".
As you may guess, it really ticks me off when a bandmate has a defective piece of gear and makes no effort to remedy the situation. How much homework has he really done? FWIW, the two links above are legit and merit investigation.
Riis
