Amen!!

Cheers

This is one of my top I want to slap the crap out of the brain drain that did and does this !

Proof that power tools should not be sold to just anyone. Damn home improvement do it your selfers.

Great post for your #400 and funny too.

Not sure it would have changed my mind to purchase my Camcos recently but I agree with you...

"Drop the drill and come out with your hands up!"

Sold a 50's wfl virgin bass drum to a well known forum member here on the forum, It had clip on bass drum spurs, What does the dolt do?? drills it for non original 70's/80's bass drum spurs. WTH !!!Help2

Amen to the original poster!! I have also seen guys cut portions of the wrap off of drums to make heads fight not as snug. Hrmm....you can notch drum heads to fit and heads cost a fraction of what a drum does :(

I have also sold virgin drums to certain folks to see them drilled and modified. Oh well.

I know, right? :D I just hate when I find a nice old drum that's been drilled. I can understand back in the day when the drum was new and guys would drill the bass drum shell for a different rail or for an extra cymbal arm, but doing it nowadays on a classic drum is just criminal.

Okay some of you may hate me for this post but I am going to play devil's advocate here. Now, before you all go getting yourselves up in a tizzy, realize that, for the most part I do agree with you. Being in the restoration business allows me to see two sides of this and always has me divided but in the end it's about what works for the drum, the customer and the situation. I'm in no way trying to start an argument, but just wanted to throw out a view from the other side.

With some kits, parts are a lot harder to come by than other and original parts aren't always available but for the owner, leaving the drum(s) sitting in a closet until such time that they might find a part is unrealistic, especially if it is a gigging kit. My very first kit was and still is a 1964 Slingerland kit, 12, 12, 14, 14x4 Krupa and 22x14 bass. The bass drum spurs never worked good and constantly turned in the mounts and tossed my bass drum to the side. The kit has been recovered and after 40 years of playing and gigging I have had to make a few minor alterations to the kit. The kit sounds great and it isn't a kit that I ever plan on selling so I'm not hurting the monetary value of the kit. I am always very careful whenever I have to drill a drum and am careful not to compromise the integrity of the shell or the sound.

There are plenty of cases to be made for great drums that had crap hardware that was replaced with something else because without it the drums were not functional to their fullest potential.

Thoughts?

I completely agree. To drill, or not to drill is a decision that thankfully only comes up rarely, but when it does come up, there's usually a good reason why it is an option at all. It has to be done on a drum by drum basis, weighing the pluses and minuses, but if 'drill you must' in order to make a drum more functional for yourself... have at it. I'm no purist that way. For me it's all about finding the best solution for each problem. Even if it means breaking a taboo or two.

The difference between what you're talking about and what some drill-crazy lunatics do to drums is the 'thoughtful' part. Your decision to drill is based on careful consideration. That's what makes the difference between 'ok to drill' and 'oh my God put down that drill!'

John