Hmm....some may call it odd today, but it used to be the norm. I just use felt strips on my bass drum heads for muffling and thats it. Also, I DON'T cut a hole in the front head....soundmen always get confused over that one! And recently I started using a moleskin patch on the batter head.....definitly gives the bass that authentic vintage sound.

One other "quirk"....I play heel-down. I find I have more control over the sound of the bass drum that way.

Tip o the day!!...leave the vintage hardware at home!

Not all vintage hardware is created equal.....x-mas3

...well...if I must. As I have my quirk already in my affinity of MIJ gear, I have a unique ability to make the snares sound amazing. The woodies are the most frustrating to many drummers. They only recall their youth and the POS they got with a kit they could not tame, therefore a big negative left in the taste in their mouths over them.

Most will never relenquish that they were young, inexperienced drummers unable to tune much more than to tighten or loosen a head, therefore unable to really dig in and find the root causes of poor tonality and uneven tuning.

Yes, they are difficult, when you don't start at the root. Most of the snares need nothing more than a resanding of the edges and snare beds, a good tuning of even the cheapest of wires, and decent heads. Is it a little work? Yes. But, given that I have many semi-pros that stop in and play my drums, they are simply mystified at how I take the obscure, nasty sounding drums of their youths and turn them into playble, lovable snares. And I am beginning to sell them.

As the work seems very simple to me, many will not take the 45 minutes it takes to convert a $20 snare to a snare that sounds more than passable and very playable, with great range, performance beyond anything they ever imagined these to have.

So, that counts as my quirk, I guess. Or is it ability...I get confused sometimes...but maybe that is due more to age.:2Cents:

Very good first post!

I too play heel down and don't use a hole in the front head. Sound guys hate that! It's like you just see them stop when they figure out there is no hole, and then they give you a blank stare for about 5 seconds. I love it!

A couple of tips/tricks from me, although not necesscarily vintage:

1. If you use a cymbal bag (and not a hard case), take a normal to large size bike tire and cut it in half (or thirds if the tires is over 20" or 22") and put it in the bottom of your bag, "open side" up. Put a screw and nut through all your cymbals center holes (all bells stacked together, largest cymbal on the bottom going in size so the smallest is on top) before putting them in the bag. This will keep them tight and from moving/sliding around and scratching. This will also eliminate the need for dividers. Chinas and flat rides can be tricky, I usually put them on last. This also helps you fit more cymbals in less room because all the bells are in one place, and take up the least amount of space possible. Put the cymbals in the bag, and be sure that the largest cymbal (the only one that will touch the tire) is inside the tire. The tire does two things: 1. It acts as a cushion for your cymbals in case you bump/drop them and 2. It keeps your cymbals from eventually cutting through the bottom of the bag.

2. If you use soft gig bags (and not hard cases), you can add extra protection by purchasing pre-shaped foam "squares", available at hobby stores and are used for making pillows and crafts. You just cut the foam to the size you need. For example, let's say you have a 14" x 14" drum, and thus a 14" x 14" bag. Find a foam square (or large sheet if available) large enough to fit that bag. Remember that the interior diameter of a bag is 2" or so larger than the drum itself, to allow for lugs, brackets etc. So in this example, we would need a 16" diameter foam pad. Get an 18" x 18" foam square, and cut it down to a round 16" diameter. It's easy to cut down to size, just trace around an appropriate sized cymbal, in this case a 16", and cut where you traced. Put one at the top and bottom of the bag. It gives the drums extra protection where they need it the most (at the head area), and it also helps the cases hold their shape better and look and feel "fuller". These foam pads are available in a variety of sizes and thickness, and are really cheap.

Yup, I've been experimenting with felt strips too, though i usually find i prefer to go without any kick dampening. I also practice what a couple of you have stated - no hole in the resonant kick head. Hmm ... moleskin patch ... never tried that. Where do you find those? I've been using a little patch of felt coupled with one of those oversized soft felt vintage beaters to reduce some attack and yield more of a softer, boomier sound.

thanks for all your replies ... some interesting thoughts.

A reason or two that I prefer vintage drums over modern ones is that vintage toms have internal mufflers- I always use them slightly tightened, vintage snares have them too -and I use them cranked up tight most of the time- I like my snares tuned high, sharp and tightly muffled (like Stubblefield and Starks). If you have drums without them you can buy Pearl external screw on mufflers- I have a set of four of them I bring if I am playing house kits.

The other thing I prefer is the shallow rack tom depth- I hate deep toms- I can`t position it low and flat like I like it.- this is a big reason I play older kits.

I swap out the vintage screw inserts in the lugs for modern ones if I am gonna play a kit live- I need to know I can count on the lugs to hold tight and not snap while performing. Thanks to Mikey777 I scored a nice big bag of replacement inserts for my metrics. (Mikey is the man!)

What people mean by "moleskin patch" is a product sold for your feet, called Dr. Scholl's moleskin (see pic below). I've never seen any other brand, although there might be. I've been using it since the 70's. I cut one patch in half and put it where the beater hits. It's basically peel and stick felt. They sell it at drugstores, Walmarts, down dark alleys, places like that.

You can also use moleskin if your tom hits your snare and rattles, around the end of a drumstick to make a soft sorta tymp mallet, on the lower rim of your floor tom if the legs rattle like Gretsch's do, on your snare strainer to make it ultra silent (for orchestral work) and I solved the squeaking door panel problem I was having in my car with it.

a couple of quirks (and quacks):

I use two Ludwig floor toms that normally have angled legs. On the sides near my right leg, I use one straight leg on each tom so it doesn't encroach on my limited leg space.

I thread the top of my hi hat rod to accept a 1/4" wing nut. I use a wing nut with metal and felt washers so that I don't use a hi hat clutch.

Tip: if you're at a gig and your bass drum pedal squeaks and you don't have any oil - yes you do: take your pedal out to your car, pull out the oil dipstick and there's a few drops on the end of it. $5

Olive oil for salad dressing works wonders in a pinch too if you're playing a club that sells food too. Cool Dude