What You Still Need

Hardware consisting of the following:

Snare Stand

To support the snare drum

Cymbal Stands

One for the ride, the other for the crash. (On some older sets, hardware for a ride-cymbal stand is attached to the bass drum). Wing nuts with felt pads placed above and below the cymbal, keep them from flying off the stand. Small plastic sleeves, which fit around the threads at the top of the stand, keep bare metal from touching bare metal, preventing the cymbal from cracking (see the later section on care and maintenance). Telescopic stands, or "boom" stands, are quite often used for larger, heavier cymbals and allow much greater flexibility when positioning them.

Hi-Hat Stand

A particular cymbal stand with a tension spring in it's shaft (which is usually adjustable) and a foot pedal to lower the top cymbal onto the bottom one. A "clutch" and felt pads hold the top cymbal on a rod which moves with the pedal; the lower cymbal rests on another felt pad and holder. The stand includes an adjustment on the bottom cymbal holder to offset the angle of the lower cymbal. This prevents the two cymbals from locking together in a vacuum (airlock) when they are brought together with the pedal. The bottom cymbal is available with drilled holes to alleviate airlock.

Tom Mount

Holds the tom(s) in place and is generally attached to the bass drum shell. In the case of a floor tom, rods or "legs" elevate it off the floor.

Bass Drum Pedal

Connects via a clamp, to the rim of the bass drum.

Bass Drum Spurs

Two rods which keep the drum from tilting side to side or creeping forward.

Miscellaneous

Stool (or "throne")-a small padded seat with height adjustment (and sometimes a backrest).

Rug

Necessary for protecting the floor, as well as the bass drum bottom. It also keeps the bass drum from creeping forward following each impact of the pedal's beater, so choose something that will not slide on a smooth surface.

Sticks

A possible beginner size is "5A" or "5B", but anything in that range is good. (Note: There is no standard system for classifying stick types.) However, a stick bigger than "2B" is too clumsy. It is wise to resist selecting too small a stick because the muscles in the fingers, hands and wrists will develop with a little weight. In addition, the slightly heavier stick will bounce higher (beneficial!) and last a little longer. Sticks with plastic nylon tips were created to give a more articulated sound on cymbals, and they also protect the wood tip. Sticks with or without nylon tips are both fine, but realise that each one creates a different type of sound, particularly on cymbals. When purchasing sticks, check for warped wood by rolling them on a flat surface (which most reputable dealers should allow you to do).

Metronome

These devices will be covered in a later section.

Cases

If you will be moving your drums around to gigs and rehearsals, these will greatly cut down on wear and tear, make storage easier, keep hardware organised and assist with transporting equipment.

Rack Stands

Depending on the amount of additional equipment you have, this hardware can be substituted for several single stands as it is capable of holding several toms and sometimes cymbals too.

Drum Key

The purpose of this small tool is to turn the tuning lugs, pulling the drum hoop to tighten the drumhead or loosing it to remove one.

Gloves

Some drummers, especially heavy metal players, wear athletic gloves (often the kind weight lifters use to protect their hands and give them a better grip when the hands perspire). Drummers whose hands perspire quite a bit may want to consider trying them out. Realise that gloves can also function as a fashion statement for the player (whether your hands get slippery or not). If you like the idea, use them while you practice in order to get used to playing with them.