Small but Valuable Things to Bring on Gigs/Tours
Of course, you need to bring your drums, cymbals, hardware, and sticks when you’re heading out for gigs or touring, but there’s a lot more that can be useful to keep in your toolbox. Here are a few suggestions that might not be the most obvious, but are incredibly valuable for those of you who play frequently.
Cympads
Cympads are truly a lifesaver when playing smaller venues where the acoustics are not exactly ideal. There’s probably nothing worse than when the sound engineer comes up and asks you to tape your cymbals because they apparently “sound too loud.” Of course, nobody really wants to dampen their cymbals at all, but if you absolutely have to, Cympads are definitely a much better alternative than gaffer tape. Even if you don’t need them for every gig, it’s incredibly worth it to keep a 10-pack with different sizes in a bag so you’re always prepared.
You can find Cympads here. We highly recommend the box set so you’re ready for any situation.
Memory Locks
If you tour or play frequently, constantly setting up and tearing down your hardware every day can eventually become exhausting. And if a helpful person offers to assist, there’s always the risk that things won’t be set up exactly the way you want them. That’s why memory locks are something every gigging drummer should invest in. Mid-range and high-end hardware often comes with memory locks these days, but more affordable stands frequently do not.
Most major brands have their own memory locks designed specifically for their hardware. They often feature grooves that make the memory lock sit at the exact same angle every time you attach the stand tube. This makes setting up your drums incredibly easy and almost foolproof. It becomes practically impossible to assemble things incorrectly. If you’re unsure which memory locks you need, Dixon offers some standard sizes that fit most stand tubes here.
Tension Locks
In the same spirit as memory locks, tension locks are absolutely fantastic to bring on tours or longer runs of gigs. There isn’t always time to tune your drums every single day. Arriving at the venue with your drums already properly tuned during load-in is an amazing feeling.
Tension locks “lock” the tension rods in place so the drums won’t detune as easily. The drumheads will still be affected by changes in climate and temperature, but the tension rods themselves won’t loosen over time. The day-to-day differences become much smaller, and you won’t need to tune your drums nearly as often.
There are a huge number of different tension lock options available. The most common ones are probably Tama’s and L.T Lug Locks. More recently, some interesting alternatives have also appeared, such as Rock Locks and the fun little Tuner Fish.
You can never have too many tension locks. They’re also quite small and can easily disappear during tours and gig travel, so make sure to keep plenty of them in your toolbox.
These may be small products, but the difference they make is truly night and day. Bring these items with you and you’ll save a lot of time that can instead be spent networking or simply enjoying yourself at the venue.
Good luck with the gigging!
