Drum setups are typically quite large, taking up a fair amount of space in your practice room. When unfortunate life events happen and you end up needing to store your drums away, you may find it difficult to store your drums and cymbals in an optimal way.
There are mistakes you can make that will end up damaging your gear in the long run. It’s important to stay clear of these. Here are some ways of storing your equipment without causing any long-term damage to them.
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Bags
The first step you should always take when moving your kit anywhere is to put the drums in drum bags. Drum bags are primarily designed to protect your drum shells when the kit is not set up. Every drummer should own a set of bags, whether you’re planning on storing the kit away or just transporting it from one place to another.
There are two types of bags you can get – soft bags and hard cases. Soft bags are lighter to carry but hard cases provide more protection and reinforcement. For the sake of storing your drums away, I suggest you use hard cases. My favorite cases are the Humes & Berg Enduro Pros.
You’ll also need bags or cases for your hardware and cymbals. These are a bit more affordable to get as you only need one of each compared to the individual case for each drum. I’ve been using a Zildjian Deluxe bag for as long as I can remember as well as a Humes & Berg Tilt-n-Pull for the hardware.
Finding a Safe Storage Spot
Now that all your gear has safely been put in bags, you need to find a spot to store it where it won’t be damaged or interfered with. If that spot is somewhere in your house, you should make sure that nothing gets placed near the gear that could fall on it or let it move around.
In a Corner
I’ve always found that the best place to put a drum kit is somewhere in a corner. You can stack the drum cases on top of each other to save space. However, you don’t want to stack them too high as the structure might topple over.
Try to put the hardware bag in a place where no one can stand on it. Even though the hardware is very sturdy and durable, one stray step may just be the thing that breaks your hi-hat rod. So, make sure that it’s well and truly out of the way from everyone.
Behind an Open Door
With regards to the cymbals, I’ve found that the best place to put them is behind a door that is open. Having them there will ensure that nothing will ever fall on them or damage them in any way. They can also be placed upright, which is the best position for a cymbal bag to be in. If it’s flat on the floor, someone may stand on it and damage all the cymbals inside.
If you can’t store the gear in your house, you could consider renting out a storage unit somewhere. The same rules apply for placing all the bags will apply there as well.
Snare Drum Rack
One type of drum that many drummers tend to have multiple of is the snare drum. It’s both a blessing and a curse to have multiple snare drums in your practice space. Most drum kits can only house two or three snares, so the rest need to be placed somewhere outside of your drum setup.
The one and only option for storing your snare drums is to use a snare drum rack. While it’s entirely possible to build a snare rack for yourself, there are also a few companies that will make them for you. I prefer to go this route as I’m not the most gifted with my hands. Apart from drumming, of course.
My favorite snare rack on the market is the Proline Utility Rack. It’s small enough to fit almost anywhere you place it, but it’s large enough to hold up to eight snare drums. Most casual and even intermediate drummers won’t have more snares than that, so I think it’s the perfect rack to get.
You could use it to store your snare drums away along with the rest of your kit, or you could use it to hold your snare drums near the kit and have them ready to be swapped out at any time.
Storing Without Bags
If you don’t have any drum or hardware bags, you can still store your gear relatively safely. It just won’t be as safe as it would be with the bags. The first thing to do would be to place the drums on top of each other. Most drummers call this a drum Christmas tree.
Similar to how I said earlier, you should place the stacked drums in a corner. They’ll be more stable than they would be if they were covered with soft bags, but less stable than if they were in hard cases. Make a second pile if you think the first one is a bit too wonky.
If you don’t have a hardware bag, you should place the hardware behind the open door as you would have with the cymbal bag. Loose hardware can injure you if you stand on it, so that spot is the least likely for anyone to walk around.
I’d suggest getting a cymbal bag (I use this one) before anything else. Leaving loose cymbals lying around is never a good idea.
If you don’t cover your gear with bags, you’ll need to regularly give everything a good dusting. Dirt starts to build up over time and your drum gear will start to get worn.
Final Word
Storing your drum gear in the best way possible is essential in preserving how long everything will last. You should take as much care when you’re not using your drums as you would when you are using them.
Getting a set of bags for everything is well worth the money you put in. Thankfully, you typically only need to buy one set of bags and then you’ll be good to go for years to come.
Thanks for the article Brett. Expecting my first little one and Drum Set Kit will need to get stored away for the time being. Was curious what others have done and your article helped greatly.