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What should you consider when setting up a drum kit?
Welcome to session's setup guide.
In this guide you'll find all the important information you need to set up your drum kit. If you have any questions about your drum kit beyond this guide, we're of course happy to help you personally, by phone or by e-mail at any time.
The individual components of your drum kit
Bass drum
Usually the bass drum does not come with heads pre-mounted, so you'll need to fit the batter head and the resonant head. The resonant head (usually black with the manufacturer's logo) is fitted on the side of the bass drum where the legs are located. The batter head goes on the opposite side. The two hoops for the bass drum are also not pre-mounted. They're usually identical, but each hoop has two different sides: one is flat and is meant to press the head against the shell, the other is rounded and faces outwards.
The tension claws are normally already assembled in the packaging with the correct slightly longer tension screws, so you only need to attach them around the bass drum. Attaching the hoops is made easier with a standard cordless drill; there is an optional adapter bit for this (see below).
Warning: Please do not fully tighten the tension rods with the cordless drill — only bring them up until they are just about to touch the hoop. Then tighten the tension rods by hand using a drum key.
Some drum kits are supplied with a hoop-protector sticker. This is attached to the part of the hoop where the bass drum pedal hooks on. If this hoop protector isn't included, you can find a protective sticker like this in our webshop, along with plenty of other handy helpers.
Buy bass drum accessories at session now
For mounting and protecting your bass drum we recommend these useful helpers.
Snare drum
The snare drum on most kits arrives fully assembled and just needs tuning and to be mounted on the snare stand.
Mounted toms
A standard kit usually includes two mounted toms. Like the snare, these are typically pre-mounted. They are attached to the bass drum with one or two tom holders. For right-handed players the smaller tom is mounted on the left and the larger on the right; for left-handers it's the other way around.
Floor tom
On some manufacturers' floor toms two hoops are fitted one above the other on the shell. In that case unscrew both hoops. After fitting the heads, attach one of the hoops to the top and the other to the bottom of the floor tom. Also attach the legs to the underside.
Hardware
There are a few special points regarding the hi-hat stand, the bass drum pedal and the cymbal stand with a retractable boom arm. The hi-hat stand requires a bit of assembly: you need to put the individual parts together (lower part, pull rod, centre tube). When mounting the cymbals, note that the lower one is usually marked "Bottom" and the upper one "Top". If there is no marking, the two parts are identical.
Attach the bass drum pedal to the front hoop of the bass drum. Make sure the clamp is open enough so as not to scratch the wood. When inserting the beater, it's up to your personal preference whether to strike the head with the plastic or the felt side.
Now that your hardware is fully assembled and set up, you can mount the cymbals, toms and snare on their stands and roughly align them. In the next step you'll determine the optimal positioning of the individual parts of your drum kit.
Know-how
With us you don't just get what you need – we'll also show you how it works! To the guides.
Notes on setting up a drum kit
The most important thing is that you sit comfortably at the kit and can reach everything well with your sticks. When setting up your kit, make sure the snare doesn't knock against the bass drum and cause damage. To make the mounted toms easier to reach, you can angle them slightly. Also pay attention to keeping enough distance to the bass drum.
The snare is always positioned directly between your legs, with the bass drum to the right and the hi-hat to the left (reversed for left-handers). The snare should be set at a height where you can strike the head without catching on its rim.
Set your cymbal stands so that you don't hit the cymbals straight on their edge, but rather strike them slightly from above at an angle. This protects the cymbals and your sticks.
