Drum "kit" setup

> > > Drum "kit" setup

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sloppy dice, drinks twice
Member Since: Aug 05, 2003

I have several hand drums that I like to play together. When I'm just playing around with friends, typically I'll put my bongoes, tabla set, and another hand drum together on a table, with a shaker wedged in between the drums. That works pretty well, and I have a pretty good feel for that kind of setup by now. I'd like to take that into my small studio space, but I'm not sure how to go about doing that.

I'm thinking about getting some of those "yaffa blocks" plastic crates (similar to those cube-shaped milk crates) and using 2 stacks of 2 blocks apiece, since they aren't too wide for my studio space (about 3 feet wide is what I'm working with - slightly longer than it is wide).

Anyhow, my plan is to stack those blocks like so, then mic from underneath by wedging a mic in there on a boom (thankfully I invested in a mini boom stand a while back, that should help). Then mic from above using another boom. I will probably have a condensor mic later, suspended by a hook screwed into the ceiling.

Does anyone here have experience using yaffa blocks in this way?
Can anyone recommend a better way to support and mic my hand drums?
Is there any pro percussionist hardware for holding hand drums that could make my life easier? (cheap is best)

Thanks for your opinions/advice/comments... :)

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I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003

Nov 14, 2003 02:24 pm

Funny, I was wondering the same thing. They do make bongo drum stands. They hold the drums by the piece of wood that connects the 2 drums together. About $50 was as cheap as I could find retail, an I saw some for $35 on ebay. They are nice because you can angle the drums a bit instead of having them facing straight up all the time.

I suppose you could make you own stand instead of making your own table-like structure. I read about using piping to construct a drum stand, but I didn't get any specifics about it. Maybe I'll put some thought into the design of such a thing...

sloppy dice, drinks twice
Member
Since: Aug 05, 2003

Nov 14, 2003 10:25 pm

IT WORKED!!!

I ended up buying two of the crates from Walmart. Stacked, they are exactly the height one needs when sitting in a chair and playing. Took them into the studio, stacked them, and my drums fit them perfectly. I removed a few of the sections of plastic struts right in the center of the back and the left side of the top block, and made a hole big enough to run a mic through on the boom. I had a small problem when I found that my tabla weren't the same height as my bongo on a flat surface (I knew this already but hadn't recalled it), so what I did was cut two of the diagonal struts out of the top block's horizontal plane. Then I wedged a couple of squares of scrap foam in the grooves created. This created a taco shell foam cradle for the tabla set, that gave it a few inches of height and stabilized the round ceramic bottoms of the tabla.

Bongoes - $120
Tabla set - $30
Shaker - $15
Plastic crates - $10
The ability to lay down drums trucks the way I WANT to.... Priceless.

I've had a hard day that just got a lot better - it's frickin' Miller time, baby. :)

> > > Drum "kit" setup

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