Wherein Geoff Nicholls goes drum hiring and gets told how to clean up his act.

I visited Drumhire as boss Mike U'Dell was preparing to drive down to Jersey in the Channel Islands with a drum kit for Aha. Jersey for Chrissakes. One of those BBC Seaside Specials, you see. You'd think Aha would have his own drumkit by now wouldn't you? And you'd be right. But the logistics of big-biz touring means it's often not feasible to root around in the back of the minivan for the drumkit just to mime on a paltry TV show. Let's face it, the drum kit might be the other side of Europe when the single breaks and the band has to fly back for a TV appearance. That sort of thing. Why doesn't the endorsing manufacturer, Tama, Pearl, or whoever come up with a kit then? Well sometimes they do. But they've got enough grief running a drum company — and trying to show a profit — without forever delivering kits to Jersey. A gap in the market then? Yes, and Drumhire — named with a stunning clarity — are in there.

Further, in the recording studios sometimes bands or producers hire in a kit if they know it's well maintained, or they might want to try out a handful of Drumhire's selection of something over a hundred snare drums.

Mike's been in the hire business for 12 years but has specialised in his first love, acoustic drums (and cymbals), over the past two or three years. Which must reflect the gradual re-establishment of acoustic drums following the Big Electronic Scare.

Assisted by Richard Lewry and John Lamoot, Mike aims to provide a comprehensive hire service stocking virtually the lot. Most major kits are represented, a good selection of cymbals, some tuned percussion, a smattering of Simmons kits, and in particular the aforementioned hundred odd snares.

Trends and Popularity

With no particular dealer-axe to grind, Mike's in a good position to comment on fashion. For instance the Ludwig 6½in 402 metal shell snare is the all-time most popular snare drum; probably the most popular snare world-wide. What comes second to the 402 is not so clear. Usually particular kits are accompanied by same brand snares, which would put Pearl as the big mid-price sellers in a strong position. And the Japanese reputation for poor(ish) snare drums is fast being overcome. They always get it right in the long run don't they?

A few years ago 5in would have been regarded as standard (the previous big allrounder was the Ludwig 400), but now no one blinks an eye at 6½in. I could rephrase that but I won't. Nowadays rather than 5in many would go for an even shallower piccolo. Steve Ferrone recently hired a Pearl free-floating brass-shell piccolo (presumably) for his Duran Duran gig over here. Ah yes, brass. Chrome plated shells are still popular of course, but for those with the money brass is in. This has to do with the current fascination with resonance; a reaction to all those years of studio damping and lifeless samples, no doubt. Brass shell Ludwigs and Pearls, and the fearsomely named Tama bell-brass, are all the rage. And expensive.

This metallic resonance factor has somewhat ousted wood shell snares which had been encroaching on the popularity of metal shells over the past few years. But then at the really pricey end of the catalogue the newly available solid maple Noble and Cooley drums are just starting to make an impression in Britain, and the Tama birds eye maple snare may have a similar appeal.

While on the subject of snare drums Mike, who has to keep dozens of the things in basically useable trim, proffers this piece of tuning advice: take time out to get the wire snare itself tensioned correctly. That is to say, lined up evenly both in lift and in the extent of pull to left and right, particularly if it's a parallel action snare or something equally fiddly. This is as important as getting the heads tuned nicely, but is often neglected.

Extra resonance is also reflected in the gradual shift in popularity of drum heads. The ubiquitous pinstripe top/Ambassador clearbottom — on tom-toms — is slowly being caught up by the ringier clear Ambassador tops and bottoms. Coated Ambassadors are still commonest on snare batters.

Bass drums? Drumhire use clear pinstripe batters with Remo 'Ringmufflers' as standard.

Maintenance

How many of us have come unstuck with "there's a kit in the rehearsal studio, no need to bring yours"? Drumhire are well aware of the dreadful state of most such kits and suggest these cleaning practices (theirs).

Regular buffing with a soft cloth is all that's needed to keep drums shining. The cloth shouldn't be too cottony as cotton can scratch fine surfaces. For bad finger and gaffer tape marks, white spirit on cotton wool does the trick. White spirit shouldn't harm metal or lacquer finishes, but not so cellulose thinners which will eat straight through the lacquer. You could maybe use it on a particularly dirty heavy chromed stand, otherwise leave well alone. A paint brush is good for dusting around lugs, etc. To lubricate lugs and tension rods try L P 'Luglube'. It's not too runny and stays where it's put. '3-in-1' oil and grease are not recommended — they just make a mess. Graphite's OK, though. It's light and penetrates well, good for moving parts like cable hi-hats.

Cleaning heads is difficult, particularly coated ones. But for pinstripes and clears, white spirit will get most of the marks off.

Cymbals

These take a lot of care. Drumhire cymbals are cleaned after each use. Finger marks are the cymbal's big enemy. Moist fingers cause the metal to oxidise leaving brown and green stains. If you leave them too long you can't shift them even with something like Vim — please don't try it! So have a go with the inside of a heavy sweat-shirt; the bobbly stuff gets into the grooves. Ammonia-based window cleaner's the stuff (Sainsbury's comes highly recommended). Follow the sound grooves around and dry with a towel. Cotton's OK this time as cymbal metal is pretty hard. If things are a bit more stubborn try a proprietary cymbal cleaner. Zildjian do a light one and a heavy one. Paiste do one in the middle which Mike finds most useful. Squirt the cleaner onto the cloth not the cymbal. If you go straight onto the cymbal you can get blotches.

Obviously, Mike and Richard, with enough gear to stock a major drum shop, and with their livelihoods depending on it working and looking good, are pretty strict with maintenance. But as Mike sums up, it's really very simple: drum gear is nowadays generally well made and mechanically straightforward, so if you clean it regularly you'll have few problems. PS: I spoke to Paiste's Mike Brooks who wasn't entirely convinced of the window cleaner idea. He suggested warm soapy water, a thorough rinse and dry off, and then a polish with cymbal cream which restores a protective coating.