Drum Assembly Instructions

Inside one of the rectangular hardware boxes you'll find a bag containing smaller drum screws for the toms and larger ones with clasps for the bass drum. You'll need these to fix the hoops (and heads) on to the drum shells.

You'll also find a drum-key which you will use to tighten the drum screws and any other square headed screws contained within the hardware (e.g.the memory locks on the tom tom holders).

Starting with the largest, the bass drum is the biggest in the set. You will need to find the 2 hoops and drum heads to go with it.

Put the bass drum shell flat on the floor with the fittings for the legs and tom holders at the top of the drum shell.

Put the black front head with the logo on it, on the top of the shell. Make sure the name or logo is centred directly under the tom houdsing so it will be displayed the right way up and in the middle.

Now place the hoop over the top of the head and fit the clasps over the hoops so that the screws line up and meet with the internal thread inside each of the (normally 8) lugs on the side of the drum.
For some kits the clasps are tightened by manually twisting the handle at the end of the screw.

There are usually one or two spare screws or clasps which you should keep in case you need to replcace one.

Once you've located all the rods into the screw holes, put your thumb and forefinger on the threaded part and gently turn clockwise until each screw has just begun to catch the thread. Sometimes this can be a bit awkward (more often with smaller drums) and you may need to manipulate the internal thread until the screw lines up and catches the thread. When all the screws are in place screw each up as tight as your fingers will take them. Now take your drum screw and tighten each screw gradually a full turn or complete revolution at a time you may either move from one screw to the next or for easier tuning and beeding down of the head tighten each opposite screw at a time. Tighten each screw until all the creases have disappeared from the heads, but not too tight. This will cause the note of the drum to be become too sharp and will affect the overall tuning of the kit. For fine tuning see your drum teacher - he or she will also tell you about how the weather can affect tuning, how to maintain tuning etc.

Your bass drum should now look like this:

Turn the drum over and repeat the above on the other side of the shell with the other hoop and head.

Once you have completed this, you are ready to set up the bass drum. Some bass drums have the legs or spurs folded on the side of the drum and some are separate. If they are already on the drum, loosen the screw on the legs and wind out the telescopic part of the leg. If they are separate, loosen the screw and slide the 2 legs into the holes.

Stand the drum up so the legs are on the floor. You can adjust the height of the legs and should do so until the legs stop the drum from moving from side to side and eventually forward. Now tighten the screws. Don't raise the drum too high at the front though, this can cause the front head angle backwards and may cause problems with the bass drum pedal action.

Your bass drum set up is now complete and should now look like this:

Before assembling the floor tom find the the 3 legs in one of the hardware boxes.

Now put the drum face down so that the 3 leg brackets are nearest to the floor.

Put the head on and put the hoop on in the same manner that the bass drum was assembled. This time though, the screws will not have clasps on and the hoops will have holes in, Put the screws through the holes in the hoop and line them up into the internal threads inside the lugs. Tighten first by finger and then with your drum key as before. Turn the drum over and repeat the process.

Slide the 3 legs into the leg brackets putting them in from the top. Have them all in roughly the same distance, don't worry about height as you can always adjust them later. Once all tightened up, turn the drum over so it is standing on its 3 legs.

Your finished floor tom should look like this:

Now repeat the above, fitting the heads, hoops and screws on to the two tom toms.

Next put your 2 tom arms in the bass drum - some kits have 1 arm with 2 fittings on them, into the 2 holes in the top and tighten them so they don't fall into the bass drum. Loosen the screws on the tom arms and pull the top of the arms out until roughly parallel to the ground - some single fittings need to point upwards, and tighten them so they stay there. Slide the 2 toms onto the arms and tighten. Once behind the kit, the smaller tom should be on the left for right handed players. Left handed is usually a mirror image.

Your kit should now look like this:

You might try experimenting with the adjustments on the tom arms to find a suitable playing position that is comfortable.

Most if not all the snare drums come already assembled. So first fine the snare stand in the box.

The snare stand is usually folded in half so loosen the middle screw, open it out and tighten the screw again. Loosen the screw on the stand which allows the legs to open and pull the legs out until it stands on its legs. There are 3 arms at the top which open out and this is called the basket. This is where the drum will sit. Open the basket, usually by loosening the nut at the base of the basket.

Your stand should look like this:

Put the snare drum into the basket with the wires or strands on the snare drum facing the floor. Tighten the basket until it firmly holds the snare.

Place the snare drum and stand behind the kit, like this:

Now we'll assemble the stands, cymbals and other hardware, so find each part in the box.

Your bass drum pedal looks like this:

This pedal is going to fit on the bass drum on the playing side. This is usually the one with a clear head on it.

Tilt the bass drum slightly so the jaws of the pedal fit over the bass drum hoop and tighten the wing nut on the bass drum pedal so it holds the bass drum hoop firmly.

Next find your cymbal stand and crash/ride cymbal. You will usually have a kit with 3 cymbals. Two will be the same size as each other and one will be bigger. The bigger cymbal is the crash/ride cymbal.

Open out the 3 legs on the cymbal stand in the same fashion as we put the snare drum stand up earlier. Adjust the sections of the stand using the wing nuts on the side of the stand until at a suitable height.

Now we'll put the cymbal on the stand. Undo the wing nut at the top of the stand and you will see 2 felt pads. The cymbal is going to rest between the 2 pads so take 1 pad off and lay the cymbal on the remaining pad. Put the other pad on top of the cymbal and put the wing nut back on.

Your crash cymbal and stand should look like this:

It's best not to tighten the wing nut too much, leave it fairly loose so the cymbal can move freely when hit. This will get the best sound and reduce the chances of damage. But make sure it's tight enough so that the nut doesn't come undone and the cymbal fall off!

Finally we will put the hi hat cymbals on the hi hat stand. You will need the 2 matching cymbals and the remaining stand with the pedal on it.

The hi hat stand may be folded in half so stand it the right way up with the pedal at the bottom and open it out. Put the top tube into the bass section and tighten the wingnut so it doesn't slip down. Open the legs out in the same fashion as the previous stands.

Secure the hi hat pedal at the bottom. This is usually by sliding the thin rods from the pedal into the holes in the bass of the stand to hold it sturdily together.

The stand should now look like this:

On the rod at the top of the stand, or sometimes in the bag which held the hi hat stand is the device to hold the top hi hat cymbal. This is called a clutch and looks like this:

With the clutch removed from the hi hat stand, turn 1 cymbal upside down place it over the rod and lower it onto the felt. The second cymbal will be married to the clutch, being put between the 2 felts on the clutch before being fitted to the stand. To do this unscrew the locking nut and remove 1 metal washer (if fitted) and 1 felt pad. Put the clutch through the hole in the top of the cymbal and put the felt, metal washer (if fitted) and locknut back on. Your top hi hat cymbal and clutch should now look like this.

Drop the top hi hat (the right way up) over the rod and lower on to the bottom cymbal.
To set the clutch, press the pedal on the stand down about half way and then tighten the wing nut on the side of the clutch. When done, take your foot off the pedal and the hi hat cymbal on top should lift up and stay there.

Your completed kit should now be ready to play and should look like this:

Don't worry if you get stuck at all, give us a call on 01353 749622 or email for details and we'll sort out any problems you may be having.

Good luck and keep up the practice!