Bass Drums

[KiltieBD3]

Just so y'all know--I'm a very, very large man. If I bump into somebody without carrying a drum, there's a chance they'll get hurt--I know that from experience. I'm not going to put myself into a situation where I have an increased chance to run into things.

The chain worked fine to get the drum down to where I could see. The problem we had involved the carrier not fitting my torso worth a ####--the lower plate was several inches too high and I ended up with back cramps due to the weight of the drum not resting on my hips. The carriers may fit Jeff's skinny body well--they don't fit XXXL bodies worth a hoot.

The drum is lighter than the drums I carried before, so the weight, itself, isn't a problem. We just need to find a carrier that fits my old, fat body properly and I'll be able to carry the drum for as long as I can stand up.

So, who knows where to get an XXXL carrier?

Have you tried the Randall May? I ask only because you mentioned you are a "large" dude and I march with a guy on bass 5 that is 6'4" ish about 285 lbs and he seems to fit the harness just fine.

[paradiddle]

The newer Randall May's have a couple of adjustable pivot points to form to a body. Also good for us larger folk.. The newest one can accomodate a "belly bump".

I am still using the old Aluma Vest on Yamaha 28 or 32 bass. Because of the belly bump its puts the drum way high but I move the j-bars almost completely out of the way. The drum just rests against the fiberglass vest not the j- bar. That's as low as I can get it and probably the same height as a flat belly player with normal j-bar set up.

[Kansan]

Going to look into a possible solution from 2 cool percussion.

I'll let you know if it works.

[HornsUp]

You just have to be very attentive when you march.

You have to be more attentive when you don't march.

True story. George was a bass drummer in a small 60s senior corps. George was about 5'3" and could not see over his 26" bass drum.

The corps had just finished a parade. An official came up to the drum major and said "I have free beer tickets for your marchers. How many men are in your unit?"

Lying through his teeth, the drum major said "About 90". The official handed him a whole roll of free beer tickets!

George grabbed a huge handful of free beer tickets from the drum major. Still wearing his bass drum, he took off running across the street to the beer stand. "Whoo hooooo!" he shouted.

He never saw the fire hydrant.

[Nation of Bass]

^ LOL!

[Kekkles]

tafl, stop being a punk.

not being able to see in front of you is part of being a bass drummer.

when you're marching, be in your spot. you won't hit anyone. when you're not marching, tilt your head to the side every few seconds. you won't hit anyone.

i've never heard of anyone getting hurt by a bass drummer sprinting into them. just pay attention while you've got the drum on and you won't have to reinvent the wheel.

[Jim Nevermann]

If I can't see where I'm going, I ain't carrying the drum. I refuse to put myself in any position where I can seriously damage myself and others because I can't see.

I agree 100%. About 3/4's of the way through a parade a couple years ago, one of our basses tripped on one of those low-level road bump-domes [impossible to see with a bass drum in front of you]. Along with his bass and carrier, he went crashing to the pavement. At an audible gasp from the crowd, we [and they] grabbed for him. Amazingly, though, except for a ripped shirt-sleeve and scrapped forearm, he was essentially little the worse for wear. We soon stepped off again, the crowd loudly cheering us and especially him on.

But MAN... it was only the grace of God that prevented a much, much more serious outcome. Brrrrrrrr....

[TAFL]

tafl, stop being a punk.

not being able to see in front of you is part of being a bass drummer.

But I'm not a bass drummer...I just play one on TV!

We got the drum down to where I could see. WHat we didn't get solved was getting the yoke to where it would reach down to my hips to distribute the weight correctly. I ended up with back cramps halfway through the parade. It sucked.

I'm tellin' ya, there really needs to be a line of gear specifically for old, fat guys....

[K-Swiss]

Just remember that the lower the drum is, the more pressure it will put on your lower back. I wore my 26" low for 2 1/2 years and i'm paying for it now.

[LSU GRAD 82]

We were sizing one of our bass drums to our Bass Drummer and we discovered he could not see over the top of the drum while marching. (parade marching). He doesn't feel comfortable not being able to see straight ahead.

I'm going to the hardware store today to rig an extension between the carrier hooks and the ring bolts on the drum.

Is this the solution everyone else uses?

I was looking at Quaterfinals last night and noticed the bass drummers could not see over the drums and mostly marched sideways.

I did see some forward marching but I'm sure they were counting steps and were fairly confident they were not going to run into anything.

One of my all-time "dislikes" are Bass Drummers that wear their drums too low. If the top of the drum is below eye level, it's too low. If you've never played a Bass Drum, or have, but aren't used to carrying it up high enough to where you can't see straight ahead or see over the top of it, then keep practicing. Believe me, you'll get used to it being up high. You develop a kind of sixth sense to where you're going. Lots of navigational "Dips" and "Sideway Turns" at first, but you will eventually get used to marching with the drum "Way up there." If you wear shakos with plumes, you can always see the plumes of the drummers in front of you. Any Bass Drummer that REFUSED to wear the drum up high, would not be a part of any line I was teaching. Looks like ##### if it's too low........