The Cranky Drummer

In spite of having been so rapturously in love with drums since the age of eight, compared with many drummers who have reached my (much more advanced) current age I've actually owned relatively little drum equipment throughout my life. This post is Part 5 in a multi-part  rundown  of it all. (Here are links to P arts   1 ,   2 ,  3   and   4 . ) Bigger Drums: Ludwig Classic series (Sable Black urethane finish) Configuration: Two bass drums, two small toms, two floor toms, snare drum • Two 26” x 16” bass drums, 13” x 9” and 14” x 10” small toms, 16” x 16” and 18” x 16” floor toms, 14” x 7” Valley Drum Shop custom snare drum (custom painted) • Pearl hardware and stands; DW5000 bass-drum pedals • Cymbal setup continually evolving but always exclusively Zildjian When I began playing live gigs in bands with Greg Segal — first in  Cold Sky and then in  Dog Neutral (best band name EVER!) —  I began to have a similar problem with my new Gretsch drumset to the one I had 17 years earlier wi

In spite of having been so rapturously in love with drums since the age of eight, compared with many drummers who have reached my (much more advanced) current age I've actually owned relatively little drum equipment throughout my life. This post is Part 4 in a multi-part rundown of it all. ( Here are links to P arts   1 ,   2   and   3 . ) "Starting-from-scratch" drumset: Gretsch USA (red rosewood lacquer finish) Configuration: Two bass drums, two small toms, two floor toms, snare drum •  Two 22” x 14” bass drums, 12” x 8” and 13" x 9" small toms, 16" x 16" and 18" x 16" floor toms, 14” x 5½” snare drum • Pearl tom holders, snare stand & spurs; Yamaha cymbal stands; Rogers bass-drum pedals • Nine brand-new A- and K-Zildjian cymbals After I sold my Vistalite drumset in 1982 and moved into a condo with my wife, things were good for the first couple of years, but then we began having marital issues. We saw a couple’s counselor and after w